What happened to discrepancy?, the posting of links Options

[Spirited Away]

Why I'm here.

The Community Guideline states:
ADVERTISING
Starting a topic for the sole purpose of advertising is not allowed. You may not solicit via Private Message. Signatures may only contain references and links to personal pages, such as your blogs and profiles; references and links to anything that is not personal, such as websites and forums are not allowed.

"Strictly" following the rules would mean any link posted in debate or news means spam/advertising. Yet it is argued by another member, E-Man, that such links are "allowed because it is [a] source [that] is not advertising or promoting a certain cause or company. You are simply citing where you got your facts or story from." However, that is deviating from the community guideline rule itself, and not "strictly" following.

According the definition agreed by iRock cB, if a link is posted so that it would provide information for a cause, it would be okay. So why is the topic "save the la mesa" censored even after I explained that it could be means for providing information?

I remember clearly that Jusun meant for staff to be lenient in the lounge, but what happened to that proposed leniency by the leader of this community?

[*Libertie*]

Kristina - I edited the post, "competing" isn't necessarily the best term to use.. The main point is that it was a similar concept, links to other sites posted by other users, but it's accepted.

And to open up discussion and get feedback, what is and isn't considered advertising? Does anyone disagree with the idea that just sharing interesting links with the community is/should be acceptable?

As Fae said, posting a link trying to get people to make a purchase is advertising.
Posting a link for the sole purpose of trying to get hits is advertising.

Anything else?

[smoke]

And to open up discussion and get feedback, what is and isn't considered advertising? Does anyone disagree with the idea that just sharing interesting links with the community is/should be acceptable?

As Fae said, posting a link trying to get people to make a purchase is advertising.
Posting a link for the sole purpose of trying to get hits is advertising.

Anything else?

I don't disagree. I believe I said in the save la mesa topic that I personally didn't really agree with removing it, but I have to abide by the rule. If I didn't say that, I meant to because I was thinking it, haha.

I'm really, really glad I did remove that link now because it lead to this topic. I've been trying to get this issue going but it looks like it actually took an example to do so and of course Fae because people respect her a lot more than they do me, I'm sure.

[demolished]

I don't disagree. I believe I said in the save la mesa topic that I personally didn't really agree with removing it, but I have to abide by the rule. If I didn't say that, I meant to because I was thinking it, haha.

I'm really, really glad I did remove that link now because it lead to this topic. I've been trying to get this issue going but it looks like it actually took an example to do so and of course Fae because people respect her a lot more than they do me, I'm sure.

Can I ask you a few questions? Before I start questioning you, I'm not trying to be an ass. I just want to know.


What does advertisement really means to you?
How does posting a link is advertising or not?
How do you abide the rules and use your appropriate judgment at the same time?

Rules aren't everything. Rules aren't always right.



Moderators should always use reasonable judgment.
They have a right to use it.
And, you probably heard something similar like that.

[smoke]

Can I ask you a few questions? Before I start questioning you, I'm not trying to be an ass. I just want to know.
What does advertisement really means to you?
How does posting a link is advertising or not?
How do you abide the rules and use your appropriate judgment at the same time?

Rules aren't everything. Rules aren't always right.
Moderators should always use reasonable judgment.
They have a right to use it.
And, you probably heard something similar like that.

You can ask me anything! That's what I'm here for. And I wouldn't think you were being an ass. I am really open minded and appreciate any feedback.

Advertising to me is anything that is trying to persuade someone to go to a certain site that isn't a personal website. Point in case, the La Mesa topic was trying to persuade people to sign the petition. Looking at the current standing advertising rule, that was advertising. And in the definition that Rebecca provided, it would have fallen under both #2 and #3.

Your second question confuses me. "How does posting a link is advertising or not?" Please rephrase that. I honestly do not understand what you're asking. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you meant "How does posting a link make it advertising?" In that case, if you look at the current rule, any link that isn't a personal site in the main topic is indeed advertising. Do I agree with that rule? No. And that's why we're here today. To revise it. But simply going against a rule just because it's against my own judgment is stupid. What then would be the point of having rules and guidelines at all? Sure, I disagree with it and I have expressed that numerous times but until it is revised, I have to follow it. If we all went on our own basis of what each rule meant, we'd get nowhere and there would be chaos everywhere. Kind of like the spam issue I brought up a while back. It was so confusing to everyone what exactly spam was because every mod had their own take on it. One mod would think something was spam and another would not and another would think something completely different. Now we all have to follow the same rule so it prevents further confusion.

For your third question, it really is a tricky situation. It's hard to try and use your own judgement. I'm sure if you were a mod, you'd understand. You make some people happy and others you don't. To some I made good judgement in removing that link and to others I did not. It's all a matter of opinion. You can please some people some of the time, but you can't please all people all of the time.

I may have made a bad choice, but honestly, I think it was worth it. Look at where it's getting us now. We're finally discussing things that have been bothering us for a while now. That makes it worth while to me! I expressed my opinion on the spam rule a while back and managed to get it revised. I was very, very happy when Fae brought the issue up. A lot of people will listen to her. This very issue has been bothering me as well and I have often discussed it with other mods. People have told me "Stick to the rules and you can't go wrong." I've followed that and it seems to be working quite well. But rules are certainly not perfect. Neither is any individuals judgement.