Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - So that everyone is on the same page about Advertising...

I want to clarify the advertising policy on S-B so people know what is acceptable and what is not.

Sponsors - The only true commercial entities that are allowed to advertise their wares on this website. That means that it is OK for Captain Bill of Bill -n- Jules to post a fishing report or for M&D's/CapeCodTackle to post a fishing report is they so chose. That means it is OK if Hab's Custom Plugs wants to advertise their product and the locations to get them (even places that are not sponsors here). If Joe from SRI wants to say he got a shipment of Bernzys in, he can post it up.

Non-sponsors - Those who own, represent, are affiliated with, or extremely chummy with a company - especially marine/fishing/boating/recreational - that is NOT an official sponsor here and those that sign up with the intention of "helping" a friend announce a product, are VERBOTEN, no way no how. Why? Our selectsponsors help keep the lights on. We are selective on who we allow for sponsors in both location and product quality. I think S-B has some of the best & nicest members out there and deserve excellent sponsors and it is in your best interest that you all have the best sponsors on this site. I also think it works well for our sponsors to have the potential of a great group of class (mostly) people to advertise to. We have the best sponsors because they are people I have personally dealt with and would recommend to you or small local businesses that have been highly recommended to me by a lot of you. The newest likely soon to be addition of NJTackle was our first POLL of a quality potential sponsor :btu: . As much as my wallet would appreciate the 5 requests for sponsorship I get EVERY WEEK, I don't want to flood everyone with ads, have 80 sponsors, and saturate the boards with Buy Me links. I think we strike the right balance for all of you.

If you are not a sponsor and you :spam: us or encourage some to :spam: us, you will be found and digitally spindled, humiliated, and made the fool that you are :hihi: - And were pretty good at figuring out when we're getting spammed. So I cordially invite those that want to :spam: us to not :spam: us.

For those non-sponsors that have commercial ventures and participate as members here on the board please remember that without official sponsorship, contact by Private Message, E-mail, or other ways as a result of this board does go against our policy. This has always been this way. PLEASE keep it open and honest and not promote your business or take advantage of the openness of S-B and our members to make a buck...

For everyone else? Same as always, you get a good deal at a tackle shop that isn't a sponsor? No problem as long as you are not schlepping stuff for a friend. You like a particular product that is not a sponsor, fine. Someone asks where to get left handed eddy creating waders? I would like to see our sponsors get a look but mentioning other sites and shops is fine. Someone asks where to get a somethingorother and you say you saw a sale on the other site, that's OK. In fact, you can even mention the name of the othersite(s) around here without fear of being edited out.

What we don't need is spamming, spamming for others, or a general disregard for the rules... I hope all this doesn't seem to harsh, just trying to keep S-B open, free, and honest - that's all...

Thanks!

John