Thread/Forum Posting Questions

Generally speaking, yes, if it's not self-promotional. There are times when it will be deleted too. If you start off a post with a video and not much comment it's more likely to be deleted. If it's not relevant to the discussion it might be deleted. Some material obviously isn't not allowed. You cited one example.

Yes, in most cases. An example of when it wouldn't be allowed is if you're simply framing a page on another site to make it appear like it's on your site, while the framed page has your affiliate code or referral code in order to earn an affiliate commission or to get someone signed up under you.

Can be, yes, but not necessarily will be. Paul has explained it many times that they don't expect someone not to talk about their area of expertise. If the post is useful on it's own merit, and it's not deemed self-promotional, it's got a good chance to stick.

Having said that, it's a judgment call. If you're concerned you can turn your signature off for individual posts. If you haven't posted enough to establish a positive profile, you may not get the benefit of the doubt as easily as someone who is established.

Posts that seem more like an article or a lecture are more likely to get deleted, as opposed to posts that foster a discussion. After all, discussion is the purpose of the forum.

If it isn't your site, and it's relevant, and your not doing a buddy/buddy deal, and not using affiliate links, and it's not black hat or another objectionable site, then you can. It may not always stick, but it may. Again, it's a judgment call.

No. However, you can earn more leeway by being a good citizen and contributing value to the forum. That doesn't mean you can break the rules, but in borderline situations you might get the benefit of the doubt if you've built a good reputation up.

Before anyone says that unfair, it's not. Everyone starts off on equal footing. Where you go from there determines what happens. Spammers getting banned, for example, is someone that started off equal and lost all privileges.

That's my interpretation anyway. I don't speak for the forum, just trying to help you understand better.

Dennis explained it quite well.



P.S.
If I was new to the forum and posted a one liner like that, it may get deleted for possible signature exposure.

P.P.S. If you heed the message in my signature, everything will come up smelling like roses.

Some examples I want to cite of popular posts that have not been closed are listed below. I would think this is link-bait?

In advance I mean no harm to the thread creators, just pointing out rule violations possibly.

The content may be good, but who determines if it's good. If you write a lot of text about the topic does that mean it's good and not selling something?

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ed-online.html

The above link appears to have good content, but I think the signature is link-bait?

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...site-sell.html

The link above not only links to a site that sells something, but also has signature-link-bait still not closed with many comments...

When I see things like this it just gets really frustrating and is a clear contradiction of the rules from what I can see, curious your thoughts? I'll post some more in a bit they are easy to find.

P.S

Are you talking about my current signature?

The first thread seems Ok, nothing seemed to refer to the signature, what I did think was wrong is that he states to PM him with any questions. That seems odd when he can answer right in the thread.

The second thread was also within the rules.


A jury of your peers, the members of this forum will let you know if it's good.

How is the second thread within the rules out of curiosity, I want to better understand? Doesn't he clearly link to a sales page?

So if I make a page about how someone else's program is good and link to it my post won't be removed?

If yes, can't this be abused. I could pretend I'm doing a review of someone's product that is really my own, put no affiliate link so it doesn't seem like I'm cheating and that would pass. It just seems like something isn't right there.

UPDATE:
Since I've posted this the first post has been removed lol, guess I was right about that one at least.

I'm aware of that, I assumed since it had like 30 comments that they would have noticed it first.

I guess I still don't get how the 2nd link is good. I'm sure he doesn't mean any ill-harm by what he posted or to break any rules but couldn't that be abused if it was allowed?

I'm only saying this because if they are going to close a thread for referencing a signature why not go the next level and close in this case?

I could easily right now make a post about how I used someone else's product when secretly it could be my own product. It would not be detectable because there would be no affiliate link. What can be done to stop this kind of abuse? I'm not saying I'd do this, but it just seems like a double standard a bit.

Also is it okay to link to something therefore if I just say it's free? In my experience many 'free' things turn into an upsell later. Is it okay to use this tactic then on the forum?

So then ultimately it's a judgement call on the part of the admin if they feel the person is abusing or not from their links that doesn't have to have rhyme or reason behind it technically. Which is fine, it's their forum, but it definitely makes things frustrating for both parties.

It just feels like if you are not part of the elite warrior forum secret club you are screwed . How do I join this club? Maybe it's time to make a new account with a new ip address .

Also even if you could figure out quickly if the site I posted belonged to me or not... which no offense but I call B.S when I see it... I doubt you could. (I'd love to know how you could figure that out .)

A few ways I can think of are:
1.) You could look up the domain name to see if the registrar matches my credentials, but I could simply have whois protection on the domain making that hard to tell. A lot of websites have this now so they don't get spammed.
2.) I could have legitimate content on the site that is good, but an upsell on the page later if the person decides to buy from that point. I would have to really read in-depth the content of the page to figure it out.
3.) I might look at how long the domain name has been around, but I could easily buy an aged-domain or PR links to show credibility.
4.) I might do a search for other threads on the forum regarding the poster and his credibility to put that into question. This is harder to fake, but could be done with enough accounts, or I could buy an aged-warrior forum account that has not been tainted in theory, but maybe he is just a new poster without any credibility yet. Maybe new posters should just flat out not be allowed to have links?

I don't mean to be offensive but I would be impressed and give you $100 if you can figure out which site I post is a fake and which is someone else's legitimate site, especially at a quick glance without time to research which you claim.

Point I'm making is this is all easily abused and only 'sometimes' easy to tell.

I'm not going to lie, I am curious what I can get away with. I'm software developer and hacker by nature, but doesn't mean I want to use this information in a negative way... quite the contrary, I want to provide useful content without causing frustration for the admins and myself. If anything the forum should be on it's game about this anyways.

I'm simply pointing out what I see as contradictions to the rules. The same thing a lawyer would do when defending his case. Maybe I've been playing too much Phoenix Wright :p.

Thats fine I appreciate the input it was good and gives me some more insight into how the rules here work. I don't think exposing these issues in the open is a bad thing. Some of the best software in the world is open-source because they expose these issues into the open allowing for bad guys to try and break it. If it can survive that test you know it's good software. That is all I'm trying to do.

AES Encryption, which the government uses to encrypt its files is also in public domain, anyone can see how it works, but it has yet to be broken.

I hope I didn't come across as offensive or like I'm playing a game with you...although I can see how you think that when I mention Phoenix Wright , but that aside... I'm serious with what I'm saying.

I just see a real problem with the way the forum is moderated IMHO (for what that matters), and I see contradictions in the way it's run.

I suppose things could always be abused, but when there isn't a clear rule about these things it just is going to promote more 'bad business'. I just don't see how that second link doesn't break the rules? The only thing I can assume is because he mentions the book from the link is 'free'.

If it's true, that I'm subjected to the will of a moderator just because they hate or dislike me then I would be forced to play in stealth/blackhat mode just to be a member of the community and give useful comments and help. I try to help in the programming section when I can for example. I'd much prefer to just be open and honest and in the public without having to hide.

I'm not leaving the forum anytime soon until I learn the ways of the internet marketing warrior . Doesn't look like I'm making any friends here though... maybe I should just agree with what everyone says... starting to seem like the easier answer.

If everything was as black and white as you want it, of necessity there would have to be a LOT more rules. By your own admission there are already too many for you to remember.

IMO, the rules are designed to maintain order while allowing members as much freedom as possible without allowing them to run amok. There are over 600,000 members, so the system seems to work for the majority.

Anyway, good luck. I've offered all I can here.

Dude,

You had one of the worlds smartest Internet marketers, who is a moderator here, personally give you some really good advice.

I wouldn't be complaining or calling them out anymore if I were you.

I don't care how much money he makes. That is besides the point here. If there is a contradiction in their rules I will point it out. Just because they make money does not make them 'god'.

This life is not about money, it's about what we do with it and the time we spend. All what you said means is he is an authority when it comes to making money and getting advice on the topic of internet marketing, but that has nothing to do with forum rules.

Then again, I guess money is POWER, and if he has money he has power to do whatever he wants here. That is fine if that is the rules at least I'll know now what I'm dealing with , don't want to upset god in anyway. This will just prove my point further anyways.

So if I try to clarify the rules I'm wanting everything in black and white now? Sounds like the topic is just being avoided to me. Isn't it obvious why I want it clearer? It's because it's NOT black and white like you are portraying my question to be. What is black and white is up to subjection and interpretation.

If I followed your logic, african americans would still be slaves right now because I'm being too 'black and white' in thinking that they should have freedom. The argument might go, "I don't think african americans have done anything wrong they should be let go and set free.", your response might be, "If you just follow the rules, and play nice everything will fall into place. Why are you being so black and white, it's obvious I'm right about this, just let it go".

I used a silly example, but I think you get my point how ridiculous and unfair of an argument that is, but again I don't set the rules I'm just trying to understand them, it seems even that is a debate.

I have for the last 90 posts, but its frustrating when you don't know the rules of the game and time is wasted because of it. I also don't EVER expect anything in return. I stand nothing to gain from this at all and only to lose. I paid $40 for this account, why would I risk losing $40 on this post asking for clarification of the rules? What way can I financially gain from this thread? So that I can find some loophole in the system and get away with it? Unlikely, you said yourself you 'know' if someone has posted bad content or not, so even if I tried to do that I'd get shot down instantly (not that I would do something that stupid anyways). So what are you afraid of? What is wrong with putting this out in the open?

I think this is the only thing I agree with what you said.

Only problem is, sometimes you need to 'talk about the subject' related to your blog in order to get people there, you might want to show you are an authority with video or pictures or reference your blog. This is subjected to possible signature bait evaluation that appears to be at the whim of the god present at the time.

I understand the reasons for not posting your own site in the thread and hoping they click your signature, but you can't do even that ... I have tried! it's called signature bait, even if the site I have is just a blog and not selling anything.

I'm not sure you understand how frustrating it is when you have real content you have worked on and believe is valuable to anyone new that is trying to start out only to get knocked down repeatedly for silly reasons. New users could relate to my struggles in trying to find a new business to start. My blog is findingneeds.com, I just interview business owners to find business needs, there is nothing on the site at all that asks for money anywhere just useful videos and a blog reporting what I find. Does mentioning my site like this violate any rules in this case?

Am I the devil for trying to help members out and give them FREE information to help them move forward? How is what I'm doing different from the 2nd poster whom I'm claiming should have his post removed based on my assumptions of the rules? The fact his post has not removed should make something like what I want to post 'Ok'. If anything the free content I'm offering = more visitors for warrior forum therefore more chance for them to buy your WSO's or click your signatures as well... meaning more $'s for you.

So yes, maybe you can see why I have a problem with the rules or should I say lack of them. I think I'll become an authority on this topic ... once I learn it all.

I recommend you read all the stickies at the top of the main forum - it will go a long way to helping you understand the community here.
best of luck,
--Jack

It's okay I give up on it already, the answer is clearly just post and pray it goes through.

No worries Paul, I see I am in the wrong. Just very frustrated trying to understand the system. I've come to the conclusion that I post what I think is good and reasonable and follows the known rules and just pray it goes through at this point, probably my best bet at this point.

There is no point in arguing over the rules of a forum I have no control over or reputation to back up my claims. This thread was more meant for clarification of the rules, but I answered my own question now.

I think you misinterpreted what I wrote. That was in frustration partially. Of course I'm not doing this just to see what I can get away with... what do I have to gain from that? I'll admit I was probably being a bit of a smart-ass there, but like I said I was frustrated.

That is not true at all. I just think the rules should be more clear, especially if they will not explain reasons for posts being removed. Which is another argument not worth getting into.

Incorrect, another misunderstanding. I seem to be good at that... anyhow, I know very well that to promote a product or service you do so by NOT promoting it but making yourself the authority figure on the topic. Then people will follow you.

Is my purpose to promote my blog? NOOOOO, let me repeat NOOOO.

The purpose was to learn more about internet marketing and get some feedback so that I could help other members.

I didn't say anything in here stating I wanted to promote my blog. What really happened is I created a thread asking people how to find business pain points, but the thread was removed when I linked to my blog that has reference videos to show the concept. I suppose I could have linked to youtube just as well, and I think I tried, but even that was removed.

What do I have to gain from finding a loophole? There IS NO LOOPHOLE. The admins choose at their own (discretion) what thread to close or not using the rules as a guide not fact. Therefore (even if I did some some loophole in their logic), I literally have nothing to gain from this so called 'loop hole' because it's at their (discretion). I'm sorry but that is just retarded if you think that is my aim here.

I'll say it again my aim is to better understand the rules and gain clarity. I've yet to come to an understanding though except that pray is the answer.

Anyways as I said, I've already given up and accepted the answer is pray.

This other thread you speak of was not started by me, I was just agreeing with the poster and giving him my input from what I learned here. I also did NOT bump the thread up it was posted just today. In fact I told him the same conclusion I came to here. You should really stop spreading misinformation, or maybe someone is deliberately being obtuse?

Here is the thread he is talking about I got nothing to hide (http://www.warriorforum.com/suggesti...d-removal.html), just stating my opinion on the matter. Are you saying I'm not allowed to do that?

Actually I have run a forum, but I'll admit not in any capacity compared to this. Lets correct on a whim to at their discretion. That is more what I was trying to say.

I suppose I can't be afraid forever. Thanks for commenting Joseph. I don't have any blog to list at the moment though, that idea failed from what I can see. I might put a FiveR gig in there though, that is a good idea.

I was thinking about something Paul said in a private message to me, he mentioned there is many more users than there is moderators, if there was truly an issue with the system the users would have left. Given that the users have not left and I guess I have not left, I suppose it's not really that big of a deal. It must be the way of the land so to speak and is accepted.

That said, if a post is accepted or not is ultimately up to the discretion of the mods and not up for debate, so that is why I think the answer is still, 'do your best to follow the rules, and pray you did it correctly enough'.

Is it possible to ask a moderator to review a post if it will pass before you post it? (To avoid thread closures before it happens and frustration etc. I'm going to guess probably not or the moderators would be overwhelmed. In the assumption I'm right about that, is there penalties for continuing to have threads closed even if by accident? If so, I'm kind of scared to post , at least until I get more practice on right vs wrong)

Okay, I'm good, question answered . Thanks Joseph!

I have a question for you guys. I want to change my signature like a lot of you guys have it where instead of the capture page name that it shows on the bottom I want it to look like a lot of you guys where you can click a highlighted link that goes into my capture page. Hope you guys know what I am getting at. Can you help me figure it out? Thank you!

Could you link to your site in your signature (like your own blog site) and then promote the affiliate offer from there? (I think this is what he would probably ask next)