I recall being told the same as someone else above; that we weren't soliciting. The technicalities in terms may differ from place to place (legally), not sure.
At my old flat, I had cut out the headline part of the Watchtower (TM) magazine, drawn a red line through it, and taped it to my mailbox with the words "No soliciting or Jehovah's Witnesses". Specific. And I knew there would be a conversation in the car later (who lives in THAT house?) : P
Edit: Of course, I'm sure you are correct that was an eon ago! We didn't even know what gated communities were back then. xx