Jeanne's Endo Blog: No Scam, No Spam Policy!!

Today I have just had ONE unpleasant experience too many. Today was my threshold for scam and spam!



So I decided to write an open letter to anyone out there who would ever consider hurting the readers of this blog with unethical marketing practices, false claims, etc.

Perhaps such a letter will facilitate the unclogging of my poor inbox and perhaps make it a bit easier on me when it comes time for me to click the "publish" button -or- to click the "reject" button on comments to posts on this blog. (Thank goodness for the comments moderation option, though).

Hopefully this post will clear things up.

So here's my open letter regarding the "no scam, no spam" policy of this blog:

Dear companies/people who like to make money off of sick people by pretending you are doing them favors (and other unethical companies/people),

+ I'm sick of spam.

+ I'm tired of being cautious (sometimes to the point of paranoia) due to some of the unscrupulous companies/people that have contacted me regarding this blog or posted comments that have needed to be rejected.

+ I'm tired of dreading opening my own email.

+ Most of all, I am sick to death of encountering one company after another that is preying on people who are sick.

+ Enough. Not here.

+ Not on this blog and not in my inbox.

+ No more.

Please DO NOT post comments to my blog for the purpose of padding your wallet.

Comment fields of this blog are open to anyone who wishes to post NON-commercial remarks.

Attempting to use this blog's comment fields to plug your company are NOT welcome on this blog. (P.S. I already get too much email. So please be sure you REALLY have something beneficial to offer before sending me email because I don't need spam. If you are a reputable company and you truly believe you have a product or service that would benefit readers here, you may contact me via email. If I think your product or service might interest my readers, if it is appropriate/relevant to the topics of this blog, and if you are interested in purchasing some ad space in my blog's sidebar, email is the way to reach me).

Please DO NOT prey on my blog's readers. They have enough challenges!

I will make every effort NOT to give free advertising to companies that only care about their own profit margins. However, I am human and it's possible that someone unscrupulous could slip something by me via the comment moderation feature and that it could get posted in the comment fields of this blog. I hope not. If I do determine I have made such a screening error, rest assured that I will use the power of word of mouth to get everyone up-to-speed about my mistake.

Please do not fill up my email inbox with notes of flattery that are intended to draw me in. I don't want flattery. I want relief, support, and comfort for patients... not promises, misleading ads, false cures, or attempts to get me to post free advertising for you or your company on this blog.

A few months back, one of you "for-profit" companies sent me a direct email. You were asking about guest blogging right here on this site. Your email was very polite (almost deferential). I responded to your direct email request for information with a detailed direct email response back. I referred you to the standing ad-handling policy at that time (see "related link" below). I offered to discuss the possibility of exploring possibly advertising your company on this blog - in an appropriate location/manner - and made it clear that I have editorial control over the content of this blog's posts. I never heard back from you or your company... until this weekend.

I have a duty to my readers to be clear about what is advertising and what isn't. Advertising your company by posting a link back to your site within a comment field on this blog is not acceptable. Not only would that be free advertising for your for-profit company but, much more importantly, it would not be fair to my blog's readers to blur the lines between what's an ad and what's not.

To clarify... ads on my site are currently all located in the sidebar. If at some point I decide to do product reviews, book reviews, or reviews regarding services my readers might find helpful, I will be sure to label my blog post clearly. At this time, however, ads are only in the sidebar.

So if you have posted a comment to my blog recently and are wondering why I haven't posted it yet, it's because I'm not going to. As I informed another representative of your company a few months ago, I don't allow companies to write their own blog posts here and I don't allow companies to post their commercial links in the comment fields responding to my blog posts. I took a fair amount of time explaining this in my email a few months back. Perhaps representatives of your company are not communicating my message with each other.

My ad policy was posted prior to the email your company sent me a few months ago. While the type of ads my blog carries have since been modified (I no longer use AdSense ads), the basic policy is the same...

I personally write the blog posts (unless I feature a guest blogger of my choosing). Blog post comments cannot contain advertising. Ads are in the sidebar. If that ever changes (i.e. if I begin featuring product reviews within blog posts), I will make it clear at that time. Comment fields will stay non-commercial. The types of ads is always subject to change.

While one specific company prompted me to write this post, MANY incidents have led up to it. This ISN'T just about one company. This scamming and spamming has become a pattern that I intend to do everything in my power to stop.

So I'm not naming any specific companies here. What I am doing is letting people out there know what is welcome here and what's not. The comment fields of my blog are not for sale. Uplifting, informative, helpful comments are enthusiastically welcome and encouraged here. The key is that the comment fields are not for commercial links, ads, etc.

Through trial and error, I have decided to currently display the ads you see in the right sidebar of this blog. If you are unclear of what is an "ad" versus what is just something I'm passionate about, please feel free to contact me for clarification.

At the current time, an example of an ad would be anything that says the word "Amazon" or "Neutral Existence".

Thank you for your understanding and respect of this blog's policies.

Sincerely,

Jeanne (aka the exasperated blogger who needed to set the record straight)

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Let's move onto greener pastures!! :)



Related link:

Sunday, June 29, 2008 Endometriosis Blog: Ground Rules for Comments, Google, and AdSense PLUS My Anticipated Response Time for Comments

This article was posted by Jeanne via "Jeanne's Endo Blog" at www.endendoat.blogspot.com.