Yikes! I just got reported!

[Iyoba Tarantal]

There has to be a first time for everything. Today was mine. As happens in these situations, I am NOT ENTIRELY BLAMELESS. I have a small store that I am using to promote Petable Turtles. OK, I can hear some of you groan. I went to gather my turtle eggs, and started talking about it on a group chat. I said I had found a glow and a shine and if any body wanted these lovely eggs, just ask. I don't have room to hatch any body new out and they're consanguinous, but these were unusually good ones.

I also invited folks to see my store.  (Gave SLURL). I have free egg dips, informational cards,  two very cute good will ambassadors with shells, and and an affiliate vendor for food and the Petable freebie kit. I want the turtle bug to bite a few more SL'ers. Laugh if you want to, but buying food keeps Petable in business. More turtle tamers means the possiblity of swapping eggs and more genetic diversity.

Of course, I encountered a complainer. I figured who died and left him king. Besides if they complain, they are following the conversation. I pattered on and off. I argued with the complainer. My language was polite. Another complainer joined him, and then complainer #1 reported me.

OK, I was a boor. Yes, I was advertising as in trying to create interest for a product. No, I was not selling anything. Turtle eggs are worthless, except to someone who hatches one out.  I was trying to promote something that I think is worth doing.  Not it was not spam. It was personal talk in one group. Can I lose my account for being rude?

[Ariel Vuissent]

It's unlikely you will be permanently banned for one mild offense. You may get a "warning," or even have your account temporarily suspended depending how seriously SL takes the report. I've filed quite a few against a couple of honest-to-goodness group spammers, and haven't noticed them being absent for any significant length of time, so I think other than a possible short-lived suspension, you should be fine.

However, talking about a business, even if it's not a profitable one, in chat in a group that is not geared specifically towards that business and/or specifies no advertising is spam, even if it's not intentional spam. This may be your passion and your hobby, but no one else knows that's all it is. You could be an alt of someone with a large stake in the pettable turtle business; partnered to someone with a large stake in the business; close friends with someone with a large stake in the business. All people witnessing the chat know is that you're talking about something that requires purchase, giving an SLURL where they can buy things - unsolicited - and won't store when asked. I'd report you, too. I don't mean anything mean by it, but I don't want to be inundated with talk about Pettable Turtles in a random group chat.

If you really want to talk about your Pettable Turtles, try making friends with other people who are very interested. Join some groups for breedables. Hang out at breedable locations. Don't start a chat in a random group, talking about your business where you sell things. That is spam.

Note: I don't know how related or unrelated to the group Pettable Turtles are. I'm guessing from the way you say others responded that it's pretty unrelated, and generally in group chat you don't want to start talking randomly about topics that do not relate to the group. And if someone asks you to stop, do, unless you have a valid reason that your topic and your business relate directly to the group.

[PudgyPaddy]

Perhaps you should contact LL support and let them know what happened prior to them letting you know.  

It is ok to be a boor in SL, I know many furries.  

[Iyoba Tarantal]

I probably rent my retail space from at least one group member.

Most of my Brazilian groups have ads in them all the time for clothing, skyboxes, horses, etc....  This was an Arabic speaking group. I get around. I'll stick with my Brazilian groups.

[Shelby Silverspar]

Unlikely you'll get banned. Unlikely you'll even get a reprimand. Considering some of the threads in this forum concerning some long term over the top stalkers that haven't turned LL head, I doubt this minor disgression will.

I think I want a turtle, they sound cute!

[Vladi Hazelnut]

I bet you have ar'd more than once. You would be shocked how many have AR's on file that don't know it. I made this mistake of asking a friend that works for LL if I had any and he said I had like 15! I was sorry I asked lol. He said not to worry about it, people AR others for most stupid things. Unless you broke one of the big six most likely nothing will come of it. Just about everyone in SL has an AR filed on them. And if you run a business I bet its a lot more.

If LL even sees the AR I am sure they will ignore since its over something petty. I just laugh when poeple say they are going to AR me now. Unless I am know I am doing something really Illegal I simply don't worry about it. And I don't do anything Illegal so let them waste the time filling out the paperwork.

And chances are the guy didn't bother to do it anyway.

[Iyoba Tarantal]

I've only filed 4 Ar's in three years. Two of them were for filling space  with huge random object or huge particle generators, and the other two were for sex machinery left on educational (tax payer funded) sites.  In the latter cases, I also informed the land owner and told him to stop running an accidental sandbox and remove the object. I let most things go, but abuse of educational sites really gets under my skin.

[Rene Erlanger]

Some SL'ers are overly sensitive and need extra pampering of their egos.....they'll complain about any little thing.

I wouldn't worry about it....it's too minor an infringement. At worst the Group owner could boot you out f the Group.....LL themselves won't be interested in the slightest!

[Pussycat Catnap]

Its not a ToS violation to advertise in a group chat.

It can be a violation of the group's policy - which will ge you removed from the group; but not a ToS violation.

It would only reach the level of ToS violation if you started persistent spamming - and everyone has the sense to tell the difference even if they claim not to.

 

Mentioning that you have two extras of something to give away, at your shop... someone would have to be seriously dense to find that spam...

 

[Lear Cale]

I think Pussycat sums it up well, if I'm understanding the OP correctly.

There was no cause for an AR here, if that's what happened.  If they just reported you to the group owner, well, that's fair enough, and all you risk is being ejected from the group.  You can probably avoid that by simply apologizing and saying you've learned your lesson.

Offering freebies is nice.  Doing it on a completely unrelated group where that isn't permitted is inconsiderate, but that's a forgivable offense if it's not repeated.