Comments Containing Advertising

OK, my first impulse is to say that this is just spam and if we allow it, it'll open a whole new can of worms for all bloggers. Since Brandy is the Community Manager, I think we'll have her weigh in on this and set a policy from there.

I ran into this problem in the past. The direction that I was supplied with... If the comment fits with the blog's theme and I see value in the link, then it is my option to leave it. Otherwise delete it. I have deleted all comments like the one you have.

Well, I'm not sure how Nancy handled things like this - we prefer NOT to allow people to spam us - as a general rule (here on forums and other portions of user contributed content) we don't allow this type of thing - our Terms of Service (which is very old and pre-blog) doesn't address it. Oddly, I just joined the Blogs (user account) for the first time - there are no rules for participating there at all - its a free for all. This is something which needs to be discussed with those higher up...as of right this moment, anyone can post anything - as we have no ToS which doesn't allow it.

OK, we obviously have to get some sort of TOS in place to eliminate this sort of spam. Until we do, I'm going to leave it to your (the bloggers') discretion. If you feel it adds value to the blog it was posted on then feel free to leave it. If you feel it is just shameless promotion and spam, delete it.

:cowboy: Got it. People who comment will now have to agree to the Adoption.com Terms of Service (TOS) and that covers spam. If they want to advertise here, we'll be happy to set them up with an appropriate advertising program but they will not spam our blogs. From now on, if you have a blog comment that has a promotional link in it, it is in violation of our TOS and should be deleted. If you have doubts, concerns or questions, please let me know at Lisa@sharespace.com.

Are bloggers' content (what we write) now covered by the TOS too? [URL="http://www.adoption.com/legal.php"]Terms of Service[/URL] The revised TOS says blogs and not blog comments... I am not trying to be picky. I am just making sure I understand the ground rules. If we aren't covered by the TOS, then ignore the rest of this note. If we are covered by the TOS, then two sections need to be reviewed in relationship to blogging. The Agency Discussion Guideline Bloggers link and directly mention experiences and news articles about specific agencies, costs, travel agencies, searchers, etc.. There hasn't been any complaint or issue about this. And I think there is value is pointing out agency XYZ per the New York Times is being investigated for failing to properly account for funds. Or I will mention that I adopted independently via Ukrainianangels.org because this clearly shows any potential bias that I might have. (which I don't care if someone uses an agency or a faciliator... I don't have a bias, but there is a perception there.) I don't want to bore you about the adoption wars. But independent vs agency can be a hot topic. So on some blogs I feel the need for disclosure. No Solicitation or Marketing! Bloggers post "website URLs or addresses that link directly to fee based products or services". [FONT=Verdana]I post about charities that are helping out Ukrainian orphans and orphanages. And the charity is running an auction to raise money. Or I point out that you can buy this really cool Ukraine TShirt. [URL="http://www.amazon.com/T-SHIRT-WOMAN-YELLOW-UKRAINIAN-UKRAINE/dp/B000I7DGHO/ref=sr_1_85/102-3386778-5004151?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1180634788&sr=1-85"]Amazon.com: T-SHIRT WOMAN YELLOW " KISS ME , I'M UKRAINIAN " UKRAINE: Apparel[/URL][/FONT]

The Terms of Service Applies to user accounts - not blogger accounts. However - when promoting products - you guys need to make sure you're using the AdoptionShop.com URL if its a product we sell in AdoptionShop.com...we need to avoid, as often as possible, sending users to sites off of the Adoption.com Network.

I have asked several times for various books to be added to the AdoptionShop.com. It hasn't happened so I send folks to amazon.com Can I send you or Lisa the books and see if you can get them added? Any of the Todd Parr books would be great. It seems like the book selection just hasn't changed in over a year.

Please feel free to send them to both Lisa and I and we'll work on it. brandy@devnet.comlisa@sharespace.comWe'll see what we can do!

Absolutely! If there are books that we should offer, please make a list of the title and author and we'll get it up there! :pen: BTW if we do not have a book that you are recommending, then please do send your readers to wherever that book can be found (preferably Amazon.com or another online bookstore and not an adoption site that isn't part of Adoption Media.) If there is ever anything we can do to enhance our visitors' experience, please tell us and we'll make it happen.