Even after all of the argumentation in this post, I've still gotta believe that MadRat did no wrong in correctly clarifying the description of that sale.
Let's think for a second about the current system and also what would happen if the system were modified a bit to allow at least certain posts similar to MadRat's. In the current system, there have been problems in the past with what Russ describes as Pricewatch Snarfs, people who get odd enjoyment out of trying to look smart by saying dumb things. While this type of activity seems to have decreased quite a bit lately, I'm assuming that the mods still read most, if not all threads, making sure that no one has "crapped on" someone's thread (this seems accurate since they jumped on MadRat). If the mods were to somehow miss one, I have no doubt at all that numerous people would point out this most flagrant faux pas. When someone is caught for doing this, they are punished in some way, and perhaps even banned. This seems to work fine, except that there is at least some doubt as to what should happen if a good, upstanding member of the forum were to point out that a seller/trader has, purposely or not, incorrectly described his product. Under the current system, this seemingly good act would be treated as a very bad one, and the person who committed it would be punished (and maybe even banned if they did it enough, who knows). Somehow, that just doesn't seem right.
Now let's think about a slightly different possible system. In this system, the stupid, annoying, obvious Pricewatch threads would still be illegal. However, it would now be possible for a well-intentioned person to provide information and possibly even correct a seller. If this were to happen, the mods would still have plenty of work, as they would still read at least most of the threads. However, instead of assuming that any post that provides information in a for sale/trade thread must be bad, they might stop and think about it a bit. If it's obviously bad, punish the person somehow. If not, let it stay. If the mods miss a post, and someone says something incorrect, or does something dumb, there is a nearly infinite number of well-informed people who I'm sure would not hesitate to correct him. I'm assuming that the mods are hardware-savy enough to deliniate the valid, informative posts from blatent stupidity (if not, I really think they should be). Not only would this system help to prevent some uninformed person from getting screwed, but it would also help to stop some of the "you can only post what we want you to post" type of attitude that the mods seem to be taking. Under this system, both buyers and sellers might even learn something from reading their posts.
You've all been making nice, general arguments about why all posts that don't directly pertain to buying and selling are bad. But the thing that's been ignored is the indesputible (in my mind at least) fact that MadRat did nothing wrong. His intentions were good, he pointed out valid information, and he may have even helped someone learn something. I can't believe that he sould be punished for that.
Let's think for a second about the current system and also what would happen if the system were modified a bit to allow at least certain posts similar to MadRat's. In the current system, there have been problems in the past with what Russ describes as Pricewatch Snarfs, people who get odd enjoyment out of trying to look smart by saying dumb things. While this type of activity seems to have decreased quite a bit lately, I'm assuming that the mods still read most, if not all threads, making sure that no one has "crapped on" someone's thread (this seems accurate since they jumped on MadRat). If the mods were to somehow miss one, I have no doubt at all that numerous people would point out this most flagrant faux pas. When someone is caught for doing this, they are punished in some way, and perhaps even banned. This seems to work fine, except that there is at least some doubt as to what should happen if a good, upstanding member of the forum were to point out that a seller/trader has, purposely or not, incorrectly described his product. Under the current system, this seemingly good act would be treated as a very bad one, and the person who committed it would be punished (and maybe even banned if they did it enough, who knows). Somehow, that just doesn't seem right.
Now let's think about a slightly different possible system. In this system, the stupid, annoying, obvious Pricewatch threads would still be illegal. However, it would now be possible for a well-intentioned person to provide information and possibly even correct a seller. If this were to happen, the mods would still have plenty of work, as they would still read at least most of the threads. However, instead of assuming that any post that provides information in a for sale/trade thread must be bad, they might stop and think about it a bit. If it's obviously bad, punish the person somehow. If not, let it stay. If the mods miss a post, and someone says something incorrect, or does something dumb, there is a nearly infinite number of well-informed people who I'm sure would not hesitate to correct him. I'm assuming that the mods are hardware-savy enough to deliniate the valid, informative posts from blatent stupidity (if not, I really think they should be). Not only would this system help to prevent some uninformed person from getting screwed, but it would also help to stop some of the "you can only post what we want you to post" type of attitude that the mods seem to be taking. Under this system, both buyers and sellers might even learn something from reading their posts.
You've all been making nice, general arguments about why all posts that don't directly pertain to buying and selling are bad. But the thing that's been ignored is the indesputible (in my mind at least) fact that MadRat did nothing wrong. His intentions were good, he pointed out valid information, and he may have even helped someone learn something. I can't believe that he sould be punished for that.
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