Agreed procedure for discussing magazines, dealers and manufacturers - please read.

[Marco]

Ok, I've had a chat with Dave and we agreed on the following points, which I'd like others to offer their comments on:

1. We would both like to see being a member of AOS as being part of a group that makes constructive and clear criticism where appropriate.

We don't want AOS to be representative of a group who constantly dig manufactures, dealers and magazines with unsubstantiated and often completely untrue comments.

2. We believe, for instance, you can say: "Hi fi News issue 148 reviewed a Chord Cable and found it to be identical to RS part no 123-456."

We do not believe you can say: "A Hi Fi Magazine reviewed a Chord cable and found it to be the same as an RS part." This slurs all other Hi Fi magazines and is not fair.

3. We believe, for instance, you can say: "I heard a Clearaudio Emotion with a Benz Glider and I don't like it."

We do not believe you can say: "All Clearaudio turntables sound poor."

Regarding point 3 above, anyone making such comments about a manufacturer's product being "poor" is entitled to do so but must then expect to be challenged on the matter and asked to offer their relevant experience. It is not acceptable to simply make blanket statements stating that such-and-such turntable is 'crap' or whatever without an accompanying explanatory reason.

With regard to points 1 and 2 above, we do not wish to gag anyone so people are perfectly entitled to, if necessary, be critical of a magazine, cable, or anything else, but the key thing is to be SPECIFIC and not generalise, as then all cable manufacturers, magazines, or whatever are tarred with the same brush and this is not fair.

However, if you are specific then you must have the necessary factual evidence to back up any comments made and be sure that your facts are correct before publishing potentially damaging remarks on the forum. We cannot allow 'tittle-tattle' (he says, she says, etc) or hearsay as being the basis for accusations made.

I trust that this is fair and clear to everyone, and we would therefore ask that people bear this in mind in future when discussions of this nature are taking place.

Marco.

[Steve Toy]

In summary:

Context is always the key when being critical of components. When making allegations about brands do not name them; when quoting or reporting something that has been said or claimed, always name your source.