Skip to main content

23 replies

Concerns about advertising/spamming on the HSBBWeb

MN-MomMN-MomHSBaseballWeb Owner
There have been several posts recently regarding concerns about businesses which drop by the High School Baseball Web only to promote an event or service. I am terribly busy with my job right now and don't have time to write a thorough, well-thought-out response on the subject, but still wanted to share a few thoughts on the topic:

1. No advertising in these forums. Yes, at least one or two businesses recently appear to have broken this rule by posting large numbers of notices related to their business. This is a somewhat gray area. As the owner of the website, I welcome informational posts about events which might be helpful to our members. So how many posts would be advertising or SPAM? Also, what does a baseball business need to "contribute" here in order to earn the right to share info with us about their event or business? I'll state what has been stated before:

2. It's not about money! When well-seasoned members talk about a business owner "contributing" here before promoting their business, they are referring to contributions of unselfish advice and information, shared from experience. Paying for an advertising banner does NOT entitle the advertised business to spam our members by placing multiple notices about for-profit events. Take a quick look at the businesses who do sponsor forums currently - they DO NOT spam our members! In fact, they show admirable restraint. Also, I accept very few advertisers of the ones who inquire. Several recently who have gotten scolded for spamming/advertising have then said "okay, I'd like to pay for an ad". No thanks, that's not how it works. No business will be given permission to spam our membership for any price, and a past history of spamming is not a very positive indicator of future behavior.

3. I don't care if this sounds biased: Don't mess with PG or Fungo! I read a couple of nasty comments in the Northwest forum today and it really irritates me. Both PG (the owner and the organization) and Fungo (c'mon, just look at his title) have earned my personal respect and admiration, as well as the respect and admiration of many, many folks who have been around here for years. If you haven't been around long enough to understand what they mean to the High School Baseball Web, please do some reading here and you will learn a lot.

So, what should we do about this current concern?

I'll be talking with a few members and seeking some input on the issue, and we will probably be deleting some posts and explaining the policy again to any businesses who seem to have missed the rule! If any member has specific concerns or suggestions, feel free to send me a Private Message or e-mail me at jas@pclink.com. Thank you!

Julie
Last edited {1}
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

H HiHardHeat1,000+ posts
Excellent outline of what should be simple common sense on the part of any RESPECTABLE business venture.

If they don't respect the rules of the forum, then how could you trust them anyway. This website was built on the backs of the very old-timers (I ain't that old) who have struggled to learn and to share. Attempting to capitalize on their credibility is reprehensible.
ClevelandDadClevelandDadHSBBWeb Administrator
I second KellerDad - great post!

I think there are alter-ego posters out there as well that are blatantly transparent about shilling for the respective spammers. I often get the feeling they are one and the same with the spammers. We are not stupid.

Regarding point #3, lafmom wrote a beautiful response in the nw forum regarding what Fungo and PG mean to this site.
L lafmom5,000+ posts
CD - Thanks for the sweet words which are too kind. When I posted those thoughts, I truly wanted to express how many folks feel about others here and what this site means to people. I feel very protective of many posters here, but certainly don't want to appear "closed" to new folks that come along. Just as in the real world there are rules and expectations that we all have to follow. We need to respect the rules of the website. There are tons of people that do a great service here giving of their time and they should be respected for doing so. Applause to Julie for her wonderful thoughts - very well said!
W windmill100+ posts
My 2 cents??? This is a dictatorship, not a democracy...MN-Mom: if you don't like something - TAKE IT OFF! People being nasty?? Delete them and their posts. You don't want to spend all your time cleaning up our mess, but feel free to delete anything you dont't like/find offensive/breaks the rules/is selling stuff, etc. We'll all be better off for it.

There are no first ammendment rights on this web site, as far as I am concerned - It's a privilege, not a right.

Thanks for all you and the others do.

TW
FungoFungoHighly Regarded and Beloved Old Timer
MNMom,
My apologies. I should have nipped this in the bud a long time ago. This is really my fault. I was trying to get the original poster to contribute to the HSBBW and then one thing led to another. I personally like to read a post now and then about a “baseball business” and who’s involved in the business and how it’s working. I think we all agree that most young players are involved in private lessons of one kind or another, showcases, and some even use a recruiting service. So, where do we draw the line and when does information become advertisement? Maybe it’s when we start feeling used or pressured into something (like multiple posts)?? The HSBBW does accommodate camps and training centers and provides a section where the player or parent can link to various websites. Listed training centers
Maybe the “spammer” could be directed to the main website for acceptance (or rejection) to the appropriate section to display his/her link and then that particular "spam post" be closed without dialouge...or...just delete the post and IM the spammer with directions??
Fungo
observer44observer441,000+ posts
.

While I am relative newbie here and will often simply stay silent and defer to my seasoned "old timers"...and while I understand that for this same newbie reason I have little place giving observation on site policy...I am going add my observation...

I don't have a problem with some very soft quasi marketing (as is already done here periodically) but please contribute for a few hundred posts first, add to the community, give me something. In the business world this is called Moose Gorilla marketing.

Don't tell us what you got, show me. Contribute. Make me WANT to use your business becasue I am so imprerssed with the insight of your posts. In this particular instance the poster is in my backyard, and the number of HSBBW posters in our area has exploded. Frankly, a solid contribution from a poster with his backgound and experience would/would have gone a long way tward bringing him business. The blasts were not really needed.

Fungo....

I laud your desire to shepherd new posters who might be significant contributors. Thanks. Now, I'll also take the optimism to the next step. Being the idiot/optimist I am I am going to believe that he didn't know better and will arrive here soon with some exceptional insights and contributions.


Cool
Last edited by observer44
MN-MomMN-MomHSBaseballWeb Owner
Fungo,

No apology necessary! I saw that you were trying to educate one member who did multiple posts, and I thought your comment to him about sharing his knowledge and experience here, rather than using this as a free ad to pull people to his site for the information, was very appropriate.

I do believe that sometimes new members just make a few mistakes before they learn what our community is all about. And you and others are echoing my thoughts - I enjoy reading about our members who have baseball businesses, and I think that many of them have something to offer here, both by posting advice and anecdotes, AND by letting our members know about their events and services.

After I saw your post a few days ago I meant to ask your opinion, and some of the other Old Timers', about where we should draw the line (but my job has been crazy!). The no-advertising rule is always going to have gray areas - the main thing is, we just don't want everyone to have to be annoyed by seeing repetitive advertising here in the forums. But maybe we can set some basic guidelines, like only allowing a maximum of two threads which can be posted about their event, AND, don't just come here to promote your business or event - participate unselfishly here.

Thanks everyone, for your thoughts and input. The brief guidelines I mentioned above are just suggestions off the top of my head, and open to discussion. Moderators, feel free to take the action you think is necessary on multiple posts like those that prompted concern recently. I would appreciate it if you would let me know about posts you've deleted for that reason, so that there's one central person made aware if it is happening multiple times with the same member (or the same event/business promoted by "different" members). Wink
08Dad08Dad1,000+ posts
One of the things I appreciate the most about HSBBW is the generosity of many of the posters, sharing their experiences with those of us that are on way up.

This very much includes people like Fungo, Lafmom, the other old timers, and all of the people who have already posted in this thread.

As for the spammers, I am of the opinion that these posts should be deleted and we should all just move on. If they want to post in the announcements board, that is what that board is for. Other boards are for discussions - and that implies both giving and taking.

As for Leachy, he spammed multiple boards that I read in addition to HSBBW. So delete them all - and remove his access.

As for Sacto BB, I would considering pulling his account as well - but probably put him on probation pending another incident...
justbaseballjustbaseball10,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by observer44:
I don't have a problem with some very soft quasi marketing (as is already done here periodically)...


Really? OK...fellow posters, please write your Congressmen and tell them that NASA is a great organization and needs more funding. Big Grin

Oops, this is a baseball site. noidea

Seriously...Fungo and PGStaff and others are the best and why I keep coming back to this site. PGStaff - you should hire Fungo if you were a little wiser. Wink Thanks MN-Mom for all your hard work and caretaking of this site. You're the best too! clap
infielddadinfielddad10,000+ posts
MN-Mom(Julie), Without doubt, the HSBBW is tops. One of the reasons, IMO, is that Bob and you have an unbelievable sense of fairness and a spectacular view of allowing the site to take care of itself and deal effectively with issues as they arise, including this commercial business issue where they post in most every forum.
I know that most of us have neither your sense of fairness or balance...and that is why the site is so great.
Not sure if you are up for suggestions that might allow you to be decisive but still protect the fairness concept that is so critical. With that said, I would suggest you consider that any business/for profit/seeking business type of post be permitted but be focused into one forum. Since there is already one for tournaments/showcases, perhaps that could be expanded to incorporate any type of "for a fee" advertising. Post in any other forum and that would allow the moderator/you to immediately delete the post. Free speach and fairness are protected and abuse minimized.
If it were me, I would delete them all and maybe include in the deleted items something that might well be of benefit.. That is why you are so great. You would prefer to take the spams/junk in hopes there will be one to benefit some players and your view is clearly the right one, without doubt. Thanks for all you do and for doing it so well. Smile
Last edited by infielddad
MN-MomMN-MomHSBaseballWeb Owner
Thanks everyone for your input and kind words. As many have noted, the "no advertising" rule sometimes seems pretty clear cut, but other times it gets gray and foggy. I was beginning to wonder if I should post the violins I'm selling on here rather than on eBay, LOL! Just kidding of course, but I have usually needed to delete about one post per month from a new member wanting to let us know about all the bats or other equipment he has for sale on eBay.

I just wanted to say again, I really appreciate all the parents, coaches, AND baseball business owners who participate here and give so unselfishly of their experience and wisdom. You guys - and gals - are the greatest!

Julie

Add Reply

Post
.

Membership Required

We're sorry. You must be signed in to continue. Sign In or Register
×
Are you sure you want to remove from your Block List?
×
Loading...
×
When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.
Note: if you proceed, you will no longer be following .
×
Advanced Search
Advanced Search
Link copied to your clipboard.
×