Competitors and the "temptation to hint at competitors"

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Caporegime
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Rant ahoy :D

So are we no longer allowed to discuss products currently unavailable at OcUK, but that are within OcUK's objects? Or to discuss products that could possibly at some point in the future be sold by OcUK? The following thread was closed due to "Too much temptation to hint at competitors etc.":

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18511743

It's about cheap Korean monitors. The FAQ states:

No promotion of OcUK's competitors
Examples of promotion are :-
Posting links to competitors websites
Posting links to reviews that promote competitors
Quoting the names or contact details of competitors
Offering to provide the names or contact details of competitors
Hinting about product availability at competitors and their pricing
Using the forums to notify a member of intent or actual supply of names or contact details of competitors
Listing competitors names, URL's or e-mail addresses in signatures
Listing competitors names, URL's or e-mail addresses in profile
Posting links to or the mentioning of auction sites
Disguising attempts to do any of the above
Click to expand...

Main element probably highlighted in bold...the problem being no hinting was involved, no more so than if I'd posted that I'd bought a TFT unavailable at OcUK in the "things we bought" thread.

I appreciate that each and every example of the promotion of competitors cannot be listed. I also know that competitor rules are a tricky and contentious issue, but perhaps the FAQ entry needs to be updated, because no reference is made to the "temptation" to mention competitors and this seems a fairly key difference in the rules as I've previously understood them.

Alright, Rilot deleted a post in there within explaining why he'd deleted it, but not knowing what that said I can't consider it within here. His reason still seems flawed though.

In before "tough, move on with your life" :p.
 
I thought it goes something like this

Sold by ocuk - not ok
Not sold by ocuk - ok

If its sold at ocuk but none in stock then its still sold by ocuk - so not ok

Saying this I see ocuk stock computer games and other software now. PC and Console game prices and competitors go on all the time so this means my theory is about as clear as mud!
 
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I have been here a very long time, and whilst the rules are getting more and more strict over the years what do you expect, this forum is an extension of a shop. A shop that must pay a considerable amount in upkeep for this forum.
 
Closed for potential temptation to break a rule, but without actually breaking a rule.

Try and make that stand in court hehe.
 
Overall I accept and appreciate ocuk are running a business and if we divert potential sales elsewhere.. Then let them police their free forum how they like.
 
I just accept that the rules are the rules.

Just don't link / mention direct competitors, yes there is contradictions within this rule, as has been mentioned games, i doubt you'd get banned for mentioning steam. But the rule doesn't need to be clear cut to use your common sense. Respect that this is OcUK's forum and leave competitor discussion out?

I always found it funny that getting around it is ok though, such as saying "a well known auction site" or "the bay" xD.

People aren't stupid, if someone is desperate for an item but it's out of stock at OcUK they should know to shop around without being directly linked on here, you shouldn't have a reason to talk about availability or prices elsewhere.

But then i buy all my parts here as i like the customer service.
 
That whole thread descended into people discussing prices, where to get them and issues around warranties and so on. Not really in the spirit of not talking about competitors and their pricing.

Rilot will have closed it due to fact that even if he removed offending posts, the thread would have just continued to go down the same route again.
 
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