No "for sale in for sale forum" posts

As one of the Senior Usual Suspects I had decided to wait a day or two formulating my opinion concerning this very thing.

I'm a gold member who chooses to support the forums with my maximum contribution to help keep this site open where I find myself purusing the Emerson forum many times during each day, both at work and at home.

Rarely have I sold a knife on Bladeforums, but have purchased many. I, like Jackstraw normally don't look at the Custom Knife Forum in the For Sale area due to the majority of the knives having little or no interest for me. We Suspects, as a group, I feel have done a tremendous job of pointing out that knives previously posted here can only be done by those who have premium or Gold status, and I'm sure that with the elevated prices on the customs it has cut down on the "Troll Posters" by keeping the information amongst those of us who are interested in the knives.

I would be interested in hearing from Spark as to what prompted his decision to have Emersons and information concerning a Emerson for sale posted only in the for sale area.
 
J

jackstraw

Joined
Feb 8, 1999
Messages
362
In a previous thread telling visitors to this forum about knives that would be of interest to them, the Super Moderator while acknowledging that his move would not be popular here said that such posts were to be discouraged. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=178456
The reason was that "word on high" provided good reasoning. No such explanation was ever profferred. While I understand and respect the desire to charge for the right to post knives here I am at a loss at the reason the discourage notifying "suspects" of their availability. I am interested in Emersons. I have no interest in the other knives in the for sale forum and having this forum as a venue where other people of like minds can share information not merely on the knives themselves, but on their availability that HAS been paid for...I just don't get it. I am also offended by the intellectual disrespect of justifying it by merely saying it is from on high. How about showing some respect to the people who frequent this forum and keep it in business and at least explaining your decision. I am also dismayed that no one has questioned this yet. This is a bad trend and I am disappointed all around. My respect for the Suspect community tells me the lack of outrage is a function of holiday torpor, otherwise this would never be tolerated quietly. I hope this message is not locked.
 
This makes no sense what so ever to me as the post that was locked was NOT a for sale post, it was a post notifing us that some where for sale. As a paying gold member i don't see why i can not post a Emerson Custom for sale here. I agree someone who has not paid can not be allowed to circumvent the sale forums by posting here but paid gold members should be allowed. I would also like to hear from Spark on this. I have been here since the begining and i thought things were taking a turn for the better but here we go again.
 
Jackstraw,
</b>"I am also offended by the intellectual disrespect of justifying it by merely saying it is from on high. How about showing some respect to the people who frequent this forum and keep it in business and at least explaining your decision."</b>

There was no "intellectual disrespect" and it is not possible for me to "explain my decision," as it was not my decision to make. It's Policy.

I do not set policy, I merely enforce it.
I may agree with that policy or I may not, but 10 years in the military taught me that you NEVER criticise the orders of your "Superior Officers" you merely carry them out. So I offer no opinion one way or the other.

As far as showing Disrespect...
I think azwilly takes the cake.
<b>"I also feel a little ashamed that I didn't post about this the when the "super" first made his post. I guess I feared the almighty ban."</b>

That's possibly the most insulting thing I have ever seen someone say about me on Bladeforums. I don't recall the last time I read something that pissed me off quite so much. Yet you're not banned. How the hell can that be? Perhaps I'm not quite the ass hole you judge me to be.

I would hope that anyone who knows me, from my better than 1000 days here and approxmiately 2,500 posts, countless hours of Usual Suspect chat, hundreds (if not thousands) of emails, and numerous long distance phone calls, that I am a little more even handed and fair minded than that.

I will point this thread out to Spark and he can address your questions or not as he sees fit.

It is not my place to explain Spark's decisions to anyone.
My authority does not extend that far.
 
I articulated these points to Ken after my thread was locked, via private email. I have a high degree of respect for him, and his reply was equally well intentioned. It is clear that this is an edict from the Owner, and I think no bad feelings should attach to the moderator as a result. ("Don't shoot the messenger!")

As always, its Spark's place to do with as he wishes. We've been pretty supportive as a group, and my opinion is we deserve a genuine explanation for this change in policy. Its his absolute right to provide one, or not, as he sees fit.

The point that does need re-emphasis is this: unlike EVERY other forum based knives, custom Emersons are essentially only available on the secondary market. To deny us the chance to give each other a heads up when one appears is, at its base, a harmful act.
 
Jackstraw,
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I missed the original post somehow (probably due to high L-Triptopnine intake). I agree with you. Simply alerting Emerson Forum members to items of interest that appear elsewhere in the Forums or otherwise doesn't make much sense.
It is not verboten to alert others of posts that appear elsewhere in the forums so why would it be that we cannot alert others to posts regarding something for sale? This is disturbing. Does this also mean that we cannot alert forum members of items for sale at locations other than Bladeforums such as Custom dealer sites or retailer sites other than One-Stop-Knife-Shop? Hmmm... I think I get it now. I would still like an explanation from those "on high".
 
HC Leo,
I was also taken aback when this light banter between "nowhere fast" and me was "flagged"
Click to expand...
Posting a comment that is not directly related to the item posted? What were you thinking ? C'mon this is serious business here!
;)
 
I too am discouraged by this turn of events. I totally enjoy the exchange of ideas and opportunities on this particular forum. I also feel a little ashamed that I didn't post about this the when the "super" first made his post. I guess I feared the almighty ban.:(
As for browsing the for sale forums, I personally am tired of the same 3 or 4 individuals(dealers). If you don't know who,, it's very obvious by looking at the frequency of their for sale posts since June. Anyone who saves me time by pointing to a custom Emerson for sale is truly appreciated.:)

Bill
 
Jackstraw,

I believe that the reason why we started posting Emersons for sale here in this forum was to keep the knives in the family so to say. I believe that we've discussed this in the past & there were never any problems. I, like the others here collect & purchase mostly only Emersons.

I value the information being posted here as to what's for sale & how much they're going for. It also gives the newer suspects information about the market price so that he can make an educated decision before buying or selling a Emerson knife.

I rather see a rare custom go to a usual suspect then to someone else buying it up first just to make a huge profit on the sale.

David
 
I, too am a little concerned.

I stand to be corrected but the "Suspects" have been very respectful of Bladeforums, it was several "Suspects" that came to the support of Spark charging a nominal fee on Bladeforums. One can see that most of the USUAL SUSPECTS are paid Gold memembers.

Emerson Forums is the first place I stop by when entering Bladeforums...its kinda like "Cheers"....everyone knows your name.....its the place to get a headsup on things we want....hear how everyone is doing....lending support to fellow Suspects. My primary interest is in Emerson Knives. Getting info. on whats for sale saves me time wading through all the other stuff I have no interest at all.

I was also taken aback when this light banter between "nowhere fast" and me was "flagged"

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178520

No harm was intended no harm was done....so WT$#!@

I hope things lighten up a bit......this use to be a "fun" place to hang out:(
 
I would like to second Jackstraw's comments. I am a paying and active member of the Bladeforums community, but my primary interest is in custom Emerson Knives. I have always looked up on this forum as being the primary and best source of information on these knives.

This information comes in two forms, one the ability to share pictures of the knives we have and to ask questions amongst people who know and love the subject - this I hope - will not change with the new rules.

The second form of information, and the one threatened by this new rule (or new harder interpretation), is a sharing of information on where the customs are for sale. I have always found that the group of Emerson fans called the Usual Suspects have been very free with information when a new knife is posted for sale regardless of location. I believe that if this practice is discouraged the discussion in this forum will suffer as there is usually a good natured discussion and competition around peoples finds. It is important to remember that you cannot order a new Emerson Custom directly, only win the right to purchase one at the various show lotteries. For those collectors that are after the older and more unusual custom pieces I think that a place where “For Sale” information can be shared is priceless.

Please think about this - fellow Emerson custom collectors what are your thoughts?

Regards,

Ed
 
More thoughts on this subject:

This part of Bladeforums is titled the Emerson Knives Forum - I would be interested to know what the offical view of EKI is on this subject?

Regards,

Ed
 
I agree with Jackstraw in that i am only interested in Emersons. I have little or no interest in the other knives for sale. I always thought it was nice that Emersons were offered to the suspects first in our forum. Just my opinion.
 
I also noticed that post and wondered why it was locked. possibly the mention of KF? I dunno....
 
Ken,

Thank you for taking the time to answer this thread. I think that we are all letting off steam at this change of policy for the Emerson Forum at Bladeforums.

I look forward to some input to this thread from Spark and have posted to that effect in the Service and Support Forum. I have also email Emerson Knives to ask for their comments as their name is on this forum and it is Ernest Emerson's products that we are all talking about.

Regards,

Ed
 
Guys,

Let's relax a little here. We are all friends. Yes, I do agree that we should be allow to alert one another on a possible Emerson sale. I don't see anything wrong with that. We are not actually selling in the Emerson Forum.

Ken, Thanks for your explanation. It is appreciated. And I do hope Spark explains his side too. I know in the past there were people trying to sell their customs on the Emerson Forum and were not Gold members. But most of us who do post now are Gold members. We also support this community and speak of it in a positive light. I think that is why the Emerson Family is such a good thing. We do show our support and we come on to BF often. I know I read the forums atleast three times a day.

We can come to a better solution than just being angry at one another.

Liong
 
I appreciate the need and desire to generate traffic (hits) throughout this site. I do occasionally go through the various sale forums, but I lack the time to wade through listings with only a slim chance of finding something of interest. Those of us who are still working, as in not yet "down sized", are putting in more hours than ever. A heads up from members is a real time saver, plus it enables me to avoid the overly aggressive head cases that populate other areas... If someone has PAID to list a knife why allow them this small additional exposure?
 
Just for the record....I have chatted with Ken on the "Usual Suspect" chatroom a few times, have appreciated his comments and wisdom about knife making. I have read many posts he has made on BF.

I know him to be a respectful and honorable guy.Remember he is only the messenger, so dont take any shots at the guy
 
Ok, for what it's worth I can't see the problem with giving Suspects the heads up in this forum. But this is Spark's forum, and he does invest a lot of time and money in keeping it running, so the least we can do is respect his rules right?

Ken is actually a helluva' nice guy (but don't tell him I said that ;) ), he's definately one of us Suspects too, and lets all remember he gives up his time to look after these forums and I suspect he gets precious little reward for his efforts. Of course he has to uphold the rules as Spark dictates.
 
Hey - we ALL know what a great guy, and good friend Ken is. It's unfair of any of us to gang up in him. Like so many of you have said - "don't shoot the messenger". He is just letting us know that Spark has a problem. To be honest, I find that confusing. If someone has paid (JBravo, for example) to be able to post an item in the "For Sale" forums, why is it wrong to let people know about it? It's not a post saying "hey - got a CQC6 for sale, first $1,500 takes it." It's a post saying "I've done the right thing, and posted this Emerson I'm selling in the proper place. Go check it out!" I love Ernie's stuff, and I too appreciate a "head's up" when one comes onto the market - I don't see how alerting us to that fact is a breach of policy, especially when the knife in question is indeed listed in the proper "For Sale" forum. Spark?
 
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