Unintentional Shillery?

by Michael Oksa

Posted: 13 years ago 18 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Howdy,

I was thinking...

How often have you seen people asking for links or other such things in the forum?

For example, today I saw one where someone was asking for the link to a sales page. They missed out on a webinar from a "big name marketer" and wanted to know what was being promoted.

My first thought was that would be a simple way for someone to get their link seen. All they do is set up a shill to ask, and then get another shill to give out the link a short while later. But giving them the benefit of the doubt, it dawned on me that it was still shill-like behavior.

The "big name" wins whether it's being done on purpose or not. If they set it up, then there is no way to know for sure. If they didn't set it up, they still get their link seen.

So, if there is such a thing as unintentional shillery, how should it be handled? Should we let it go? Should we report it? Or...?

All the best,
Michael

#shillery #unintentional

JohnMcCabe 13 years ago

If the needle on my BS meter so much as twitches, I report it.

To paraphrase the Marine Corp...

"Report them all and let the mods sort it out."
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- Alan Ashwood 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe
  
  If the needle on my BS meter so much as twitches, I report it.
  
  To paraphrase the Marine Corp...
  
  "Report them all and let the mods sort it out."
  
  D'you mean if it seems a bit fishy?
  
  I do the same, as I think some of the people you come across (on a regular basis) are abusing the Forum, and what it represents.
  
  I reported one guy today, and then went back over previous posts. Inall, I reported him for eleven, and another 8 or 9 were suspect too.
  
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  tpw 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Alan Ashwood
  
  I reported one guy today, and then went back over previous posts. Inall, I reported him for eleven, and another 8 or 9 were suspect too.
  
  I do that often myself...
  
  When I discover a serial offender, that 30-seconds between reports rule gets awful irritating.
  
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Dennis Gaskill

13 years ago

I once knew a girl named Shillery. She was kind of a phony.

Seriously though, I've suspected intentional shillery on many occasions, but I tend to give folks the benefit of the doubt unless there's a reason not to. Now that the idea is out in the open, I'm sure many of us will be watching even more closely.

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Kay King 13 years ago

unintentional shillery

I agree - I think intentional shillery is the game.
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- PLRExpress 13 years ago
  
  What's shillery?
  
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  Tom Ryan 13 years ago
  
  I've noticed this sometimes as well. It does look to be a bit shady sometimes, but as Dennis said I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. One thing to do is check their past posts and see if they've done it on more than one occasion.
  
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tpw

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill

Seriously though, I've suspected intentional shillery on many occasions, but I tend to give folks the benefit of the doubt unless there's a reason not to. Now that the idea is out in the open, I'm sure many of us will be watching even more closely.

I do watch for that and call it when I think I see it.

I strongly suspect a couple of people for such behavior.

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mosthost 13 years ago

Shilling is intentional by default, is it not? But if the set-up stinks to you, move on.
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- Michael Oksa 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by mosthost
  
  Shilling is intentional by default, is it not? But if the set-up stinks to you, move on.
  
  That's sort of what I was thinking, too. That would probably be the most accepted definition, but I also believe that not all shills are aware of the game that's being played.
  
  Maybe the better word for an unintentional shill is pawn.
  
  On the other hand, it's completely possible that some of these people just happen to be fans or think they are providing the WF with useful information.
  
  All the best,
  Michael
  
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George Wright 13 years ago

I see and report it.

Especially the no brainers....

"I need a link to so and so..."

"Here you go. www . link . com. This really is a great program and I know you will love the extra income..." (Not an affiliate link)

Or the lone shiller. "I just have to share this. This is not an affiliate link and I get nothing from this other than the good feeling of giving back to the community, I know this is my first post, but, I've been lurking and learning for years. Anyway here you go.... www. I'mNoShillNoSiree.com

George Wright
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Robert Michael

13 years ago

I still have no idea what "shillery" means.. lol and I read this entire thread..

There was even another guy asking what it means but nobody answered him either

Anyone care to explain? I dont want to google it. haha

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Michael Oksa

13 years ago

Originally Posted by NathanDevlin

What's shillery?

Originally Posted by Whos That Guru

I still have no idea what "shillery" means.. lol and I read this entire thread..

There was even another guy asking what it means but nobody answered him either

Anyone care to explain? I dont want to google it. haha

'Shillery' would be acting like a 'shill'.

Wikipedia has a nuce page on it...

Shill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The first part of the article sums it up, but it goes into more depth if you're interested.

A shill, plant or stooge is a person who helps a person or organization without disclosing that he or she has a close relationship with that person or organization.

All the best,
Michael

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Robert Michael 13 years ago

Ohh.. lol gotcha.

& Na, you picked a good sentence to quote. I don't feel that I need to read any more about it. I get it now
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- Ken Strong 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Alan Ashwood
  
  I reported one guy today, and then went back over previous posts. Inall, I reported him for eleven, and another 8 or 9 were suspect too.
  
  Originally Posted by tpw
  
  I do that often myself...
  
  When I discover a serial offender, that 30-seconds between reports rule gets awful irritating.
  
  You can just report one post, and mention in the report that the member has a bunch of other similar posts that also need attention (assuming it's all for the same offense). That makes it much simpler for the mods, too.
  
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  Bill Farnham 13 years ago
  
  Quote: A shill, plant or stooge is a person who helps a person or organization without disclosing that he or she has a close relationship with that person or organization.
  
  Now you're changing the subject to affiliate marketers?
  
  Who'd a thunk...
  
  ~Bill
  
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  Alan Petersen 13 years ago
  
  If I missed someone's webinar, I email them and dollars to donuts they'll have a replay link so why post a thread here when you can privately email them... me thinks shillery is a foot so I report it. Cynic, fargin bastage I am.
  
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Michael Mayo 13 years ago

I read the whole thread and all this time I thought we were talking about shivery. Sigh!

If I see something amiss I report it. I've seen more than one thread where Mods have
chimed in to say we should do so. They can sort it out when time allows.

I use to be worried that I was reporting tooooooooo much stuff until they said it
was OKay.

If in doubt, Report about...

Have a Great Day!
Michael
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