Plugging your own site. 1

[cian]

Just wondering how you feel about plugging your own site in the forums?

Obviuosly it's unfair if you are selling a product or service.
But what if your site is a free source of information?
The information would also be available elsewhere on the net but it's so easy to remember your own urls so you can point people to an exact source of info which may help them.

What do you think?


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http://www.endamcg.com

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http://www.endamcg.com/finland-gaa

 

[SF0751]

Personally, I don't have a problem with a "free" site - as long as it is truly free (not "free for the first 30 days&quot. I would have problems with any commercial site, or a site with commercial content, unless it is clearly labeled as such. Susan
Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer. - Mark Twain

 

[sleipnir214]

Plugging how? ______________________________________________________________________
TANSTAAFL!

 

[shiningblade]

I think Cian means promoting/advertising it in the forums either in a sig or in the body.

Jude

 

[jimoblak]

It is tough to get new sites known. Link popularity is crucial. I have done several tricks to promote a site but I would not abuse this forum out of respect. I target free online classifieds run by newspaper sites and forums that pertain to the information I would offer. Only genuine free services should be offered from commercial sites. I draw the line at promoting the next version of MS Office in an immoral forum. Let's stay on topic please.

 

[CajunCenturion]

The simplest policy is not to allow promotion of sites in the signature or other parts of the post.

If an attempt is made to establish some guideline as to what is and is not an acceptable site (free source of info) vs an unacceptable commercial site, then just where would you draw the line separating the two. Each site would have to looked at on a case by case basis to judge its applicability, or lack of commercialism as the case may be. Regardless of the how the arbitrator rules, someone will disagree, someone will get upset and feel like they are being discriminated against. Not only would a burden be placed on site management, but every time a link is questioned, someone will get upset.

Simplest solution - don't allow any link not directly pertinent to the thread subject. Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[guestgulkan]

I believe there should be a certain amount of 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours'.

Take this site for instance - I see a link list of partners
on the left hand side. There is a banner on the top.

I see a 'You can advertise here' link on the bottom, along with 'Use our mailing list' and 'Support Tek-tips' links.

I think any site expecting it's forum members to devote their
knowledge, comments, etc to make the site a success, without a little something in return is asking tooo much.

Posters having a link to their personal website is OK.
However, I think blatant commercial links trying to cadge a free ride on the backs of the Tek-tips members is a no-no.

 

[cian]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I personally think it's ok to have your site links in your signature but what I was specifically referring to was posting your links in reply to a question. I should have said that at the start.

Of course if someone posts a reply stating "I have software which might help you, buy it here for only £££" then this is wrong.

What do you think though if someone asks a question about, for example, .Htaccess, is it ok to say you have a free tutorial on your site? Or other free resources?
It means you're plugging your site, but for no commercial gain.

CC, a reply can be directly relevant to the thread subject but still break the rules.

Is the simplest solution to only post links to other sites? Free advertising for the likes of dynamicdrive etc?



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http://www.endamcg.com

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http://www.endamcg.com/macaonghusa

(DRAFT VERSION)

 

[CajunCenturion]

Do we have any volunteers to monitor all of the links -- making sure that they do not cross the line into commercialism -- placed in the over 3000 posts made every day? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making information available to everyone. I like cian's sites, and I have them bookmarked. I have no problem with them. I am merely trying to point out the practical headaches of trying to administer a policy about links that would be fair to everyone. For what its worth, I would deem cian's site

http://www.endamcg.com

to quite appropriate as it is a good technical reference site, but I would not deem

http://www.endamcg.com/macaonghusa

to be appropriate for Tek-Tips as it is not IT oriented, and although its quite interesting and enjoyable, it does not enhance the mission of Tek-Tips.

cian - you are quite correct in that a directly relavent link can still break the rules. When I said, "don't allow any link not directly pertinent to the thread subject", I did not mean that just because a link is pertinent that it should be allowed. What I meant was that direct pertinence is just one of the necessary conditions for inclusion.

Tek-Tips is a free service. I don't think Tek-Tips expects you to share you knowledge and experience, but rather, provides a medium for such sharing to take place should you choose to participate. You're not paid by Tek-Tips either directly or indirectly (thru links), but rather, the currency of Tek-Tips is information. You give information, so that you can get information. Appreciation does not come from Tek-Tips, but from the other members who benefit from use of the site.

Just as inappropriate to the site are commercial links, so are the "leeches" - those people who only ask questions, never answer, and never award stars. Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[Tarwn]

I have to agree that as long as it is pertinent to either the forum or (if part of a sig) is the posters personal homepage there is no problem. Even certain commercial sites are ok as sig's (ie, your own business adds a little credibility in certain forums). The problem is that drawing the line is hard. I have had several questions where I have had to refer a user to a commercial site because what they were trying to do required something the site had. I try to tell them how to do it themself before providing a link to a commercial site, but in some cases it is easier to direct them to a commercial site (I prefer at least two). The example I am thinking of nthis case was the post not to long ago (somewhere) that was asking to IP Address to country codes to autodetect country from a website. There were three solutions, one being very difficult to implement, one that required buying a database from a commercial site, and one requiring software from a website. Should we not answer questions that may lead to the need for commercial software?

Also,
GuestGalkan: I think any site expecting it's forum members to devote their
knowledge, comments, etc to make the site a success, without a little something in return is asking tooo much
Sign me up...my pay rate will go down by um, $0, my advertising fee's will go up by um, $0, and my posts will go down by um, 0. (Heh, to bad, gonna have to find another way to get rid of me )

-Tarwn --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
For my next trick I will pull a hat out of a rabbit (if you think thats bad you should see how the pigeon feels...)

 

[cian]

CC, thx for the compliment. You have poor taste in websites! LOL

Thanks everyone for the comments, very interesting.
Thought this was an excellent point, "the currency of Tek-Tips is information". Never thought about it that way!




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http://www.endamcg.com

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http://www.endamcg.com/macaonghusa

(DRAFT VERSION)

 

[onpnt]

So as my site mainly being a web design business site and not having any tutorials or scripts (which I am working on and will be running soon) is it not appropriate to have in my signature as it is.

I've used the way I've done things in the site for examples before and have gone as far as placing server side code in a reply and then the link to the page and section that references that code for help. I completely see how that is ok and helpful. But is mearly having the link there inappropriate? A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming is not worth knowing.

http://www.onpntwebdesigns.com

admin@onpntwebdesigns.com

 

[cian]

Hi onpnt,

I personally think it's ok in your signature, once you don't go overboard. It seems quite a standard thing to include a link to your site.
But in response to a question is different.

IMO.

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http://www.endamcg.com

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http://www.endamcg.com/macaonghusa

(DRAFT VERSION)

 

[DonQuichote]

About non-commercial links as an answer to a tek-tips question:
I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Some people point to articles on news-sites and I sometimes point to the downloads page of my site if I have a tool that can solve or help someone's problem.
However, it is good practice to describe the link, so that the user knows what he or she is going to be linked to.

to enlighten this: I one encountered (not in tek-tips) a newsgroup message with an "interesting" link about a current subject in the newsgroup, which turned out to be a voting site where you voted by clicking that link. That is a form of abuse.

Best regards

 

[Wullie]

I personally see no problem at all with including a site in your signature, whatever that site may be. That is assuming it is legal and family friendly.

As far as posting links in reply to a thread, I have seen people post links to their own personal website so that a user can get 1 line of code, this to me is totally unacceptable.

In certain circumstances, I also don't see any problem with pointing a user to your own website, commercial or not, if there is no other way to do what they require. A typical post I would deem as inappropriate would be something along the lines of:

Q) How do I do this effect?
A) I am a designer and will charge you a low price for doing that, please go to (link here).


whereas, I would term the following as appropriate:

Q) How do I do this effect?
A) I have a new tutorial on my personal site that explains exactly how to do this, (Link here)


Most of this is down to the person and what they deem as appropriate, what I flag may be acceptable to everyone else in the forum but not to me.

Hope this helps Wullie

sales@freshlookdesign.co.uk

http://www.freshlookdesign.com

http://www.thomsonassociates.co.uk

The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell

 

[garwain]

I don't see a problem with posting a link to a site (yours or otherwise, commercial or otherwise) if it applies to the question you are dealing with. Signatures are a place to tell a bit about yourself. If you have a favorite site, I don't think there's anything wrong with including a link. I would not link to my private sites, or commercial sites in the middle of a message if they don't apply though...

 

[CajunCenturion]

Tek-Tips provides for a personal profile where you can say things about yourself, and the placement of site links and/or other references.

The threads and posts are intended to be non-commercial and IMHO, we should endeavor to adhere to that intent. Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[PerryMc]

Advertising is all around us, most people have learned to tune it out. I can't say I even notice the links some people put in their signatures. As far as links supplied in responses, they should be pertinent to the question. If they are not or they are trying to sell a solution, I thought that was what the Red Flag was for. I've never had to mark a post as inappropriate, though, so maybe I misunderstood its purpose.

Smile anyway,
Perry.