As a direct result of some confusion and questions related to a couple of important points, I decided to commit these to writing - so that everyone might see, and understand, how these issues are to be treated here at GoodWife. They deal with the following topics:
* Advertising on GoodWife
* Agency Owner Participation on GoodWife
* Competing/Alternative Foreign Bride Boards
* External Links in General
Taking them in order:
Advertising on GoodWife
GoodWife has (or soon will have) paid advertising available to its members. If you wish to advertise with GoodWife, please contact me via email or PM. It is inappropriate for members to use GoodWife Discussion Forums as an advertising medium. We have experienced very little problem with this in the past - but it is worth reiterating that the Discussion Forums should be off-limits to those seeking to advertise their wares.
Agency Owner/Affiliate
Agency owners (and their affiliates) have always been welcomed on GoodWife, and that will not change. We ask that all agency owners (and/or their affiliates) self-report their status (via PM to me), so that we might 'flag' their profiles with the phrase "Agency Owner/Affiliate." Some of you may have noticed that some of the agency owners participating here, those I am aware of, are already identified. This practice is to insure there are no misunderstandings as to possible hidden agendas and later ill-feelings.
Competing/Alternative Foreign Wife Boards
Competing/Alternative Board Owners and their Representatives are welcome to join GoodWife and participate as any other member. Competing Board Owners/Representatives are NOT to use GoodWife as a source for recruiting new members. If they wish to post a link to any alternative competing board, they must agree to post an equal number of references to GoodWife on THAT board/site. If they cannot agree to this, then they must not post links on GoodWife. At any time, if any of the GoodWife/IR management asks them to demonstrate link reciprocity, they shall do so. Failure to do so will result in their GoodWife membership being suspended. This policy applies to links posted in messages, and to any PM's they send.
Posts Containing Links to External Sites
First, a bit of background - GoodWife owners and members have put a great deal of effort in building what we believe is the premier site of its sort on the internet. We further believe that GoodWife members and visitors should offer some consideration for the venue which has been created for their use by not making a habit of providing links to alternative websites - especially those which may be considered competitors to GoodWife. This includes posts on the open forums, and use of the GoodWife Private Messaging system.
GoodWife members are encouraged to provide reference to GoodWife resources wherever possible. In those instances where other websites have superior information, links to external websites are allowed. If a member is observed to be making repeated postings to an external website (or sites), particularly a competing website, the provisions for a Competing Board Owner/Representative will apply.
Please advise of any questions.
- Dan
