what is the purpose of the membership in these forum?

[RDGAC]

Stefan,

As I understand it, the prohibition on discourse regarding currently active sales of arms and armour is a measure for the protection of the site. To quote the relevant part of the Forum Rules and Regulations:

Why is the staff so adamant against discussions of items that are for sale, particularly in auctions:

This policy is intended to deter the possibility of a legal claim that a discussion on the forums soured a transaction or otherwise spoiled the auction process resulting in financial loss to third parties.

The difficulty is that, should a potential buyer for an item be put off buying, or demand a reduction in price, because of discussion he or she spots here, the seller may be left out of pocket. The seller, in turn, may be inclined to seek legal redress for his or her loss of earnings, especially if it turns out that the forumites' assessment of the item was incorrect.

For instance, if you were to post a gun I were selling, and remark that it was too badly damaged by far to be worth its current price, I might decide to sue the site (vikingsword.com), on the grounds that they had unfairly, without seeing the item first-hand, and without taking any pains to contact me, caused me loss of earnings. Were I particularly thin-skinned, I might also seek damages for defamation written by the members (for example, if someone on here were to say "he's always doing this, overpricing knackered old guns"), although that would likely be a lot harder to pursue.

In any case, this may be frustrating (and I understand the frustration of seeing a thread swiftly and unilaterally stopped - Ibrahiim probably remembers the Restoration Workshop Library thread, which was summarily closed), but on the whole it's for the protection of the forum and its members. I for one would be bloody annoyed to see Ethnographic Arms and Armour vanish because some seller decided to reach for his solicitors!

Best wishes and hoping you'll stay here,

Meredydd