HB wrote:As long-time members surely know, the site's Terms of use include a reminder that no commercial posts are allowed. Vendor participation in the forums elaborates on this policy. For the last year, we've experimented with relaxing these rules on a case-by-case basis for a short period to enable product innovators to request feedback. The exception only applied to products not in market; once a product was for sale, the regular "no commercial posts" rules applied.

Over the last year, several product developers have contacted me asking for an exception. Others have simply posted their offering, assuming that it was acceptable to post Kickstarter-type announcements. Members and moderators alike have flagged these threads, often by first-time posters, as commercial posts. This led to me getting offline complaints about the clarity of the rules and their limits.

Therefore, as another experiment, I've introduced a new kind of thread -- a paid [PROMO] placement. It offers an alternative for those who want to gather feedback for a commercial venture, but aren't ready for full sponsorship that comes with Marketplace access. For the duration of the placement period, the innovator/vendor is free to provide information and gather feedback in this thread only, even if its of a commercial nature. Outside of the [PROMO] thread, the innovator/vendor must adhere to all the usual site rules regarding commercial posts.