New Rules for M&V/SBG member interactions
Jul 26, 2019 2:48:13 GMT
Post by admin on Jul 26, 2019 2:48:13 GMT
In the early days of the SBG forum we enjoyed something of a who's who of sword makers and sellers interacting with members, providing feedback on their products that they used to refine and improve them, identify issues and explain exactly how their swords were made to avoid speculation and guesswork. The golden days..
But as we got bigger, it was all too easy for someone with a secret agenda to disparage, attack or otherwise disrespect the very people who ARE the sword industry until only a couple were brave enough to remain..
Witchunts, personal grievances and what amounts to gossip and hearsay became the order of the day. But not anymore..
Enough is enough - as of today, new and rather strict rules are now in place to help us return to the golden age of civil and productive interactions between sword makers and their customers (you guys). If I had to sum it up it would be like this:
Be real, be polite and let's improve what's out there in the sword market rather than just whine about it. Get and deal with facts. Don't allow or parrot wild speculative guesswork, spread gossip or create rumors. Got some kind of agenda? get lost!
But as its necessary to be very clear on this, we have expanded the forum rules to cover all the bases and flesh out this concept. Our goal is not to stifle interactions, but to simply ensure they are civil and factual and to try and put a stop to the 'sport' of vendor bashing.
You can find the new rules at the bottom of the general rules section and also as new post in the 'Updated Policy for Manufacturers and Vendors' here.
It is shame it has to come to such Draconian measures, but really its just common sense. Lets work WITH the people who make swords, not try to drive them away and then have to guess and have those guesses eventually turn into 'facts'.
Clyde Hollis, one of the old school M&V members, has come back - and we hope that with these new rules in place, more manufacturers will start to come out of the woodwork now that they feel they can have civil discussions without someone with an agenda hijacking the whole thing and turning it into a Witchhunt.
Some discussion and amendments are possible at this stage, but the spirit of these new rules is critical. If we do this right, the net result should be more information direct from the source, better products, low demand niche swords being developed and a general revitalization of the industry and the forum itself.
- Paul Southren, July 2019
Things have changed!