Ethics and Policies

[fearn]

Hi David and Rick,

I think #1 and #2 and well-intentioned, and may well turn out to be draconian and unenforceable.

As all of you know, I'm not a seller or a much of a collector, so I'll use myself as an example: Suppose I post new something here, and ask where it's from. Someone says, "Nice keris. I think it's from Bali."

A week later, my fiancee finds out I bought it, and hits the roof, saying that we'd agreed to spend money on the house first, not on toys, and we don't have room for it anyway (this happens to be mostly true). I decide to sell it on eBay. "For sale, nice keris, probably from Bali. Starting bid US$40."

I will be banned if I didn't get permission to quote whoever it was.

Or I can lie and say it's an excellent keris from Java, US$200, and be okay???

And how does me having permission work, anyway? I have to email the moderator before I put up the item for sale? Or do I get banned first, and then have to defend myself by forwarding emails and hoping you believe that I didn't just write them myself?

At the very least, I would suggest putting in the rules something about the moderators having sole discretion about what to do to offenders. I would be happier if there was a procedure in place for dealing with potential offenders too, but that is a lot of work.