Okay, so here's my take on this. And just to be sure here, I am quoting every line of your reply so that you are aware that I HAVE read your point of view.
1. In reality, cross-linking (providing a URL to the other site) is a good idea since it helps develop a collective community of users and experts.
No one is saying don't. Actually that's not true... I believe OzGrid has a policy of no cross posting ever, but the rest of the forums I believe you'll find do encourage this behaviour. The circle of posters across these forums has a great deal of overlap, and many of us frequent many sites. You'll see this same thing driven from other sites, many with a link back to the article here.
2. However, the cross-linking rule is quite unusual for several reasons:
a) Numerous websites, on the contrary, prohibit external links to competing websites. So, not only is it unobvious but cross-linking without knowledge can be dangerous.
Numerous? The only one I'm aware of is OzGrid. The rest of the forums that I've frequented over the years encourage the behaviour. Granted more may have sprung up over time, but the MVP community and active posters as a whole generally try to mark cross posts for the benefits of others. As I say, the only site I'm aware of that forbids this, is OzGrid.
b) I used to click and read the "Terms & Conditions" of forum websites at subscribe-time long ago but it used to be the same yadi yadi yada (no profanity, no this ..., ... which I didn't engage in any ways) so now I ignore these. This is an unusual rule so you should try to show this on the sign up page (without a link) in a succinct readable message. Else, people who ignore the linked T&C as they do the safety briefing at the start of airlines flights, will not know.
I'm sorry, but I don't think this rule is unusual. I've been active in various communities for almost 15 years, and I wrote that article due to the increasing frustration that I and my colleagues had of people who blatantly didn't care that they were wasting our time.
On the TOC, yes, maybe I could modify the signup page although, to be honest, I highly doubt that will have any effect here at all. The general reality is that people never read the TOC or links. You have no idea how many people email us asking why they can't post when they haven't clicked the link in the activation email. If you read that document, then to be honest, you are actually the one that is a bit unusual. (I commend you for it and WISH that were normal, but it's not.)
c) It needs to be made public on both (or all) the websites that such and such websites are 'partner' websites so cross-linking is desirable on all such websites. Otherwise, how would I -- an ordinary first-time user -- know whether your request for cross-linking is actually some tactics to promote your own website at the cost of others.
For example, your website post that brought me here is saying I should have put a link to your website on mrexcel.com where I did my other posting. Short of the declaration I suggest above, what guarantees that you are not trying to publicize your own website on mrexcel.com?
Or why can't your request be seen as a subtle assertion of your copyright on the original question? (Btw, my question on the other site was completely re-written and nothing was copied from your site.)
Wow... I don't even know what to say to this...
I host a FREE forum to provide help to people, as do these other sites. This is a part of something that the site owners feel is something the world needs, and we provide the forums as a public service. There are exceptions to this (such as Experts Exchange which does have a paid model,) but the article applies to those free sites that are staffed by volunteers.
If you want to pick on MrExcel.com specifically... Bill Jelen (the owner of that site) is the publisher of one of my books. I can guarantee you that he has no issues with back links, and I certainly have no issues with back linking to any other forum from here either. While the linking does help all of us, my primary concern is not wasting the time of the people who volunteer many hours to provide free help and advice to those that come here.
d) I believe most people do a reasonable job of searching the net when they have an Excel problem. It's only when the problem is severe enough (and urgent) that they post on a forum for help. I posted my question on your site yesterday (I.S.T.) and posted on mrexcel.com today after the thread on your site seemed to have died out (as only one useless reply came).
Out of curiosity, how many hours have you spent answering questions that others post? I've spent years doing this, and I honestly cannot agree with this. I'd love to think that this is the case, but I have seen far to many questions posted that have been answered thousands of times, and are very easy to search for. If people did use the search features, we'd have a lot less need for these forums, as the information would be in a few websites alone.
For reference, you do realize that this thread was posted on a Sunday, correct? By far the vast amount of experts on forum posting during their working days, and take their weekends off.
In such cases, I think your admonishing message can be misunderstood. I.e., your message would be much more appropriate had I posted on these two sites almost instantaneously. People can't stop work for days waiting for an answer; even hours is quite long but I had waited over 12-14 hours.
Sorry, but no, I disagree. You are using a volunteer service here. There is no guaranteed SLA on turnaround times, it's based on when volunteers are available and when people can commit their time. By posting in a forum, you accept that. If you want a guaranteed response, then I'd suggest you either go to a forum that provides this (which will carry a fee), or hire a consultant.
I understand that you want help when you want help, and you want an answer right away. I've been there as well, and I know it's frustrating when one is not forthcoming. For me, I posted my question and went to try and help someone else while I waited. That may not be your world, but I have a very hard time with the demand for results in a timely manner for people who are generously donating their family and personal time to help for nothing more than a thank you.
e) Forums see numerous posts per hour so a post can quickly get buried and lost forever (in a matter of one hour). So it is reasonable to expect that a post will get no further responses if none is received in a matter of 4-6 hours (like Amazon says that no answers can be expected to a customer's question on their site if none is received in a couple of days).
Yes, I understand that. Again, no one is saying don't do this. We're simply asking you for the courtesy of posting a link to say "Hey, I've moved the discussion over here", and on the other side saying "I tried posting over here, but got no response." I really fail to understand how this is offensive or unreasonable in any way?
You are making the assumption that the thread is dead an closed after a certain amount of time, and that simply isn't the case. This forum is certainly not as busy as some others, but the experts here generally care and try to help.
Despite the above, I will put a link on the original post on your website in the future BUT NOT on the competing website without their consent or rules (like you suggest).
At the end of the day, I'm primarily concerned about the people posting on THIS site. If you want to irritate the posters on the other sites, that's up to you. But I'd expect to see that other people "admonish" you on those sites the same as they do here.
Good luck in your pursuits.
