[Tig] claimers, disclaimers, and all that. (+ guestbook)

[Rob Lingelbach]

Just a friendly reminder for everyone,

--Promotion

If you wish to promote a product on the TIG there are appropriate  
channels for doing so, which I can clarify for anyone interested.   
The wiki is good for promotion as is the tig-announce digest, which  
is sent to every TIG subscriber as often as there are postings to it.

--"Claimers"

There started to exist, a few years ago, a new concept that for lack  
of a better term I call a "claimer" (as opposed to a "disclaimer;"  
see definition in next paragraph) which is a "statement of  
involvement" meaning the person posting the "favorable" information  
about a product or service has a financial interest in the product/ 
service.  This makes the TIG policy a little looser than the  
policies of the original Usenet, on whose rules the TIG is based.  So  
any posting subscriber can use the "claimer" and anyone who is  
posting what is perceived as possible promotion and _doesn't_ have a  
financial interest in the product/service is advised to post a  
disclaimer.

An example of using a claimer is when a manufacturer is posting a  
public response to the TIG to a request for help and in the course of  
doing so becomes enthusiastic about the product.  The claimer is then  
invoked to make things clear.

--"Disclaimers"
   (From one of Webster's Dictionaries of english:
   "disclaimer:  a statement, document, or assertion that  
disclaims       	responsibility, affiliation, etc.; disavowal; denial.")

The general rule of Usenet was: if you can't disclaim, then don't  
post.  We don't go quite that far, in that manufacturers and vendors  
etc. are welcome to post to the TIG, though if there's a perception  
of advertising, then either the "claimer" is used, or the message  
should be channeled (via me if so desired) into the proper wiki space  
or into the tig-announce mailings.

In case any of this is unclear, as has happened in the past, just  
send your question or your posting to me and I'll figure it out. :]

best regards to all, and by the way, anyone want to make use of the
guestbook?  http://www.colorist.org/wiki3/gbook

Rob
--
Rob Lingelbach
http://www.colorist.org/robhome.html
rob at colorist.org      rob at calarts.edu