> commercial source of Cobalt consulting help. But, if he is answering a > query about DNS that has been raised on the list, and mentions AFTER his > "free help" that more detailed help could be had for a fee, and to arrange > all that off-list, I think is fair. Free help has been given, and is thus > available in the archives for all. > _________________________________________ > > Oh wow, imagine that. You can sell your services on the list. Darn...how mistaken I was...so you give free advice and THEN you spam. Golly Ned, no wonder some folks offer advice. But it begs the question: Could you simply offer the advice "Search the Archives", and then do your advertising?
Quality free advice comes with a price. And if takes a SPAM built into a message to get quality free advice BFD!!!!!!!!!! It is VERY EASY to give good FREE advice, mix in *a little* SPAM without being blatant (or rude, or breaking one of those precious rule that people break on many email lists every day), ie: *I solved it for one of my customers, if you'd like me to work on your system let me know*.
I have nothing to sell to this list, and *try* to help anyway, and rely on great free advice from those often selling it as well. On other lists, I am considered an expert (ask me about electronic medical records running wirelessly in an exam room via a broadband connection to my ASP and I can give great free advice) - and EVERY ONE of my posts that has GREAT FREE ADVICE has my ADVERTISING sig at the bottom. What a great way to advertise, show everyone how smart you are, free. Don't try to sell them anything. When they need something, they know from my sig exactly how to find me. I share great advice everyday, and most of the readers will never become my customers, but every once in a while someone will write saying how much they like reading my posts, they can tell I'm a techie selling a product and not a salesperson selling it. Free advice is one of my best marketing tools, I prove my brilliance, I don't preach it.
Capitalism makes *free* a reasonable business model.As the receiver of flames throwing in the past, I personally think this entire thread sucked ... it has done nothing more than get people angry, point by point, just to kiss and make up in the end. Well not everyone, apparently.
And for the record *for free* is not defined in the English language. Something can be *for free service* or *free coffee*, it cannot be *for free*, ie: I'll give you PHP for free, not English, it should be - I'll give you PHP free. Oops, I have broken an etiquette rule, I made a grammar correction.
Now if everyone else could read that anti-flaming rule we can get on with business.
Regards, JaleAD: If you are a doctor, and have a lot of money, and want to send it to me, I'll take it.