# TubaDiva: How the heck is that advertising? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 6, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885 "2004-10-06T17:46:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/1 "2004-10-06T17:46:06Z")
Someone posted in ATMB: [Is there an SDMB t-shirt/bumper sticker?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=278789), asking if there was any SDMB merchandise available anywhere. Then someone posted: > [@](#): > > **OpalCat** has her own website Fathom forums with a lot of SDMB posters in common with this site. And she sells her own shirts to help defray the considerable costs. I think some say Teeming Millions, although I haven’t checked lately. Then **OpalCat** replies to the above, saying: > [@](#): > > Nope. > > Jonathan Chance did have me make him a “3. Hi Opal” shirt a while back, though, which I have seen him wear at dopefests. Then **TubaDiva** comes in and says: > [@](#): > > I’m going to let this stay, but don’t do this again, please. > > Advertising for commercial products is not an allowed use of this site. > … > > We do sell Straight Dope T-shirts in the Chicago Reader/Straight Dope store, along with all of Cecil’s works and coffee mugs, available from the “Buy Stuff” hyperlink on the Straight Dope front page (and the column and other pages as well). First of all, how the heck was that advertising? Someone asked the question, is there any SDMB merchandise out there? And someone posted that they thought there might be at Fathom, and Opal wrote back that that is not the case. Then TubaDiva comes in with an admonition, saying : “Advertising for commercial products is not an allowed use of this site” then a paragraph later, she posts a “Buy Stuff” link. How is _that_ not “advertising for commercial products?” If anything, the thread should have been shut down immediately after it was posted, because someone was asking if there was SDMB stuff for sale, which would have naturally resulted in answers to the question, which by their nature would constitute “advertising” to the moderator. What happened is akin to this scenario: Someone posts asking, “where can I find a good high-pressure showerhead?” Then someone posts a link to [ShowerheadsRUs.com](http://ShowerheadsRUs.com). Would that garner an admontion too? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/2 "2004-10-06T18:12:31Z")
That’s not a real site btw. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/3 "2004-10-06T18:16:35Z")
I think there was a brouhaha in the past between **Opal** and the administration about products/advertising. This looks like an over-reaction though. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/4 "2004-10-06T18:34:54Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > That’s not a real site btw. 😛 What, you mean [ShowerheadsRUs.com](http://ShowerheadsRUs.com)? Heheh yeah I know, I just made it up! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/5 "2004-10-06T18:36:02Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > What, you mean [ShowerheadsRUs.com](http://ShowerheadsRUs.com)? Heheh yeah I know, I just made it up! 😃 Although, I just had an epiphany: [VibratingHandheldShowerheadsRUs.com](http://VibratingHandheldShowerheadsRUs.com), ya know, for us ladies 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/6 "2004-10-06T18:37:50Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > I think there was a brouhaha in the past between **Opal** and the administration about products/advertising. This looks like an over-reaction though. Yeah I know there was a brouhaha a long time ago, but this was clearly not Opal trying to advertise. It was some person trying to answer a question. Opal even came in to specify that she didn’t have any SDMB stuff for sale. It did not deserve an admonition, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/7 "2004-10-06T18:41:16Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > Yeah I know there was a brouhaha a long time ago, but this was clearly not Opal trying to advertise. It was some person trying to answer a question. Opal even came in to specify that she didn’t have any SDMB stuff for sale. It did not deserve an admonition, IMO. I didn’t think it was **Opal** being admonished. It wasn’t her post that **Tuba** quoted. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/8 "2004-10-06T18:42:49Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > I didn’t think it was **Opal** being admonished. It wasn’t her post that **Tuba** quoted. Ok, then what would happen in this scenario that I posed earlier? > [@](#): > > What happened is akin to this scenario: Someone posts asking, “where can I find a good high-pressure showerhead?” Then someone posts a link to [ShowerheadsRUs.com](http://ShowerheadsRUs.com). Would that garner an admontion too? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/9 "2004-10-06T18:47:59Z")
Or, what’s the difference between that and this? In the thread, “I need a new vacuum - any doper suggestions?,” people posted links to all sorts of vacuums, like this: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5305387&postcount=3](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5305387&postcount=3) ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/10 "2004-10-06T18:50:37Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > Or, what’s the difference between that and this? > > In the thread, “I need a new vacuum - any doper suggestions?,” people posted links to all sorts of vacuums, like this: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5305387&postcount=3](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5305387&postcount=3) I didn’t say their was a difference. I just said that it wasn’t **Opal** being admonished. However, feel free to have a hissy-fit. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/11 "2004-10-06T18:52:22Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > Or, what’s the difference between that and this? > > In the thread, “I need a new vacuum - any doper suggestions?,” people posted links to all sorts of vacuums, like this: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5305387&postcount=3](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5305387&postcount=3) Looks like the powers that be are busy at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/12 "2004-10-06T18:52:48Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > Or, what’s the difference between that and this? The difference? The vacuums aren’t sold by Opal. The mods have a wild hair up their collective ass about her. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/13 "2004-10-06T18:59:32Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > I didn’t say their was a difference. I just said that it wasn’t **Opal** being admonished. > > However, feel free to have a hissy-fit. Well I never said it was Opal being admonished… It was the poster who responded to the OP, saying he thought SDMB merchandise was available at a certain site. Why would that be admonished, when someone posting suggestions for vacuums is not? ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/14 "2004-10-06T19:00:13Z")
We do not allow posters to promote their own or fellow doper products if they will materially benefit from same, without clearing it with us first. Also, the SDMB has a right to control over use of its name to sell things. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/15 "2004-10-06T19:06:19Z")
> [@Gaudere](#): > > We do not allow posters to promote their own or fellow doper products if they will materially benefit from same, without clearing it with us first. Also, the SDMB has a right to control over use of its name to sell things. Well, like I said before, then why wasn’t the site shut down from the very beginning? The OP was asking where she could find SDMB stuff… so any answer was bound to violate the rules. But it wasn’t until after someone innocently suggested a certain cite that the mod came in. I don’t think they were intentionally trying to _advertise._ Besides, if someone is suggesting we go buy a Hoover vacuum cleaner, how do we know that person doesn’t work for Hoover? Or, let’s say I went into the SDMB merchandise thread and said, yeah! I bought a cool SDMB bumpersticker here, would I get admonished too? Or only if that site was associated with another SDMB member? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/16 "2004-10-06T19:07:43Z")
Ooops, I meant “then why wasn’t the **thread** shut down from the very beginning?” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/17 "2004-10-06T19:09:48Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > Ooops, I meant “then why wasn’t the **thread** shut down from the very beginning?” Maybe a mod didn’t see it until then? ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/18 "2004-10-06T19:13:30Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Maybe a mod didn’t see it until then? Perhaps. But I guess what I am feeling is that it had nothing to do with advertising and everything to do with the fact it was Opal, which is unfair. Opal even took the effort to correct the poster, and said she had no SDMB merchandise. Enforce the rules for all, not just for certain people, that is all I am saying. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/19 "2004-10-06T19:13:57Z")
AFAICT, it was **Jonathan Chance** being reprimanded – gently – for having linked to **Opal** ’s merchandising operation, not **Opal** herself being reprimanded. The staff is **very** chary of cross-board postings of this sort creating “interboard wars” and such, and very much disinclined to allow generalized links to other boards\*, even ones on good relationships with the SDMB and its staff. My personal feeling is that they’re overreacting somewhat, but I am **not** privy to what may have happened off the boards between them nor (for the most part) what may have happened in the past to create friction – so beyond expressing that as my personal feeling, I’m very much disinclined to second-guess them and to support anyone else do so. And the **obvious** exception to any rule against merchandising on this board is – surprise – the Chicago Reader, Inc., and its Straight Dope line of products – **They own the board**. - They will in fact permit links that provide information, supplement discussion “here” with what’s already been discussed “there,” and even provide examples of how things might be done differently, where it’s made clear that there is no intent to cause problems, but rather to supplement information. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885/20 "2004-10-06T19:17:15Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > AFAICT, it was **Jonathan Chance** being reprimanded – gently – for having linked to **Opal** ’s merchandising operation, not **Opal** herself being reprimanded. Actualy, it was **King Eumenes II of Pergamum** , whoever that is, who was reprimanded, not **Jonathan Chance.** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tubadiva-how-the-heck-is-that-advertising/267885.md?page=2)