Arthur, Perhaps you have hit on a very big problem. People put up forums and take no responsibility. That would take a monitoring person(s) to see if people take care of their forums. Any answers for this???

Joyce, Very good point. If you disagree to the point of causing dissension it is best to send a private message. There have been forums that upset me and the tempation to speak out was strong. Instead a private messate was sent. So that is a problem to address by individuals. Arguing or causing dissension. Each person is responsible for their behavior here AND the forum owner should always delete inappropriate responses with a kind notice to the person you deleted. Solution: Cool off and post when you have your senses in gear or "Put your brain in motion before your mouth".

Hi Mary,

This is a great topic and really thought provoking.  I believe that "managing our expectations" is an integral part to this subject.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that Adland best resembles the average "community" Chamber of Commerce located in Any Town, State/Country.  But Adland is Global making it even more complex!

Looking at a single chamber, however.............a Community Chamber of Commerce is all about people coming together with a common cause, and that is predominately about advertising a business.

Protocol:  It's about HOW they advertise their business that determines their success.

Social functions (community spirit) are provided by most chambers to enable people to socialize and get to know each other better.  It is a simple matter of exchanging business cards.  It's about MAKING FRIENDS, not SALES!  Our Adland forums do a great job in this respect.

#1  Think for a minute that you are at a chamber event and 3 people are "in your face" constantly trying to SELL you their product/service.  What is your reaction?  Yes, you probably want to leave or move to the other side of the room.  (Luckily, on the Internet, you can just delete them)!

# 2  What about the business professional who offers you his/her business card, and says, "if you ever need window coverings, please look me up."  Will you contact that person when you need their product?  You betcha!

Adland is no different, but as in any "community," we all need to manage our expectations, seek our own level of water, and simply remember we have a delete key!

The best suggestion I could make is to put a graphic image on every Adland page saying, "Remember the Golden Rule."

That's it for now...........I am sure I will think of more!

Cheers,  Jill

So now we add: Spamming and rudness as reasons some may have left Adlandpro.

Jenny, regarding spamming, do you think is an offense to be reported in. If they are on my friends list, that would not be spamming. Invitations for friends list, and private e-mails with ads, are those spamming? Jenny, I think you hit on a really big problem and that is content. Clip art responses to discussion forums is illerate and so defeating for the forum owner. Second is "thank you for the invitation". The need to answer all forums waters down the strength of Adlandpro as the # 1 Advertising Site----yes our forums included. There is the problem and now what is the solution??? People will be people and we have many abilities including people with limited ability in using English. However, I have found the English second language people take the most time and trouble to post something knowledgeable. Limited physical and mental ability can keep many from posting on forums. We certainly wish to include them too in our forums. Contraint is a good solution. How do you convince a compulsive, hyperactive participant of this offense. Blocking is so rude.