Since the beginning, we’ve trusted our members to judiciously use reporter contact information and to observe our conditions of membership, which include a prohibition against off-target pitches. Over the years, the overwhelming majority of ProfNet members have played by the rules and this system has worked just fine.

But the times are changing, reporters tell us. Many tell us they’ve observed an increasing tendency of members to disregard clear instructions they provide in their queries and to throw off-target pitches at them. It’s time, we’ve decided to give reporters a simple means for dealing with any member who, in the reporter’s view, disqualify themselves as a trusted source: the ability to block the member from receiving any future queries the reporter may post.

When our editors receive a notice through the system that a reporter has blocked a member, we’ll ask the reporter for his or her permission to inform the member that this action has been taken and why. We want to provide members this kind of feedback with the aim of making the ProfNet community one of the most respected and civil on the net.