Good day to everyone at EF.
As most people know the EF has undergone some changes since the passing of the original owner/creator onto the new owner.
http://www.englishforum.ch/announcements/47761-ef-partners-local-transfer-ownership.html

While some changes will go unnoticed by most people, other changes will affect users in different ways, one of these being replacing user names for those people linking their on-line names to their professional lives or business names.
Mine is one that has been axed, but fortunately, for the time being, I am able to keep the signature, previous posts and reputation. Hopefully these will remain to allow a “commercial” feel to people needing services required by the expat community.
In my case, with the Avatar and a similar identity to my old one, most people who know my company and services will recognize my prior name as PCDesigns. Only the EF log-in name has changed, not my company name so if you require our assistance, contact me through PM or better, the email link in my profile by clicking on my new username PC_Advisor .

My appreciation to PC_Advisor for the sacrifice of his former user name.

If everyone still knows who you are and what you do, isn't the change completely pointless?!?

For your user name is to be be non-commercial, it should contain neither 'PC' nor 'advisor' -and your Avitar too...

I don't think so, have you never seen face-off?

You've had a problem with me since the day I joined and don't know why. Maybe because I like to help other people and enjoy my day job???

Now thats too much...atleast he made the efforts to change the username. Give him some credit for that.

Strange - I thought it would be a good thing that they were clearly identified with their commercial interests. At least then you can judge the post's content in the light of their own interests. I would expect blatant advertising not to be tolerated anyway so don't understand the issue or reason for people to need to hide. Also I would be quite keen / inclined to do business with people I 'know' through the forum over someone I don't who I have to find in the yellow pages.

You are welcomed to do so, in the Market Place is the
sub category Commercial. Here you will find all the
businesses and service providers that are EF users.

If only there was a way to "vote" and ensure EVERYONE that uses EF would reply and then forward the results to the new mods, maybe they would set up a "commercial services" list for everyone running businesses offering services instead of being scattered all over the forum. Maybe?

Problem is with such a evident link to your business it isn't clear if you help people because you are a nice guy or because "it is good for business"???

Either way, it is good for business

Another one doesn't understand the meaning of spam...

If people can still have all the commercial info under their profile then what is the point of this new rule?

You recently registered. Did you read the "Forum Rules" when doing so?

Again, this is not a new rule. Coffee anyone?

If I had a PC problem, I posted here and was helped free of charge it would also be good for me. Same as going into a shop and getting some free help.
If people see that someone is helpful and that gives them some business - fine.

If someone is spamming, they could be reported to the mods and get them deleted/banned.

If a little extra business maybe encourages them to help more, fine, it also helps us more.

I would rather be helped by someone, even if they have a commercial interest than not helped at all. At least with them being identified I know where I am.

I have a life, I leave the micro managment to experts in the field.

@PC Advisor: I don't feel AbFab's reply was only about you. There's a fair point being made that many on this Forum have been long-standing members who promote their services without it interfering in any model.

Now we have a commercial model, you're getting the carpet pulled from under you. I think AbFab's comments are relevent to the older members who'll always associate certain people with their services but as the membership grows and changes, those familiarities are no longer accomodated.

We're changing from a hamlet to a village to a town. It's inevitable some things change, for better or worse



(I remember when it was all fields around here...)