Business and Commercial Members FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Are members allowed to discuss businesses, organizations, services, and products on the SDN Forums?

Yes! Members can discuss products, services, businesses, and organizations.

Are members allowed to promote businesses, organizations, services, and products on the SDN Forums?

Yes. Members may promote businesses, organizations, services, and products on SDN. However, to ensure the validity of represented information, we first require verification of the companies and organizations before posting.

What are the rules for promoting a business or service in the Forums?

• The organization must be verified first (see above).
• Organizations may answer member questions about services or products.
• Organizations are encouraged to answer questions that fall within their area of expertise. However, we ask that answers help the community and not simply promote a business or service. Example: "Should I study physics for the MCAT?" In this case, an organization can answer by explaining that yes, the MCAT includes physics and most students need to review the following principles (and so on).

Can companies use their business logo as their account avatar?

Yes, we encourage verified companies to use their logo as their avatar.

Can businesses put links in their signature?

Signature links are supported for Sponsors.

SDN Sponsors may include links in their signature line. For more information on becoming an SDN sponsor, please email [email protected] or visit our list of available sponsorships.

Signatures must be 15 pt or less and should not disrupt the visual flow of a thread.

Can organizations create threads and posts to promote their business or service?

• Yes! In the Advising Services & Discounts and Test Prep Services & Discounts area, identified Vendors and Sponsors may post threads to promote their services.
• Companies and organizations that post regularly and would like a custom sub-forum within these forums can request one at no cost
• Sponsors may also post a thread for their business or service in the Classifieds forum.
• However, organizations must not create threads in other areas to promote products and services. This disrupts normal thread and discussion flow and may result in account suspension.

What if an organization posts about products or services without identifying their identity?

The SDN Forums are moderated to maintain an honest discussion and a natural flow of information. Organizations that attempt to either 'stealth' market themselves or denigrate other organizations may have posts removed, resulting in account suspension. This includes the following activities:

• Creating accounts that appear unaffiliated with a business (such as posing as a student or faculty member) that promote a business: "Check out Company XYZ - they are awesome!"
• Creating accounts that appear unaffiliated with a business to criticize or spread negative comments about competitors.
• Paying or incentivizing students or other individuals to promote a business through forum posts.
• Posing as a competitor or adopting a similar name to spread misinformation or otherwise harm the reputation of a competitor.
• Redirecting members to private Facebook groups, etc.

Can organizations posts in the SDN Classifieds?

The SDN Classifieds can be used to advertise products and services. Organizations can post advertisements for products or services.

Can organizations developing a new product or service survey students to get feedback?

Yes! Feedback surveys are permitted in the Advising Services & Discounts and Test Prep Services & Discounts areas.

Members must complete surveys on a third-party site, and links to the site must clearly state that information entered on the survey is subject to the third-party terms of service and privacy policies.

Can organizations give away free promotional products/services?

Yes! Organizations may use the Advising Services & Discounts and Test Prep Services & Discounts forums for this purpose.

Can nonprofit businesses promote their service or product?

Absolutely. As a fellow nonprofit organization, we encourage the development of free and low-cost resources for students. Please reach out to us to discuss partnerships or other cooperation. Additionally, we offer a special non-profit section in the SDN Classifieds forums.

What to do if somebody has posted negative information about an organization or service.

If the information is demonstrably false, please use the "report post" button and explain why it is wrong. Verified vendors may respond to negative feedback in the forums. Please follow the guidelines above.

Someone has posted something that violates a copyright.

Please use the "report post" link on the post to alert our moderator staff. If needed, submit a DMCA notice.