Steve Bailey
Lifetime Supporting Member + Moderator
Timothy Moulder's post extolling the virtues of the latest Unitronics offering inspired this thread.
At the top of the page, Phil requests that we not use the PLCs.net forum for advertising. My question is this: How do you determine what constitutes advertising?
It's pretty obvious that some of the regulars here are employees of PLC manufacturers or distributors. That's a good thing because those people are experts in the application of their products across a wide range of industries. They've seen the applications, they've experienced the idiosyncracies of their product, they know the the answers to the FAQs, and they know where to look for the answers to the questions they can't answer.
It's also a good thing that they disclose their affiliation because the downside to having all that knowledge is that they can also be missionaries for their product line. It helps to put a response in its proper perspective if you also know that the respondent works for the company whose product he/she is talking about.
The line between passing along product knowledge and marketing is a blurry one. There isn't a clear-cut demarcation between the two. If I tell you how to use a feature in General Schneider's PLC, am I pointing out a potential application that you might not have considered or am I trying to get you use that brand instead of Rock Om or Mitsumation Online? Is the person who only answers questions about a particular brand trying to sell that brand or is he simply smart enough to stay away from discussions about brands he's not familiar with?
It could prove to be an interesting discussion. If you're an employee of a PLC manufacturer or distributor, what standards do you apply to your posts? If you're a user, what standards do you wish the manufacturers and reps would stick to? Where, to you, is the line drawn between marketing and product knowledge? What is your reaction to a post that crosses your line?
At the top of the page, Phil requests that we not use the PLCs.net forum for advertising. My question is this: How do you determine what constitutes advertising?
It's pretty obvious that some of the regulars here are employees of PLC manufacturers or distributors. That's a good thing because those people are experts in the application of their products across a wide range of industries. They've seen the applications, they've experienced the idiosyncracies of their product, they know the the answers to the FAQs, and they know where to look for the answers to the questions they can't answer.
It's also a good thing that they disclose their affiliation because the downside to having all that knowledge is that they can also be missionaries for their product line. It helps to put a response in its proper perspective if you also know that the respondent works for the company whose product he/she is talking about.
The line between passing along product knowledge and marketing is a blurry one. There isn't a clear-cut demarcation between the two. If I tell you how to use a feature in General Schneider's PLC, am I pointing out a potential application that you might not have considered or am I trying to get you use that brand instead of Rock Om or Mitsumation Online? Is the person who only answers questions about a particular brand trying to sell that brand or is he simply smart enough to stay away from discussions about brands he's not familiar with?
It could prove to be an interesting discussion. If you're an employee of a PLC manufacturer or distributor, what standards do you apply to your posts? If you're a user, what standards do you wish the manufacturers and reps would stick to? Where, to you, is the line drawn between marketing and product knowledge? What is your reaction to a post that crosses your line?