For those interested in Habenaria rhodocheila

[prem]

________ has the pink form on sale as their "plant of the day". It's a really nice plant with lovely foliage and a nice fragrance. Here's a pic of mine in full flower:





NOTE: I have no affiliation with _________ except as a happy customer.

---Prem

[ATester]

I just received permission from my wife to spend more money!

Note the excited expression of the dude with the fez in my avitar...I actually have the same expression right now!

[Jmoney]

I've heard good things about _______. but I thought unsolicited advertising was frowned upon here.

[catfan]

I think its OK to mention an exceptional plant and where you got it from. It just saves the rest of us a step in asking for the info...

[LJA]

Jason, you're absolutely right. That post is an advertisement, and I completely frown upon unsolicited advertising, especially of other orchid vendors.

At the time, I left the message as is because, quite frankly, I was very surprised and a little miffed that Prem posted it, and I didn't want to act rashly. However, as I write this, I still don't know what an appropriate response from me would be.

I don't for a moment believe, or expect anyone else to believe, that this is the only orchid forum on the net, or that we are the only orchid vendors in existence. So why did I get miffed?

Prem, I think it's because I felt you were testing me, or testing the line, pressing to see how far you could go, even though you've certainly been here long enough to know better. I think that's the part I resented, that you put me in a position to either "do something" and have me play bad guy, or "do nothing," and thereby open the door to all sorts of similar posts. That you did this apparently deliberately (it wasn't, after all, an "accident") makes me inclined to think you don't have much respect for me, or for RVO in general; I can't help but think otherwise.

I have absolutely no problem giving the occasional plug to vendors who, for instance, have swapped links with us or with whom we are in some other way affiliated. But I see absolutely no reason why I should allow our resources to be used to give advertising airplay to vendors who aren't providing us a reciprocal service.

So what do you folks think? Prem, if you had a forum on your website where a member posted an advertisement for another graphics or web designer, showing some stunning work (your pic is, after all, first rate), what would you do? How would you feel? Would you edit the post? Would you wonder why that member posted the message, knowing that they weren't acting cluelessly?

Am I being too hardnosed here? Or am I justified in feeling the way I do?

Would Lowes allow advertising in their store for boxstore if boxstore wasn't at least paying for the privilege?

I'm curious how you guys feel about all this. I really am.

[prem]

Louis, my intent was not at all to bend the rules or test the boundaries...I was simply sharing my enthusiasm for a species that is not grown very commonly but is well worth the effort if one can provide the necessary cultural conditions. I am in no way associated with ________ and you do not carry this species or anything close to it (in fact, a quick search of your catalog reveals nothing whatsoever available for a species orchid aficionado, so the overlap in competition between RVO and _______ is a null set), so I was not aware that this would violate any intended use for this forum.

After Jason posted his reply, I searched through the FAQ for any rules regarding mentioning of other orchid vendors on this forum and found none, so I was unclear as to what the policy is concerning this matter.

Since I have clearly run afoul of proper forum usage, let me offer my sincere apologies in this matter...again, it was never my intention to violate the rules on this forum. Please delete this thread as you see fit.

--Prem


edited by lja--removed commercial references.

[TundraKev]

Louis

I have no way of knowing what the intention of this post was, since I don't know this person. I've only seen his pictures posted. With that said, you have to draw the line somewhere. Things could become very fuzzy if you allow some people to post things like this and frown on others for doing the same thing. The last time this issue came up, it was suggested that people interested in a particular plant or a source for a plant contact the other individual by private message. I still think that is the best policy.

Just one more thought. I'm sure when you opened this forum, it was a business decision - a way to promote RVO. The people who play out here probably forget that or don't think about that at all. I see no problem with reminding us all of that from time to time and making potentially unpopular decisions of what can and what can't be posted.

[LJA]

Louis, my intent was not at all to bend the rules or test the boundaries...I was simply sharing my enthusiasm for a species that is not grown very commonly but is well worth the effort if one can provide the necessary cultural conditions. I am in no way associated with _______ and you do not carry this species or anything close to it (in fact, a quick search of your catalog reveals nothing whatsoever available for a species orchid aficionado, so the overlap in competition between RVO and ________ is a null set), so I was not aware that this would violate any intended use for this forum.

After Jason posted his reply, I searched through the FAQ for any rules regarding mentioning of other orchid vendors on this forum and found none, so I was unclear as to what the policy is concerning this matter.

Since I have clearly run afoul of proper forum usage, let me offer my sincere apologies in this matter...again, it was never my intention to violate the rules on this forum. Please delete this thread as you see fit.

--Prem

Prem, I appreciate your understanding.

Part of the reason I left this thread is because, as you said, we don't carry this specific plant, nor any plants specifically targeting the species orchid grower. However, rather than institute a policy which would require members to check our catalog for overlap before they posted, I instituted one which flat-out banned advertising for other commercial sources.

You bring up a very good point, however. I was under the mistaken impression that the forum's Terms and Conditions (where such policies are laid out and to which potential members must agree prior to registering) were linked at the bottom of the forum's main index page. They are not. Nor, as you said, have they been made part of the forum's FAQ. The admonition to use private messaging for commercial sources appears only in the descriptions beneath the Member's Growlists forum and the Plants Wanted forum, both easily missed if one doesn't frequent those areas of the board.

These are oversights on my part which I appreciate you calling to my attention. They will be rectified shortly.

I'm also going to move this thread from General Orchid Culture into Other Genera in Bloom and delete references to the commercial source.

I apologize for any confusion the lack of accessible information regarding forum policy may have brought about.

[LJA]

Kev, I agree.

Using PMs for commercial sources is still the policy. I just need to state it loudly and clearly, somewhere easily accessible so that there's no mistake in case someone missed reading a thread where the issue was last brought up.

I want the forum to be about discussion, not censorship. Once I have the forum's Terms and Conditions linked in place at the bottom (where for some reason I thought it was), there will be no more cause for confusion or misunderstanding, and if the issue comes up again, I can simply refer the individual to the T&C link or the FAQs.

[Orchidzrule]

Wow,

Sure missed a bit of a kerfuffle whilst I was away, n'est ce pas? I was glad to see the prevailing civility and the resolution of potential conflict. In a way, I'm glad this issue has arisen. I'm aware I shouldn't be making any mention of any other commercial orchid vendor on this site, but there are some more gray areas. A few examples follow.

Is it OK to mention nurseries selling plants other than orchids? For example, I found a commercial source for Yellow Star-Grass, in a discussion in the bulbs club. I chose not to post a link to it for fear I *might* be in violation. I couldn't find any mention this nursery ever dealt with orchids--it certainly didn't specialize in them, but I might have simply missed it.

What about links to sites selling growing supplies, but not orchids? I know of one site, for example, that sells all sorts of pots and media for semi-hydroponic culture of orchids, but which doesn't sell plants.

Finally, there is the retail garden center that may sell a few orchid plants, but primarily has its focus elsewhere. Technically, even places such as Lowes & boxstore fall in this category, but I'm thinking more in terms of a retail greenhouse with trees, shrubs, herbacious perennials, annuals, house plants and supplies to tend them, as well as literature on their culture.

Some of the above are more likely to arise in the members plant clubs than in the general forum, but could come up anywhere. I would be interested in your thoughts, Louis and/or Bruce.


Cheers,


Rob