I hadn't defended anything in the last post, nor will I here. I do absolutely agree if someone was name and shamed it should not be allowed in any case.
My reply was to jasmen's comments, as seeing her post stating the guidelines were to be enforced consistently. That's what really stood out to me. I certainly welcome that as consistent enforcement is something that has been dearly lacking. Not just inside or outside of the chat, but as a whole. Because as mentioned in the last few paragraphs of my other post, it has seemingly only been enforced when the issue at hand could harm eBay's image. As I said, that's one of the primary reasons I avoid coming here as often.
Inconsistent enforcement sowed an environment where rules are allowed to be broken as long as it's in support of eBay. It reaches levels of abuse to have rude or secondhand comments given to community members that are looking for assistance. To have some posters directly lie as they instigate, with evidence on these forums to prove their lying (which should be against the "patently false" policy), and have it not even be considered to be outside of forum policy. They will clearly break the policy for antagonizing, instigating, and baiting, yet if anyone replies to the bait, they will be the ones to receive a warning, and not the person doing the baiting. And some community members build a pattern of doing this regularly, even specifically targeting people who are coming on here for help on different subjects. The common denominator in these cases is that they commonly post in support of eBay, so it's allowed.
One particularly disturbing case that stuck with me is when I was assisting another seller with visibility issues, and someone was in their PM's literally telling them to leave eBay because there's "there's too many sellers in their category and they're part of the problem". I don't see any reason this should ever be tolerated.
All while lesser offenses than those result in action taken against those who speak about eBay issues. It causes those that come here for help to feel even more helpless, and those who try to assist them in helping to be mocked and at risk for being penalized when they are acting out of good will. People who experience glitches/bugs/unfair CS experiences are treated as inciters and ganged up upon. People who reply to those whos messages clearly break the rules are the ones accused of "instigating". The common denominator in these cases, being that their content could be perceived as negative for eBay's reputation - even if it's simply somebody sharing their experiences.
Those who tell others not to "leave eBay" are still here. Meanwhile I've seen people who've PMed me get action taken against them for "soliciting" to me when there was no soliciting. It's uneven and inconsistent.
Back when I brought attention to eBay removing dozens-hundreds negative feedbacks on a certain store daily. People accused me of lying and being a conspiracy theorist, accused me of just doing it for attention, and because we're "mad at eBay" and that's all accepted - and not treated as baiting at all even though it clearly is. Yet if I provide an example I'll have action taken against us. Note: NOT shaming the store at all - even if posting strictly about how it is unfair on eBay's part to remove feedback without using a feedback revision - you can be accused of naming and shaming for pointing it out. All while people could name and shame you, make accusations against you for bringing attention to it, mock and insult you if you "don't provide evidence". It's basically putting you in a position where you're forced to take the abuse because the rules won't be enforced, but it will be enforced if you stand up to those who break the rules.
Could you honestly say you hadn't seen it in the past against us? I recall topics where others made negative comments about our stores performance and questioned our competitiveness, and you had upvoted those comments. I understand we may not have been on the same side of the discussion (and that's okay), but there's clearly an unequal sense of justice when it comes to what is acceptable when those are defending eBay - by both eBay and the community. You had mentioned in the OP that you were disappointed to see jasmen disregard the rules, but there was no disappointment when it was focused on us. That's just one example of how negative treatment and breaking forum rules seems to be praised if it's on behalf of eBay.
That disappointment you'd mentioned is something myself and many others had/have to experience here regularly, when both and eBay and it's community members allow the rules to be broken against us, as well as newer sellers who are simply coming here to ask for help. And trust me, it's even more disappointing when it's focused on your own store. So much that it drives us who have experienced it away. And it's horrible to want to help new sellers, only to see them mocked and discouraged.
The very nature of the community has been to disregard the rules selectively for a very long time - that is the environment inconsistent enforcement has created. This is the real reason why some people think some forum members are paid shills, because it seems like certain people could get away with anything - and they do get away with anything. But in my observation, it seems less about actually being paid, and more about the stance the poster has.
At the end of the day, it shouldn't be defended at all regardless of topic or who said it. No "favorites". It should be equally unacceptable in all cases, and it shouldn't be so common that it is no longer shocking to see or experience.
mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
