All rules of the Ars OpenForum's Posting Guide apply. In addition, the following rules are to be observed:
Section 1: Vendors, business, and profiteering
No legally registered vendors or business may use the Agora, and no individuals may represent such entities in the Agora without special permission from Ars Technica. Included in this definition are those who engage in occasional "bulk buys" or "opportunity buys" at wholesale prices and then attempt to resell these items for profit in Agora.
Individuals may not engage in repeated or bulk sales of items for the express intent of earning profit without special permission from Ars Technica. "Bulk sale" definition includes, but is not limited to, over two identical items not acquired in normal activities by the typical Ars Power User. For instance, 5 identical hard drives. A tray of CPUs. More than one complete, identical system. Not included in this definition are "closet cleaning" sales, "moving sales," or other large accumulations of primarily used equipment. Determinations of "profit" will be made at the moderator's discretion based upon available information.
Special permission may be granted on a case-by-case basis, subject to the judgment of the moderators concerning the relevance, price, and commitment to giving Agora buyers a special break in return for being allowed to post. Every thread originated by a dealer must be individually approved, and will in no event exceed one per week.
a) a non-reply to a permission request does not equal permission.
b) such permission may be revoked at any time.
c) permission is to be obtained in advance, via forum PM, from an Agora moderator or Ars Technica staff member.
Threads posted in violation of these rules will be immediately locked without debate pending resolution of the issue.
Section 2: Sales considerations and prohibited items
Any items offered for transaction in Agora must be transferred under conditions legal for the particular item. Software will be sold/traded in accordance with all applicable EULA restrictions. We specifically prohibit the sale or trade of Operating Systems/software designated "Not For Resale" or "OEM," as virtually all EULAs prohibit transfer of such software except in very rare cases. It is the responsibility of the seller to determine compliance with any applicable federal/state/local law and to be able to furnish proof upon demand of the moderator that the offered item may be legally transferred under the conditions offered.
Sales of certain items, such as firearms/ammunition and Academic Edition software, which are deemed by the moderators to be difficult to monitor and potential sources of liability to Ars Technica, will be disallowed.
Section 3: Seller's etiquette
You may not advertise the auction or the classified listings of your items from other sellers' sites, including eBay. This prohibition does not include identical sales threads posted at boards similar to Agora such as Anandtech, Reddit BST subforums, or Tom's Hardware. You may post links to personal, non-auction listings for convenience. It is encouraged that sellers link large quantities of pictures offsite rather than post them inline in an Agora thread, and to state that their items are being offered elsewhere.
Items offered for sale or sale/trade must have posted prices. Items offered for trade only do not require prices.
"Interest check" and "price check" threads will not be tolerated for common items for which prices may be easily obtained.
"Or Best Offer" options ("obo") may not be used to sell an item at a price higher than originally asked for. E.g., $50 "obo" means that you may accept less than $50, but you will sell the item to the first person to offer $50. Lower offers may be refused at the discretion of the seller.
Sellers should make every effort to avoid excessive thread posting. There is no need to separate Want To Buy and Sale threads, nor to post two or three threads per week as additional things appear that you wish to sell. Plan your sales, and show your fellow traders respect by not crowding their threads off the front page. Moderators reserve the right to require consolidation of threads or other action when appropriate.
There will be no more than three "bumps" or posts to a thread by the seller during the life of the thread which have the sole intention of moving a listing to the top of the display. Bumps from members at large are not limited. Exceptions in certain long-running threads may be made at the moderator's discretion.
In the absence of other agreements between seller and buyer, sellers are expected to provide reasonable tracking and insurance coverage of shipments appropriate for the value of the sale. It is the responsibility of the seller to undertake all investigations of lost shipments and the replacement of value lost by the buyer in such cases. Insuring any shipment of a value over $20 is strongly recommended.
Section 4: Interested buyer's etiquette
Caveat Emptor. You and only you are responsible for determining just how good a deal is. We strongly urge a thorough check of the seller's references if unknown to you. There is a forum-independent database of trader feedback at Heatware. Proper use of these resources will prevent almost all problems attributable to bad traders. Use them.
It is the seller's prerogative to define his desired method for publicly or privately reserving items offered for sale, a practice commonly referred to as "calling dibs." If the seller does not make such definition in the sale thread, the following default rule will apply: Calling "dibs" on an item may be accomplished by posting in the sale thread. If you're reading it, you can post to it. A "dibs" call is valid for 24 hours from the date/time posted. You may request an extension of dibs for over 24 hours, but it is the seller's right to accept or deny this request. Moderators reserve the right to refuse or curtail support for conflicts arising from situations where the seller defines a rule less specific than the default.
Section 5: Observer's etiquette
Observers may not comment on Seller's prices within the thread. Any price comments must be kept to e-mail.
The quality of any Agora trader as a personality outside of Agora will not be questioned in public. Any such opinions should be forwarded to a moderator by PM, and if required a decision will be made as to the continued Agora presence of the person in question.
Section 6: Trade conflicts and trolls
Conflicts arising from transactions which do not meet the expectations of either party should be worked out between the interested parties, if at all possible. Only after these efforts are exhausted should a moderator be contacted.
Moderators, when contacted, will make all reasonable efforts to resolve conflicts up to and including suspension of trading privileges in Agora, but can make no express guarantee that every transaction will be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. The Agora Moderators carry no legal authority, and can assume no legal responsibility for trading activity in Agora.
Conflicts between traders are not to appear as threads or posts in Agora. Disputes will be kept private. Any public posting of a trade conflict will be deleted on sight.
The efforts of Agora members to inform the population at large of known bad traders or new trolls are appreciated by the moderators. However, it is required that the mods be informed prior to any member posting such information in Agora. Confirmed sightings (declared by the mods of another board or poster's possession of actual evidence) may be posted immediately, with simultaneous PM notification of the moderators.
Anyone banned from the Agora over financial issues has one month to work out his issues, or be banned permanently from the forum as a whole. Appeals will be considered, but they are not modes of extension. Abuse of the appeals process will result in a ban.
Section 7: Other issues
"Hot Deals" information may be provided, if and only if no other rule of these Guidelines is violated.
"Hot Deals" should be hot deals, not an observer's tool to alert others that a seller's price is too high.
Do not post any contact information in a thread title or post. Agora members may negotiate and arrange deals on whatever medium they see fit, but exchange of contact information should be done over forum PM, not in the body of a thread.
Moderators will determine when any rules listed here have been broken.
Section 1: Vendors, business, and profiteering
No legally registered vendors or business may use the Agora, and no individuals may represent such entities in the Agora without special permission from Ars Technica. Included in this definition are those who engage in occasional "bulk buys" or "opportunity buys" at wholesale prices and then attempt to resell these items for profit in Agora.
Individuals may not engage in repeated or bulk sales of items for the express intent of earning profit without special permission from Ars Technica. "Bulk sale" definition includes, but is not limited to, over two identical items not acquired in normal activities by the typical Ars Power User. For instance, 5 identical hard drives. A tray of CPUs. More than one complete, identical system. Not included in this definition are "closet cleaning" sales, "moving sales," or other large accumulations of primarily used equipment. Determinations of "profit" will be made at the moderator's discretion based upon available information.
Special permission may be granted on a case-by-case basis, subject to the judgment of the moderators concerning the relevance, price, and commitment to giving Agora buyers a special break in return for being allowed to post. Every thread originated by a dealer must be individually approved, and will in no event exceed one per week.
a) a non-reply to a permission request does not equal permission.
b) such permission may be revoked at any time.
c) permission is to be obtained in advance, via forum PM, from an Agora moderator or Ars Technica staff member.
Threads posted in violation of these rules will be immediately locked without debate pending resolution of the issue.
Section 2: Sales considerations and prohibited items
Any items offered for transaction in Agora must be transferred under conditions legal for the particular item. Software will be sold/traded in accordance with all applicable EULA restrictions. We specifically prohibit the sale or trade of Operating Systems/software designated "Not For Resale" or "OEM," as virtually all EULAs prohibit transfer of such software except in very rare cases. It is the responsibility of the seller to determine compliance with any applicable federal/state/local law and to be able to furnish proof upon demand of the moderator that the offered item may be legally transferred under the conditions offered.
Sales of certain items, such as firearms/ammunition and Academic Edition software, which are deemed by the moderators to be difficult to monitor and potential sources of liability to Ars Technica, will be disallowed.
Section 3: Seller's etiquette
You may not advertise the auction or the classified listings of your items from other sellers' sites, including eBay. This prohibition does not include identical sales threads posted at boards similar to Agora such as Anandtech, Reddit BST subforums, or Tom's Hardware. You may post links to personal, non-auction listings for convenience. It is encouraged that sellers link large quantities of pictures offsite rather than post them inline in an Agora thread, and to state that their items are being offered elsewhere.
Items offered for sale or sale/trade must have posted prices. Items offered for trade only do not require prices.
"Interest check" and "price check" threads will not be tolerated for common items for which prices may be easily obtained.
"Or Best Offer" options ("obo") may not be used to sell an item at a price higher than originally asked for. E.g., $50 "obo" means that you may accept less than $50, but you will sell the item to the first person to offer $50. Lower offers may be refused at the discretion of the seller.
Sellers should make every effort to avoid excessive thread posting. There is no need to separate Want To Buy and Sale threads, nor to post two or three threads per week as additional things appear that you wish to sell. Plan your sales, and show your fellow traders respect by not crowding their threads off the front page. Moderators reserve the right to require consolidation of threads or other action when appropriate.
There will be no more than three "bumps" or posts to a thread by the seller during the life of the thread which have the sole intention of moving a listing to the top of the display. Bumps from members at large are not limited. Exceptions in certain long-running threads may be made at the moderator's discretion.
In the absence of other agreements between seller and buyer, sellers are expected to provide reasonable tracking and insurance coverage of shipments appropriate for the value of the sale. It is the responsibility of the seller to undertake all investigations of lost shipments and the replacement of value lost by the buyer in such cases. Insuring any shipment of a value over $20 is strongly recommended.
Section 4: Interested buyer's etiquette
Caveat Emptor. You and only you are responsible for determining just how good a deal is. We strongly urge a thorough check of the seller's references if unknown to you. There is a forum-independent database of trader feedback at Heatware. Proper use of these resources will prevent almost all problems attributable to bad traders. Use them.
It is the seller's prerogative to define his desired method for publicly or privately reserving items offered for sale, a practice commonly referred to as "calling dibs." If the seller does not make such definition in the sale thread, the following default rule will apply: Calling "dibs" on an item may be accomplished by posting in the sale thread. If you're reading it, you can post to it. A "dibs" call is valid for 24 hours from the date/time posted. You may request an extension of dibs for over 24 hours, but it is the seller's right to accept or deny this request. Moderators reserve the right to refuse or curtail support for conflicts arising from situations where the seller defines a rule less specific than the default.
Section 5: Observer's etiquette
Observers may not comment on Seller's prices within the thread. Any price comments must be kept to e-mail.
The quality of any Agora trader as a personality outside of Agora will not be questioned in public. Any such opinions should be forwarded to a moderator by PM, and if required a decision will be made as to the continued Agora presence of the person in question.
Section 6: Trade conflicts and trolls
Conflicts arising from transactions which do not meet the expectations of either party should be worked out between the interested parties, if at all possible. Only after these efforts are exhausted should a moderator be contacted.
Moderators, when contacted, will make all reasonable efforts to resolve conflicts up to and including suspension of trading privileges in Agora, but can make no express guarantee that every transaction will be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. The Agora Moderators carry no legal authority, and can assume no legal responsibility for trading activity in Agora.
Conflicts between traders are not to appear as threads or posts in Agora. Disputes will be kept private. Any public posting of a trade conflict will be deleted on sight.
The efforts of Agora members to inform the population at large of known bad traders or new trolls are appreciated by the moderators. However, it is required that the mods be informed prior to any member posting such information in Agora. Confirmed sightings (declared by the mods of another board or poster's possession of actual evidence) may be posted immediately, with simultaneous PM notification of the moderators.
Anyone banned from the Agora over financial issues has one month to work out his issues, or be banned permanently from the forum as a whole. Appeals will be considered, but they are not modes of extension. Abuse of the appeals process will result in a ban.
Section 7: Other issues
"Hot Deals" information may be provided, if and only if no other rule of these Guidelines is violated.
"Hot Deals" should be hot deals, not an observer's tool to alert others that a seller's price is too high.
Do not post any contact information in a thread title or post. Agora members may negotiate and arrange deals on whatever medium they see fit, but exchange of contact information should be done over forum PM, not in the body of a thread.
Moderators will determine when any rules listed here have been broken.
