I have had the feeling that there are more disingenuous "members" on this forum lately: accounts that only exist to drive traffic to cruddy websites cashing in on people's interest in tea. I don't blame our noble moderator: he has stated that Adagio has a pretty loose policy about what happens on these boards, and I feel like he's done a good job walking that line.
But I do have this request for Teachat members:
Please take a look at people's profile pages, post history, and/or linked websites before replying to their posts. I'm sure I don't have to elaborate about red flags that indicate someone does not intend to be a good-faith participant in this community. I know people here are generally a helpful bunch, and eager to respond to questions, but if you have good reason to think that a poster is just trying to cash in, let's allow their posts to sink to oblivion, unanswered.
Aug 19th, '13, 16:14
Posts: 470
Joined: Jan 23rd, '07, 14:50
Location: Philadelphia
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Evan Draper
Aug 19th, '13, 22:21
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Re: Gripe about spammers
Members are welcome to tip me off of a potential "problem child." I may already be watching him/her but can always use an extra set of eyes.
It gets difficult to deal with someone who is obviously in it for themselves while not breaking any rules. Sometimes I give them the benefit of the doubt while watching activity closely. But I do get out the rule book in such cases and have been told that I am "rather strict" ... oh well.
Usually after realizing they are not going to get a free and easy ride here, they lose interest ... and fade away. Or they cross the line and get booted.
It can be challenging to find the right balance w/o abusing power.
It gets difficult to deal with someone who is obviously in it for themselves while not breaking any rules. Sometimes I give them the benefit of the doubt while watching activity closely. But I do get out the rule book in such cases and have been told that I am "rather strict" ... oh well.
Usually after realizing they are not going to get a free and easy ride here, they lose interest ... and fade away. Or they cross the line and get booted.
It can be challenging to find the right balance w/o abusing power.
Re: Gripe about spammers
hmm... It's always best to give people the benefit of the doubt, unless they break a rule.Maybe they are new-ish to tea and only know a handful of websites, that they think are good, and don't know any better? Or maybe they post about other sites looking for more experienced advice.
ex.
I recently started a thread, about a probably crappy (compared to what enthusiasts probably use) yixing pot, looking for advice as I am new to chinese tea and teaware. I weighed the responses and went ahead with a the purchase because it seemed like it would be ok. I am no expert but... I will say the tea pot works rather well and doesn't leak and functions much better than I was expecting. Did I drive traffic to a crappy seller? Possibly. But we are all adults here and are responsible for our own purchasing decisions.