The OP of the thread is breaking no forum rules and doesn't deserve to be confronted or attacked simply because you diagree with him.
I'm going to have to greatly disagree. I was going to leave this topic alone. I really was. But after reading the above quote I was unable to keep my mouth shut any longer (I tried Tony, I swear!)
I believe wholeheartedly he is breaking the forum rules. He is most definitely breaking the spirit of the rules. If I was the moderator he would have this (and his other) thread deleted. Unfortunately he's found a very grey interpretation that has some mods unwilling to pull the trigger. (Nothing against the mods here, I understand their dilemma. I would just personally choose to err on the side of the greater good rather than set a slippery slope precedent). I think its disgusting that in return for that grace he's thumbing his nose at the mods and the community by continuing to blatantly abuse the loophole and doing so gleefully. I don't have the rules quote but as I understand them the forum rules state you cannot advertise a profile for sale but you can mention them in conjunction with a free profile and they can be available through your link if free profiles are also available.
If the only profile you are promoting and describing for three complete scroll downs of a browser is a paid profile then you are advertising a paid profile. The title of this thread refers solely to his paid profile. The entire massively detailed description in the first post describes only the paid profile. Even after all this drama, there still is NO mention of two profile versions. NO admission of "
oh by the way, this awesome profile I'm describing isn't actually free but you can download a gimped version of my profile I threw together so I could continue to get away with advertising my paid profile. It isn't actually afkable and doesn't sell and doesn't mail or do hardly any of the other cool stuff I claimed in the post that got you to click my link but now that you're here...." That my friends is not only advertising, its bait and switch.
My suggestion to those of you that don't like what he's doing is to stop posting complaints and adverts for other profiles on this thread. People rarely read down through the whole thread when they are looking for a new profile to try. All you're doing is bumping his post to the top again and giving him free advertising (for his paid profile). Its kinda brilliant on his part actually and probably exactly why he still hasn't changed the post to tell the truth. If you really want to make a difference let this thread die and get buried, complain in his inbox, complain to the mods, downgrade his rep or report this thread (or all of the above). Or better yet, make a competing profile and release it for free.
And since I'm here and on a roll and already going to be bumping his post myself I may as well get it all out.
@gvaukjoe
This was your second profile ever, your first "share" with the community was less than a month ago and yet somehow you felt you'd given so much and been so taken advantage of that you just had to force compensation? Seriously? Maybe your real goal wasn't actually to "share more with the HB community".
The fact that you couldn't get donations willingly without going to such underhanded lengths tells me you were just doing it wrong. Maybe you need to take a look at who you're being on the forum and to your users that makes them not want to click the donation link without force. Maybe you should take a look at how you talk to people, how you treated (and continue to treat) those who aren't coughing up cash. I wouldn't donate to you either no matter how good your profile is. I actually was going to use it and would have paid for it until you pulled this stunt. And before you blame people being generally stingy with donations consider this: I made my first profile a little over a month ago. I put up my first donation link a week ago yesterday and only because people kept asking me too. I have had no trouble with them using it since. If you want to earn some points back with the community delete your thread of your own doing, write up a proper post describing your free profile and give your paid version a shout. You might be surprised how many "haters" actually become customers.
Or don't and then we'll know the truth is it was never sharing with the community you cared about but about
getting paid. If that's the case, at least be honest about it and have the guts to start a proper sales site like
Gatherit or
Inrego.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go donate some more money to
Kick who truly deserves way more than I could ever afford to donate.