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A discussion of the rules: rule #9

The Rule

9. Do not spam the groups, forums, chat, or other members. Any and all commercial or fraud spam should be reported immediately, using the "report issues" function. The following types of posts may be subject to removal without warning:

1. Web links with no adequate accompanying description or explanation.
2. Embedded media with no adequate accompanying description or explanation.
3. Posts promoting personal websites and projects in inappropriate places. Your own profile is a good place for promoting your endeavors.
4. Repetitious posts.
5. Flooding the forums or groups with several posts in a relatively short period of time.

The Reason

Nobody likes unsolicited advertisements. Since our aim is to create a comfortable environment, we delete them. People who are here to advertise are seldom (if ever) here to be part of a community.

This does not mean that a person cannot promote the things that they do here or even something that they sell, but there are ways to go about it that are less obtrusive than others.

The first place one should consider for promotional efforts is ones own profile. A person's profile is, after all, their "face" here on Atheist Nexus. Of course, it is still possible to go to far. If a person turns their profile into a giant ad for Viagra and starts linking it all over the site, that is a breech of good faith and the account will be removed.

The second place a person should think about posting their own promotional materials is on their own blog or a related group. Your blog is your blog. While it is generally considered bad etiquette to rapidly post several times in a row, your blog is a good place to let people know what it is you are up to. That does not mean that a person has carte blanche to use the blog area as a spam machine. If people use it excessively for promotion, they will be warned.

Groups are not typically moderated by Atheist Nexus moderators, and thus conform to rules set out by the people who run them. If they want to allow you to promote your related works (such as your new atheist book in an atheist book group,) that's fine by us.

The last place one should consider posting promotional efforts is in the forums. For the most part, this is frowned upon unless it's completely relevant to the conversation in a way that enhances the conversation.

For example: In a conversation about ancient philosophers, referencing your own website about ancient philosophers in context or in order to answer another person's question would be a good-faith use of leeway. Just aimlessly dropping your website link into a conversation with little to no predication would not be seen as in good faith.

The Action

There are spammers and then there are SPAMMERS. SPAMMERS, meaning people who are plainly just here to spam and are only here to spam are nuked without mercy. People simply appear to be having some trouble understanding the rules or what we mean when we talk about "good faith" self promotion will be warned first, of course. Offending posts will most likely be removed.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hugh Kramer on December 2, 2010 at 2:18pm

So I shouldn't post my news anymore? Too bad. I'll miss this site.

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Permalink Reply by John D on December 3, 2010 at 7:13pm

Hugh - at first, I admit, that I thought you were posting lots of vanity stuff just to get eyes. I have to say though, that you have been one of my favorite posters. You obviously write your own material and direct us to it. This does get eyes on your Examiner site.

But (and here is the important part) I continue to chase down your articles because you are actually adding content and do reporting. Your pieces are real and valuable, to the point and factual, which is decidedly different from many posters who simply post their silly little opinion and then ask us to visit.

You are an example of how things work well.

There are others here who post links to their inane opinions just trying to get hits... and these are true vanity blogs. I generally do my best to chase these punks away with verbal attacks (within the rules of course).

This is the trick to rule number 9.... it is really hard to make it work well.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Kramer on December 3, 2010 at 9:31pm

Thanks, John D. I've never liked being part of a crowd so I do lots of background checking and research to find angles or info that aren't covered in other media. It's nice to know that it's noticed.

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Permalink Reply by moJoe on December 6, 2010 at 4:33pm

Only if you are posting your news in the forums as a method for promoting your money making endeavors. What you are allowed to post in your own blog, groups or on your profile is another matter entirely.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph P on December 22, 2010 at 10:23am

You're always posting links to your blog about news stories ... in a group dedicated to news stories. At least that's where I always see them. Seems totally within the topic of the group to me.

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Permalink Reply by Goz on April 17, 2011 at 10:46am

No dude..I like your posts!!!!!

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Permalink Reply by John D on December 3, 2010 at 7:23pm

This is the fuzziest of rules for me... as some of you already know. Rule number 9, number 9, number 9.

The enforcement (or lack of it) has caused the most consternation of any rule on A/N.

There are many members here who make money off their own sites. Sometimes this is something of value and sometimes it is silly trivial vanity writing. Yikes... how do we decide?

I would really like this rule to be changed somehow. How do you glean the wheat from the chaff. (and there is a lot of chaff).

I guess this means we can write almost anything we want on our "blog" area. Right? I guess if members find it to be bologna we can call it as such on the blog (but our comments will just get deleted). Hmmmm.... we could write our blog post to attack the other member and that has happened before... and gotten ugly. No good answer to this one I am afraid.

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Permalink Reply by moJoe on December 6, 2010 at 4:32pm

It's never easy with stuff like this. Thankfully, there are a LOT of places to post here and most of them aren't going to get anyone in trouble. Again, only the forums are generally inappropriate for self promotion. Everywhere else has a good degree of leeway.

We mostly leave the management of groups up to their owners, and a lot of conversation happens in groups or in the blogs. No one should feel too caged in by this. Still, sometimes things get gray. If the moderation team feels someone has gone too far, they will come first to talk about it.

Harassing other members is covered by another rule and isn't allowed anywhere, not even on personal blogs.

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Permalink Reply by eric stone on December 18, 2010 at 3:44pm

I see on my Atheist Nexus page an advertisement for jesus t shirts by www.MyGodDesigns.com. Isn't this religious spamming or proselytizing or both? Shouldn't this vendor be banned?

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Permalink Reply by Joseph P on December 22, 2010 at 10:25am

Heh, if only.

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Permalink Reply by Azel Praer on April 20, 2011 at 8:23pm

this does little to no good i have bin hit twice bots are going to do it regardless unless there is some sort of bot watch on here .

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Permalink Reply by Joseph P on April 20, 2011 at 8:29pm

There is, actually. It can only catch them after the fact, though. That's the bad part about allowing members of groups to send e-mails directly to members. The e-mail goes out instantly, and there's nothing that can be done to retrieve it.

Just do what you should do whenever you get an e-mail even from a friend, who tells you you should go to a site that looks sketchy. I've had 3 or 4 friends who got their address book hijacked, in the past 5 or 6 months. When I got the e-mail from them, I just sent back an e-mail asking if they sent it.

If you ever look for the person's profile, after the fact, you'll notice that it's never there. That's because someone from the Nexus team nukes it the instant it's detected ... but the e-mails are already on their way.