Question on posting etiquette

gjt70 said:

Dear All,

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

I was reading the latest copy of Cycle (arrived yesterday) and CTC were
pushing their new online mapping/directory efforts. Have you thought to
register your B&B with the 'Cyclists Welcome' scheme?

...d

gjt70 said:

Dear All,

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

This group (like many others) doesn't
have a formal charter. However, by convention,
announcements (i.e. adverts for events)
are acceptable, adverts for private
sales by induividuals are tolerated
(these should be labelled in the subject
line as [FS]), and all other advertising
is "not well liked".

OTOH there's nothing to stop you doing it,
other than the opprobrium of the people
you're trying to appeal to.

BugBear

gjt70 said:

Dear All,

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

Technically, if you post a single targetted advert to this group you
are not "breaking" any rules for this group. However, some people will
probably object and will refuse to visit you or recommend you because
of that.

However, you could advertise indirectly. Something along the lines of:

"I run a B&B in <wherever>. What sort of facilities should I offer to
cyclists? At the moment I have a secure garage/covered passage/am
willing to let them bring wet and muddy bikes into their room/entrance
hall but what do cyclists need?

And the questions you will get back will probably be something along
the lines of - can I lock the bike to something solid in the
garage/entrance hall? Can you accomodate a tandem/recumbent/trike? Are
their drying facilities for when we turn up absolutely soaked through
and even the panniers are filled with water? Can I get a hearty
breakfast (e.g. can I have three bowls of cornflakes). Will you do a
packed lunch (or can recommend good pub food at various distances) -
assuming that you are expecting cyclists to be based at your B&B they
are potentially going to be wanting to do anything from 20miles in a
day to 100+ miles in a day.

Can you suggest possible routes? Some cyclists will want technical
offroad stuff. Some will want easy routes but car free. Some will only
be interested in roads (preferably quiet but short stretches of dual
carriageway will be acceptable)

And come back and answer the questions - and, if in your sig it says:
<suchandsuch> B&B. <url>. Cyclist friendly accomodation in <whereever>
then nobody is going to complain.

Tim.

gjt70 said:

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

The smart way to do this is to reply to threads and add something of value
to them. It might be that you are a cyclist yourself, or you know stuff
about routes or a particular area of the country. You could then put a
couple of lines in you .signature advertising your B&B (make sure you say
cyclists welcome).

--
Andy Leighton => [email hidden]
"The Lord is my shepherd, but we still lost the sheep dog trials"
- Robert Rankin, _They Came And Ate Us_

David Martin said:

gjt70 said:

Dear All,

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

I was reading the latest copy of Cycle (arrived yesterday) and CTC were
pushing their new online mapping/directory efforts. Have you thought to
register your B&B with the 'Cyclists Welcome' scheme?

..d

I am a member of CTC and therefore have thought about putting our B&B on
that list. However, they do charge!

Gordon

gjt70 said:

Dear All,

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

Then participate in the newsgroup, and mention it in your .sig.

Is this by any chance a Bath B&B? You have a room for this
Sunday night?

--
not me guv

Following on from gjt70's message. . .

Quoted message said:

Dear All,

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

Yes of course.

While you're at it, tell us why anyone should have an exciting/
relaxing/ challenging _cycling_ time in the vicinity.

*Topic drift alert*
How about some u.r.cers coming up with the *least inviting* small ad for
a B&B? "...privy only 50 yds... ...suit people on a very strict
diet... ...nearby Fred and Rosie's Westworld ..." You get the idea.
Shall we say 50 word limit.

--
PETER FOX Not the same since the porcelain business went down the pan
[email hidden]
www.eminent.demon.co.uk - Lots for cyclists

gjt70 said:

However, they do charge!

So long as you don't charge for your B&B, I'll accept that
as a valid objection.

--
not me guv

Nick Kew said:

gjt70 said:

Dear All,

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

Then participate in the newsgroup, and mention it in your .sig.

Is this by any chance a Bath B&B? You have a room for this
Sunday night?

Although I am not the most prolific of posters I do average about 5
posts per month to the group. Will have to sort out a sig.

Although I work in Bath we live in the village of Pilton (its a nice
ride to work each day!). Fully booked for Sunday.

Gordon

gjt70 wrote on 28/07/2006 09:15 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Dear All,

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

Turning up for the first time with a commercial advert would probably
not be a good idea but join in in the group discussion and when you are
a regular, then let it be known.

Think of it like a pub. If you are talking with you mates and someone
butts in to try to sell you something you will probably not be best
pleased. Sit talking to your mates and one says by the way is anyone
interested you'll think it fine.

YMMV

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

in message <[email hidden]>, gjt70 ([email hidden]'😉

Quoted message said:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

There is no charter for this group, so you're quite within your rights to
post anything. However, general etiquette is that on most newsgroups
it's OK to include an advert of up to four lines in your signature file
(the bit below the line comprising '-- '😉 and then make posts which are
on-topic for the group and make a contribution to the discussion.

So what I'd suggest you do is set up such a signature file and then drop
in here occasionally and answer, helpfully, any questions you can answer
helpfully, congratulate people on their ride reports, and generally Be A
Good Egg. This will make your advertising much more effective.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Human history becomes more and more a race between
;; education and catastrophe.
H.G. Wells, "The Outline of History"

Quoting Peter Fox <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

How about some u.r.cers coming up with the *least inviting* small ad for
a B&B? "...privy only 50 yds... ...suit people on a very strict
diet... ...nearby Fred and Rosie's Westworld ..." You get the idea.

"In M1 Service Area".
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> Kill the tomato!
Today is Second Oneiros, July.

In article <[email hidden]>, gjt70 <[email hidden]>
writes

Quoted message said:

Dear All,

I do not wish to fall foul of the spam police and therefore:

Would it be ok to post an advert for our B&B? Would just like a few
more cyclist visitors.

How about:

1 - buy a bike
2 - cycle around on it
3 - post here about your experiences - as often as you like
4 - include your B&B details in your sig?

--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

bugbear said:

OTOH there's nothing to stop you doing it,
other than the opprobrium of the people
you're trying to appeal to.

I suppose different individuals have different levels of tolerance
towards these things.

Personally, I would say that as long as it really is relevant to the
group (and therefore likely to be of genuine interest to group members),
a small mention is perfectly acceptable. However, persistent spamming is
another matter.

d.