Posts edited by host and removed

Hello Jeff,

Thanks for your explanation. I do appreciate the feedback and perspective.

I'll be happy to include a disclaimer if that's the intended purpose. I am curious if it has to be that exact phrasing you mention, since it really does not apply to me. Is there any leeway in what is said in the disclaimer, such as "I do not receive any form of compensation from the links on this site" (or similar to separate myself from the advertising on CNET)? This would be a more truthful disclaimer, since I am not an employee of CNET and don't receive compensation, but if that's a matter of contention then I can use whatever would fit best.

The only other factor that concerns me is the apparent repeated and almost immediate targeting of my postings, when links to other similar commercial sites, developer products, and even online stores like Amazon, NewEgg, and Other World Computing are often left alone. Is this again simply because its obvious I'm associated with the site? This makes it appear there is some bias to me or perhaps someone is always monitoring my postings.

Thanks again.

And one quick last question, is it possible to prevent the immediate and entire removal of a posting if I somehow forget to include a disclaimer? I've seen the content of posts edited all the time (ie, to remove personal information), and feel it would be more appropriate for the host to perhaps disable the link, simply tag on the disclaimer, or otherwise suggest the disclaimer rather than remove it in its entirety. Most of the time the postings (such as the one described above), are pertinent to the person's problem and simply removing it and subsequent discussion for the sake of a single link wont help them out at all.

jeffd55 wrote:

Topher,

While the compensation you receive from the pages you link to may not be "financial", it is "otherwise" and we must insist on your using the disclaimer as provided in the ToU: "I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link."

There is no need for the disclaimer if you post a link to a site to which you are not connected.

Jeff

Well I will include one, but wholeheartedly disagree (as others have also described) with the reasoning here. The "otherwise" compensation you mention is true for anybody's external works that they link to. The requirement for me to do it and not them only serves to unfairly single me out, and that's a pretty shameful practice.

Furthermore, the disclaimer you are requiring falsely suggests attributes aspects of financial compensation to me for people clicking the link, which is nothing short of requiring I lie to folks here.

Again, it is quite obvious I am in no way advertising, and only link to pertinent information that helps these individuals solve their problems. I've done this for years, since I joined the ADC in 2001, and well before any of my involvement with MacFixIt, which morphed by no fault or action of my own into CNET's main format years after I began contributing.

Thanks! I just noticed that myself. I was figuring it would be an automatic thing, but I'll look forward to the email. 🙂

I cant take the articles; they're my content, but not mine. As for a separate site, I might do that, but managing it among the myriad of other things I do would be quite a challenge.

Thanks! I do appreciate the support. 🙂 My main concern is seeing legitimate and for all intents and purposes helpful answers from anyone being blindly slashed. We'll see...