As long as they identify themselves as such, not only do I not mind, I welcome them. Even if I disagree with them from time to time, I find most of the contributors who have a professional link to this topic to be amongst the best contributors. I think the ones that don't properly identify themselves absolutely devalue the forum. I do wish Audiogon would provide a color code or an identifying symbol (*?) to classify the contributing poster(s).
Vendors Who Post
There are a number of vendors who post to Audiogon discussion threads. I think we can fairly assume that all of them have disclosed that there are in fact vendors and are not hiding this important fact. In my experience, most vendors are very helpful here and do not attempt to primarily use the threads as a marketing tool to solicit customers. They use the threads to give useful information pertaining to their products, to clear up misunderstandings about their products and to correct misperceptions about their products. Most vendors post in a professional way with an appropriate tone. But, alas, there are some vendors who are less professional than others on these forums, in my opinion. How do you feel about the vendors who post here?