Could someone explain the rationale on a rule?

My biggest frustration on DG (a giant site) is that it is hard to find the plant material I want. Why is it wrong to 'self promote'. I am referring to a lady who was going to do a co-op on hoyas. Now she is selling on ebay for twice what it would have cost me if she had been allowed to do a co-op. What do we care if subscribers self promote any good plants? What is the downside?

Both the seller and the buyer would benefit from co-ops?

Gail, what you are referring to was not actually a co-op, it was not listed on the co-op forum. She was not selling her own material. The cuttings being ordered were from a nursery in Australia. She was just placing a personal order for herself from Australia, handling all the phyto certificates etc. and was going to let others order as well, with her shipping everything out when she received them. She was not promoting or selling her plants here. But, since she does sell on e-bay, she is considered a vendor and I think it is against DG's AUP for vendors to be involved with co-ops or I guess being the "middle man/woman" so to speak.

Vendor's can purchase an ad in Classified's and (I think) sell on the Marketplace. Or, I think someone can contact a vendor to see about setting up a co-op, but the vendors themselves cannot organize it.

I hope I'm not speaking out of term here and that I got it all straight.

What a waste of time that someone else can organize the co-op..........anyway...........it is frustrating to have go bid on ebay and pay twice as much.
Thanks, Lin

For starters, it's against the Acceptable Use Policy.

Why is this against the AUP? Ask yourself how many "plants for sale" posts are you willing to wade through every time you access the forums?

If we allow one, we'd have to allow them all; fair is fair. We can't say we'll only allow the "good" vendors--who decides just who that is? The people you like? What about those you don't? Just because you had a bad dealing with them, or because they're new(er), does that mean they should be discriminated against?

And then there would be the "other stuff" for sale--hey, if we allow plants and seeds to be advertised for free, then how about compost tumblers, bulb augers, weed killer, etc. Sounds good, right?

But then comes the iffy stuff: Nokia phones, knock-off designer purses, bogus vacation offers, work-from-home schemes...the list of possibilities goes on and on. (And yes, we delete posts for this stuff on a daily basis.)

Once we open that door, it opens wide.

Our admin team is basically three people. Between the three of us, we respond to thousands of helpdesk messages each month, edit the articles that get published every day, scour the internet for things like the newsletter quotes, ideas for the voting booth, and the daily Garden History snippets. We assist vendors with their PlantScout listings, plus design, create and program, then test, fill out and edit/correct the features you see here. We help the 'Files admins (Plant, Bug and Bird) with their efforts, handle member (and occasionally vendor) disputes, and make sure the GWD and Go Gardening don't turn into ballot-stuffing contests.

If we allow people to advertise for free in the forums, we would no longer have time to do any of those things. All our resources would be focused on dealing with the complaints from people who don't like ads, and trying to figure out which ads are legit and which ones aren't. Eventually the only people left here would be the spammers and scammers. If you think that's being overly pessimistic, look at any website whose forums are unmoderated and their own rules (like our AUP) are not enforced. Sometimes it's a slow slide downhill, other times they crash and burn fast.

We provide legitimate, garden-related vendors with a veritable smorgasbord of advertising options: free Garden Watchdog listings, low-cost classified ads and Marketplace listings, and PlantScout. For those with larger budgets, there are per-click ads and co-registration opportunities like the free magazine offers we've been able to offer, contest sponsorships, etc.

By keeping advertising out of the forum posts, you can have a more enjoyable time here at DG (which we tend to take for granted when we don't see the daily cleanup that goes on behind the scenes), and not have to worry if someone has a profit motive behind their answers to your questions. And you can find legitimate advertisers quite easily--and know that's what they are, without any confusion.

I am sorry I made you take the time to answer, Terry. When you explain it, it makes good sense. I hadn't even thought of anything but plant material................thanks again...........
I do love DG and admit I am a plant hog!
Thank you for your patience with me.
gail

We sure don't want DG to end up an Advertising site ... nobody wants Spammers & Scammers in this Garden!

I agree totally, Lin. Just got a little 'carried away' in wanting hoyas (LOL)

Gee, is DG hiring? I am terribly in need of a job--unemployed 2 years now and it stinks living in the country with old car!

Wow. Terry's post should be a sticky somewhere. That sure explains it very succinctly and gives us an idea what it's like in the Admin World of DG and the "behind the scenes DG". Mercy, sure is a lot going on and going on endlessly/daily.

I know the answers to a lot of questions pertaining to the why's and why-not's on DG but it sure is an eye-opener to see so much more that goes on.

Much obliged, Terry.

Shoe

Nahh, no sticky for this 'un.

Our efforts are truly a labor of love; I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's great to have a job you really enjoy doing every day ;o)

And...........I love just being a part of DG! DG is the healthiest thing that has happened in my life in the last couple of years. We all love DG or we wouldn't be here.