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 <bencub...@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: impact...@aol.com >> Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:25:10 -0400 >> To: altm...@meteorite-martin.de; Meteorite-list@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, >> altm...@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: >> . >> _meteoritecollect...@yahoogroups.com_ >> (mailto:meteoritecollect...@yahoogroups.com) >> >> Please use it. >> >> Anne M. Black >> http://www.impactika.com/ >> impact...@aol.com >> Vice-President, I.M.C.A. Inc. >> http://www.imca.cc/ >> ______________________________________________ >> http://www.meteoritecentral.com >> Meteorite-list mailing list >> Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com >> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > _________________________________________________________________ > Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. > http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222985/direct/01/ > ______________________________________________ > http://www.meteoritecentral.com > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > ______________________________________________ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list