What would you like to see happen to the C&F policies regarding commercial posting. (These policies can be found as the top thread on the board).
Loosen them up–to allow whistlemakers and vendors more leeway to post about their products.
Leave them as they are.
Tighten them up further–make them stricter.
Eliminate them entirely.
0voters
Before answering, you might want to read the commercial policies–Very top thread on the board.
Thanks.
ADDED NOTE: I put this poll up at about the same moment that someone posted to a commercial thread by Gary (raindog), which bumped it up into close proximity to my poll post. That could have left the impression that I was reacting to Gary’s post. Not at all. Just a total coincidence. Actually, my poll was precipitated by a few regulars stating a wish for laxer policies.
I voted for “loosening” them up. The reason is that I think you’ve broken your own rules by bringing in the GoogleAds. There are at least a couple of avid C&F posters whose businesses frequently appear in these new ads . . .
And come on, given how venomous the collective WE become in threads, I think it would be hard for anyone to get away with abusing the forum as a “merely commercial” forum.
As a professional whistlesmith, a considerable part of whose living depends on the whistle business, I’m very comfortable with the guidelines as they are now.
There’s plenty of room for inviting suggestions and feedback from board members, announcing new things, answering questions, posting monthly listings of everything one is doing. I see no need whatever for more leeway in the commercial guidelines. I also think the guidelines as they stand are effective for keeping a semblance of order and preventing us from going overboard with our commercial posts.
Yes. I’m always doing that. I’m a rule-breaker. A scofflaw. I’m a rebel. A drifter. A loner. I’m bad news, Baby. You don’t want to get mixed up with a guy like me.
I voted for leaving them the way they are. As things stand whistlemakers are free to discuss their whistlemaking without blatantly pushing their business all the time.
What I can do without is whistlemakers raving on all the time how great their whisltes are, how perfectly tuned they are etc, or retailers breaking into every thread to announce they can ‘help’ us get the recordings of the artist under discussion orthe whistle the thread is about. That was why the rules are there I think and as far as i am concerned it is working well.
Ah, you’re just a kid. A kid with a crush. I’m trying to tell you: I’ll only break your heart. You’ll wake up one morning and I’ll be gone. Gone without a trace–if you don’t count the unpaid bills, the beer bottles, and the warrants. Trust me–well, don’t trust me, but----understand—it’ll all be for the best this way. You’ll find another Whistle Journalist. Another guy who can barely play the damn instrument, who was born and raised in the southern USA his entire life, and has somehow managed to become a celebrity in Irish music. A minor one, certainly. A VERY minor one, even. You’ll find another guy who has suddenly found the key to a fast buck. Not drugs. Ha! Not gambling. Ha! Not prostitution. NO! The key: Google Ads. The kinda money I’ve never seen before. The kind that’ll get you a warm and saggy bed at the Motel 6. A big steak at Denny’s. And with that change in your pocket, you get to stand out in your underwear on the balcony of your Motel 6 room—if they had balconies–and if no one called the police–and look up in the stars and say to yourself "Hey. Those stars are spelling out MY name across the sky. And that one’s moving. And now that one seems to be moving. And now they seem to be forming some kind of cluster and now there’s this cigar-shaped thing that seems to be mov//////////BRK///////////INTRNeT MONITOR SUBROUTN “M6”//////BRK/////KEYLOOP OVERRIDE AUTHORIZE “VIAGRA”/////BRK////STOP
One option you didn’t offer in your poll is a separate For Sale forum. I would very much like to see the new adverts that recently appeared at the top of each forum REMOVED and placed into a separate thread. This new forum would allow makers to advertise, sellers to advertise, and eBay scroungers to post their finds, instead of clogging up the discussion forums.
Leave it be. The GoogleAds are just a billboard, the rent from whch helps pay the bills . If some of our commercial people want to get in on that part, they should contact Google. As for the rest of the board, if you’ve ever seen a board that allowed unrestricted commercial posting you wouldn’t want it. It becomes very irritating very fast, especially if a few sellers decide to get into a trade war.
FWIW, I never believe what an advertiser says, anyway. One respectful post a month is more than enough to let us know you’re there - beyond that, count on your work and word of mouth to sell your product - or sink it as the case may be.
Google advertising is paid. Anyone wishing to advertise via Google is welcome to pay them, choose the right keywords, and have their ads appear here in the ad banners, separate from the post content.
The commercial-posts policy is regarding free advertising here amongst the discussion, not paid advertising separate from it.
I like the idea of a seperate forum for flute and whistle sales, new and used. That way if you don’t want ot look at it you don’t have to go there.
There could be discussions with the various makers in a more friendly, “not afraid to break the rules” forum. Jon
I voted to leave them as they are. The makers are, in general, quite good about it. The occasional maker who mentions his whistle in every thread looking for whistles with this or that characteristic and leaves in a huff when his wrist is slapped is rare.
There are many more makers who are respectful of Dales and Rich’s wishes. Mack posts exactly once every month with a business update. Mike Burke responds occasionally to specific questions about his whistles or business. I think Paul Busman has made maybe two or three posts about his whistles. Gary and a few others have made a few posts about their whistles.
These makers let their whistles stand on their own merits for the most part. And they’re mentioned often by others, who most likely wouldn’t be promoting the maker’s products if they thought the maker was abusing the forum for commercial purposes.
They’re separate issues. The ads at the top of the forum (and only at the top of the forum; they’re intentionally separated from the actual content of the threads) are what is paying for the forums themselves; the commercial posts policy has to do with people posting free advertising directly in new or existing threads, along with all of the other content.
I think that hte guidelines are fair and should remain unchanged. I like the idea about a separate forum for sales. But…I am uncertain about one thing. What if a non-instrument maker wishes to share their enthusiasm and recommendation for a particular instrument maker with others on these forums…is that considered a ‘no-no’? It is promoting sales in an off-hand way.
Jon