Commercial Users

[BassyBill]

We seem to be getting more and more posts reported about commercial users posting free advertising. Sorry, but this won't fly here. Please review the Commercial User Policy and stop spamming your stuff. If you want to advertise, we can sort that, just let us know.

Fair warning.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I've said it before, but it bears saying again: there is a big difference between the letter of the law and the spirit and intent of the law. This is as true here as it is in any organization of human beings. Most people, if they really stop to think about it, understand the intent of the rules perfectly well. On the other hand, many people only obey the letter of it, perhaps reasoning that when push comes to shove, they can claim that they didn't understand the finer points of where the lines were drawn. But the letter of the rules cannot cover every possible scenario, so we rely on commercial users doing their best to obey the spirit of the rules in good faith. There is growing sentiment among many reporting posts that this good faith effort is not being made by a number of commercial users.

1) Commercial users must always post in a responsive manner with regards to any product or service they (or any business entity with which they have a current and direct relationship with) sell/manufacture/represent. (Hereafter referred to as "Product" and "Services"). Meaning, discussion contributed on the topic of Products & Services by the commercial user, must be limited to responses to specific questions from TalkBass members, or corrections of misinformation.

NON-Acceptable Posting Behavior:

Commercial users may not...
-- Create new threads about Product/Services
-- Post material referencing Product/Services in general question threads, such as "What is a good bass for me?"
-- Post material referencing Product/Services in general "what's new at..." threads

Commercial users may not...
Comment on the products/services/character of competition (unless it is praise or recommendation). Doing so presents conflict-of-interest issues.
-- Post "generic" conversational non-answer posts regarding Product/Services that: praise Product; expand on Product features; are a self 'pat on the back'; are deemed to be part of a pattern of thread-bumping; otherwise contribute additional unsolicited Product information.
-- Post unsolicited photos of Product in the public forums, or submit promotional material (such as, but not limited to, press release text or promotional flyers) in the public forums (email PR to [email protected])
-- Post pricing information and other sales dialogue (must be confined to private conversations with TB users (PM or email)).

The bolded rules above represent those that are being ignored more frequently lately. If the site is to remain healthy, viable, and fair to all, this trend cannot be allowed to continue. Again, consider this fair warning.