Got banned from a gardening forum for calling out a fake plant seller

Honestly, I just posted a warning about this seller on Etsy who was shipping invasive species instead of the native wildflowers they advertised. I even included a screenshot showing the botanical name didn't match the photo. The mods deleted my post and banned me within an hour, saying I was 'slandering a trusted vendor.' I learned that some forums are more about protecting their ad revenue than actually helping people.

2 comments

2 Comments

claire6422d ago

Did you get a chance to read the forum's rules before you posted? I ran into the same mess on a reptile forum when I warned people about a breeder selling sick geckos with fake health certificates, and the mods banned me for "harassing a paying advertiser." It's frustrating when you're just trying to look out for people and the site cares more about their sponsors than the truth.

bettyk5322d ago

I read a piece not long ago about how forums make money from ad agreements and it basically gives the paying folks a free pass. That gecko breeder story sounds exactly like the kind of thing people warned about in that article about site sponsors getting special treatment. It's a raw deal when the truth takes a back seat to keeping the ads rolling in.