Purpose of this forum

[Qasar]

Hi
I'm just a little uncomfortable with very good people using this forum to advertise their products (Z gear for instance). On most of the forums this is not allowed, in order not to mix commercial and free discussions. My point has nothing to do with the quality or interest of the proposed products, but if every vendor of gopro artifacts advertises on the forum it will be overwhelmed.
May be the forum could create a specific section for that, as there is an interest to be aware of new things.
What's your thoughts?

 

[Interceptor121]

The Gopro subforum is one of the worst from this point of view however it is also one of the most entertaining as a lot of the supposed 'vendors' are not as competent as your ordinary underwater photo or video manufacturers so some of the feedback they get from users is hilarious, there are a few example just recent that are quite funny
There are also a lot of 'supposed' review of people that instead are testimonial of one brand or the other and they go an give advice to others on what to buy

All of this does not apply to the rest of scubaboard seems like gopro being a more consumer market stimulates more of this

You can use the report post button to eradicate some of those users if you wish however scubaboard created the gopro forum in the first place so that inside here the 'anything goes' spirit could continue without polluting the rest of the forums as it seems

 

[Bestshooter]

I don't mind as long as it helps gopro users take better videos ..

 

[diversteve]

Here's the way it should be working - in this or any other forum.

If a member starts a thread asking for recommendations - it is acceptable for a Commercial entity to respond to that with their solution. The leeway that is often given in those instances is that suggesting a different alternative is also acceptable - i.e. in this forum suggesting an alternate housing would be acceptable if someone is having issues with finding a filter for their existing housing. Or a different lighting system to replace one mentioned as problematic.

If a Commercial entity starts a thread specifically for the purposes of promoting their product, those are generally not allowed. If those are being posted here Report them for review. Commercial can be defined as anyone who produces a product for sale.

We give some leeway to anything judged to be of a good cause or charitable nature - I.E. any threads started referencing an event, contest etc. benefiting other divers, charitable organizations etc. are often allowed. Possibly those that give away product in exchange for product testing etc. also - as long as they're not overtly commercial. Clarity on what is acceptable can be obtained by contacting a staff member via the Report process prior to posting.

We created the GoPro forum to allow users to have a place to discuss a segment of undewater video that seemed unique and growing - that of sport cams. There was no involvement from GoPro or any of the vendors that make supporting equipment or accessories - it was based purely on need.

 

[tphelps]

I think it should be used like the other forums. Divers recommending and reviewing past products they have used. If someone affiliated with a product takes advantage of this and posts advertisements, then one of our great moderators will take it down.