[WillR]

As I am sure most of you are aware, the Mobile Marketing section of this forum only went live a week ago and already I am seeing a worrying trend. There seems to be a lot of people coming into this forum and posting silly short responses that add little to no value to the topics being discussed. What doesn't surprise me is their signature is advertising some kind of mobile related product or service. What a coincidence, right?!

If this sort of thing continues this section of the forum is going to be nothing more than a bunch of unnecessarily bloated threads only serving to advertise the signatures of certain members.

Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having a signature, heck even I have one. But having a signature is a privilege and something you get to display when you contribute value to the forum. Silly little 10 word posts like "That was really informative, thanks." or "wow, that site looks great" helps nobody. When people are looking for certain information the last thing they want to do is read through all the short useless posts that are of NO value to the discussion.

If you dig what someone has posted and you have nothing to add then just hit the 'thanks' button - that's what it's there for and it will help everyone in the long run.

The sub sections of the forum are always going to be harder to police because there are less people watching over them. For that reason it's up to all of use to ensure bad habits do not slip through the door. If we don't nip this in the butt now then I'm worried this part of Warrior Forum will not be around for very long.

[I.M.Retired]

Are you reporting the offending posts, Will? I have reported several, and issued infractions for some. I truly hate doing this - roboforum cop I ain't, however, the whole WF is being infested with this kind of garbage.

It's getting so that its no longer fun to check in for a good read and some good conversations in any section of the forum.

Either we overlook the garbage and let it pile up, or we report the offenders and move on.

By the way - you get the prize for the first 'death of' post in this new forum.

[WillR]

Originally Posted by Val.S.

Are you reporting the offending posts, Will? I have reported several, and issued infractions for some. I truly hate doing this - roboforum cop I ain't, however, the whole WF is being infested with this kind of garbage.

It's getting so that its no longer fun to check in for a good read and some good conversations in any section of the forum.

Either we overlook the garbage and let it pile up, or we report the offenders and move on.

By the way - you get the prize for the first 'death of' post in this new forum.

Val,

Yes, I am reporting the posts as and when I come across them but it's becoming quite tedious already. But the problem is it's also being done by some people who are offering value in a few threads yet clearly just trying to get their signature in a number of other popular threads by just adding very short and meaningless posts.

I guess the question people need to ask themselves before posting, is this. Would you truly be making that post if you did not have your signature? If the answer is no then don't do it.

[Jay Moreno]

I have been reporting them too... It's been getting to a point where I don't come on here as often as I used to as I would check updated threads to see if i could help and it would be one of these stupid "spam" comments, doesn't help any one and I don't have time to waste just like the rest of us... Why can new members post links anyway? Or even do fake signatures that should be an instant ban/suspension...

[Neil B]

Hmmm well I've been guilty of this myself when showing appreciation of newbies designs or posts providing a good idea or informative information or to say 'thanks' for a compliment etc but in no way did I post in order to give my sig exposure but totally understand where you're coming from Will.

Neil B

[I.M.Retired]

It's a difficult call, for sure. Unless it's blatant spam, I usually take a minute to check the posters other threads to see what types of comments they are posting. If they have several one-liners that contribute nothing to the discussion, I report each one of those comments individually.

And yes, it is getting downright tedious. But what's the alternative?

The WF seems to be under siege right now with a plethora of new posters who are more concerned with post counts than their contribution to the discussion. This makes it bad for all concerned.

If the WF ceases to be what it has always been - a valuable resource for ALL members - quite simply, the WF will cease to be. At least it will for me!

And on that note - I'm glad this is not my decision to make, but if making the whole forum a paying forum would 'stop the insanity' - I would be the first in line to pay.

[I.M.Retired]

Just as I was posting the above message another spam message hit this forum.

I gave the poster an infraction - which I have just started to do if I see that they made their post about the same time I discovered it. I'm presuming this puts their account on hold until a mod can check things out?

I never used to give infractions, but when I see these types of posts, I certainly do, now.

Mobile Internet is hot right now, so I guess it's a sign that this new forum is attracting lots of bottom feeders (how polite I am in the morning - sometimes!) doing Google searches for mobile marketing info.

[WillR]

Originally Posted by Val.S.

It's a difficult call, for sure. Unless it's blatant spam, I usually take a minute to check the posters other threads to see what types of comments they are posting. If they have several one-liners that contribute nothing to the discussion, I report each one of those comments individually.

And yes, it is getting downright tedious. But what's the alternative?

The WF seems to be under siege right now with a plethora of new posters who are more concerned with post counts than their contribution to the discussion. This makes it bad for all concerned.

If the WF ceases to be what it has always been - a valuable resource for ALL members - quite simply, the WF will cease to be. At least it will for me!

And on that note - I'm glad this is not my decision to make, but if making the whole forum a paying forum would 'stop the insanity' - I would be the first in line to pay.

The problem is, a lot of these people would not be deterred by paying to join the forum. We see it everyday in the WSO forum. They are more than willing to pay a small fee because they think they will never get caught.

All we can really do is keep on our toes and try and make it hard for these people. If their posts keep getting deleted then they won't be in such a hurry to come back and post more.

The problem is a sub forum like this is centered around such a specific topic so it is always going to attract people who want to advertise services or products closely related to the topic. I would even be more than happy to see signatures disabled in a sub forum like this. It would sure separate the men from the boys but I don't think they would ever do that.

Originally Posted by Neil B

Hmmm well I've been guilty of this myself when showing appreciation of newbies designs or posts providing a good idea or informative information or to say 'thanks' for a compliment etc but in no way did I post in order to give my sig exposure but totally understand where you're coming from Will.

Neil B

Neil,

I'm not having a go at those who are genuinely here to help and contribute. But I also used to get in the habit of saying thanks or posting small posts to show appreciation but I since learnt the best thing to do is just hit the thanks buttons if I didn't have anything that was really going to add to the thread. That way people who are looking for information can find it much more easily.

[Regional Warrior]

Is this something new not seeing the sigs on this thread? because I aint seeing any...

[Jay Moreno]

i dont really have much of problem people showing gratitude - what i have a problem with is people saying things that simply dont make sense, and have nothing to do with the OP's question... for the most part i would say that they dont even read the thread at all at its just robo-posting...

i posted something the other day about video and saying please dont reply with YOUTUBE, YOUTUBE, YOUTUBE as thats not what the OP needs... sure enough a noob comes on about 10 mins after i posted with a post count of under 10 saying YOUTUBE... and surprise surprise he has a signature link... thats whats getting frustrating...

[Paul Myers]

Will,

If this sort of thing continues this section of the forum is going to be nothing more than a bunch of unnecessarily bloated threads only serving to advertise the signatures of certain members.

That happens in every part of this forum, all day, every day. Been in the SEO section lately?

Report 'em. We'll handle them. The usual result is a mix of one or more of:

1: Remove all their posts.
2: Turn off their sig file.
3: Ban them.

The latter is especially annoying for people who just posted a WSO or have an ad running and find they can't reply to posts in the thread because they got caught trying to rustle up some extra traffic by posting a lot of useless responses.


Paul

[Quentin]

What do you do?

Is it and infraction or report post that we should use

Que

[Paul Myers]

Report Post.

For the newer folks, that's the little red triangle at the lower left of the post you want to report, with the exclamation mark in it, under the poster's stats. Click it, fill in the reason you're reporting it, and click the button that says "Send Report."


Paul

[MoneyMagnetMagnate]

If it is short and unintelligible, I usually pass it off as spam spinning...

But there are times when it just appears the poster does not speak English, and this was the result of the translation?

I know I have been guilty of short comments of thanks to show support, perhaps thinking the 'thanks' button was not enough said. More often I would just hit 'thanks'.

Maybe a "thumbs up / thumbs down" system?

(ironically in writing this - there may be warriors wishing we did have one so they could give me a "thumbs down" for the idea...:rolleyes

[jasonthewebmaster]

omg!!

I have not been sleeping good at night knowing that WF has a new forum section and that some degenerates are daring to post useless 1-sentence posts!

Will, I am so glad you took the time to post this useless err.. I mean insightful thread to warn us all of the evil spam zombies!

[MaxReferrals]

Originally Posted by jasonthewebmaster

omg!!

I have not been sleeping good at night knowing that WF has a new forum section and that some degenerates are daring to post useless 1-sentence posts!

Will, I am so glad you took the time to post this useless err.. I mean insightful thread to warn us all of the evil spam zombies!

lol jason

[Paul Myers]

I am so glad you took the time to post this useless err.. I mean insightful thread to warn us all of the evil spam zombies!

As opposed to.. what? Your ineffectual attempts at sarcasm?

Lots of productive benefit packed into that post, Jason. You're a standard we're all going to have to struggle to be worthy of.


Paul

[WillR]

Originally Posted by Jay Moreno

i dont really have much of problem people showing gratitude - what i have a problem with is people saying things that simply dont make sense, and have nothing to do with the OP's question... for the most part i would say that they dont even read the thread at all at its just robo-posting...

Originally Posted by MoneyMagnetMagnate

I know I have been guilty of short comments of thanks to show support, perhaps thinking the 'thanks' button was not enough said. More often I would just hit 'thanks'.

Don't get me wrong guys. There's nothing wrong with showing gratitude or support, helping and encouraging each other is great - we don't want to lose that. I think we can fairly easily spot those who are doing it with ulterior motives.

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Been in the SEO section lately?

I hate to think! That would be one of the worse for sure. Thank god I'm not an SEO junkie. I noticed it a bit in the offline forum and the web design forum but for a relatively new part of the forum, it seems to be VERY noticeable here. Just thought it was worth mentioning. You'd be surprised how many members of the forum are unaware of the report post feature.

Originally Posted by jasonthewebmaster

I have not been sleeping good at night knowing that WF has a new forum section and that some degenerates are daring to post useless 1-sentence posts!

I guess I can't complain. At least yours was a 'useless 2-sentence post'

[cottonking2000]

I am new to the post forum and my signature is bloated but I found the advertising section. It is sort of hidden. What I do not like is the people selling stuff that can hurt listings. For example backlinks issue with panda release.

No one talks about these issues much and I do find the warrior areas are full of free bie ads....in posts. However, I am personally trying to educate people.

[mjbmedia]

Hey Will, it is annoying but you know what, most of us remember those people and over time we completely ignore their content and signatures . We only take notice of those that add value.

If newbies get sucked in too easily then thats their lookout, Im not nannying supposed business people who are too dumb to look out for themselves.

By the way Ive noticed a distinct lack of signatures in this thread save a few

[Peter Burke]

Hi Will

Actually I'm glad that this forum section has started and yes I know it's only a week since it's started but what grabbed me was the opening post of the title.

As some of you guys say that the 'mobile' area is really 'hot' right now what has disappointed me is that I was looking comparatively at the number of visitors to this section.

Currently, at 9.20 am UK time (I know it's probably only UK visitors or European time zone visitors) and there are 14 members, including me!
This compares with 2,696 on the WSO forum, 620 on the main discussion forum and 62 on the offline forum section.

In fact I can remember a few months ago when the WSO forum had barely above 1,000 and the main discussion forum about this time was also above 1,500.

So two things

1. I would be more worried that there seems to be less 'contributing' going on for new entrants in the main forum which is the lifeblood of this forum and..

2. 14 members is a 'very' low number of people looking at the 'mobile' section which equals potentially less contribution!

OK I know, offline is at 62 BUT this does climb considerably, so It's a question of waiting and reporting the infractions BUT as Neil said he has also put in some short comments - so the danger is by infracting visitors you could be driving away input later.

I know it's a fine line and I also hate sig spamming but I'm sure as this section get's busier these opportunistic 'short liners' will leave as this is definitely not the place to 'blow' your reputation.

I think it's up to us to ensure that when we post we provide useful content to newbies as well as more advanced warriors.

Just my 2 cents worth!!

[Neil B]

Originally Posted by MoneyMagnetMagnate

If it is short and unintelligible, I usually pass it off as spam spinning...

But there are times when it just appears the poster does not speak English, and this was the result of the translation?

I know I have been guilty of short comments of thanks to show support, perhaps thinking the 'thanks' button was not enough said. More often I would just hit 'thanks'.

Maybe a "thumbs up / thumbs down" system?

(ironically in writing this - there may be warriors wishing we did have one so they could give me a "thumbs down" for the idea...:rolleyes

I totally agree MMM...and think it's only polite to post a few words of thanks or encouragement but will definately be thinking twice in the future for fear of 'upsetting' anyone.

I guess most of us have swithed off our sigs here due to the nature of the thread.

Neil B

[JToneyUK]

I started to notice this issue also, but I myself am a newbie, however I am one without a sig and have never had one while I've been on here. I guess I believe in "earning" the sig privilege and I also don't have anything to sell/link to anyway

My main fault is that I sometimes ask people questions related to what they said in their post, but that diverts from the original topic or question. Total unintentional hijacking, but at least it's a worthwhile contribution most of the time

[jasonthewebmaster]

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

As opposed to.. what? Your ineffectual attempts at sarcasm?

Lots of productive benefit packed into that post, Jason. You're a standard we're all going to have to struggle to be worthy of.


Paul

LOL! Maybe I was a bit harsh... all in good fun I promise! I love you Will!

[viningr]

I'm a newbie and would like to thank each one of you for posting what you did. I now know what to and how to post when I do have something to say.
I do have a question how does one join a forum? At present my interested is on the mobile mkting forum.

Rhoda V

[MoneyMagnetMagnate]

Originally Posted by viningr

I'm a newbie and would like to thank each one of you for posting what you did. I now know what to and how to post when I do have something to say.
I do have a question how does one join a forum? At present my interested is on the mobile mkting forum.

Rhoda V

Welcome aboard Rhoda!
To answer your question, - you just did!

If you want to start a thread of your own, you can do that as well, by hitting the "new thread" button at the top of each category...

[cash365]

Originally Posted by mjbmedia

Hey Will, it is annoying but you know what, most of us remember those people and over time we completely ignore their content and signatures . We only take notice of those that add value.

If newbies get sucked in too easily then thats their lookout, Im not nannying supposed business people who are too dumb to look out for themselves.

By the way Ive noticed a distinct lack of signatures in this thread save a few

i totally agree, just ignore them, it's not as hard as it may seem!

the absence of signatures here made me wonder too: maybe that is a new strategy to avoid getting reported for useless posts?

Originally Posted by jasonthewebmaster

I have not been sleeping good at night knowing that WF has a new forum section and that some degenerates are daring to post useless 1-sentence posts!

shouldn't we report jason???

ok, now one last question: if somebody makes useless posts but does not have a signature, should she be reported?:confused:

[WillR]

Originally Posted by cash365

now one last question: if somebody makes useless posts but does not have a signature, should she be reported?:confused:

For sure. People have the ability to come back at a later stage and add in their signature - this is actually what some sneaky people do. So yes, if you see some type of obvious spammy post, always make sure you report it.

[Neil B]

I think some of us turned our sigs off on some replies due to the nature of the thread ;-)

Neil B