Sharpening Forums - TOS Discussion

[Jim Talbert]

We have a new website just started in the past week for sharpeners and the sharpening industry. It is Sharpening Forums. If you need to ask sharpening related questions of professional sharpeners or locate a professional sharpener in your area feel free to visit the website and ask.
These two areas will always be open to the public and you folks are more than welcome to visit.
Thanks Jim Talbert Sharpening Forums

Direct Link removed by moderator

Direct links to another forums are not permitted by the SMC Terms of Service:

"Links to other public or private forums are not allowed. Links should be submitted as references, for the sole purpose of generating or supporting discussions on SawMill Creek."

[Carl Eyman]

For Ken and Other hard working administrators of this excellent forum: I take it on faith the anti-link rule is necessary and desireable. BUT, pray tell, if one is interested in finding out more about this forum, where do we go from here? Our forum's purpose is to improve our skills. This new forum promises to do that for me. How can I get unblocked? Do others share this dilema? Carl - the worst sharpener on the Creek

[Mike Evertsen]

I would have checked it out,,,,,,,

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Carl & Mike, if you would like to visit the Sharpening Forum, you can just click on the "www" button under Jim's message window. I checked it out, and it looks like it could be interesting. However, at about $30.00 per year to join, I think I will pass for now. So, there is a way to get there from here, just not thru a direct link embedded in a message, which is a SMC rules violation.

[Ken Salisbury]

For Ken and Other hard working administrators of this excellent forum: I take it on faith the anti-link rule is necessary and desireable. BUT, pray tell, if one is interested in finding out more about this forum, where do we go from here? Our forum's purpose is to improve our skills. This new forum promises to do that for me. How can I get unblocked? Do others share this dilema? Carl - the worst sharpener on the Creek

Carl,

As Kevin said the WWW button on the bottom of your posts will get someone to your web site. You can reference that in a post (like "for more information visit my website by using the WWW Button below") but you can't put a direct link to it in your message text nor can you put a link to you website in your signature block which appears on all your posts.

[chris toomey]

i'm trying to understand what is accomplished by not allowing direct links to commercial websites or other public or private forums, but yet allowing the link thru " click the www button...." to me you are still allowing the link. it is just hidden behind the www tab.

[Keith Outten]

Chris/All

The reason we prohibit direct links in messages is to keep advertising from posts in our forums. It was decided in the beginning that SawMill Creek wouldn't allow our forums to be innundated with ads and we don't beat everyone to death asking for donations or financial support. SawMill Creek is for woodworkers, powered by woodworkers friendship not money.

We do provide our FreeStuff Program which allows anyone to give away a prize to one of our members and thus receive some exposure in our forums. This is the only means of advertising here at SawMill Creek.

Everyone should note that since we don't have any advertising we are free to speak here and don't have to worry about offending a sponsor.

We compromised by allowing our members to use the WWW button to link to their web site, commercial or personal links are both acceptable. If we didn't enforce this rule many messages would be full of buttons and graphics with advertising and links to every web site on the Internet.

i'm trying to understand what is accomplished by not allowing direct links to commercial websites or other public or private forums, but yet allowing the link thru " click the www button...." to me you are still allowing the link. it is just hidden behind the www tab.

[Aaron Koehl]

We compromised by allowing our members to use the WWW button to link to their web site, commercial or personal links are both acceptable. If we didn't enforce this rule many messages would be full of buttons and graphics with advertising and links to every web site on the Internet.

It is also worthy of note that only one link is available through the www
button. Further, gratuitous advertising (e.g. "Click my button below!!!")
may be subject to moderation as well, especially if the purpose of the
link is to use SMC's member base as a target audience for advertising,
and especially where one stands to gain monetary benefit. In this
situation, we all lose out--SMC is not FREE to set up, run, or maintain,
and is only in service through the kind donations of a business affiliate.

I am, like many other users, tired of seeing commercials everywhere I look.

We all seek to gain knowledge and improve our woodworking from the
vast experiences of our members. That being said, other forums and
businesses on the Internet can advertise free of charge in search
engines, newsgroups, and other marketing media--but not here.

Another benefit of SMC to our members is a comprehensive, homogeneous
archive for woodworking--not just a venue for the present. We can
not guarantee that links to any external information will be maintained,
but we can guarantee that the information posted here on SMC will be
available.

We put much thought into our Terms of Service, and I would be happy
to defend any section in question.

_Aaron_

[chris toomey]

aaron

i appologize if you feel the need to " defend " yourself. my intent was not have you feel threatened or question your authority as founders and moderators. i merely stated that i didn't see a difference between a direct link in a text, and a shrouded link. and i still don't.

i completely see keiths point of not wanting to provide a free source of advertising, or provide a captive audience to marketers. i understand the compromise of allowing one link. i just don't see how it matters where the link is located. it is stll there. in this caseit was moved behind a www button. it is still there. this guy is still pitching a site that will rasie money thru subscribers.

i'm not the sharpest tool in the shed

[Keith Outten]

Chris,

We don't really feel threatened by your statement concerning links being hidden behind the WWW button. Aaron and I are just sensitive to this subject because we are serious about keeping SawMill Creek visually clean for our members. Lots of people have volunteered their time and our sponsor has graciously donated the server, software and bandwith so we could provide a comfortable place for woodworkers. Naturally we would like to keep it this way as long as we can.

You must admit that it is very rare to find any web site that doesn't have banners or advertisements on every page. We are also very protective of our members privacy, including our email list which is not for sale. Our members have the option to hide their email addresses and feel comfortable that their privacy is being safeguarded. We provide Private Messaging service as well so that all woodworkers can communicate freely.

We compromised when we allowed members to use the WWW Button to link to the site of their choice and we have been very flexible with links within messages. Whenever any member or moderator feels that a post has violated our Terms of Service (TOS) we will edit or delete the message without notification to the author. Fortunately this situation rarely occurs.

[Ian Barley]

Chris

I think you are about right in that there is not a lot of difference between a link in the text and a link from the button - BUT - there is some difference. Probably just about enough to dissuade the casual morons who search for any forum on any subject and drop stupid and often offensive links into a post.

The atmosphere here is great. If that takes rules then I'm all for it. If we all know what the rules are and they are fairly and evenly enforced then none of us can have any problem. I know that you were not "having a go" and can quite see where your question comes from. All I can say is that it's these kinda rules that makes SMC the first of my list of favourites that I check every evening.

[Tyler Howell]

What a great country we live in. Freedom to Speak and write our minds. I have many tools that are much older than this technolegy we're using for this discussion. "Change Is Good"

Thanks to all for this free exchange of thought.

TJH

[nic obie]

What a great country we live in. Freedom to Speak and write our minds. I have many tools that are much older than this technolegy we're using for this discussion. "Change Is Good"

Thanks to all for this free exchange of thought.

TJH

Good post Tyler............

Freedom to speak AND read what we wish.

I'm klicin' on that.

[Aaron Koehl]

Chris,

Don't worry-- I'm not the least bit threatened- I used the word 'defend' in a strictly legal sense. As far as the www button is concerned, it is much
more visually 'clean'-- and the www button only provides a single link for
users to find out more information about a particular poster. As Keith
implied, we don't allow commercial advertising even with the www button.

i completely see keiths point of not wanting to provide a free source of advertising, or provide a captive audience to marketers. i understand the compromise of allowing one link. i just don't see how it matters where the link is located. it is stll there. in this caseit was moved behind a www button. it is still there. this guy is still pitching a site that will rasie money thru subscribers.

You're right about the advertising pitch-- the entire post would ordinarily
have been deleted in this case, rather than just the link.


_Aaron_