Topic: Paid Signatures Increases Likelihood of Getting Banned - page 3. (Read 3887 times)

It's a difficult task for the moderators to control spam. Because I might see someones post as useless posts and consider them spam, whilst others might find it useful or entertaining. For the moderators  to pinpoint when someone has crossed the line isn't always as straight forward as you would think. They have to take into consideration many factors.

At the moment, looking at the moderation policy and the information about the rules of the site we have received from moderators it seems as long as the post contains some information related to the subject beforehand and topics are posted in the correct sub-forum then they aren't technically breaking any rules.

Of course I'm talking about the less obvious spammers who try to disguise their spam with multiple sentences/paragraphs. What I have seen quite a few times is even if their posts are on topic and are 'constructive' they lack on thing. Originality. I've seen over and over people posting the same information/statement which has already been said previously in the same thread.

The only thing about ignore is that I find  it extremely annoying that I have a few ignores on the page when that person who I previously ignored might have said something useful/helpful. Therefore, I have no one on my ignore list. If you have any problems just contact a moderator and talk things over with them. I've had quite a few discussions with staff members about the rules of the forum and the ins and outs.

I have a paid sig, the trouble is my instinct is to be terse. I would like to believe that my posts are largely substantive or at the very least not spammy.

Having said which , I am concerned enough about the possibility of temp bans to either migrate to a non post count based campaign or  eschew the as campaigns altogether.

The value I derive from being able to communicate on the forum by far exceeds the ad satoshi peanuts I make.

I think you're being selective with your definition of spam. I think spam is largely about unwanted/unsolicited and useless messages and I don't think spam is necessarily about numbers or length either, but content. If you get 100 emails a month from a company you've subscribed to with relevant and interesting information and updates, is that spam? What about 5 emails a month from a website you never subscribed to repeatedly trying to sell you crap like penis enlargement pills and porn subscriptions? I dont believe I am posting crap, but relevant stuff. In either instance you can always block or report the senders as spam. Similarly you can do that on here. You can block me or anyone else if you feel they're a spammer or if you come across any of mine or others' posts that are spam, you're free to report them to a moderator. I'm sure my posts are being monitored occasionally and if they decline in quality or relevance I'm sure I'll be on the receiving end of a temp ban, but I have no intention to see that happen.

And I only did 36 posts yesterday. It's rare that I do close to hundred, but I never post in a thread if I haven't got something relevant to contribute.

Spamming is primary about numbers, like spam email and instant messaging spam. Lengthy messages do not mean it is not spam. We are not talking about 10 or 20, you are posting nearly 100 a day with a paid signature. That has to raise some red flags.

I have to agree. But about the forum as a whole. Some shit goes on that's terrible, yet, people are getting banned for making a few posts. I think the Moderators rely on us reporting topics/posts more than hunting them down.

You have to keep in mind that the forum gets paid for advertisements and us paid sig members are competing with them. I've only recently started renting out my sig space, but hey, if it's allowed as per the forum rules, then why not? I'd be making these posts anyhow, and getting a little btc for them is a nice bonus. EvilPanda actually withheld signature payment from a member who had low-quality posts last month, and I think the bans given out by the mods will deter spammers.

i wasn't even warned and still don't know why i was banned. i wasn't making entirely terse posts, and i usually try to fit in a sentence here. i actually type more shit on this forum than i would elsewhere.

either way though, a warning or a better explanation would have been good.

The problem is that with bans they aren't really that defined here. What about the threads in the off-topic section? You can't really be constructive in threads where you're only supposed to post an image, on the thread with a word game, the thread with questions and such. If I have a signature I have to avoid those threads so that I don't get banned? That doesn't make much sense.

Yes, but by posting a lot gets your signature more likely to be clicked, so by replying a lot, there are better chances of someone visiting your link.

Many people, including me, are just terse.  My signature doesn't pay by post count, so it doesn't matter how often I post.  I don't know how people post page long replies, it just never seems to me like there's that much to say.

Not sure if this is off topic or not, since it fits somehow. In the past I saw several of these now banned people and thought: wow they post a lot but its so ...slim. Its mostly just a sentence or even worse: an answer that -while sometimes correct- was allready given. With you however I think you honestly try to help people and I dont think how this can be considered spam.
My rule of thumb is: write first and when done, read again and think: is this necessary? Sometimes I write a long post and dont even post it, because its enough that I wrote it, but it wont help anyone if I post it.

Nope, you don't need to worry about me, but it's nice knowing you care that much that you're counting. I always find it ironic and hypocritical when people complain about this, especially comparing my recent posts to yours you'll see mine are either roughly the same length or longer than yours, so you obviously just have a problem with the number I do for whatever petty reasons, but well done for trying to take this off topic.

Shouldn't you be avoiding these type of topics, staying under the radar? "Quality over quantity" implies high quality but low quantity, which obviously does not apply to you. In your case, it is just spamming with some extra effort, I'll give you that.

Now, can you resist yourself from spamming your 95th (and counting) comment for the day?

It's not about quantity but quality. I don't think it'd matter if you made 500 posts a day as long as they're relevant to the discussion and constructive. And I don't think users have to be reported or 'hunted' if they're frequently making low-quality posts, especially in off-topic. Eventually they'll be found out.

I wish banning policy is so clear cut. I have seen members, with a paid sig, spamming over 50 posts A DAY and still not banned, while another person made a few one liners and got the ban.

I think bans happen when someone reports the member to the mods. The mods do not have time to hunt for spammers.

I guess the obvious needs to be stated. It is clear as day that if you have a Paid Signature in your profile, you will be many more times likely to be banned for "insubstantial post" or spamming than someone without a paid signature. I have seen about 10 threads in the past month of people playing like they are innocent after they get banned for Paid Sig Abuse.

Yes posting full sentences that are generic replies like a spambot does on Wordpress.com to increase yuor sig count will get you banned. Yes, posting single word replies even if legit will probably get you banned if you have a paid sig. If there is any doubt that you are spamming and have a paid sig, you're more than likely going to get banned than have any slack cut. So if you do not want to run the risk of an "unjust" ban, ditch the paid sigs.


~BCX~