Fleabay item of interest to some.

[John Miliunas]

Yowza!!! The fella has some pretty kick-butt audio gear out there, as well! WAY too deep for my pockets but, for the audiophile, may be a great chance to pick up some fine equipment!

Guys, about the eBay links thing. Please, let's not re-hash that again, for the umpteenth time! Greg started this thread following the correct protocol and the item(s) is easy enough to find. No, I don't believe there's specific language currently in the TOS, though I do think there was discussion to that extent. Personally, I wish it were inserted, so that no further controversy would exist. As our friend Tod would say, "just my .02."

[nic obie]

Is it ok to post a link to craig's list?

[Ken Salisbury]

Ken (Salisbury) - where is it specifically that it says we can't post a link to an Ebay auction, provided it's not for commercial interest?

Rob,

The TOS does not say specifically that e-bay links are prohibited. However, Long ago we came to the conclusion that e-bay links would be prohibited and the TOS has not been updated to reflect that. There are many reasons why we do not allow those links. We have no way of knowing whether an e-bay link is a commercial venture or not without investigating each and everyone of them. Our staff is not large enough to do that.

TOS:

"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."

It is fine for a poster to mention an article on e-bay with enough information that an interested part can do an e-bay search to find it.

We have beat this issue to death in the past- anyone interested in the details can do an advanced search of the SMC archives.

We will continue to prohibit direct links to any public auctions including e-bay.

[Rob Russell]

Ken,

I know the topic has been discussed many time before. I don't have a problemwith Ebay links being prohibited. Frankly, I think it's a good idea. Those listings are transient in nature, so 6 months from now even if the listing had something of very general interest to people, it wouldn't be there anymore.

It would be nice of the TOS were updated to specifically prohibit Ebay links for new folks that join SMC. That's the rule that gets enforced, so why not make it clear in the TOS that "them's the rules" rather than having these repetitive discussions about unposted rules?

[Ken Salisbury]

Ken,

It would be nice of the TOS were updated to specifically prohibit Ebay links for new folks that join SMC. That's the rule that gets enforced, so why not make it clear in the TOS that "them's the rules" rather than having these repetitive discussions about unposted rules?

Keith has a full plate at the moment. He will get around to it when he can.

[Dev Emch]

Russ has an excellent point. Ebay links are by their own definition potential dangling pointers. Ephemerol by nature, these links would remain in the SMC archives and render older posts of little value. This is esp. true of photos. If someone is talking about a potential item, it may be best for the continuity of the SMC archives to copy the picutres and post them in the SMC with reference to their source. As long as you acknowlege where they came from you should be O.K.

But this issue has greater and more significant ramifications as I now understand it. Thanks Ken for bringing this matter to my own attention. I thought this was just something geared at Ebay listings, etc. but it turns out it has a much broader definition. A definition that encompasses much more than just ebay listings. For example, URL posts to the Grizzly site would be equally offensive and thus prohibited. So we will work to help you in policing these issues.

Thanks...