Mike Arrington suggests that PayPerPost is now officially absurd with a new and silly disclosure policy and I think I agree:
PayPerPost’s disclosure options are already effectively obsolete because checking the first box = “Look at me, I’m a very virtuous blogger” does not disclose the use of that blog as a powerful search optimization tool for *other* websites by the blog author or his associates. Also, if somebody runs ads and gives the money to charity I consider them *more* virtuous than somebody who refuses advertising, yet these standards imply otherwise.
I think the whole notion of commercial vs personal is getting so blurred that we need to either stop worrying about this OR look for an extremely high level of blogger identity transparency (e.g. a clear itemization of vested interests posted and verified by a third party with public consequences if the blogger fails to disclose vested interests).
Non-commercial bloggers become speakers and book writers and link to friends – is that commercial? Of course it is.
Joe Duck 
Pingback: The Blogging Times » PayPerPost launches DisclosurePolicy.org
Joe,
Your observations are great, but they are needed at the forums of DisclosurePolicy.org. The goal of launching that site was to provide a starting point and framework for transparency that could improve over time. The current DP Generator was a decent first pass, but it needs more options to handle the scenarios you outlined.
Thanks for looking more closely and sharing your thoughts.
VC Dan –
Although I want to think this approach is sincere it’s not going to go over well as a function of the PayPerPost movement for the obvious reason that hungry Foxes, even honest and sincere ones, don’t guard hens very well. Google pulls this stunt with their silly claims that PPC fraud must be eradicated because it hurts everybody. True, but for PayPerPost and for Google there is a level of disclosure and fraud that is profit optimal. Any in-house remedies will trend toward this profit optimal point rather than the complete solution of the problem. (I also posted this over at DisclosurePolicy.org)
(edited for clarity)
I know the sentiment. If you know of other associations etc. who’d like to share the load, let us know. Sometimes you have to just make stuff happen and figure out optimal structures later.
VC Dan –
RE: sharing the load on that long blogging road:
“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my BLOGGER”
Seriously though I agree that PayPerPost is getting more heat than you deserve for spearheading something that will help matters.