To get away from the Convention Contention for a bit, here's something
else for us to argue about. Or maybe not... :)
When this newsgroup was formed several years ago, it was agreed
amongst the "founders" that we would welcome Classic fanfic posts, but
not Marketplace posts, for fear of having all the discussion drowned
out by "I want to buy/sell/trade." The focus of the group was always
meant to be on the creative element, the fandom itself.
A couple of years back, Skyflight and I discussed the notion of
modifying the policy a bit, to allow fan-created advertisements as
marketplace posts. That is, people making their own toys, stickers,
t-****rts, fanzines, what-have-you, would be welcome to post items for
sale or commercial links to their pages, because this too is an
expression of fan creativity. We both considered it positive and
encouraging for fans to share their creative works with one another
... and if some money or trade items changed hands in the process,
would that really taint the purity of the newsgroup? Sadly, life's
events prevented the matter from ever being brought up for serious
public discussion. So, allow me to bring it up now, while we have
some decent reader****p activity.
And allow me to go a step further. ATTCM already accepts posts along
the lines of "new G1 posters/statues/DVDs now available at
AllPosters/Palisades/Amazon," and the like. Posts that lead to a
commercial web site rather than the web sites or auction listings of
individual fans. Is it somehow "more noble" to patronize a commercial
entity, than to patronize a fellow fan? (I would say the opposite,
myself...) Either way, you end up with a happy collector when they
get an item they want. And while there exists a specific Marketplace
group for this kind of thing, someone specifically looking to buy or
sell *Classic* collectibles, would be more likely to think of our
group first. Likewise there exists a designated Fanfic group which
accepts work from all eras, while ATTCM is Classics-only. If you want
to be sure to read *only* Classics fanfic, you'd likely look here
first, and only later sort through the multiple-universe offerings on
other newsgroups.
I've had to reject a number of Classic marketplace posts lately, under
the existing policy, and was sorry to do so ... because some of that
info would really have been of benefit to both the buyer and seller
(and trader, in some cases). I feel that this is a service we can
begin to offer to our residents. How many strictly Classic
marketplace posts are there likely to be, after all? I propose that
we give it a trial period. Open the floodgates to any and all
"selling/looking-for/wanting-to-trade/check-out-my-auction" posts ...
*with the stipulation* that they involve strictly Classic material.
That is, G1, G2, and the Japanese series. Yes, that also includes the
Dreamwave "G1" universe. It does *not* include recent toy lines
(Energon, Alternators, etc.) whose toys happen to share names and
vague resemblance with the original Classic characters. Such posts
would be rejected not under the current "marketplace" ruling, but
under "charter" or "off-topic."
Now, if all our traffic starts to disintegrate into a slew of nothing
but marketplace posts, we can re-evaluate the matter later. Nothing
is carved in stone. But I feel that this would be of benefit to the
group and its readers, if we can all help one another find those
elusive goodies we're looking for. Crossposts to ATTM (the
Marketplace group) would be welcome, of course, as long as they meet
ATTCM's requirements. Keep in mind that the Rec group accepts neither
marketplace nor fanfic posts, so no crossposts to Rec on those topics,
please.
As long as I don't hear screams of outrage about gutting the heart and
soul of ATTCM (and why is the very concept of "marketplace" so evil,
anyway?), I'd like to give this a shot.
Comments?
--Raksha
P.S. If you're a member of the ATTCM "founders" and are only now
seeing this idea, it's because I attempted to e-mail you for some
discussion before going public, and got a bounceback from your
address. In some cases I was able to track down current addresses; in
some cases not. Those who did respond, were positively inclined - but
those whom I couldn't reach, please drop me a note with your current
contact info so we can stay in touch in the future....
Broke? Unemployed? Paying too much for gas?
Do something about it! www.johnkerry.com
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"I am the Plumed Serpent, I strike and I soar!"
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All-time favorite Transformer: Soundwave ("The secrets
of the Universe reveal themselves to those who listen.")
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ATTCM - the Transformers at their best!
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from: postmaster@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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