Impending Swap Forum Rules Change

Lee · 21st July 2010, 05:30 PM

The Moderators Team is presently voting on a new proposed rules set for the swap forum. The phrasing in the final published rules may change from what is below - not all moderators have yet voted - but the components below have reached a quorum in the voting. The rules themselves are in bold black, with some additional commentary and explanations in gray.

This rules set has come from discussions between moderators which have been going on with strong consensus for some years now. The overriding theme has been that the swap forum should broadly benefit the forums community.

The Ethnographic Arms and Armour forums are provided to facilitate open discussion and sharing of knowledge about these tangible artifacts and their places in the cultures that created them. As such knowledge confers an advantage in the commercial marketplace, many persons are understandably unwilling to publicly share their learning, experiences and insights in an open worldwide community of persons interested in this subject. The swap forum is provided as an ancillary venue to allow collectors in this knowledge-sharing community to dispose of superseded items and items outside of their evolving fields of interest with others in this community. Posting in the swap forum is a reward and privilege that is earned by constructive participation in the discussion forums community. Members in moderated status will no longer be able to initiate swap forum threads; persons having a single or few items to sell may contact a member of staff for assistance with posting.

1. BUYER BEWARE (caveat emptor): Vikingsword.com (including the forums, staff and owner) make no warranty concerning any contacts or transactions arising from use of the swap forum and users are cautioned that there is no vetting process for sellers, merchandise or buyers. In using this forum, you specifically and knowingly agree to assume the risk of a "bad" transaction, and further agree to release, indemnify and hold harmless Vikingsword, the owner, the moderators, and anyone officially associated with this site. Users must structure deals to protect themselves from fraud, as they should do with any transaction at a distance involving unseen merchandise and seller. Some auction sites provide limited protection from defaulting sellers; a buyer has no such protection here unless their payment processor provides it. Often, the only information Vikingsword staff will have about a member will be an email address (which may well be of the disposable sort) and IP origin data (which may be masked or useless owing to redirects). If you are cheated, the staff is unlikely to be able to assist in even finding the perpetrator. Of course our staff will not knowingly let bad actors continue to use this website as a platform for their cheats, but for someone, the discovery will have come at a possibly steep price.

2. The swap forum is to be used only for the posting of advertisements for ethnographic arms and armour related items (to include authentic examples of such items, related accoutrements, books and literature). Participants are expected to comply with relevant laws and regulations in good faith and to refrain from willful knowing misrepresentation. The intention is to allow some latitude for related items that would be of interest to the community. If you get a warning message from a member of staff concerning a practice, please heed it instead of heading back to moderated status.

3. Sale advertisements lacking an asking price are subject to deletion without notice. It is understood that this stated price is subject to negotiation with prospective purchasers. Legitimate item for item swap proposals may be listed without a price, but with clear suggestions as to what will be considered in trade. This exception must not be used as a subterfuge to achieve a buyer initiated monetary offer by private message or e-mail. Wanted advertisements do not require a price range. This rule comes as my personal response to a swap forum post, probably years ago, that invited serious offers and noted inadequate offers would not even get the courtesy of a reply. Not the way to treat one's fellow community members. Please consider that new members and lurkers cannot use the forum software to send sellers a private message or e-mail and only the originator of the thread may reply to swap forum threads. Inclusion of a contact e-mail in the posting may increase the chances of finding a buyer; this e-mail may be 'disposable' and need not be the registration e-mail address. Realize that staff get the emails from frustrated lurkers and new members who lust after something in swap but cannot contact the seller and staff are then blamed when the person misses the item owing to the delay in relaying their interest.

4. The listing is to remain exclusive to the swap forum for 14 days with the item not to be listed or offered for sale in another venue during that period. If the item has not been sold following this interval, the seller may list the item elsewhere and may reply to their swap thread, posting a link to the current sale offer or auction. Sellers are expected to reply to their sale thread to advise the community if the item is sold or otherwise withdrawn from offer. This rule is intended to give our forums community the first opportunity at desirable items fresh to market. Remember, this is a free service - you were not asked to pay to use this site, nor are donations accepted. This rule is also expected to serve as a flood check. So, offer it to your fellow forum members first - if it does not sell after two weeks, then you may link to your auction or webstore listing from the swap forum thread.

5. Advertisements containing links or directions to commercial websites and or auction sites may be deleted without notice, except as otherwise specifically permitted in these rules. Images must be uploaded and placed as displayed attachments, rather than as links. Members of the forum community who are also dealers may create a single thread with the name of their business in the swap forum as the title and include links to their on-line stores and or websites. Replies to this thread to announce special sale events and arrivals of new merchandise may be made, not to exceed six (6) per calendar year. Book publications, museum exhibitions and related events may also be announced and updated in this manner. Auction redirects, except as permitted above following an unsold offering are now prohibited. Image upload versus linking is an antifraud policy and maintains archive integrity. Please realize that, just as with major auction sites, old sale announcements remain in the database and are publicly available. The single business announcement thread with limited bumps is a flood control device. Additionally, members who have a website or business are encouraged to e-mail or PM their store web address, business name, user name, and two or three sentences of description of their business for a free listing on the static links page.

6. All other rules of these forums must be observed.

21st July 2010, 05:30 PM	#1
Lee EAAF Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 914	Impending Swap Forum Rules Change The Moderators Team is presently voting on a new proposed rules set for the swap forum. The phrasing in the final published rules may change from what is below - not all moderators have yet voted - but the components below have reached a quorum in the voting. The rules themselves are in bold black, with some additional commentary and explanations in gray. This rules set has come from discussions between moderators which have been going on with strong consensus for some years now. The overriding theme has been that the swap forum should broadly benefit the forums community. The Ethnographic Arms and Armour forums are provided to facilitate open discussion and sharing of knowledge about these tangible artifacts and their places in the cultures that created them. As such knowledge confers an advantage in the commercial marketplace, many persons are understandably unwilling to publicly share their learning, experiences and insights in an open worldwide community of persons interested in this subject. The swap forum is provided as an ancillary venue to allow collectors in this knowledge-sharing community to dispose of superseded items and items outside of their evolving fields of interest with others in this community. Posting in the swap forum is a reward and privilege that is earned by constructive participation in the discussion forums community. Members in moderated status will no longer be able to initiate swap forum threads; persons having a single or few items to sell may contact a member of staff for assistance with posting. 1. BUYER BEWARE (caveat emptor): Vikingsword.com (including the forums, staff and owner) make no warranty concerning any contacts or transactions arising from use of the swap forum and users are cautioned that there is no vetting process for sellers, merchandise or buyers. In using this forum, you specifically and knowingly agree to assume the risk of a "bad" transaction, and further agree to release, indemnify and hold harmless Vikingsword, the owner, the moderators, and anyone officially associated with this site. Users must structure deals to protect themselves from fraud, as they should do with any transaction at a distance involving unseen merchandise and seller. Some auction sites provide limited protection from defaulting sellers; a buyer has no such protection here unless their payment processor provides it. Often, the only information Vikingsword staff will have about a member will be an email address (which may well be of the disposable sort) and IP origin data (which may be masked or useless owing to redirects). If you are cheated, the staff is unlikely to be able to assist in even finding the perpetrator. Of course our staff will not knowingly let bad actors continue to use this website as a platform for their cheats, but for someone, the discovery will have come at a possibly steep price. 2. The swap forum is to be used only for the posting of advertisements for ethnographic arms and armour related items (to include authentic examples of such items, related accoutrements, books and literature). Participants are expected to comply with relevant laws and regulations in good faith and to refrain from willful knowing misrepresentation. The intention is to allow some latitude for related items that would be of interest to the community. If you get a warning message from a member of staff concerning a practice, please heed it instead of heading back to moderated status. 3. Sale advertisements lacking an asking price are subject to deletion without notice. It is understood that this stated price is subject to negotiation with prospective purchasers. Legitimate item for item swap proposals may be listed without a price, but with clear suggestions as to what will be considered in trade. This exception must not be used as a subterfuge to achieve a buyer initiated monetary offer by private message or e-mail. Wanted advertisements do not require a price range. This rule comes as my personal response to a swap forum post, probably years ago, that invited serious offers and noted inadequate offers would not even get the courtesy of a reply. Not the way to treat one's fellow community members. Please consider that new members and lurkers cannot use the forum software to send sellers a private message or e-mail and only the originator of the thread may reply to swap forum threads. Inclusion of a contact e-mail in the posting may increase the chances of finding a buyer; this e-mail may be 'disposable' and need not be the registration e-mail address. Realize that staff get the emails from frustrated lurkers and new members who lust after something in swap but cannot contact the seller and staff are then blamed when the person misses the item owing to the delay in relaying their interest. 4. The listing is to remain exclusive to the swap forum for 14 days with the item not to be listed or offered for sale in another venue during that period. If the item has not been sold following this interval, the seller may list the item elsewhere and may reply to their swap thread, posting a link to the current sale offer or auction. Sellers are expected to reply to their sale thread to advise the community if the item is sold or otherwise withdrawn from offer. This rule is intended to give our forums community the first opportunity at desirable items fresh to market. Remember, this is a free service - you were not asked to pay to use this site, nor are donations accepted. This rule is also expected to serve as a flood check. So, offer it to your fellow forum members first - if it does not sell after two weeks, then you may link to your auction or webstore listing from the swap forum thread. 5. Advertisements containing links or directions to commercial websites and or auction sites may be deleted without notice, except as otherwise specifically permitted in these rules. Images must be uploaded and placed as displayed attachments, rather than as links. Members of the forum community who are also dealers may create a single thread with the name of their business in the swap forum as the title and include links to their on-line stores and or websites. Replies to this thread to announce special sale events and arrivals of new merchandise may be made, not to exceed six (6) per calendar year. Book publications, museum exhibitions and related events may also be announced and updated in this manner. Auction redirects, except as permitted above following an unsold offering are now prohibited. Image upload versus linking is an antifraud policy and maintains archive integrity. Please realize that, just as with major auction sites, old sale announcements remain in the database and are publicly available. The single business announcement thread with limited bumps is a flood control device. Additionally, members who have a website or business are encouraged to e-mail or PM their store web address, business name, user name, and two or three sentences of description of their business for a free listing on the static links page. 6. All other rules of these forums must be observed.