Since I can't even PM an Administrator now, it looks like I'll have to post here.

The PM said "This account is now PM and signature restricted due to failure to comply with reminders regarding our non-sponsor solicitation policy."

I received my one and only message about non-sponsor policy today, and haven't done a single thing to violate the policy since this warning. I even went in to delete my signature and noticed I cannot do that now.

I asked the moderator that gave me the warning if it was even possible to be a site sponsor for 'labor only services' because I was under the impression that since I'm not actually manufacturing/selling/distributing anything that I cannot be a 'vendor', and my account was restricted before I even read his reply.

Is there not some way to reconcile the situation? Being banned at the time of my first warning, before I'm even given the chance to receive a clarification on the soliciting policy seems a bit harsh.

 

You posted pricing information in your signature after being asked to stop posting about pricing information for your kits. That is blatant disregard for the policy, hence the loss of signature and PM privileges.

Also, you have not yet been banned. You're just not able to advertise or solicit via your signature or the PM system any longer.

If you wish to become a site sponsor, you can certainly inquire about rates and packages via the marketplace link above. Your account can be fully restored and upgraded if you choose to go that route.

 

I was asked today to stop posting pricing information.
My signature has been there for over a week. I didn't disregard anything. I was waiting for clarification and even attempted to change my signature.

 

Thats it?

I'm confused. I didn't disregard anything. I didn't ignore any warnings.
If your reasoning for restricting my account is 'blatant disregard' then I shouldn't have had my PM and signature removed. My signature was updated days ago, and I have the PMs to show that it had been at least 4 or 5 days because someone sent me a PM inquiring about it.

I get my FIRST pm from an admin/moderator about the non-sponsor policy today, and then get PM and signature removed in the middle of that conversation. I didn't notice that I couldn't edit my signature until I went to remove it. There was honestly no 'blatant disregard'.

A simple warning wouldn't suffice? I would have removed the signature and stopped posting about it after I had finished my discussion with KCS anyway, had I been given the chance.

 

I have reviewed the conversation you had earlier today with a site moderator, including the time stamp on the messages, and took note of your activity log. It was made clear to you in the first message from the moderator that you could not post pricing without being a site sponsor. The exchange continued, at which time the moderator quoted the exact advertisement rule of which you were in violation. You were well aware of the policy at that time, and sent at least one more PM to the moderator, but made no effort to remove the advertisement from your signature. You did in fact have plenty of time to read his reply, as it was sent hours before your account was restricted and you had been active on the site prior to that time. In any event, no further clarification was needed; it had already been clearly explained to you that a sponsorship was required to post pricing or advertisement.

As for when you received PMs from members regarding your price quote, that certainly doesn't help your case. Such is the very reason why you are now on Restricted status; PM system abuse for the cause of generating revenue for a non-sponsor is something we take very seriously as our sponsors pay a great deal to advertise here. It is also quite possible that said PM was received due to posts you have made in the past (of which I have just reviewed) that also contained reference to your prices.

Lastly, as a member of over two years and with 2300+ posts, ignorance of our policy is not an excuse in this case. If you really meant no harm, you would have removed that price quote from your signature upon receiving the very first message from our site staff informing you that such posts were against the rules. Instead, you chose to argue about what the purpose of your post was, but neglected to remove the line of your signature that clearly violated the policy of which you were just reminded.

Nothing further to discuss here. Your account is not currently banned (you are allowed to post), but PM/sig access will remain restricted. As stated in the message earlier today, no further warnings will be issued regarding our policy, any future posts that appear to solicit business will result in a banning of this account.

-Admin.