Hmm Jeremy you do have a point - the rules/guidelines were borrowed from a similar club as a template for ours. Some parts like that got in below the radar. Sorry! One of the cornerstones of this new site and the merger with ELCO was to avoid unequal treatment of any members and especially to avoid high-handed actions from the modmins on the site
For sure the inclusion of that inappropriate rule is our mistake as mods and there is NO intention from any of the mods/admin folk to benefit financially from this site using any format or mechanism that is not open to all other members of the club.
I hope I'm not speaking out of turn and putting words into Crispin's mouth but I am pretty sure we can and will remove the first sentence of that rule. I do think that we as a club should reserve the right to allow advertising in signatures, simply to prevent abuse of the forum. Not saying people can't advertise but this privilege can be withdrawn (with good reason and with an explanation).
We do have sections where people can advertise their goods and services, even commercials ones. As long as people are clear on their position so that members can make informed choices, there is no need for any draconian enforcement by the mod team.
Cheers,