C-Sea members
- Thread starter serpentman
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Afraid for what reason? If you aren't commercial, you have no reason to be "afraid". If you post a thread we believe is in violation, the worst that will happen is you will receive an email from a moderator asking for clarification.
The rules have not changed, and since there are dozens and dozens of "for sale" threads on this forum, I don't believe the vast majority of posters have any reason to be concerned.
MJAnderson
Premium Member
Here is the official 'rule'. Obviously there is a ton of wiggle room in that since anything for sale is a commerical activity. I had read another mods comment that they try to take into account the intent, nature of the seller and frequency of sale but therein lies the problem. What is commerical to one mod might not be commercial to another. Hard goods seem to be held to a higher standard than soft goods since members frequently farm frags and sell them regularly, frequent, and profitably. So the answer is that everything for sale is potentially 'grounds for removal'.
2. COMMERCIAL POSTING: Reef Central exists for the non-commercial exchange of information. Sponsors of this site are given banner space and/or a forum to promote their business in accordance with the sponsor agreement. All other posts or signatures that are deemed to be commercial in nature are a violation of this user agreement and will be removed. As it pertains to the User Agreement, Reef Central defines “commercial post†as knowing and willful posts made by private individuals or businesses, directly or indirectly seeking commerce. Additionally, posts made by individuals or businesses in regard to other commercial activities, in anticipation of direct or indirect economic benefit or relief from the subject activity, will generally be regarded as “commercial.†Recognizing that it is impossible to construct a definition which will satisfy every situation or circumstance, Reef Central reserves the right to determine whether or not a post violates the “intent†of the “commercial post†policy or definition. Violation of this policy will be grounds for removal from our community.
Please note that we use the term commercial to label intent. It has nothing to do with having a business license, a website or a brick and mortar store (although all of those things would get you identified as commercial.
Here's some examples. My LFS had a close out on carbon. I buy 50lbs of the stuff and then offer it for sale here. - commercial; it was purchased with intent to sell
I'm cleaning out my closet and i've got a couple of halides that I'm no longer using so I offer them for sale - not commercial; it's just used gear.
I come up with a recipe for frag plugs so I make 500 of them and offer them for sale here - commercial; just like the first example.
My LFS has a sweet acan colony so I buy it, chop it up and offer it forsale - commercial; selling frags from your tank is fine, buying to chop-shop isn't. If you've got a 300 frag tank and are holding regular sales there's going to be a problem.
We allow occasional hobbyist to hobbyist selling of used gear and frags. We're not here to allow you to setup shop.
Here's some examples. My LFS had a close out on carbon. I buy 50lbs of the stuff and then offer it for sale here. - commercial; it was purchased with intent to sell
I'm cleaning out my closet and i've got a couple of halides that I'm no longer using so I offer them for sale - not commercial; it's just used gear.
I come up with a recipe for frag plugs so I make 500 of them and offer them for sale here - commercial; just like the first example.
My LFS has a sweet acan colony so I buy it, chop it up and offer it forsale - commercial; selling frags from your tank is fine, buying to chop-shop isn't. If you've got a 300 frag tank and are holding regular sales there's going to be a problem.
We allow occasional hobbyist to hobbyist selling of used gear and frags. We're not here to allow you to setup shop.
MJAnderson - what you also need to realize is that we don't work alone. There is almost always a discussion behind the scenes before you see anything.
If we see a problem with your selling tendencies we contact you and talk about it. Usually, that's all that happens. Banning is a last resort, not the first course of action, and almost always based on poor choices made by the user.
If we see a problem with your selling tendencies we contact you and talk about it. Usually, that's all that happens. Banning is a last resort, not the first course of action, and almost always based on poor choices made by the user.
MJAnderson
Premium Member
I can't find many of them because they fall off the page, but I was able to search for the 'baseball bat' one that I did remember the topic and this was the best I could do. Berrguy's response was that if it gets reported, it gets closed.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1412007&highlight=baseball+bats
serpentman
part time superhero
I believe the thread that is being referred to is one that was closed down a month or so ago regarding baseball paraphernalia. At a glance the title looked as though it might be a for sale thread. However, when you read the post, it was just a guy asking if anyone local collected baseball stuff.
serpentman
part time superhero
Better be nice to Ohioans, considering we hold the key to one of the largest reservoirs of fresh water. Sooner or later you "left coasters" will come begging.
serpentman
part time superhero
I know we can't discuss another persons account. However, I think the large source of angst is its a pretty well known fact locally that Erik is not a commercial enterprise. Again, don't have all the facts and am not trying to delve into another persons business. However, he is an active part of our club so his departure (whether temp or permanent) does negatively effect our club.
MJAnderson
Premium Member
The threads are removed. The best you can do is find threads about the threads, and those are closed down.
The problem that I see is that all the stuff that you say goes on behind the scenes isn't obvious to us. What the members of this board sees is the following:
a longstanding member with 4k+ posts posts a thread to sell an (one) item that he made from scratch and used for a number of months before deciding that he didn't want it. His email and PM abilities are revoked, but he can still post. So he posts a thread asking what wrong with what he posted and is banned.
Those are the facts as they are seen by us, the users.
The initial post removal raises a ton of questions because he is not a commerical entity (at least not for manufacturing aquraium items). The item was used for a decent period of time. How is this any different than if I buy a tank, add some baffles and make it my sump, then decide to sell it later. Or if I make a canopy, upgrade my tank and try to sell the canopy. Both of those follow the same pattern as the removed post. So if there is some 'hidden' trigger that made that post stand out, please unhide it so that we can know what is allowable.
Right now there is a big disconnect between the Rule, the Application of the Rule, and how that plays out on the forums.
GSMguy
New member
thats just like the letter to my congressman i keep sending about california. :lol:
Thanks for the clarification, I was pretty clear on the rules but i thought that a restatement here might help to diffuse the tension before more members get themselves into trouble.
last winter this forum was littered with guys selling stuff here that had little commercial operations going i am glad to see that stuff gone, Also i am pretty confident based on my own interaction with BrianD that Eric could come back if we dont all get angry and keep stirring the pot.
serpentman
part time superhero
Probably the best course of action.
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