Re: Objections to adverts?

From: echack@crl.com (Edmund C. Hack)

Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 00:00:00 +0000

In article <831756178snz@trashcity.org>,
Jim McLennan  <jmclennan@trashcity.org> wrote:
>I've been reading this group for a few months now, and it would
>seem to be the case that Greg is the only person who seems to
>have, basically, minimal tolerance for adverts. This opinion is
>entirely up to him. However, since his views seem to be radically
>out of step with the majority of users here, it seems clear that
>he is in no position to attempt to enforce his views by flaming
>people who breach his ludicrously stringent guidelines.
>
The "guidelines" on Usenet news usage have been evolving over time. At
one point, before the Internet was spun off into a commercial entity
(i.e. when the NSF ran the backbones in the US and the overseas links)
there was an explicit ban on commercial ads, except for employment. (Of
course, Usenet is not Internet, and vice versa.)

Now, however, since the majority of users seem to be obtaining access via
commercial channels, the guidelines have evolved to this:
 - if a .marketplace groups exists, ads go there.
 - if the charter prohibits it, no ads.
 - in the absence of this, ads are generally allowed if they are:
     - factual and to the point
     - short, a paragraph with an invite to email for more info or a URL
     - free of flames
     - infrequent, once every 8 weeks or so, or if a major change is made
       in the product or service.

Since the r.g.pbm charter is lost in the mists of time, there appears to
be no ban on ads. A moderator announcing a playtest is certainly within
the "guidelines". Ads posted weekly are not. The ad should be low key and
infrequent. Unsolicited Email is a major no-no.

A sample follows:

Subject: (Ad) Games from PBM Whizzos

PBM Whizzos offers two games to our customers:
 - Supra Beetles, an SF game where autos have come to life and are in a
giant demolition derby.
 - Find the Potato, a fantasy role playing game set in Ireland. You play
either an Irish Druid seeking the last healthy potato to raise and
nurture, or a Roman Centurion, looking for it so you can invent Fish and
Chips.

For information, email us at PBMWhizzos@really.big.net.com or see our web
page, http://www.bignet.com/~whizzos

--
Edmund Hack - echack@crl.com - Houston, TX
"Watching their faces, I was turning over aces." - Al Stewart

References

Objections to adverts?
Jim McLennan <jmclennan@trashcity.org>
Fri, 10 May 1996 00:00:00 +0000