Updated Community Guidelines

[sheila@ebay]

Hello Community,

We want to make the Community a safe and enjoyable place for all to come participate and learn from one another. The Community team has recently updated the Community Guidelines. You can find them here.

I'll keep this post up for until the end of day on July 6th for feedback on the Guidelines.

Thank you for participating in Community!

[wastingtime101]

Hi sheila@ebay. Thanks for calling out the update. I have 2 questions:

1. Please ask for recommendations for tools to help run your business, to find items to purchase, or to share your items or listings to get feedback or provide examples to other users. It’s appropriate for users to also respond to these types of questions with listings, products, or services.

and

Content and actions not permitted: 

• promoting off-eBay sites, groups, or forums, or suggestions that encourage users to leave eBay

So .... if someone posts asking for a recommendation of packing tape and I purchase tape from Amazon, am I allowed to say that and/or post a link or would that be in violation because it encourages someone to leave eBay and make a purchase even though I'm supplying info that will help them sell on eBay?

Let's assume the brand is not sold on eBay (that I was able to find in search) at the time of my post.

2. Content and actions not permitted: 

• duplicative or repetitive - including forum posts and replies

Sometimes a change is made or an issue comes up so there are a lot of posts within a short span. Is it safe to assume that posting the same (helpful) response to each of those threads does not violate this rule?

Example: last week there was a change to the invoice process and once Velvet got us that info I created a macro, found about 10 threads from that day with sellers asking questions, and posted the same info to each thread. This is within guidelines since my action was helpful and not disruptive, correct?

[sheila@ebay]

@wastingtime101 I can see how this one can be a little tricky and I had to consult with someone on my team about this so I can give you a good example.

In a nutshell, users can't promote off of eBay. So say you found great packing tape on Amazon, you won't be able to post the link to the tape on eBay.

On the other hand, responding to a genuine question with a response off of eBay would be allowed. The Community team rarely believes there's only one source or solution. Always promoting a single option may get a Community member  into trouble, but genuinely answering with multiple options, letting the seller decide. The difference is helping vs promoting.

In regards to your 2nd question, yes, that's correct, it won't violate the posting the policy. Think spam versus helping multiple people in different posts. 

[wastingtime101]

Thanks sheila@ebay. Question 1 has been such a gray area and posters never really knew what was allowed and what wasn't. This info provides more clarity.

[tinsoldierunderground]

Welcome to 1984.

[itscalledapostingid]

If someone makes a post saying "just go sell some where else" that would definitely be against the rules right?

But are moderators actually enforcing this if it's reported?

From what I can see they aren't.

[sheila@ebay]

@itscalledapostingid that's correct, to your first question.

If you see any posts that weren't properly moderated, feel free to send me a PM.