I learned in the Civil Aviation thread that sources from Patreon are not allowed to be linked, you Twitter sources are. Would they not both be the same. Can we expect Twitter links to be banned as well? It would appear it should be one or the other.

gullairACK wrote:

I learned in the Civil Aviation thread that sources from Patreon are not allowed to be linked, you Twitter sources are. Would they not both be the same. Can we expect Twitter links to be banned as well? It would appear it should be one or the other.

Okay, since we're going to play this game, I'll include exactly what I just told you in the United Thread.

Twitter and other forms of social media are permitted with conditions. You can take a look at the rules to see for yourself, because it's pretty prominently posted in Section 2, "Links to/Sources from Social Media".

The rule states, "Users should be cautious of linking to social media pages as source material for news. Unless the social media source is from a verified source (for example: directly from an airline’s Twitter page), it should be considered unconfirmed or speculation."

We allow social media with those conditions because generally users themselves cannot benefit from posting those "sources" here. Patreon exists solely as a platform for individuals to make money. There is a significant difference between the two.

And just so we're clear on why Patreon isn't allowed..

Rule 1l. Links to Competing Sites
1. Do not post links or references to other sites which compete directly with or seek to diminish the mission of Airliners.net. Similarly, do not embed photographs from competing websites in forum posts. Posts containing images from competing sites will be deleted.

Rule 2b. Use of Paywalled Content
1. It is always preferred that users post sources that are not behind paywalls. Since this is not always possible, users posting content from paywalled sources must provide detailed summaries of the article contents. Users should be able to get a proper understanding of the article without being forced to pay for the content to participate.
2. Posts or threads linked to a paywalled source lacking an adequate or accurate summary are subject to deletion.
3. Users attempting to utilize paywalled content to create a misleading or flamebait topic may be warned or banned.

Rule 2c. Use of Links to External Sites
1. You may post links to mainstream websites that are of relevance to a discussion. However, gratuitous, unmerited, and/or repeated linking of images or text hosted on websites other than Airliners.net is not permitted. External links should be accompanied by your own comments (see Section 1j– Low Quality Posts).
2. Do not post links or references to external websites for forum readers to obtain your own text that could have been posted within the thread itself. This includes links to personal blogs and social networking sites. If they are your own words or images, we ask that you post them here.
3. Use of your own blog or website as a means of self-promotion is not permitted without prior Moderator approval.

atcsundevil wrote:

gullairACK wrote:

I learned in the Civil Aviation thread that sources from Patreon are not allowed to be linked, you Twitter sources are. Would they not both be the same. Can we expect Twitter links to be banned as well? It would appear it should be one or the other.

Okay, since we're going to play this game, I'll include exactly what I just told you in the United Thread.

Twitter and other forms of social media are permitted with conditions. You can take a look at the rules to see for yourself, because it's pretty prominently posted in Section 2, "Links to/Sources from Social Media".

The rule states, "Users should be cautious of linking to social media pages as source material for news. Unless the social media source is from a verified source (for example: directly from an airline’s Twitter page), it should be considered unconfirmed or speculation."

We allow social media with those conditions because generally users themselves cannot benefit from posting those "sources" here. Patreon exists solely as a platform for individuals to make money. There is a significant difference between the two.

Interesting topic. From your explanation and my limited knowledge of Patreon, it seems to me Patreon is more like your pay wall example than anything and should be considered as such. What is the difference between the WSJ paywall and the Patreon paywall? Both are there solely to monetize the content produced. I could argue that Patreon is better, since the writer benefits directly instead of News Corp. Let the user decide.

I have no dog in the hunt, topic was just thought provoking.

TVNWZ wrote:

atcsundevil wrote:

gullairACK wrote:

I learned in the Civil Aviation thread that sources from Patreon are not allowed to be linked, you Twitter sources are. Would they not both be the same. Can we expect Twitter links to be banned as well? It would appear it should be one or the other.

Okay, since we're going to play this game, I'll include exactly what I just told you in the United Thread.

Twitter and other forms of social media are permitted with conditions. You can take a look at the rules to see for yourself, because it's pretty prominently posted in Section 2, "Links to/Sources from Social Media".

The rule states, "Users should be cautious of linking to social media pages as source material for news. Unless the social media source is from a verified source (for example: directly from an airline’s Twitter page), it should be considered unconfirmed or speculation."

We allow social media with those conditions because generally users themselves cannot benefit from posting those "sources" here. Patreon exists solely as a platform for individuals to make money. There is a significant difference between the two.

Interesting topic. From your explanation and my limited knowledge of Patreon, it seems to me Patreon is more like your pay wall example than anything and should be considered as such. What is the difference between the WSJ paywall and the Patreon paywall? Both are there solely to monetize the content produced. I could argue that Patreon is better, since the writer benefits directly instead of News Corp. Let the user decide.

I have no dog in the hunt, topic was just thought provoking.

The difference is mainly that the WSJ is a journalistic source, whereas anything posted to Patreon or some other blog is generally a conduit. Not always, but that's typically true. Aside from that, Patreon is something that would more likely fall under social media, and we don't allow users (past our present) to profit off of their participation on the these forums, whether it be through Patreon accounts or YouTube channels or what have you.

The Patreon account in question is a former user who felt strongly about being able to profit from his efforts, which is something that doesn't sit well with us. We all volunteer a considerable amount of time here for the benefit of the community with no expectation of compensation. We believe that if someone wants to contribute to the a.net community, they should do so without ulterior motive. That's the driving force behind the rules on this subject and how we enforce them. I realize some people will disagree, others won't care if someone is making money, but it seems like most people are in favor of the policies we've created on the subject.

We, as moderators, are first and foremost users of this site. Our role designates us as caretakers of a forum that existed before many of us got here, and will hopefully continue long after we step aside. To that end, it's important to us to maintain the integrity of the forum to the best of our abilities, which includes ensuring that users are participating here for the right reasons. If someone can go off on their own and make money, then that's their prerogative, but it won't on the back of this site.