It's Official: SREP blog is for booster club members only
I made a grand total of 2 comments to the post in question. One suggesting a more appropriate title, and the other pointing out an inconsistent enforcement of the P-I TOS by the blog moderator (see here).[url=http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/realestate/archives/137655.asp#123080]Leanne Finlay[/url] wrote:The Tim, Synthetic and Eleua, you are all creating off topic discussions, and deliberately trying to create distubance. [sic]
You are not real estate agents, so please refrain from abusing the real estate agents and anyone else on this forum.
This was supposed to be a mellow discussion of choices, questions and answers for buyers or sellers, not a place for your snarkiness.
My goodness, don't you all have jobs to go do? The Tim, go write the Naked Loon, I think that's a great parody piece, and well worth spending energy on.
Apparently these agents are really on edge, as it doesn't take much for them to snap at the non-"professionals" that have the audacity to suggest that now might not be such a great time to buy after all.
Good riddance.
Comments
Sorry for the crassness, but the only term that accurately describes the SREP is "circle jerk". All the volume is the bloggers cross posting on each other's posts - because they drive away anyone who voices a difference in opinion.
Has this happened to anybody else? Have they resorted to banning the IPs of anyone that happens to be smarter than them?
I take that statement to mean that only real estate agents can abuse others on that forum.
Boy, if you think they're grumpy now, just wait until September comes, after RE prices slide all summer and sales volume continues to be awful, extinguishing all hope of a "summer bounce". For a preview, check out Larry Cragun's posts on his blog realestateundressed - it sounds perilously close to panic.
I would also assume that if they can't fix the market, they can least shoot the messengers - I would expect them to do some mass IP address banning soon.
This is the crux of the matter - the RE Professionals want a space to be able to make their sales pitches without the laity stepping in to point out that you will probably save quite a bit of money if you can put off purchasing a house for a year or two. Obviously, other factors can be more important for a potential buyer - but a buyer needs to be aware that they'll probably incur a pretty hefty initial loss if they buy now. That is the message that the RE types want to suppress.
Oops, I just violated their trademark again.
Looks like they took it down, put it back up with the link removed, and removed comments/ability to comment.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/real ... 137725.asp
Hmmm, so what good is a READER blog without comments? This is like cake without ice cream . . . chips without dip . . . pizza without beer.
I love it!!!
I think they truly do believe that if they can somehow control the message, that everything will turn out OK. Well that cat is out of the bag . . .
Most of the folks over there would probably feel more at ease if their sales pitch were able to get out to the public without all us nasty detractors waving all these facts and data all over the place.
Two problems with that approach: first, the other professionals on the board wouldn't be able to chime in on how wonderful each other's posts were (particularly the bile-filled ones); two, I think they can figure out that without comments the blog's readership will decline to imperceptible levels. Selective IP banning works better - they can maintain the facade of commentary without the reality.
Note that this has never happened at Seattle Bubble.
Then how in the world do you get off calling yourself a "real estate enthusiast"? Ha! Some blogger you are. Get with the program, Tim. Bowdlerization is the hot new ticket.
Synth couldn't really help himself, and was a bit rude, but Eleua and Fripp were cordial, polite and stayed on-topic.
They simply disagreed.
I don't really care about the TOS nonesense, to tell the truth. Give 'em their free advertising now and again. God know they're gonna need it.
It was interesting how anyone who questioned the content of the original post was deemed to be "judging other peoples' decisions to buy."
Marlow & Co. made a big deal about making sure you capitalize REALTOR™©® to be sure you don't infringe on the NAR's precious trademark, which was quite a stretch.
Then when a post comes up that like Fripp said, was basically a reprint of some marketing materials with a promotional link to a mortgage broker, which the writer openly admits it is a "blatant advertisement," they choose to ignore the violation of the portion of the TOS that prohibits advertising and promotion.
Whether it was really the case or not, this gave the strong appearance that the P-I TOS was being waved around as an excuse to promote the NAR agenda, rather than out of any real concern of breaking the P-I rules.
I think I may have "closed" one or two real old post at RCG that had the same ol' stand by's visiting them to bash and it was not anything constructive. I'll take constructive critism and sincere opinions any day. Those post are outdated and I may do a new one to revisit/update the scenarios.
I can understand why your rates posts are posted with comments closed. I think there have been other non-rates-related posts by other contributors that have been deleted, entirely rewritten, or had the comments turned off though.
I may have shut down the Rent vs Own that you also copied here...I had someone who was just revisiting it just to hurl insult after insult. And...it was a reflection of the times or more correct, what I thought the times were then. If I didn't shut down comments on that post--I may have to hurry up and do so now after dredging it back up on SB!
and there's a common denominator when it's not...
and Tim's post from oh, last october
Missile silo for sale.
Also in the news: Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. man lands on moon.
yawn.
check it out!
I like how realtors (including RCG) will praise MS to the moon for propping up the local economy, but then ban and ridicule their employees when they comment on their blogs.
I guess the message is "You're welcome here to do things that will keep us alive, but otherwise we don't want to see or hear from you."