Modly: allowing advertising on the comm

[pith]

I was trying to think of a way to allow advertising on the comm.. Note: currently, advertising IS NOT allowed. So far, this is the best plan I've come up with. Please chime in and let me know the flaws, the good points, other possibilities, etc.

Advertising would be allowed one day a month. Only "relevant" advertising would be allowed: that is, it should have something to do with the general themes of interest here—supernatural novels, vampires, werewolves, zombies, fairies, etc. I'm sure your site dedicated to growing cacti is fascinating, but it doesn't have a whole lot in common with LKH snark.

Anyone interested in advertising would send the following to the lkh.lashouts address by a set deadline:
1) their LJ username and contact info (so interested parties can get in touch)
2) a link to what they're advertising
3) a brief description, approximately 100 words*
* = By "approximately", that is to say that 107 words is fine, but 198 is not. Subjective, yes, but there has to be a line somewhere.

I'd then compile all the advertisements and post them in a large advertising post, which would be behind an LJ-cut.

Good idea? Bad? Like I said, please chime in. I'm totally open to suggestions. I'm not against advertising, per se—you can find some neat sites that way—but we have 600+ members now (when the hell did that happen? Yikes!), so we can't just have it be free-for-all either.

Comments

[runwiththestorm.livejournal.com]

As long as it's behind a cut, I don't have an issue with it.

[pith]

There would definitely be a cut. I might separate it into sections, like "Book sites", "Message boards", etc., but I know some people hate advertising, so I'd try to make the visible post (i.e., the one that shows up on anyone's f-list) as short as possible.

[runwiththestorm.livejournal.com]

That would be even better. I'd personally be interested especially in the 'books' aspect. I'm always looking for another good series or author.
Just make sure you're not creating too much of a new workload for you and the other mods, hmm? :)
With 600 members, you may be facing quite a load of ad applications. x_x

[pith]

True. Well, book recs are always allowed on the comm, so I don't imagine that would be much of a problem. The advertising would be more for sites and message boards and such.

[saucyirishlass.livejournal.com]

Off-topic: I adore your icon.

On-topic: Maybe I'm just not perceptive, but I'm curious about what prompted the considering of changing the rules on advertisting (my, but that's a lot of gerunds at once...).

[pith]

It was nothing major that prompted it. I just noticed that some people have been quietly advertising things in the comments, but most people don't read all the comments, so I figured if we had official advertisements, they'd be more noticeable for those who are interested, but an LJ-cut would make them as unobstrusive as possible to those who aren't interested.

[lovefromgirl.livejournal.com]

I think that's a great idea! :-)

[sharkbytes.livejournal.com]

I think it's an excellent idea to keep it to once a month. Good way to cut down on what would otherwise be a mess, for lack of a better term.

[fangedsekhmet.livejournal.com]

That's what another comm I'm in does and it works just fine, so I'm okay with it:)

[insaint.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me.

[lilian413.livejournal.com]

Excellent idea. I can't wait to see what we can come up with! :-)

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

I think it's an awesome idea, but then, I'll have something to advertise within the next month or two, and may be a bit biased. Of course, what I'll have to advertise is VERY much on topic.

Perhaps appoint a specific day of the month, like..say, the 27th or 15th or something, put it up in the info section, and allow for free posting so long as it IS On Topic? Perhaps even extend it to a forty-eight hour period, as it is just once a month, and some may not be able to log in that day?

-Dira-

[pith]

One of the problems I see with free posting is the time. With all the different time zones, it could become a hassle, because someone could say "Oh, well, SHE advertised on the 15th!" but if the person was in Australia or or New Zealand, they're going to be on a different day.

That, and you'll always have smartasses who try to sneak something through, and I get tired of telling them off. *L*

But as for the two day thing, I'd be open to that. Could have certain things on one and others on the next.

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

Could declare the time zone. IE, Greenwich Mean, Eastern Standard, Pacific...

Hmm...

-Dira-

[saadiira.livejournal.com]

Or...double hmm. I think that at least in one's own journal, the dates post as the date in question by your own time zone...not sure in communities?

-Dira-

[mm_madb]

It sounds like a good idea to me. I don't care for advertisements in general, but that's a very fair way to give the most people the best community experience. (i.e. non-advertisement people can skip easily, advertisement people can see things easily.)

[raven-strife.livejournal.com]

I'm not even sure what this means.
Is this for people who want to pimp their LJ communities only?
Or any site that is related?

And what is the lkh_lashouts address, anyway?
I tried to email one I found in the FAQ's and I got no reply, when asking about something similar to this topic.
I'm a cherry at LJ and I don't know how to send private messages or anything like that.
Sorry if this is out of place.
But if you mean advertising in the manner of promoting other sites containing related material, I am interested.

[pith]

It could be an LJ community or a different site, but it would have to be related. The line would be drawn, naturally, if someone made a Lashouts clone at another journal, because copying someone and then asking them to pimp that clone is just tacky.

The lashouts address is the one listed in the profile. I normally check it every few days, but my computer's been glitchy (and my health's been spotty) so I haven't been doing as much on the Net as usual.

[raven-strife.livejournal.com]

Cool. Thanks for clarifying. :)