Ah... yes, I think it is par for the course that market people will ALWAYS find the hot forums and use them for their own purposes. If you think people are posting to gather information for unscrupulous purposes... I would report them to Admin with a note regarding your concerns.
Now, if it's about folks trying to figure out what the hot new 'fashion' breed is so they know what to buy 100 chicks of this year (I have seen some posts that seemed very much for this reason) well.... can you blame them? Market research
They're not hurting anyone and it seems like a smart way to gather ideas.
If it's OTHER types of businesses trying to gather personal info for telemarketing etc... well, that needs to be stopped for sure!
Now, if it's about folks trying to figure out what the hot new 'fashion' breed is so they know what to buy 100 chicks of this year (I have seen some posts that seemed very much for this reason) well.... can you blame them? Market research

If it's OTHER types of businesses trying to gather personal info for telemarketing etc... well, that needs to be stopped for sure!