Like this one on which Nyama has commented:

Invitation to collaborate with Gogo Trails Tanzania Limited. (Now a dead link: deleted original post.)

I'm happy to delete the post, likewise the member who posted it: lock the topic - deleting all references to any company, websites etc, or leave it to attract members well placed criticism of such tactics. Or as Nyama suggests, start a thread into which all such postings can be merged, highlighting their abuse of Safaritalk's Board Guidelines.

What do you think?

Delete it and the author

I begin to like my idea of the Black List...

Fight back! Pillory these spammers. Let visitors of Safaritalk know who they are, so that serious travellers can avoid them.

Create this topic in the Safari Talk forum and pin it at the top:

The Safaritalk Safari Operator Black List
Your unsolicited ad will end here. We discourage our members from using these operators.

A special page for free ads? That's how they'll view it.

I'd go along with a plain blacklist of names but would delete their ads and membership rather than transplant them.

That depends on the quality of the introductory post in which we could explain that these spammers don't care about rules. And if they don't care about rules on a forum, how do they treat people on safari... what will they do with your money...? Give it the right spin.

I don't think that the safari market is like other mass markets. People are more looking for quality. And for seriousness - especially if it's an operator from a foreign country.

People selling their safaris, de-value the information/content of the forums .......... let's not encourage any of them. I think we've seen enough of them from experience from the fodors forums?

I think Sniktawk makes a good point as I for one can pick the blatant touting but have a great deal of trouble with recommendations which look real especially as I don't know a lot of the TA and safari organisations named. Sometimes on Fodors I think a poster sounds pretty dodgy, but everyone else treats it as legitimate and vice versa so I very rarely post anything over there now because I don't want to look like more of a fool.

I'd agree with that. But we have a growing membership, made up largely of people who don't participate except to read, and I suspect a slowly growing proportion of people who will swallow blatant plugs. The world at large loves ads! Whatever measure we adopt, it should demonstrate no tolerance. If we do that from the outset, the job of executioner will be so much easier...just the very occasional deletion required.

I think it comes down to policing the boards ourselves, if you see a post which you think to be a blatant ad, please contact one of the moderators. I share John's opinion that these should be deleted, and the poster have their membership canceled - it tends to be that they will only make one post anyway.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect....mp;tid=35179995

See the above.

Note: this is not done to be-little the Fodors forum..... but, maybe it is a subject of interest to this thread?

Btw, can't help it...... there is a mention of our ex-talented duo

Don't provoke the bite reflex of our wild dog from downunder...

Has business gone such bad? I have the impression that Eben is posting now more often on F than in earlier times. Btw, he just started his own blog.

Dont worry Nyama. I chewed that pair up and spat them out long ago

REALLY OFF TOPIC

When I stayed at Kutandala last October Rod asked me if a certain individual is now in the real estate business... Rod had seen some ads by a certain Raymond Morales.

I couldn't answer that.

Well, I would say, not the best time being in that kind of business...

Who are the moderators? I see that John is one and Predator, is Ross one … I haven't seen him post for a while. Are there any others? Just in case!!

Hopefully not real estate in the Luangwa?