In article . com,
robert AT avenuesupplies DOT co DOT uk wrote:
Nobody bothered to contact us showing concern about anything addressed
within this thread prior to letting loose on a public forum. What
gives?

Nobody from the company appears to have bothered asking in the group if anyone
here minded being used in that way. What gives?

Whilst we might be pleased, even flattered, to be asked it's an insult to be
taken for granted. When people post to the group and do nothing but take ideas
and offer nothing in return we can deal with that ourselves and - if we feel
that it's a bit much - respond (or fail to respond) appropriately. That
frequently happens in newsgroups where kids ask questions in order to get
their homework answered for free.

But you're doing it underhand. That rankles. If we get the feeling that
posters to the group are getting a free ride (free homework) we reserve the
right to insert 'apprentice jokes' in our replies and tell them they will need
to go for a long stand. But you're doing it underhand - and you noticed the
way we dealt with that.

I don't know how the group will deal with it if you now ask permission to do
what you have already done. I do know that, unless you do approach it in that
way, future posts may well include rude comments about your company and its
products. If you think that's unfair then think how much it would cost to
commission the information that you display on your site.

Starting from scratch? Try this:

"We have been reading uk.d-i-y and think that many of the posts here offer
excellent advice. We run a company that sells diy goods and would like to give
the news group an airing on our site. If you agree to that then we'd be very
happy to offer uk.d-i-y readers a 20% discount on our goods."

Of course you'd have to be prepared for bolshie people to say "bog off" or
similar! ;-)

--
John Cartmell john@ followed by finnybank.com 0845 006 8822
Qercus magazine FAX +44 (0)8700-519-527 www.finnybank.com
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