Is it really Spam if.....

[T. Erdelyi]

Is it really Spam if your tryin' to help someone with a link?

So what's the policy, people often ask where to get paticular knives, I sometimes try to point out a good deal because I like to help.

I don't endorse a site, I tell everyone to decide for themselves, I have no affiliations but I like a lot of the Custom And Production Makers who frequent the forums, where's the fine line between Spam and Info.

Do we point out a site and let people look for themselves or do we link a patiticular page with a specific item?

Link to Purveyors, or only Makers or Manufacturers, everytime I post a link with info I'm always careful not to be mistaken for Spamming but how do I really know how to phrase my reply?

Do we need yet another place where people who don't have the gumption or intelligence to look on the internet for a good deal, and have other Forumites post where to look for those same people without worrying about being designated a Spammer and fear of banning?

Just a question, seems like I have more questions than answers these days.

 

[Sword and Shield]

Hmm. I would say it's not Spam, as you are not trying to gain in any way. I'm sure an esteemed Mod will be along, though.

 

[BlindedByTheLite]

it would appear that it is considered spam since my thread was edited and titled "Spam Alert" for posting a link to a particular knife on sale that's popular around here..

even tho the rules state -

What can I post on BladeForums.com?
Any knife (or otherwise approved topic) related information, questions, answers, or opinions that follow basic common courtesy. Simple enough?

they also state -

Advertisements, Commercials, or Billboards.
These posts are not welcome anywhere other than the For Sale (or Trade) forums, and follow certain restrictions even then. Contact the Webmaster for more information on Advertising in the For Sale forums.

Commercials and Billboards refer to posts that are thinly disguised as an attempt to increase sales to a vendor, dealer, or retailer. Commercials tend to have detailed descriptions of a product, posted ostensibly to "inform" the potential customers, while Billboards tend to be pictures with a short description. Either way, they are not welcome.

and i guess that's what my post was deemed to be. what i said was "Hey this knife is on sale for this price for this long so if you've wanted one now is a good time." or something along those lines.

i didn't think it was spam, but now i know that it's considered an offense of the rules. odd to me, but i'm not trying to get banned from one of my top 3 favorite sites on the internet, so i'll leave sales to myself from now on.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

BlindedByTheLite, I didn't see your actual post,(saw it after it was edited by a Mod) but the only difference between what you did and someone saying that Walmart or Target has SAK Pioneers on sale for $10 is the link to the site, I've been guilty of the same thing so maybe if we have a link specific sites for a knife on sale it needs to be dealt with offline by PM or E-Mail.

I never thought about the difference between helpful info and spam until I saw your post, that's what promted this one.

 

[Julian Elliot]

The mods are probably being extra-vigilant at the moment because there has been a rash of hard-core spamming lately. Hopefully, that will come to an end, and helpful posts by real members will get a bit more slack.