Stepping back a bit, it does seem to me that the DIS always has projected a bit of a mixed message regarding rentals. It's as though The Powers That Be do not want to be involved in anything that approaches "mere commerce"---for example, the various rules to try to eliminate any possibility of spec renting, or the users who "are only here to rent." There also seems to be a desire to make sure rentals "go well".
The DIS DVC Rent/Trade Board was originally established as an opportunity for members of the DIS Community to rent excess points. It was never intended as an outlet for those seeking to benefit from renting speculative reservations. At one time Pete even proposed making the Rent/Trade Board a commercial "eBay" type of enterprise but was met by a resounding opposing outcry from those who liked it just as it was. For a number of years all registered users of the DIS were allowed to offer to rent existing reservations or to rent their points without regard to any timeline - contradicting the "the DIS has
always projected a bit of a mixed message regarding rentals" comment, which has no basis at all.
In Spring 2007, on the same day MS began accepting AKV reservations from new owners, about 6 reservations for early December were offered for rent on the Rent/Trade Board - confirming the suspicion that some were using the board to rent reservations made without any expectation of personal use. While speculative rental is perfectly acceptable and specifically allowed by DVC, it did not fit with the true reason our Rent/Trade Board was established and a policy was created to allow reservations for rent posted only within 30 days of arrival when the points would already be compromised by the Holding Account. Some met this policy with creative means of bypassing the policy in an attempt to circumvent the intent of the board. We are aware that some of the reservations still offered for rent at this time are speculative and are we willing to accept that as long as they are posted within 30 days of arrival.
Since the mission of the Rent/Trade Board is to allow for DIS Community members to rent excess points, we have attempted to define what constitutes a DIS Community member based on their online participation in discussions within the Community. This began in July with the 6 months of registration and minimum of 50 contributory non-Rent/Trade posts and will be expanded to 50 contributory posts within 6 months for all registered users in February. While some here have taken the position that "they" are being penalized for not being more active, we look at it as those who actively participate in our discussion forums are being
rewarded with the opportunity to rent points they otherwise are unable to personally use themselves. (Is the glass half empty or half full? Is the ability to post on a privately owned website a right or a privilege?)
As for making rentals "go well", we truly hope that they do "go well" and the few that did not might have had a different outcome if the current policies been in place at the time.
The problem is that actually coming up with a set of mechanisms that enforces these principles has proven to be exceedingly difficult. Ultimately, I suspect that the "six month rule" will be found insufficient as well, and some new rule will take its place. Worse, in the midst of all of this, David's service (which used to be practically a Dirty Word on DISboards) is now a sponsor, further muddying the waters.
Other than some discussion about implemetation among the moderators, creating policies to better define the intent of the Rent/Trade Board has not been difficult at all. It has certainly been an evolution over the past few years, but not difficult. I'm not sure where the "proven to be exceedingly difficult" comment comes from , but certainly not from the Rent/Trade Moderators. In addition, David has created a
DVC rental service consistent with the original intent of the Rent/Trade Board and has been a very welcome addition to the family of DIS advertisers.
From where I sit, I think it would be better if the DIS administration would accept that, yes, renting is ultimately "commerce" at some level, and trying to avoid that is impossible. Once you reach that conclusion, you either decide to accept that some people will be there only to benefit, or you just forbid it entirely, and let other sites (TUG, Redweek, By Request, MRN, etc.) take over the task of establishing a marketplace.
But, it's not my site, so if The Powers That Be want to try to continue to walk the line, more power to them.
The internet is a big place and there has always been an opportunity for rental opportunities on other sites. As for "establishing a marketplace", we are confident that we have our own little niche where active members of our own DIS Community can benefit when they have points or reservations they are otherwise unable to use and renters can find benefit from those rentals right here on the DIS. We've been walking the line with
DVC rentals for over 12 years now and are pretty secure with our position among the other rental opportunities on the internet.
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
! 
