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Isn't this user blatantly self-promoting his website? His username and description etc are all aimed an bringing people to his website and audio show. What's the moderators' position on this?

Quoting their user profile:

Welcome to the ManOfSteelAnswers.com where we endeavor to answer the questions, criticisms, and controversies raised by the 2013 film for Man of Steel fans and those excited by the anticipated DC Cinematic Universe.

The Show

Man of Steel Answers Insight Commentary (MOSAIC) is a weekly audio show dedicated to diving deep into one of the most polarizing films in the superhero genre. etc.

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    meta.stackexchange.com/questions/100860/…
    – PearsonArtPhoto
    Sep 25, 2014 at 18:31
  • It's not just that. Also the user profile and the fact he posted like 20 questions in one day. I don't think these are genuine questions or improving the quality of the site.
    – ThePopMachine
    Sep 25, 2014 at 18:33
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    I see 15 answers, 0 questions on his profile. None of them link to his site or mention his site in any form other than his user name. Some of the answers seem a little iffy, but there's some effort and thought behind them. I don't see a problem here.
    – phantom42
    Sep 25, 2014 at 18:34
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    Clarification: iffy on quality. None of them are at all spammy.
    – phantom42
    Sep 25, 2014 at 18:45
  • This question would be significantly improved if you had shown evidence of spam (Repeated inclusion of irrelevant resource into numerous posts). Or even "20 questions in one day" that were poor quality.
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:29
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    @Richard I never called him a spammer. I even went so far as to specifically clarify that I wasn't calling him one.
    – phantom42
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:38
  • @phantom42 - My apologies if that's the impression I gave. I was addressing OP's suggestion that he was shamelessly self-promoting.
    – Valorum
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:39
  • Why the downvotes for what is specifically a meta-question where I'm asking the moderators' position.
    – ThePopMachine
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:40
  • BTW, user's profile PICTURE also contains the URL. What's the position on that?
    – ThePopMachine
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:40
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    Downvotes on meta are different from the main site. Meta up/downvotes are showing agreement/disagreement with your basic premise.
    – phantom42
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:41
  • Premise is a question. A questioncannot be agreed or disagreed with. Unless someone is arguing the question is invalid. Clearly it isn't because people are doing research and citing precedent.
    – ThePopMachine
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:43
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    My disagreement is with the idea that this is even an issue at all.
    – phantom42
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:47
  • @phantom42: Well, let me put it this way. I found it noticeable and annoying enough that I decided to post a meta question, which I've never considered doing before. So don't blame me if the site becomes clogged up with stuff like this and others start to find it annoying.
    – ThePopMachine
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:49
  • I can't find any guidelines aside from "non-offensive content" regarding what is acceptable in a profile photo. Gravatar may have their own guidelines.
    – phantom42
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:49
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    The way you've phrased it, the premise is "Isn't this user blatantly self-promoting his website?", phrased in such a way as to imply that it is a problem. The downvotes most likely just mean that people don't believe the user is blatantly self-promoting their website or it isn't a problem (for what its worth, I didn't downvote your question, but neither did I upvote it).
    – Beofett
    Sep 25, 2014 at 20:03

2 Answers 2

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I'm not a moderator here, but I see no problem with this.

This user sees him or herself as an expert on a specific topic relevant to our site. They've posted numerous answers that seem comprehensive and knowledgeable (at least on the surface; I haven't had a chance to read them in detail yet, and I likely don't know enough about Superman to accurately judge them).

I see no mention of their site in their answers, or comments, or anywhere besides their profile and username (and as PearsonArtPhoto linked in a comment above, the username is acceptable).

In short, the contributions this user has made so far seem exactly the kind of contributions we are supposed to attract: expert answers (with "expert" being understood as a rather nebulous term that can be interchangeable with "someone who spends a lot of time with the subject matter", for our particular site).

Note that some self-promotion is acceptable. The specific rules are:

Avoid overt self-promotion.

The community tends to vote down overt self-promotion and flag it as spam. Post good, relevant answers, and if some (but not all) happen to be about your product or website, that’s okay. However, you must disclose your affiliation in your answers.

If a large percentage of your posts include a mention of your product or website, you're probably here for the wrong reasons. Our advertising rates are quite reasonable; contact our ad sales team for details. We also offer free community promotion ads for open source projects and non-profit organizations.

I see no signs of these rules being violated, or even approaching being violated.

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    "Expert" = "NERD! NERD! NERD!" :)
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:27
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Let's look at their profile.

Website: manofsteelanswers.com

Nothing wrong here. That's exactly what the field is for.

Bio:

Welcome to the ManOfSteelAnswers.com where we endeavor to answer the questions, criticisms, and controversies raised by the 2013 film for Man of Steel fans and those excited by the anticipated DC Cinematic Universe. [snip]

A little questionable since this is pretty much the "about" page for a website and not the bio of a specific person. I see nothing in any rules or meta questions about this.

Stats:

  • 0 questions
  • 14 answers with a total of 162 rep.
  • 15 upvotes, 2 downvotes, 1 accept.

Of those 14 answers, none of them mention their website or link to it. There are no advertisements for anything.

Regarding whether or not a url is acceptable as a username, the main meta site has decided that there is no problem.

I am not a mod, but I see no particular issue with this user.

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    This was pretty much my thought process when I noticed the user yesterday.
    – user1027
    Sep 25, 2014 at 19:54
  • Yes. If he'd posted a bunch of questions, and/or answered those (or other) questions with links to his own blog that would be a very different kettle of fish.
    – Valorum
    Sep 26, 2014 at 9:09
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    As it stands, half his answers aren't even about man of steel.
    – Valorum
    Sep 26, 2014 at 9:10

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