Well said, John! A tuppence goes a long way here. As a consultant in the semiconductor and the IP fields, I generally give away 'free advice'. I see this to be similar to asking a friend who's also a lawyer advice on a legal matter. The advice is usually limited in scope, and makes a point of contact should the recipient feel they need my expertise later on. I think to use this or any other forum to solicit business is not in keeping with the professional standards that Werner, et al, maintain and expect. Bill Davis -----Original Message----- From: John Brewer [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 1999 7:02 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Consultants making contacts on TechNet Netters, I think there's two issues here being discussed under the same heading. #1 I posted a query here last week, when I received SPAM from someone who had harvested my address off this list. Turns out, based on mail from other Technetters, that he/she ("Micro/Mega Solutions") blanketed the earth with unsolicited mail, advertizing a service. The key word here is "unsolicited"... this was SPAM, and is not a good thing. #2. If I have posted a question to the group asking for help on an issue, and a consultant answered me off, or on-line, I think that's a valid contact, since the inquiry was solicited, and not just a mass-marketing ploy. #1 is a Bad Thing IMHO, whereas #2 is the reason I post to this austute group! Rgds, /John ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Gayatri Sardeshpande at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5365 ############################################################## ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Gayatri Sardeshpande at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5365 ##############################################################