07-01-2009, 12:20 PM
As the site has been developing and growing, things have become known that we had no way of anticipating when we took ownership of the site. The traffic flow has increased dramatically, and though we are happy about most of the excitement generated by 968Forums we have decided it is time to implement a few new policies regarding Vendors and Advertisers to this site. Most of this is covered in the Forum Rules, but we feel it is time to define a few things in more detail.
It is the goal of this site, and the desire of its owners and members, to have open and lively discussion of all things 968. One of the things we all find most interesting, and sparks the most active discussions, are threads regarding new and modification products for our cars. These often get heated, and sometimes spin out of control. We encourage these discussions, but need to establish some guidelines, specifically regarding Vendors.
We understand that every Vendor is trying to sell their products or services. We support that fully. What we cannot allow is for this site to become a battleground of competing Vendors disparaging each other or their products or services. This includes our Advertisers. We strongly support them, but cannot allow derogatory comments or disparaging remarks from them, any more than we would from any other Member.
In fact, our Advertisers are really more like Ambassadors to the site. We hold them to an even higher standard than we do the general membership, both here and elsewhere. We expect them to behave better than the general membership, as we believe they should show the utmost professionalism. We expect them to carefully consider their words, and how they may be interpreted by others, prior to posting. Factual comparison for the purpose of making a specific point is one thing, but expression of opinion of or by a Vendor or Advertiser, or rating of another’s product cannot be allowed, and is not in the best interests of this site or its members.
We also need to establish a policy regarding the posting of links to Vendor sites. Obviously there is the occasion wherein a member might post a link to a Vendor, and it is helpful within the context of a thread. What we do not want are posts that become essentially “free advertising” for Vendors who are merely trying to avoid paying for the privilege of advertising on the site. This is not fair to the Vendors that are paying for space on the site. We encourage Members to voice their support of Vendors, but do not want links to those Vendors being plastered all over the site. We also encourage Vendors to participate on the site, however we do not wish to see posts including prices or links to their site, unless they become an Advertiser. As an example of this behavior, there was a recent discussion of an exciting new product. We encouraged discussion until the vendor revealed a product and a price. At that point we asked the Vendor to become an advertiser.
We also want to encourage discussions of developing products. These can be very helpful to Vendors who are considering something new, as they can have excellent access to their customer base, and can address the community’s desire for the product, and concerns regarding the new development. To be fair to our Advertisers, we have to be concerned with what can essentially become an infomercial. A discussion crosses into becoming an advertisement when there is a link to the Vendor’s website, or posting of price or availability of the product. At that time, if the Vendor is not an advertiser, they are requested to apply to become one. Failure to become an advertiser results in our having to limit discussion of the product, which is not in the best interest of anyone. Advertising rates for this site are extremely reasonable, far below the cost of other competing sites, for anyone wishing to sell a product. We think it would cause little hardship to anyone to support this site if they wish to use it as a medium to generate sales.
The owners of this site endeavor to assure our members that our advertisers are of the highest caliber, and who will provide excellent products and customer service. While we can’t guarantee the actions of our advertisers we do make every effort to partner with strong, quality firms.
We hope that this will adequately establish the ideas and concepts of what we do and do not want to see on this site, and hopefully prevent that which has happened to other sites.
Jay, Bob, and Pete
It is the goal of this site, and the desire of its owners and members, to have open and lively discussion of all things 968. One of the things we all find most interesting, and sparks the most active discussions, are threads regarding new and modification products for our cars. These often get heated, and sometimes spin out of control. We encourage these discussions, but need to establish some guidelines, specifically regarding Vendors.
We understand that every Vendor is trying to sell their products or services. We support that fully. What we cannot allow is for this site to become a battleground of competing Vendors disparaging each other or their products or services. This includes our Advertisers. We strongly support them, but cannot allow derogatory comments or disparaging remarks from them, any more than we would from any other Member.
In fact, our Advertisers are really more like Ambassadors to the site. We hold them to an even higher standard than we do the general membership, both here and elsewhere. We expect them to behave better than the general membership, as we believe they should show the utmost professionalism. We expect them to carefully consider their words, and how they may be interpreted by others, prior to posting. Factual comparison for the purpose of making a specific point is one thing, but expression of opinion of or by a Vendor or Advertiser, or rating of another’s product cannot be allowed, and is not in the best interests of this site or its members.
We also need to establish a policy regarding the posting of links to Vendor sites. Obviously there is the occasion wherein a member might post a link to a Vendor, and it is helpful within the context of a thread. What we do not want are posts that become essentially “free advertising” for Vendors who are merely trying to avoid paying for the privilege of advertising on the site. This is not fair to the Vendors that are paying for space on the site. We encourage Members to voice their support of Vendors, but do not want links to those Vendors being plastered all over the site. We also encourage Vendors to participate on the site, however we do not wish to see posts including prices or links to their site, unless they become an Advertiser. As an example of this behavior, there was a recent discussion of an exciting new product. We encouraged discussion until the vendor revealed a product and a price. At that point we asked the Vendor to become an advertiser.
We also want to encourage discussions of developing products. These can be very helpful to Vendors who are considering something new, as they can have excellent access to their customer base, and can address the community’s desire for the product, and concerns regarding the new development. To be fair to our Advertisers, we have to be concerned with what can essentially become an infomercial. A discussion crosses into becoming an advertisement when there is a link to the Vendor’s website, or posting of price or availability of the product. At that time, if the Vendor is not an advertiser, they are requested to apply to become one. Failure to become an advertiser results in our having to limit discussion of the product, which is not in the best interest of anyone. Advertising rates for this site are extremely reasonable, far below the cost of other competing sites, for anyone wishing to sell a product. We think it would cause little hardship to anyone to support this site if they wish to use it as a medium to generate sales.
The owners of this site endeavor to assure our members that our advertisers are of the highest caliber, and who will provide excellent products and customer service. While we can’t guarantee the actions of our advertisers we do make every effort to partner with strong, quality firms.
We hope that this will adequately establish the ideas and concepts of what we do and do not want to see on this site, and hopefully prevent that which has happened to other sites.
Jay, Bob, and Pete