You people seriously need to get a life! There are a myriad of benefits and services provided by these signs who represent small business in general who can't compete with big business advertising bucks. Squeezing out the little guy in business, to me, in itself is un-American. Certainly you people have more important things to do in with your lives. Keep "sharkin", morons.

Ooo! Ooo! Can I be the first to respond?

We have lives. We keep our communities clean and beautiful in accord with the laws of the land. We think that's a great hobby to incorporate into our lives.

These businessmen you're talking about can find ways to advertise their wares legally. Everyone else manages.

By the way, what scam, er, I mean business are you in?

LAST EDITED ON 02-04-02 AT 07:20 PM (CST)

(Awwwww - I thought I was going to be first to respond!)


>You people seriously need to get a life!

Thank you, Sir/Madam, for your counseling. I have been advised by many of your ilk to get a life, so I find I must now go out and begin really living and making up for what I have been missing!


>There are a myriad of benefits and
>services provided by these signs
>who represent small business in
>general who can't compete with
>big business advertising bucks.

Well, I think that one of the main benefits you are thinking about is cash in your pocket. Cash that you should have paid for legitimate, legal forms of advertising, but thought you could avoid. Now you find out that people don't like illegal signs and moreover they do something about it (like remove them).

I understand your frustration. But I think you have been misled by the company who recruited you. Did they not tell that signs are illegal? Or perhaps they encouraged you to put up signs in hopes that you wouldn't get caught?


>Squeezing out the little guy
>in business, to me, in
>itself is un-American.

So is breaking the law, my friend. And the law says signs on traffic posts and right of ways in most places across the country are illegal. Furthermore, they are very unattractive and quite an eyesore. And since when is trashing our cities an American value?

Oh, yes, one other question: what company have you founded and what product do you sell? I'm afraid you'll tell me you're simply selling one of those corporate health diet products, or some insurance from a large corporation. In which case, you are not a little guy but rather a representative of a million (billion?) dollar trans-national corporation. No way do they deserve free advertising at the expense of our public areas.



>Certainly you people have more important
>things to do in with your lives.

I know I should get out more, I really do.


>Keep "sharkin", morons.

Wellll - ok

DenverShark

"Chummer" said:

>Squeezing out the little guy in business, to me, in
>itself is un-American.

Then is it "pro-American" to steal advertising space wherever you feel like, and cheapen the appearance of whatever area you plaster with signs?

I have a better idea. In my city, there are quite a few small billboards which are available for $4. a day. Why not find something like that in your area? Those signs are made just for the "little guy". They are much bigger than the nail-on-phone-poles kind. They look much more professional. So use them!

Besides, your "big guy vs. little guy" argument can be turned around: Here we are in a nice city, where many tourists come and enjoy the scenery and help to create jobs for lots of small businesses in town. But then some nameless, faceless people come through and stick dozens of signs all over, cheapening and defacing our city. These illegally-posted signs steal peoples' attention from the legitimate advertising of local businesses. If a "level playing field" is important to your sense of fairness, then why is it all right for some businesses to steal their advertising space while others have to pay for theirs?

>Certainly
>you people have more important
>things to do in with
>your lives.

Trying to maintain the quality-of-life in my area seems like an important enough thing to do, thanks. But since you brought up the subject, could I suggest thinking about why it is so important to you to be able to steal? I don't know about you, but I don't want the world I live in to be like that, and saying "everybody does it" just gives blanket permission for it to keep happening. No, thanks. I'd rather help try to take my community back from those that would trash it...

LAST EDITED ON 02-04-02 AT 08:22 PM (CST)

LAST EDITED ON 02-04-02 AT 08:20 PM (CST)

Dang, uglylitter, you beat me to this one!

>You people seriously need to get a life!

Hey la, hey la, the trolls are back! Haven't we heard this "get a life" script before? Could just ONE of your trolls at least find something original to say?

It's as boring as the sign spammer herbalife websites, all made from the same template, yawn...not a lot of original or independent thinking among this crowd, is there?

>There are a myriad of benefits and services provided by these signs

That should be "there is a myriad." A myriad is a fixed number, not a word that means "a lot."

>who represent small business in general who can't compete with big business advertising bucks.

What small business would you be referring to here? Herbalife? Pretty big company, last I heard.

Who are the "big businesses" you're competing with? How about some details? Be specific!

>Squeezing out the little guy in business, to me, in itself is un-American.

Aw, gee, we won't let you build your "small-guy business" by sneaking into our towns at night and slapping ugly, illegal litter all over. What bullies we are!

Certainly you people have more important things to do in with your lives.

Here comes the tone of high dudgeon from another (or is it the same old) troll. Hey, how come you're not telling us that September 11 justifies your illegal activity? That's a real good one sure makes us all ashamed of ourselves, and we hear it a lot.

Keep "sharkin", morons.

Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full, sir. We'll just go on and do what you tells us to, yassuh, bein' as how Your Loserness is so much smarter and stuff than us morons with no learnin' is.

Redstone

>> There are a myriad of benefits
>> and services provided
>> by these signs

> That should be "there is a
> myriad." A myriad is a
> fixed number, not a word
> that means "a lot."

Actually, it should be "there are myriad benefits." People get "myriad" confused with "plethora," two words that people (like me!) typically use only when they want to show off their vocabulary skills. Plethora means (loosely) "lot," myriad means "many." For example:

• There are a plethora of benefits...
• There are myriad benefits...

Thank for for the chance to show off my vocabulary skills.

Mr. Grammar Person

>>> There are a myriad of benefits
>>> and services provided
>>> by these signs
>
>> That should be "there is a
>> myriad." A myriad is a
>> fixed number, not a word
>> that means "a lot."
>
>Actually, it should be "there are
>myriad benefits." People get "myriad"
>confused with "plethora," two words
>that people (like me!) typically
>use only when they want
>to show off their vocabulary
>skills. Plethora means (loosely) "lot,"
>myriad means "many."

Not to argue with another shark, but yes, you're right, even Random House concedes that the word can be used as an inexact numeric reference.

Howsomever, the root and original meaning of the word is ten thousand. It's an ancient Greek military term for a formation of 10,000 hoplites (like a modern infantry division).

Redstone

<Random House>?!!!!!

Good GAWWWWD, Redstone! I gasped when Associated Press strayed from Webster's 2nd to Webster's 3RD!!

And you're citing RANDOM HOUSE???!!!

*COUGH*SHUDDER*SHUDDER*

But that's cool. It's OK. No harm done. All three of these "dictionaries" agree on "myriad."

All in good fun,

--Art

>Squeezing out the little guy in business, to me, in itself is un-American.

Hmmm.. breaking the law.. Hmmm.. littering.. Hmmm.. how American is that?

Yawn. Same old blah, blah blah. Is that the best you can do?

-Spellchecker

>You people seriously need to get a life! There are
>a myriad of benefits and services provided by these signs
>who represent small business in general who can't compete with
>big business advertising bucks. Squeezing out the little guy
>in business, to me, in itself is un-American. Certainly
>you people have more important things to do in with
>your lives. Keep "sharkin", morons.

Yeah! I agree totally! Small businessmen should be exempt from having to obey those stupid laws that exist only to keep big businesses going.

I'll give you an example: Suppose I wanted to start a butcher shop. Everybody needs meat, right? (Well, everyone except those long-haired PETA hippie freaks.) Now, everyone knows that renting commercial space is expensive, and being a small businessman, I can't afford that kind of overhead. So, I'll just do the butchering out of my basement. Hey, I'm allowed, right? Who says some silly zoning code is going to stop me? It's my house!

I've heard a rumor that the Health Department likes to inspect food processing operations to make sure they're safe. I'll just get around that by not answering the door when they come by. After all, I'm just a small businessman and I can't really afford all the doo-dads they want me to get. I've got a big freezer and I wash my hands before I do the work -- what's the problem? Having government inspections reminds me of 1930's Germany anyway.

Of course, I have to sell my products. Being tight on startup capital, I'll just open a roadside stand in the local park reserve. It's public land, and I'm a member of the public, so I'm entitled, right? I figure I can do whatever I want on public property. Besides, I'm providing valuable products and services to the public. How many other people, with their 9-to-5 J-O-B-S, can say that? (And don't worry -- I'll keep the meat refrigerated. I ran an extension cord to the nearest power pole. The electric company won't miss the electricity.)

Naturally, I have to advertise. The "Work From Home" folks can post their signs on telephone poles, so I'll do the same thing. As I said, I'm just a small businessman tight on startup capital, and it's expensive to buy TV and radio ads. Those big shots at Simek's spend so much money on advertising anyway and I can't compete with them. Besides, the events of September 11 mean that I have the right to deface public property.

As time goes on, my business becomes more and more successful. I decide to hire a couple 15 year old kids from down the street to run the slicer while I'm off selling my delicious, quality meats. When my busybody neighbor complains that there's something called child labor laws, I'll just tell her that I'm providing valuable employment and training to kids who would otherwise not have a job. It's the American Way! (Besides, she complained last month about the smell. Hey, it's not my fault that the power went out and $750 of meat in my basement got spoiled.)

Life as a small businessman is great. I just hope nobody reports me for making retail sales without having a sales tax permit.

A truly outstanding post, elkman, cutting right to the heart of just about every bogus, repetitious plea we get from the spammers! It deserves a place in the FAQ for the CAUSS site.

>Life as a small businessman is great. I just hope nobody reports me for making retail sales without having a sales tax permit.

Why should you need one of those silly things?(Or to report the income on your 1040?) You're a small businessman, so it's just not fair! You can't afford the fancy accountants that the big businesses hire, so you should be exempt from all paperwork, laws, regulations, and taxes! (Just like the rest of us small-business people are, but don't tell the sign spammers - it's our little secret.)

Redstone