The frequency of your use of the Marketplace forum really depends on how eager you are to get your hands on some slightly used Archie comics, but don’t want to pay too little for them.
Because “spam” has always been defined as unwanted. This was proposed to the staff and we discussed it and approved it. That means it isn’t spam.
Times are tough right now for a lot of people. Jobs aren’t always easy to come by, and paradoxically jobs aren’t always easy to fill, either. We saw an opportunity to potentially help a member get one or more jobs filled and simultaneously get work for one or more other members that might need it.
As Marketplace moderator, I’d love to say that everyone on the Dope reads Marketplace and posting a job there will get the word out. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Just reading this thread will show you that a lot of Dopers don’t read it. So we collectively decided that we’d approve cross-posting in this case.
To the best of my knowledge, the only cross-posting that has been approved since I’ve been a mod has been between Marketplace and one other forum. I’m comfortable with that.
I understand what you’re saying, but I think you’re missing the point. This entire thing is about the users. We did what we thought was the best thing, not just for Onomatopoeia, but for any users that might be looking for work. Each post was appropriately titled “Job Opening” so that people not looking for work wouldn’t have to read it.
The Straight Dope has run many threads about helping each other. We’ve paid for each other’s memberships, and contributed time, money, and goods to people that need it. Personally, I view the job postings as an extension of that philosophy.
And let me preemptively address the slippery slope argument: if we suddenly find ourselves with members posting a zillion job offers, we will have a decision to make. We’d either create a new forum for them, restrict them to Marketplace, or implement some new rules regarding what jobs could be posted and by whom. The staff doesn’t want to see MPSIMS and the other forums cluttered up with a torrent of job offers, either.
I propose changing the Marketplace forum description to use this far more accurate summary.
Polls aren’t allowed in ATMB. There’s a reason for that, and I’m assuming you know what it is.