Where do I find out about the rules on advertising within the DVDTalk.com forums?
The first word is to be found in the list of rules to which members are expected to adhere on signing up:

YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO THE DVD TALK FORUM IS ALSO PREDICATED ON YOUR ADHERENCE TO THESE RULES. If you violate any of these rules your account will be suspended and you may be permanently banned from membership at our discretion:

ABSOLUTELY NO:
• Posting of any form of advertising including: URL's with affiliate codes, referrer tags, tracking numbers or anything which actively promotes a site or company. Paid advertisers are obviously excluded from this rule.

I’m not sure whether the rules cover my particular situation?
If you are in any doubt whatsoever as to where the line is drawn on such matters you should PM a mod or admin and then wait until you have received a response before proceeding with any action which might be regarded as in contravention with either the letter or the spirit of the above rules.

Doesn’t this put a lot of responsibility on the member?
Yes it does. Members are entirely accountable for their posts and risk the suspension or permanent removal of posting privileges for any infraction. When in doubt, it makes sense to check first, wait for the reply and then to act on it.

What about simply posting about a bargain where I work?
As well as blatant "shills", we've had long term members essentially setting up shop here before. Somebody asks about getting a new TV and they chime in with "I can get you a good deal on that". And it happens over and over. Others keep posting in threads about new releases their company has or sales items. A trend is noticeable after a while. We have had a good number of those so, as a result of these episodes, now we don’t let anyone promote business for a company they work for.

But I know that members will be interested!
We have a diverse community that works for many companies that produce products that members might be interested in. If we allow their posting of the deals we would never get advertising from those companies. The company would just have the member do it. Not to mention that those "deals" aren't always objectively the best deals. Non-employee members come from the viewpoint of several vendors to choose from, not just the one cited. When a non-associated member sees a good deal it usually is because they've also compared against a selection of vendors. So when it comes from the member who is an employee it becomes just advertising.

Is there a line to be drawn? Any grey/gray areas?
See above about being unsure if the rules cover your situation. But IB have agreed to the option whereby members can ask for administrator pre-approval if they think there's an exceptional reason for posting a particular link/deal/etc. Or, for that matter, in cases of genuine doubt with regard to what constitutes a competing site.

Can I put a link to my site in my sig?
We would suggest asking permission first. Promoting your blog may be fine but promoting a commercial website… No.

What about innocent self-promotion?
See above about being unsure if the rules cover your situation. As far as individual members telling others about a CD they made, or a short film they worked on, or whatever, as long as it's small-time like that, for the most part we should be able to live with it. It sounds like good community camaraderie. When you have friends on a forum you'd like to be able to tell them about something cool that you’re personally involved in. However, bumping threads during the season for buying your book or your CD (or whatever) is seen as taking a step too far. When it butts up against advertisers' interests, or DVDTalk's interests, there's the line. Since DVDTalk has a very high-traffic review blog section, links to similar blogs are probably over the line, for instance.

How will you even know if I might profit personally?
Most of the scenarios envisage you contacting the mod team in advance. A part of that would include background information as to your connection, if any, to the deal. As is the case in any community, there is an implicit element of trust. And, as is also the case in any community, there are sanctions against those who breach that trust. For details of how perceived infactions are handled, please see the SOP which is posted elsewhere.

Are there any people who are allowed to advertise in forum threads?
Yes, IB has authorised certain company reps to become members and post. You will usually recognise them by their custom user title and maybe a company-oriented avatar. If you are in any doubt, please just PM an admin and they will check our list.

I think the pesky mods are being unreasonable in their interpretation. What does IB have to say?
“We can't very well ask vendors to support the site through advertising if we're going to allow anyone to hawk their stuff for free. Likewise, we don't allow competing websites to shill here or try to enlist support. Rule of thumb: if it potentially hurts this site, we shouldn't allow it; if it hurts our paying advertisers, siphoning or discouraging participators, it's hurting DVDTalk's ability to grow and improve." - IB

You said that the forum rules were the first word. What is the last word?
For details of how perceived infactions are handled, please see the SOP which is posted elsewhere.