<ad>excellent german online shop</ad>

Yes, it does.

I (and I'm not alone) made the vow to never buy from stores that get enthusiastic reviews from new posters who:

1) Don't comply to the newsgroup's chart (NO ADS!!!!!!) 2) Haven't read the FAQ or the previous posts; 3) Haven't contributed to this forum.

This site/store is forever on my black list.

I did in fact _not_ post an ad, I as a customer recommended a tea shop. It's not my shop (in fact its about 600 km from where I live which is easy to check) and I am in no way related to this shop. Recommending sources for products (without any profit interest) which are subject of a newsgroup are _never_ and _nowhere_ regarded as ad/spam in the usenet.

What makes you think I haven't? In fact I have checked thru the FAQ if it contains anything about mentioning shops. It doesn't. If there should be a group charta prohibiting what I did, I will apologize in public and cancel my posting.

Maybe I post less than you, but I have been posting for a couple months. I hope it doesn't hurt too bad if you fall off this high horse you're riding on.

They will surely survive that.

I am not entirely sure _what_ you are full of up to the neck... anyway: get well soon!

All the best, Ralf

ok, if you refer to the title of my posting, you have overseen the invisible ;o) regarding the ... - my mistake...

Not only your title says it an advertisement, the content of your post is exclusively and entirely a "public announcement of, especially to proclaim the qualities or advantages of (a product or business) so as to increase sales".

You can argue as much as you want that:

1) your home is far away from this shop; 2) you are not the owner of this shop; 3) your post is not an ad because you say so;

Or it's "ok" for you to post ads here because :

4) you didn't know what you were doing; 5) you expressed some remorse; 6) it was some kind of very subtle joke; 7) it was only a silly mistake; 7) your few previous posts were not ads; 8) you don't like me catching you; 9) ...

Or any other excuse you can come up with.

The fact is you knowingly posted a forbidden ad and hoped you would get away with it.

On 02 Sep 2003, Julie C. climbed into "rec.food.drink.tea", opened the box of crayons and scribbled the following:

"Forbidden" and "knowingly" are such strong words considering that there is NO WHERE in the FAQ [to which pointers are posted multiple times a year] that states anything about the content of posts made to this group. Ralf says he read it before posting his message to make sure. Did you?

Or have you a different written source for your assertion that it's "forbidden"? I know it's been disparaged in this group and has been for years, but in the last 6 years, I have seen NOTHING in writing that specifically "forbids" what Ralf did - and that includes the charter from 1995.

Vendors who post here get verbally thrashed for doing so, but many have shared their favorite or recently discovered vendors with the group.

Derek

You are Debbie Deutsch, escaped from my killfile. What prize do I win?

*plonk*

N.

Considering the repeated recommendations for *US* vendors here, I can hardly take this seriously. Though I see you are actually posting from Canada.

I for one will welcome more recommendations for European, Asian, African or Australian vendors.

J> Ralf Schre> > Hope this does not annoy anyone...

that get

On 02 Sep 2003, Debbie Deutsch appeared before the congregation in "rec.food.drink.tea" assembled, and proclaimed:

Is this where some rottenik should insert a "bad psychology" comment about multiple personalities generally NOT knowing one another? ;)

Derek

"Joanne Rosen" wrote in news:yZ85b.16763$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net:

Advertising is when someone connected with a business posts an article about that business for the sole purpose of selling things. I haven't heard any objections to regular newsgroup members spontaneously telling folks about great finds. That's not advertising. It also isn't advertising when someone asks a question about where to buy something and someone else answers.

If people advertised without restraints in this newsgroup, your opinion about whether that was good or not might be different. Happily, there are special newsgroups (ending with .marketplace) where people who want to buy and sell can do so without overwhelming other traffic. I would be totally in favor of a rec.food.drink.tea.marketplace newsgroup if there were a move to form one.

If Julie and I were alone in our position, that would be clear to the people who do post advertisements here, and our objections would be ignored.

Peace,

Debbie

Then to please you, I inaugurate a new service for rec.food.drink.tea's members just like you:

THE UNREQUESTED AD CAMPAIGN

Guaranteed to be :

1) not explicitly forbidden in the FAQ 2) carefully worded to make it almost "ok" (4) 3) without any $$$ gain for me

Imagine the joy of receiving free - yes! absolutely free of any charge!

- out of the blue messages to _inform you_ about the wonderful products and services you never have heard before, each time you log on this forum. Yes! without any effort(1) from your part! Let us take you for an fantastic ride.

Maybe, you are skeptic. Maybe you think this cannot not be sustained after some weeks. Not at all! We have an army of peddlers ready to serve you until the end of time. Each time one of them gets little tired, another will take over. Never ending action! All the time! Forever!

That's not all. Each time you don't complain(3) your name will be added to the satisfied consumer list and you'll receive tremendous offers from our affiliates. Not only you'll learn about almost too good to be true(2) tea products but also about the virtues of every product known to Man.

Here's our first informercial, just for you :

================================================Hi lucky girl!

I have repeatedly tried to buy online from

and was amazed by their exceptional customer service and the quality of the product, I received. Special attention should be given to their 'Golden Malrin Blend' ( ). No word can describe this out of this world carefull mix of selected ingredients. I'm sure you have never drank something close to this.

Hope this informative post does not annoy anyone... its not my shop after all ;o)

All the best

================================================

fine prints :

(1) The only thing you'll have to do is to surrender your right to not be bothered. (2) After all, everything can be said to be a matter of opinion, thus not matter to criticism by others. (3) If you complain about something specific, you'll be labeled as a politically incorrect. You don't want that! No. (4) Ethical and acceptable to the eyes of some users. Others should keep their mouth shut, because it's not "ok" to complain. Ads should be everywhere and always present. After all, advertisement is the only way to learn about the good things in life. Something not worth selling is something without any worth! Everybody knows that...

Oops! Your assumption doesn't sound good.

On 02 Sep 2003, Jules Dubois appeared before the congregation in "rec.food.drink.tea" assembled, and proclaimed:

Nobody.

But if subscribers can't share information about a "new" place to purchase teas, what's the point?

Ralf's decision to syntax his subject with is questionable. However, his post was, in fact, no different than many other posts made to this group with one exception. He chose to share information before someone else asked for it.

And he got chastised for it (unjustly, in my opinion).

Derek

His post is not information, it's an infomercial. It's a sell pitch not a well balanced review of a tea shop. That's what bothers me.

"Julie C." wrote in news:o6c5b.688$G1.3038@tor- nn1.netcom.ca:

Teehee.

Derek wrote in news:Xns93EADB7C2B122dagwinn@130.133.1.4:

Here I must disagree with Julie and agree with Derek. Ralf has posted here before, not a lot, but always in the spirit of contributing to the conversation. His use of the "" in the subject was an unfortunate choice, because it made it oh so easy to believe that he was indeed shilling for the business. While it may well be the case that the post wasn't an advertisement, the criticism he received was at least partly his own doing.

Apropos sharing information without being asked, that does happen here. When a well-known contributor to the ng does it, nobody misconstrues the gesture. IMO, the problem here was that Ralf is not a "regular", and the intent was further confused by what he put in the subject line.

Debbie

On 02 Sep 2003, Julie C. appeared before the congregation in "rec.food.drink.tea" assembled, and proclaimed:

And that is YOUR opinion.

People in this group often recommend vendors to others with less information than Ralf shared. Have you equally critqued the poor quality of their reviews? Or do you just get finicky when it's an unsolicited mention of a vendor?

He wrote a quick message to share a good experience with a particular vendor. And while it may not be useful information to you (or me, for that matter), there are probably a good number of individuals on the Rhine and the Elbe who might find it useful.

Derek

I do think Ralf's was an awkward post, with its in the subject line and positively gushing review.

A more circumspect stance or toning-down of the language might have been better received. Regulars do seem to offer their good experiences with vendors, and others request recommendations, all without censure. Much, it seems, has to do with the poster's tone and evident experience over time.

Joe

Mea culpa... as I wrote in a previous post, there should have been a ;o) or something else to highlight that the 'tags' and as such the self-classification of my post were ironical. In the groups I have been posting, the usage of 'fake' html-tags has about the same meaning as a smilie (as of course there is none such html tag as ). And that's just it.

People may or may not believe that I have finabcial interests in advertising this tea company. Where I come from, I am innocent until proven guilty. And I don't have to appear in front of a court unless there is evidence against me. But this is maybe not such a popular concept all over.

The accusation of 'advertising' does not at all touch me as it is totally off-track as others have pointed out in this thread already. It appears to me that being a wannabe netcop is Julie's hobby, judging from many many of her posts. It cannot be the nice athmosphere in this group she is concerned about. Most usenet groups simply ignore obvious ads and spam.

Also imho she suffers from the 'feel-at-home-syndrom', meaning she apparently spends so much quality time here, that she has the perception of being in her own living room. Judging people by the number of their posts is a typical thing for these 'hardcore regulars. Creatures like that are in each and every newsgroup and in 99% of them they are off-topic (there _are_ newsgroups for duscussing such matters) and so I rather ignore them. I am pretty defensive, but otoh I have a life apart from the net. Lucky me...

All the best, Ralf