Dealer Ethics? - Anonymous disparagement

Audigon- I just attempted to rate John 1's post above and checked off +1, +1 and it showed up as -1, -1. What's up. And John 1, I'm with you all the way to the point where you say you've commented favorably on gear you sell without disclosing that fact. Many hi end pros are valuable contributers to this forum, but if you have a potential financial interest, you should let us all know. Sorry about the mess up with the rating; now I know I don't like it.

swampwalker: the likely reason why your "vote" showed up as -1, -1 is that the tally on the post before your vote was -2, -2. as i understand it, the tally you see on any post after your vote is cumulative, counting the vote you've just made. good hunting. -kelly

swampwalker: i just confirmed my suspicion. i, too, rated john_l's post +1, +1 and the tally came up 0, 0.

I believe that a dealer has as much right to voice an honest opinion as the rest of us, but it would be relevant to the members reading the post to know that it is a dealer, or for that matter a competing manufacturer. Is there any way that AudiogoN can cause a dealer's or manufacturer's log-in handle (whatever you call it--I'm computer challenged) to differ from others so that it would be clear from the start that there's a potential interest or conflict of interest?

Hey Swampwalker & cornfed. Thanks for the +1's. Makes me happy, even if it's only in the name of science.
Really, the reasons I don't always disclose if I happen to selling something while proffering a positive opinion are: A) I don't want to bother, B) I feel it is not relvant to my point, and C) it looks like an advertisement. Nothing more, nothing less than that. Besides, I usually express my opinions in qualitative rather than quantitative terms.
RESOLUTION AUDIO CD PLAYERS RULE !!!!!
I would guess a similar pattern is true of some dealers. It's a suspicion of mine that most high end dealers are in it for a love of the game. Sometimes it is nice to 'hide' and be an individual too. Alternatively, I do notice that some industry luminaries get into the 'celebrity' of things a bit too by always using their full name rather than a handle.

- John Landau