Yeah, there are actually quite a few "announcements" in there that I don't see very important at all and some (e.g. new releases of main bitcoin wallet software like bitcoin-qt or Armory or electrum) are not posted there...
Most threads are about hacks, compromises and lawsuits or their fallout. Is this really the impression that "important announcements" of the Bitcoin community wants to give of Bitcoin?
Posting threads about how one can earn some sub-cent amounts for using a centralized, closed source, proprietory version of IRC is also not the solution imho.
+1! I was just thinking wtf why is advertisement posted under important announcements. Then I realized that moderator also has it in his sig. Oookay. Nice way to abuse one's power.
I don't think any moderators has posted any of their own advertisements in that subforum though. It's VIP's who posted there themselves.
This is why I disagree with VIPs being allowed to post there, but ultimately theymos made the call on this that this was acceptable.
So, it costs ~5k to get a prime advertising spot in Important Announcements?
In theory, yes. Note that there's a 1 per week posting limit there though.
I'm with Maged here too as I agree that the important announcements subforum should be reserved for situations where there's a security risk/something important and time limited, not personal company advertisements.