Gee, I think I will get my 2¢ in :)
Direct links to E-bay auctions should not be allowed.
It goes directly against SMC's stand on commercialism. It is just another way to direct someone to an advertisement. Moderators would be required to check each link to insure it's validity to the subject matter of the thread in which it is posted. For someone to even suggest this is a trival task is pure foolishness. I personally don't want to spend my valuable time verifying the contents of E-bay auctions. If we allow them I can guarantee you it will get out of hand. Many of our members are E-bay sellers and if these direct links are allowed we will be inindated with them.
Links to any public forums should not be allowed.
In order to insure these links do not contain offensive material, platent advertisments, profanity, political or religious controversy, general personal bashing, etc, etc would necessitate a moderator review that forum thread. Now we all know how some forum threads can get very lengthy. If I wanted to spend my time at "BlueDot.com" I would simply go there and surf.
A reader can be directed to a specific forum by just posting "this has been discussed over at BlueDot, if interested go there and have a look"
Direct links that help the poster find materials, sources, books, or articles, etc that are germain to the thread topic are very helpful and should be allowed and encouraged as they have always been.
These links are usually easy to determine legitimacy simply by the URL. Some are not so clear and I usually go to the link and verify it's authenticity. I would whole lot rather chase these links than E-bay and forum links :) .
************************************************** **********************************
To eliminate confusion on links there only needs to be 2 minor changes to the TOS as follows:
3. External Linking
Links to other websites are allowed in posts. In fact, they are
encouraged. However, links for the sole purpose of marketing,
generating traffic to a site, or any other commercial advertisement deemed to solicit commercial benefit are not allowed.
Links should be submitted as references, for the sole purpose of generating or supporting discussions on SawMill Creek.
ADD:
Links to other public or private forums are not allowed.
Links to public auctions such as E-Bay are not allowed.
Ian Barley said it better than I could so I will quote him:
"Other Forums. Again the problem is the extent of the work involved in making sure that they are the kind of discussion that we, by coming here, have chosen to be involved in. Somebody posts a link today and the other forum is all lovely and friendly as checked by one of our mods. Tomorrow Sammy the spammer goes onto that forum which is not moderated and posts links to a bunch of porn sites. Everybody still happy?? The problem with forums is that their content is more variable and volatile than other types of websites that could be linked to. I believe that an explicit statement that links to other public forums are not allowed is perfectly reasonable and conducive to SMC maintaining the character that we work at creating here. If it makes me elitist to not want to be involved in a childish brawl then I am elitist."
As a member rather than a moderator I believe our TOS are simple, as they should be, however they were slightly ambiguous in the area of linking. The changes I suggest are also very simple and easy to understand. It is the "what" not the "why" we should be conveying. The "whys" can be debated until the you know what freezes over. Why make SMC a mirror of the many other forums on the internet. Basically it's what we came over her to avoid in the first place. Those who dislike this place so much can always spend their time on a forum more suitable to their liking.
As a moderator I have always tried to be fair and consistent in my actions. Terms like "heavy handed, dictatorship, censorship, etc does not even come close to describing my personality. It is extremely difficult for me to respond to such comments and still be diplomatic.
I can assure you that if we allow the unabated use of direct links, as some folks suggest we should, I will be out of here like the "Roadrunner". Not only as a moderator, but also a member.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Oliphant
I do not find Kens' mod approach as offensive or dictatorial or heavy handed. For one, I am glad to see someone in his position not trying to be PC or pandering to anyone. He is not a machine, therefor some mistakes or inconsistancies are to be expected.
Thanks Dan !!
Sorry to be so long winded -- it time for a Bud Light :D