Dealers and manufacturers can be a great resource. They can and should know a lot more than the average enthusiast. All the dealers I've met with near me have been very helpful and they are all enthusiasts who love music and this hobby. I went on a record crawl with one of our local dealers last weekend and had a lot of fun.
It's great when they make time to share their knowledge and educate people. These are givers. When all they do is talk up their products and use these forums to aggressively push their products, they are takers. If someone is a giver, I'm more likely to trust them and reach out to them if I'm considering a purchase. I don't trust takers. I actively avoid them.
That may not bother you, but by the tone of numerous posts I've seen about this issue, it clearly rubs many forum members the wrong way. And for every person that actively posts, there are probably 10 more (at least) that only read the forums and have the same thoughts. I don't know what the ratio of forum users are that mainly browse vs. posting, but my guess is that there are a lot.
I don't think there should be any restrictions beyond those that already exist for dealers and manufacturers.
The OP's set of guidelines are very good in my opinion. Dealers that ignore them run the risk of alienating prospective buyers and damaging their reputation. You'll notice that very few dealers actually post here. Most are smart enough to figure out that there's more risk than reward. Some aren't.
It's great when they make time to share their knowledge and educate people. These are givers. When all they do is talk up their products and use these forums to aggressively push their products, they are takers. If someone is a giver, I'm more likely to trust them and reach out to them if I'm considering a purchase. I don't trust takers. I actively avoid them.
That may not bother you, but by the tone of numerous posts I've seen about this issue, it clearly rubs many forum members the wrong way. And for every person that actively posts, there are probably 10 more (at least) that only read the forums and have the same thoughts. I don't know what the ratio of forum users are that mainly browse vs. posting, but my guess is that there are a lot.
I don't think there should be any restrictions beyond those that already exist for dealers and manufacturers.
The OP's set of guidelines are very good in my opinion. Dealers that ignore them run the risk of alienating prospective buyers and damaging their reputation. You'll notice that very few dealers actually post here. Most are smart enough to figure out that there's more risk than reward. Some aren't.