without the sarcasm, i would submit here that it would be a good practice for folks who have a financial interest in making the recommendations they do to disclose that fact in every post in which they make such a recommendation
as a forum we expect that most of us here are just hobbyists and end use consumers, but reality is there are many ’industry people’ here posting as well, and also there is the grey area of high-dollar, long-time ’up to the waist’ hobbyists who have connected themselves in some way to some retailers/dealers/menufacturers... those who have done so should identify themselves as such when suggesting products or services to unsuspecting posters here who assume we are all just ’regular joes’ sharing our collective experiences and preferences
to be clear, industry people are rightfully knowledgeable, have a lot of share in terms of their opinions and wisdom - they simply should plainly identify themselves and what they say as financially incentivized when they say it
scott at verdant is a best practice example, obviously the good folks at audio connection in nj do so in their very username - others should follow this practice
i - for one - have no financial ’dog’ in any hifi gear ’fight’ - i buy stuff listen enjoy, recommend if i feel it is deserving
