On Feb 13, 5:40 pm, Alan wrote:
I was going to stay out of this discussion. But since it comes up
about once a month or so, I thought I'd share the perspective of a
relatively ignorant tea-lover.

My opinion is that there's a difference between an evil spammer (e.g.,
EM EYE FIVE) and someone who simply leaps before they look. Not
everyone is up on Usenetiquette, and believe (however wrongly) it is
appropriate to advertise their humble site in this newsgroup. I
suggest a reply in the vein of "we hope you will contribute
information and experiences to this newsgroup, but please note that
advertising is not permitted in this newsgroup" and refer them to the
charter/FAQ. I believe that most people would reply with "thanks; I
didn't know" and become a member of the group. Ripping them a new one
merely puts them on the defensive and starts these pointless arguments
all over again, plus very likely turns away someone who could become a
valuable member of the group.

It's easy for those of us who've been reading and contributing to this
newsgroup to get fed up with yet another "go to my online tea shop"
posting and to forget that we were newbies once also. Keep in mind
that the latest poster was not part of the previous discussions on
what is and isn't appropriate to post here, so shouldn't be held to
the same standards as someone who has already had the error of their
ways pointed out to them.

I don't have my own tea farm or tea business, but I enjoy drinking and
learning about tea. That is why I came to this group. I've learned a
lot since I've been here, and no doubt many of you have forgotten more
than I'll ever know. I'd hate to think that this group is hurting
itself b

I agree with Shen that the original posting was not inadvertent.
However, I believe the offense was.

"Use what talent you possess - the woods would be very silent if no
birds sang except those that sang best. " Henry Van Dyke

Just my two cents,

Alan

Em Eye Five stuff is global spam that hits thousands of newsgroups, I
just ignore/killfile that stuff and so does everyone else. Spam just
on RFDT are a bit of a different animal. After this debacle, I will
only reply once to such posts stating that "This is an unsolicited
advertisement and not welcome or endorsed by Rec.Food.Drink.Tea
members."

I am also working on updating and re-hosting the FAQ since it seems
quite out of date. I'm not sure if the current maintainer of the FAQ
is still a member here or not but if he is please email me. However, I
will always go further than that with any scams, illegal practices, or
fraud as that is part of who I am and what I do. I will do it off of
this group when possible and not clutter this space with it at all
cost.

As an FYI, two scammers over my time here have been shut down after
being reported to the proper authorities. One of them was found to be
responsible for a number of illegal businesses with hundreds of
complaints against them. The identity was traced back to a post made
here. I have taken a lot of flak in my personal email from folks like
you who only see it as one sided or overly aggressive at times, but I
seriously urge you to think about how you would feel if a close
friend, relative, or yourself, were to have their credit card info. or
worse identity stolen from something like this. It takes months and
years of your effort to clear up some of these messes, and some cause
real damage to people's lives. Many times it is innocuous and not the
intention of the merchant even just a lack of knowledge/skills or
concern for customer data. Trusting an Excel spreadsheet and a bad
link to Google Checkout is a red flag on top of a flashing red light
for trouble though and I was concerned. There would be no recourse for
the consumer in this case due to the non-integrated nature of the
ordering system and you would lose your money if you never received
product without much recourse.

I try to keep real life and Internet life separate. When I'm here I
just want to talk about tea, honestly. I really enjoy the folks here
and would love to see tons more, if I offended anyone I'm sorry. It's
because I care that I tend to go after this stuff. No one asked me to,
and I'm not some knight in shining armor or pretending to be with some
delusions of grandeur.

I'm tired of the drama, and the distraction from the real point...
Tea. This is my last post on the subject.