Telescope Reviews: The Scammer C-14 thread and other scams

After moderator discussion it was decided to lock the "Bouncing C-14" thread and move it out of the forums.

This is not the first Craigslist/eBay scammer thread that has gone wrong, so to prevent future misunderstandings, I will now clarify the issue.

It is acceptable to post a notice in the forum that warns other people about an active scam that is preying on telescope buyers. No harm there, as long as the TOS is obeyed. This means we should be nice, clear, and state the facts - without giving out personal information, or doing anything else that will break the CN TOS or give the wrong idea to those who might read the warning. No matter how tempting or just it may seem, we are not here to police the internet for scammers or to bring them to justice. Furthermore, it is not CN's role or mission to do this and CN is under no obligation to provide a platform for exposing and busting scammers. We warn each other out of a friendly sense of community and to help out other good people to avoid getting burned. But there is a line to be drawn when dealing with these scammers in the forum :

1) do not post the scammer's email address, contact information, or a copy of the email the scammer sent you. Even though the scammer is probably a criminal, *you* as a CN member must obey the CN TOS - this means you cannot reprint ANYTHING in a private email to the public forum, even if that email came from a scammer. The scammer might be breaking the law, but by posting the email to the forum, you are breaking the CN TOS. You can post a link to the scam ad, and tell people it's a scam, and that is OK. But do not reprint emails, email addresses, phone numbers, contact information, etc.

2) Refrain from name-calling and branding. Part of the CN TOS and sense of community is a "family friendly" and "play nice" atmosphere. We have class, scammers don't. Let's reinforce that distinction in how we deal with them. Calling them lowlifes, scumbags, jerks, etc is a violation of the CN TOS because it's just not nice. We can still do a public service, in a way, by pointing out the scam - we don't have to make personal judgements in public about the scammer's character. Chances are, we are all have the same opinion of these scammers anyway.

3) If you have been personally scammed or you really want to see a particular scammer busted, then do it off the forums. Do it via telephone, email, or in person. Don't use CN as a platform to campaign against the scammer or use CN as a part of some scheme to trick the scammer. Any duty that decency calls for is already taken care of by exposing the scam in public. Posting a simple link and a brief explanation of the scam will do - anything further is unnecessary and may lead to TOS violations or legal issues.

I'm sure everyone's motives were clean in this one. I know most of you and I know the people involved in this C14 scammer thread - I am not calling anyone out personally or pointing fingers. None of us want to see good people scammed by unsavory characters who prowl the internet. But there are other avenues and venues for taking the fight to the scammers, and the CN forums is not it.

As always, the best defense against getting scammed is - BUYER BEWARE. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If something raises a red flag in your mind or gut, then there is probably good reason to be wary.

Clear skies and be careful out there,

MikeG

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