Hi everyone! Rather than have eleventy billion announcements and pinned posts this will be on concise area for all the rules that are specific to this area. As always should you have any questions feel free to hit up the RT mods, LiberAmoris, Sarah or myself (Belladonnastrap) and we'll get back to you 
ON SWAPPING OUTSIDE THE SWAPS SECTION:
The swap forums are for:
- Swapping/trading or offers for [x] product, free or otherwise
- Decants of [x] product
- Custom purchases from [x] company or website
The Retail Therapy forum is for:
- Discussion/reviews of products
- Fulfilling your enabling quota
- General talk about fashion, makeup, skincare, haircare, bath products and anything to do with shopping in general, and using products that make you smelling and looking fabulous (outside of BPAL).
Examples of swapping outside the swap forum include:
- I have ____ for grabs
- If anyone wants to buy/swap ______ for ______
- If anyone wants me to pick up ______ for them, I'd be happy to do it.
- Does anyone have ______ that they would like to swap/sell?
Please do not mention these in your posts. Use PM or the Swap forums.
ON VARIOUS E-TAILER COMPANIES:
Out of respect of BPAL we do not allow company specific threads for e-tailers (ie Cocoa Pink, Arcana soaps, Violette Market etc). We do have general threads for lump discussion of other perfumeries/bath places but I STRESS that posting full updates of these companies and breakdowns like is done for BPAL is strictly forbidden. We are now allowing national brand companies so LUSH, Bath & Body Works etc on a case by case basis. If you're curious the best way to make sure the thread is kosher is PM one of the mods.
E-TAILERS WHO JOIN THE FORUM:
You cannot post announcements (product or shipping) or order-specific customer support. We would prefer that you do not promote your company - and if you do, you must mention your affiliation. This is something that has been particularly problematic of late, and we have been cracking down. For your convenience, a copy of our e-tailer guidelines is below:
While we encourage free trade and values the concept of supporting small businesses and start-ups, please realize that the forums are primarily geared towards the Lab. As such, just because you may consider your company's products or services to be ideal towards the needs and wants of the community does not make it acceptable for you to promote your products/services on the forums. Many small businesses have benefited due to the forum members becoming regular patrons. This is due to the fact that customer testimonials and reviews speak larger than any kind of promotion, discount, or sale a business owner is able to provide. As a result, we have several extra rules that we expect e-tailers to follow:
- Do not use your account to promote your goods or services, to support your customers, or as a way to do market research.
- The forum should not be regarded as any kind of tool for secondary support for your business. If you run your own company forums, please encourage interested parties to post over in your forums.
- You must post about more than just your company and its products. Although we do not have a set formula for post count percentage, a good general rule to consider is whether more than half your posts are on general topics, not related to your business. However, each e-tailer situation is considered on a case-by-case basis, with consideration given to overall participation and other contributions to the forum.
- The following are acceptable forms of self-promotion: a link in your signature, posting your auctions in the eBay topic, and if your items are crafty, posting in "pimp your crafty stuff" in Cut n Paste. You can swap items for BPAL, if you want, or include samples in swaps arranged on the forum.
- You are not allowed to coerce a forum member into editing their reviews/posts whether in a specific topic about your business or elsewhere on the forum. Forum members are allowed to post positive and negative reviews about a product or service. A member's post will be edited of their own volition, not because a business owner pressured them into censoring themselves.
- Any kind of sensitive information regarding a customer's order or sales/technical support should be relayed over email. This includes letting customers know that their orders have shipped, or will shortly be shipping.
- Please keep in mind that these forums are here as a gathering place for fans of BPAL and customers of the Lab. If you do not fall into one of those categories, then this is not the right place for you to interact with your customer base, regardless of the potential overlap.
Consequences of breaking these rules will depend on what was done. For instance, if you are using the forum as a way to see what people think about things your competitors are doing, you may lose access to Retail Therapy - and if your business is perfume related, you may lose access to other portions of the forum as well. If you are using the forum to support your customers, you may lose access to the PM system and/or Retail Therapy, and posts that are supporting your customers may be made invisible. If you are using the forum to promote sales, your sales posts will become invisible, and if it continues, you may lose access to Retail Therapy.
We appreciate everyone's compliance with all rules and remember, if you have any questions/comments/concerns please PM one of the mods! Thank you and don't forget:
