[meteorite-list] (No More) One-Ad Per Week Rule - with link to Art's original message

From: Jason Utas <meteoritekid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:14:34 -0700
Message-ID: <93aaac890910151814w520d2401ua3a08a936f9406fb_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hello All,
I'm not saying it's necessarily a good or bad thing, but - first-off,
it seems like we should clear up some misconceptions. I just went
through the list archives and turned this up:

http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/meteorite-list/2006-November/028708.html

There you have a copy of the original message that Art sent back in
2005. He actually does state fairly clearly that ads "should" be
limited to one per week. The problem there is the wording - "should"
doesn't imply that they will actually be limited to
one-per-seven-days, and it doesn't mean that someone will get kicked
off of the list of they overdo it.

I would go so far as to say, however, that one who does not limit ads
to one per week *is* going against list policy.
That much seems clear.

I will not judge as to whether or not what has been happening is good
or bad; personally, I find the ads annoying, but I also recognize the
fact that whether or not I find them annoying is entirely irrelevant.

Do I believe that there are currently certain list members who are
using the list exclusively for their own financial gain?

Yes.

Is this a bad thing?

- Only if they exploit it in such a way that in doing so they hurt the
educational aspect of the list.

Now, as to whether or not this has been happening is open to debate,
but what seems clear is that some people are annoyed, and, I think I
would go so far as to say that rules have been broken.

Now, I'm not a stickler for rules, so saying that someone is "breaking
the rules" isn't *necessarily* a bad thing.

However, I would point out the fact that common courtesy would dictate
that such rules should be adhered to - insofar as that particular rule
was added by Art because of problems - problems exactly like this - in
the past. Whether or not you like Cottingham's meteorites or prices
has little to do with whether or not he is being considerate in is
rampant postings. And I agree with what another list-member said
about learning a great deal from the variety of specimens in his
store. In fact, I bought something from him yesterday, and am elated
about the deal. But one must realize that if he posted ads
once-weekly, those pictures and specimens would still be there, and
one could still see the specimens at his or her leisure.

To get to the point - while I do not believe it my place to criticize
someone for posting "too much," he is technically breaking list
policy. As are others.

Would it be an issue if people weren't complaining?

No.

But there are rule-abiding (and rule-breaking) list-members who have a
problem with what he's doing, and it is against the rules, so it's an
issue, and one that must be dealt with.

Someone [Bill, others] should talk to Art about the matter if they
have a problem with it. All of this anti-Cottingham posting is just
giving him more publicity, which is exactly what he wants, if I'm not
mistaken.

I believe this is a situation in which Art should feel obliged to act;
list policy has been stated - and is now being broken, and certain
people are angry about it. This seems like a pretty clear-cut
situation.
And if he doesn't act, there's really nothing to be done. I suppose
you could boycott certain sellers, kick them out of the IMCA, that
sort of thing, but those are issues for people to deal with
personally, or within the IMCA, as they see fit. As a non-member, I
can't speak for how they would act, and doubt that he is breaking any
of their policies, but feel unqualified to comment.

Regards,
Jason

On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 4:09 PM, Howard Steffic <bencubbin at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> One ad per person per week is my vote,
>
> Also, if this fails I am willing to sign on to Gary's idea of posting an ad everytime the spammer violates the unwritten rule. ?Will 900 people do this? ?No, but maybe enough will to break the back of this spammer.
>
> Howard Steffic
>
>
>> From: Impactika at aol.com
>> Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:25:10 -0400
>> To: altmann at meteorite-martin.de; Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] (No More) One-Ad Per Week Rule
>>
>> In a message dated 10/15/2009 2:39:26 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
>> altmann at meteorite-martin.de writes:
>> Hi Dean,
>>
>> Simple minds like me need simple questions:
>>
>> 1 Ad per Week and person?
>>
>> XXXX- Yes
>> - No
>> - I don't care
>>
>> ....soooo difficult it isn't, is it?
>> ------------------------------------------------
>>
>> YES!
>> ONE ad a week at most, any week, anyone.
>>
>> This site is supposed to be about exchanging information about meteorites,
>> learning, and helping new people learn.
>>
>> Apparently you have all forgotten that if you want to post more ads, there
>> is a mailing list specifically for that, as a reminder here it the address:
>> .
>> _MeteoriteCollectors at yahoogroups.com_
>> (mailto:MeteoriteCollectors at yahoogroups.com)
>>
>> Please use it.
>>
>> Anne M. Black
>> http://www.impactika.com/
>> IMPACTIKA at aol.com
>> Vice-President, I.M.C.A. Inc.
>> http://www.imca.cc/
>> ______________________________________________
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Received on Thu 15 Oct 2009 09:14:34 PM PDT