"Commercial" Forum

[Anonymous]

Jeff,

A few months back you were thinking about adding one of these. I would love it, as I have a small business with items that I think DCUMs would like and appreciate hearing about. I'd like to be able to post when we get new things in, or have specials, etc. I know that some people have been posting about their businesses, and that you allow a little leeway, but a forum would be great. That way if people are not interested, they can just ignore! Maybe call it DCUM businesses???

Thanks for considering,

Wendy
www.cattiwampus.com

[Anonymous]

I think it's a horrible idea = sorry.

[Anonymous]

a horrible idea? WHY? i think just posting " horrible idea" is a horrible idea -- explain yourself!

[Anonymous]

I, too, think it's not a good idea. It would change the character of this site. I don't like unsolicited stuff coming my way. I call it 'unsolicited' in the sense that it may take up many spots on the 'recent topics' section that I go to first.

I'm already a little annoyed by the chefj 'barbeque and fresh summer veggies' topic.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I think it would remove posts such as ChefJ or the baby concierge in forums where they don't belong, and though you may not be interested (like I never view the nanny section) others might appreciate seeing great deals and patronizing local businesses.

[Anonymous]

I think that it's a good idea that commerical posts are posted in a separate forum. This way the self-advertising would be more transparent. When I see random, unsolicited posting about how great a certain entertainer, baby nurse or venue is - it makes me wonder if it was posted by a satisfied customer (who just wanted to share her good experience) or by the business itself. I'm just talking about the unsolicited ones - like, I just hired the greated baby nurse and her name and contact number is.... when there was no initial posting asking for a recommendation. I know JSteele does a great job of moderating and identifying sock-puppets, but maybe this will help by reducing those types of threads, in the first place. If there was a place that people could self-promote, they may not need to do it in disguise.

[Anonymous]

I hate the idea, but if it does happen, I would request that the "commercial forum" posts NOT come up under "Recent Posts".

Otherwise, the board will be hijacked by commercials.