11-02-2009, 06:51 AM
Hi all,
I'm starting this topic hoping that the focus of the thread "Crime in Fern Acres" can be more useful to DMarie, who asked the original question.
The original question about Fern Acres was asked in another forum where there are very few participants who actually LIVE in Puna. As I often do, I sent a private message through that forum to someone interested specifically in the Puna district to direct them to PunaWeb. There is a wealth of information here that can benefit those searching for various perspectives. (However, every time I send someone here, I now preface it with a disclaimer--letting them know that this forum can be a little more rough-and-tumble than others that are more highly regulated. There is value in that too, in my opinion.)
There is a fine line that we agents must walk when commenting on specific neighborhoods or geographic areas--especially in writing. Facts are facts and are permissible. Judgments that smack of "steering" or violate certain ethical boundaries are, of course, not appropriate. Sometimes the lines get really blurred, especially when an agent feels he/she is 'known' in the forum and relaxes into short answers or casual banter. The intent of a particular comment may not have been malicious, but the message can be lost through the communication channel.
I read PunaWeb often, but participate as a Realtor only when I feel I have something clearly relevant to contribute to a particular question. In those cases, I use my signature because I am required to do so by my company. (That policy is in place to ensure that readers can easily find my license number if there is a problem.) I've also asked questions here for my own benefit and gotten good information from the gardening forum (and I've sold a bed to a couple in Black Sands through the Classifieds).
Everyone is entitled to an opinion about Realtors/real estate agents, but for the sake of new members (some of whom I've sent this way), I do hope that the "real estate" debate can take place on threads separate from requests for information. It would be sad to lose potential future community members from this forum because they get overwhelmed by on-going debates between long-time members after just one post....
Cynthia Hoskins, R(S)
http://twitter.com/Cynthia_Hoskins
Clark Realty Corporation-Hilo
http://www.clarkhawaii.com/
I'm starting this topic hoping that the focus of the thread "Crime in Fern Acres" can be more useful to DMarie, who asked the original question.
The original question about Fern Acres was asked in another forum where there are very few participants who actually LIVE in Puna. As I often do, I sent a private message through that forum to someone interested specifically in the Puna district to direct them to PunaWeb. There is a wealth of information here that can benefit those searching for various perspectives. (However, every time I send someone here, I now preface it with a disclaimer--letting them know that this forum can be a little more rough-and-tumble than others that are more highly regulated. There is value in that too, in my opinion.)
There is a fine line that we agents must walk when commenting on specific neighborhoods or geographic areas--especially in writing. Facts are facts and are permissible. Judgments that smack of "steering" or violate certain ethical boundaries are, of course, not appropriate. Sometimes the lines get really blurred, especially when an agent feels he/she is 'known' in the forum and relaxes into short answers or casual banter. The intent of a particular comment may not have been malicious, but the message can be lost through the communication channel.
I read PunaWeb often, but participate as a Realtor only when I feel I have something clearly relevant to contribute to a particular question. In those cases, I use my signature because I am required to do so by my company. (That policy is in place to ensure that readers can easily find my license number if there is a problem.) I've also asked questions here for my own benefit and gotten good information from the gardening forum (and I've sold a bed to a couple in Black Sands through the Classifieds).
Everyone is entitled to an opinion about Realtors/real estate agents, but for the sake of new members (some of whom I've sent this way), I do hope that the "real estate" debate can take place on threads separate from requests for information. It would be sad to lose potential future community members from this forum because they get overwhelmed by on-going debates between long-time members after just one post....
Cynthia Hoskins, R(S)
http://twitter.com/Cynthia_Hoskins
Clark Realty Corporation-Hilo
http://www.clarkhawaii.com/
