Headphone amp project and the disappearing thread

Welcome to the club...

Are you sure about this?  I think the deciding factor may be whether you are acting as a business, selling product at a profit.  I know other projects here that involve bare pcbs effectively sold at cost seem unaffected (as they should!)

If commercial interests are actually trying to suffocate the DIY community then that'll be the last straw for me.  I know several other forums seem to have a very healthy DIY atmosphere. 

Edited by rds - 3/7/11 at 12:47pm

You might be talking to the wall, he told me he was not coming back here anymore...

anyone who has information can answer ...i'm not asking about his case specifically but in general

 

I do not like to see purely commercial interests come in here to "advertise"

their products as it does nothing to help our community as the design detail

are most often kept behind closed doors. In P-A's case, while he did not

give anything away free, he did at least offer his schematics up for a small fee.

I can understand his feelings.

 

So far, myself, I have refused to sell anything to anyone even at my cost

to avoid any potential problems with the rules of this board.

I also figure anything posted here about ones own designs is given

to be in the public domain. If I post a schematic or board design

it is implied that I give anyone the opportunity to produce it.

When someone doesn't make a fortune from it, I don't see it as a problem. This is a DIY thread after all.

 

And when is someone willing to share his schematics, even better.

Edited by akgfan - 3/7/11 at 2:10pm

but 'fortune' is a very subjective term.  i think they either have to say for-profit or non-profit ...they can't really start talking about acceptable profit margins and be auditing members.  ideally people should be free to pursue their ambitions, but here we have commercial interests who seem to feel threatened by a free market.

 

also what's the deal with everyone and their mother being a mot?  is headfi making a profit on this?

 

It's "If any money above the cost of materials and shipping is involved."  As I explained in the PM, DIY projects not-for-profit are fine, but to be absolutely fair, where any profit is taken, then Head-Fi considers it a commercial project.

 

To expand a little on Currawong's post, the reason we draw a line on commercial ventures is because we have paid advertisers and sponsors. If we allowed unpaid promotion of any commercial venture, it would be unfair to those who do pay.

Head-Fi needs its sponsors and advertisers. Otherwise, it would not be possible to keep the lights on.

If some were allowed to have free promotion, then why wouldn't the paying sponsors and advertisers stop paying and also expect free promotion?

I do appreciate new businesses and would like to see them succeed. However, they will need to pay for promotion here, just like everyone else. If anyone is interested in advertising or sponsorship, drop us a PM. We'll connect you with the people who handle that.