The subject is not going away and will continue to come around, I guess it's just the nature of these forums,the opportunity it provides, and it's free flowing way of info and ability to post pictures of ones work. I can write all night about this but I won't bore you all.
Some good points have been made here. I hope everyone can come to a conclusion here and realize what goes on, if not, I'll spell it out the best I can.
I'm not here to pick any fights either.
I seem to be the only one with balls enough to say something because I've have had enough and seen enough of the calling out of certain members who salty suspected of some wrong doing as far as the rules of the forum pertaining to commercial selling/spamming. This isn't SOL, their policies and what they allow over there don't apply here. It's pretty clear that without pretty convincing proof that someone went from hobby builder to commercial and wasn't paying the fed. fishing excise tax, that those accusations are pretty much unjustified unless you work for the IRS or the person admits to some kind of spamming or something. Another words, just because someone has a website where they post their own pictures of plugs and also have some plugs posted on the forum or just happens to have plugs for sale someplace, doesn't mean they didn't go thru all the proper channels like paying the excise tax due. ( I also have a sub-website on my own website where I have plugs posted and those same pictures were on here at one time also, that doesn't make me a spammer or a cheat I hope. I have not added to it in years but just thought that might be relevant. I don't sell plugs.
And even if they are not a sponsor, John can only allow just so many sponsors anyway, maybe they asked. There is other possible explanations to things other than jumping to conclusions about spam. Let John decide. Like John says, if anyone(like a sponsor or other) suspects a member of spamming, to contact him rather than commenting with a How much? sarcastic remark type thing.
Striperknight , hopefully there is some happy medium, I don't know where that is but we certainly don't want to get someone mad. Here lies another problem, the lucky few who are paying sponsors have the right to speak up about any others who don't follow the spamming rules, and like I said, that should be done directly with John, not on the forum where it gets ugly.
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Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&
hey Bruce you want it public here it is! I sent you a pm because I didn't feel this belonged online. Since your a moderator and said post it here then hey why not I got NOTHING to hide.
Why should I or Bigfish or Afterhours pay to be a sponsor of this site when guys like Smitty, Sporty, Fishdoc, Charleston, Baystalker, and many many more continually post pictures on here when they're doing nothing but trolling for sales?
Let's take smitty for instance. Every single post he's had with pictures here recently HAS been posted somewhere else including his own website with pictures of the same plugs in packages and for sale. So it's fair to everyone on here for this to keep happening time and time again? We been through this before and it's a sticky at the top of the forum. Not only is it against the site's policy of giving these guys free advertising in some cases these guys are in shops in plain package wrappers, or selling on other private forums here BLATANTLY and also doing it via private messages.
I've seen enough of this bs to last a lifetime. And when I do I'm going to say something. Why anyone would have a problem posting pictures of something if they're not selling or have nothing to hide is beyond me, nor can I understand why you feel it drives people away. I don't even post pictures here anymore because I've heard enough crap about being spam spam spam etc myself.
NO holier than though attitude. MY attitude is if your gonna sell then PAY to be a sponsor, PAY your frickin taxes-state, federal, and excise! Why should any of these guys get to make more money than any advertiser here!
Bruce you or anyone else can flame all you want I couldn't care less. Not one of these guys affects what I do every day but I'm tired of paying through the frickin nose every day when these guerilla marketers play cheat the system behind the scenes.
IT'S NOT FAIR to ANYONE who supports this site. The difference is I got the balls to say it publicly.
RANT OFF
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I didn't bother to answer your rant Scott, because it was just that, a rant and a lot of exaggeration and hearsay. The how much comments didn't belong on here either. I think if you opened your eyes, you'd know how I'd answer, but tunnelvision is hard to see the big picture.
Nope, spam is not fair to any of us here just as the accusations of spam or other stuff without real proof being written on the forum instead of pointed out to John like what was spoken about years ago. It does drive people away and some don't want to be falsely accused so they don't post, don't need the hassle. And just as Nebe says, people don't want their ideas stolen and used so they don't post either. I don't blame them.
The forum is about building plugs to fish with like Numbskull said, I hope we can get back to that.
Karl, I'd post some plugs if I made any, but I have not. Hopefully soon.
I'm not a babysitter, hopefully we can all be adults here. Thanks