why do people get banned at shaving sites?

Where can I find the forum rules here? . I've avoided posting on other forums because I'm sure I'll get asked to pay some astronomical fee to be a "hobbyist"  or whatever.   I'm considering being active here, but would like to look at the rules before investing a lot of energy into a community where I may be ultimately banned.

Hi Envy, here are the forum rules Andrew and team have put together. I find them to be straightforward and more along the lines of "act like an adult" and no problem.

I personally enjoy the environment here, there are a large number of vendors and artisans who are active and I can't recall a single conversation that was contentious, while still sharing differing perspectives.

Hope that you enjoy DFS and would like to learn more about your brushes!

Where can I find the forum rules here? . I've avoided posting on other forums because I'm sure I'll get asked to pay some astronomical fee to be a "hobbyist"  or whatever.   I'm considering being active here, but would like to look at the rules before investing a lot of energy into a community where I may be ultimately banned.

Hi Envy, here are the forum rules Andrew and team have put together. I find them to be straightforward and more along the lines of "act like an adult" and no problem.

I personally enjoy the environment here, there are a large number of vendors and artisans who are active and I can't recall a single conversation that was contentious, while still sharing differing perspectives.

Hope that you enjoy DFS and would like to learn more about your brushes!

Thanks Kevin, those look like rules I can live with. I look forward to participating regularly.

Where can I find the forum rules here? . I've avoided posting on other forums because I'm sure I'll get asked to pay some astronomical fee to be a "hobbyist"  or whatever.   I'm considering being active here, but would like to look at the rules before investing a lot of energy into a community where I may be ultimately banned.

kudos to kwsher for posting the rules. the goal of this forum, first and foremost, is to provide a place to discuss shaving items. being that I'm not a vendor/artisan and have no interest in silencing talk about this or that product, I think this lends itself to the relaxed environment here & without any conflicts of interest.

Where can I find the forum rules here? . I've avoided posting on other forums because I'm sure I'll get asked to pay some astronomical fee to be a "hobbyist"  or whatever.   I'm considering being active here, but would like to look at the rules before investing a lot of energy into a community where I may be ultimately banned.

Hi Envy, here are the forum rules Andrew and team have put together. I find them to be straightforward and more along the lines of "act like an adult" and no problem.

I personally enjoy the environment here, there are a large number of vendors and artisans who are active and I can't recall a single conversation that was contentious, while still sharing differing perspectives.

Hope that you enjoy DFS and would like to learn more about your brushes!

exactly. our philosophy (and thanks to the mod team for helping out along the way Freddy, wingdo, Truckman, leefish) was to follow the KISS principle: keeping it simple and modern so people actually respect the forum and enjoy their time here.

I always hate going on forums to find rules that are endless. in my opinion, this just annoys people and makes them not even bother reading them whatsoever. I know this is typically how I feel.

Where can I find the forum rules here? . I've avoided posting on other forums because I'm sure I'll get asked to pay some astronomical fee to be a "hobbyist"  or whatever.   I'm considering being active here, but would like to look at the rules before investing a lot of energy into a community where I may be ultimately banned.

Hi Envy, here are the forum rules Andrew and team have put together. I find them to be straightforward and more along the lines of "act like an adult" and no problem.

I personally enjoy the environment here, there are a large number of vendors and artisans who are active and I can't recall a single conversation that was contentious, while still sharing differing perspectives.

Hope that you enjoy DFS and would like to learn more about your brushes!

Thanks Kevin, those look like rules I can live with.  I look forward to participating regularly.

great!

I've avoided posting on other forums because I'm sure I'll get asked to pay some astronomical fee to be a "hobbyist"  or whatever.

If a forum ever demands something unreasonable, such as an astronomical fee, just say no.  There is no reason to be afraid to post anywhere because they might ban you. If you get banned without good reason, it's better not to be there anyway.  As for the rules, some mods and admins at some forums break their own rules.  It totally makes sense to look at the rules before posting.  What is at least as important is to have a quick look around the forum a bit and ask oneself a few questions:

• How do the members treat each other?
  
• How do the mods and admins treat the members?
  
• Is there heavy-handed censorship?  Are threads closed or deleted for no good reason?
  
• Is there a relatively large number of banned members?
  
• How well do differing viewpoints and opinions coexist?  Are varying ideas and views tolerated well or poorly?
  
• Are all welcome at the forum, including artisans and vendors, or is it an exclusive club?
  
• Are there numerous complaints on other forums or blogs about mistreatment on a given forum?
  
• Do potential conflicts of interest exist? (i.e. forum owned by a manufacturer or retailer, etc.)
  

Whoops! I'm not going to go further except to say that I know now.

I've never been banned anywhere but I have indeed been censored and "slapped on the wrist" for what I thought was completely appropriate conduct- But being a Vendor has it's own complications and struggles. I've been a vendor on various forums for several years and yet I still find it difficult to share both my excitement and disappointment regarding particular products without sounding like I'm shilling or down-talking a particular brand.

Needless to say, I'm very happy here at DFS.

I've never been banned anywhere but I have indeed been censored and "slapped on the wrist" for what I thought was completely appropriate conduct- But being a Vendor has it's own complications and struggles. I've been a vendor on various forums for several years and yet I still find it difficult to share both my excitement and disappointment regarding particular products without sounding like I'm shilling or down-talking a particular brand.

Needless to say, I'm very happy here at DFS.

I believe some of the stuff you mentioned above highlights the exact reasons a lot of vendors/artisans don't bother with forums. that's a real shame since I believe their input is valued in the community.

hopefully this forum will change their opinion on that stuff and they'll find time to register and be active on this site.

I've avoided posting on other forums because I'm sure I'll get asked to pay some astronomical fee to be a "hobbyist"  or whatever.

If a forum ever demands something unreasonable, such as an astronomical fee, just say no.  There is no reason to be afraid to post anywhere because they might ban you.  If you get banned without good reason, it's better not to be there anyway.  As for the rules, some mods and admins at some forums break their own rules.  It totally makes sense to look at the rules before posting.  What is at least as important is to have a quick look around the forum a bit and ask oneself a few questions:

• How do the members treat each other?
  
• How do the mods and admins treat the members?
  
• Is there heavy-handed censorship?  Are threads closed or deleted for no good reason?
  
• Is there a relatively large number of banned members?
  
• How well do differing viewpoints and opinions coexist?  Are varying ideas and views tolerated well or poorly?
  
• Are all welcome at the forum, including artisans and vendors, or is it an exclusive club?
  
• Are there numerous complaints on other forums or blogs about mistreatment on a given forum?
  
• Do potential conflicts of interest exist? (i.e. forum owned by a manufacturer or retailer, etc.)
  

It's not that I'm "afraid" to post. I just see no reason to my precious time in developing reputation and relationships with people that are bound to be cut off. I enjoy my friends and it would not be fun to have to break off those relationships without even a goodbye.

You don't have email?

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Sorry, I tried to quote the following text but it wouldn't overwrite onto my clipboard.

If a forum ever demands something unreasonable, such as an astronomical fee, just say no. There is no reason to be afraid to post anywhere because they might ban you. If you get banned without good reason, it's better not to be there anyway. As for the rules, some mods and admins at some forums break their own rules. It totally makes sense to look at the rules before posting. What is at least as important is to have a quick look around the forum a bit and ask oneself a few questions:
•How do the members treat each other?

•How do the mods and admins treat the members?

•Is there heavy-handed censorship? Are threads closed or deleted for no good reason?

•Is there a relatively large number of banned members?

•How well do differing viewpoints and opinions coexist? Are varying ideas and views tolerated well or poorly?

•Are all welcome at the forum, including artisans and vendors, or is it an exclusive club?

•Are there numerous complaints on other forums or blogs about mistreatment on a given forum?

•Do potential conflicts of interest exist? (i.e. forum owned by a manufacturer or retailer, etc.)

*******************************

None of the above applies here. Heck, they even tolerate me. The last place I was banned there was a exactly one artisan before I got banned, afterward there were exactly zero artisan members because I was that lone artisan. But the relationships continued through emails and other forums. Just because I was banned at that other forum meant little in the large scheme of things. Other folks mention my products over there and I have to think that it sticks in her craw to read those posts. :-) Excellent!

I just need to find the time to make more products to tick her off even more. LOL!

I will tell you exactly why most people get banned from shaving sites (apart from scammers in the Market places): The big reason? Financial Interests (Conflict of Interest)
Many shaving sites (excluding this one) have many affiliated vendors, who they will protect with their own lives if it goes to that. Why? Cause they make money from such vendors as part of the ads deals within their site.

In my case I got banned from a shaving site (nook), only because I stated that I could never use Cold River Soap Works (Select) since they contain Almond Oil and I'm extremely allergic to it. (First I got a warning for saying that from the site owner, then when I confronted him with his pathetic move, he banned me). Please note CRSW is one of the friend-vendors of that site. Only if he knew my real life job is a CPA / auditor of a big 4 accounting firm..............and part of my job involves fraud detection from each entity's management..........

There are a lot of low-life owners in other sites and thats why I love this site. No financial interest or nothing, just plain shaving talk.