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- This topic has 17 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 9 months ago by Doris Kenney.
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July 3, 2009 at 2:57 pm #30700Doris KenneyParticipant
deazy86 has 9 posts (in about 2 weeks), 7 of which gently promote SweetIM. I realize this tends to bother me more than it does others.
Obviously SweetIM is related to emoticons and instant messaging, so it’s not “spam” per se. But, it’s one of those programs (like Smiley Central – which we display in the advertisements) that is difficult to fully remove, may cause program conflicts, and is generally viewed as borderline spyware.
I’m torn on this one because it’s not being approached as a rampage to see how many posts can be tossed before getting banned. Also, the placement is appropriate, although the posts are generally old. At least it’s not surfacing in every possible place across the forums.
I guess I’ve talked myself down on it for the moment, but does anyone else have any feeling on this one? It’s been annoying me since around the 3rd post and I’ve tried…I’ve really tried to keep my mouth shut but obviously I just can’t. Opinions anyone?
July 3, 2009 at 6:24 pm #175226imported_Ven0mMemberNuke em. I don’t like these damn smiley applications. If I feel like it later I’ll tear SweetIM apart inside Sandboxie and see what the hell it does.
July 4, 2009 at 12:31 am #175222NessaParticipantIf it’s similar to SmileyCentral definately agree with deleting them all. I especially agree with deleting them if they are resurrecting old threads with them. Spam!
Edit: Or another option just delete the portion of their post that includes SweetIM and send them a message that they are starting to come off as spammy for multiple posting of it plus for resurrecting old threads.
July 4, 2009 at 1:34 am #175232PhilipModeratorDoris, does SweetIM contain spyware or malware? If so, I don’t think we should allow a member to promote it here. Or at least make this clear to deazy86 first, before nuking the posts.
July 4, 2009 at 1:58 am #175234Doris KenneyParticipant*System Lookup does not qualify it as malware, merely as a not needed program.
*As of October they have a TrustE certification, which probably means as much to you as it does to me.
*Anyone who has a “if you have trouble uninstalling our program” section in their terms bothers me.
*McAfee Site Advisor finds it as “some people consider adware, spyware or other potentially unwanted programs.”I can’t tell you it’s malware/spyware because it’s not officially designated as such. But if you Google the program you find complaints all over the place.
I’m not suggesting removing the posts at all. As I said, they are gentle promotion of the program and in the appropriate places – just generally in old threads. I’m thinking just a PM to ask them to chill, especially in threads that do not need to be revived.
July 4, 2009 at 4:18 am #175227imported_Ven0mMemberIt’s ware that anyone using it to me will get ignored/blocked instantly.
Those programs do contain some bad vulnerabilities. Who really needs that many smileys, seriously?
July 6, 2009 at 5:14 pm #175223MrOatsMemberNessa wrote:Definately agree with deleting them all. I especially agree with deleting them if they are resurrecting old threads with them. Spam!*Nods head*
Nessa wrote:delete the portion of their post that includes SweetIM and send them a message that they are starting to come off as spammy for multiple posting of it plus for resurrecting old threads.I agree with this completely. And if they *still* are posting garbage after you sent them the message, I’d use the one touch ban and clean on ’em. Posters like that aren’t worth a membership here.
July 6, 2009 at 10:46 pm #175233Doris KenneyParticipantAs I said, I really don’t see the need to go delete the existing posts. But I did send the following PM – hopefully it will do the trick. I tried my best to be diplomatic.
We are glad to have you as a member of Big Blue Ball. It is our aim to have an open and active community of users, who both find answers and share information with one another.
We do our best to ensure information posted is both timely and appropriate. I’ve noticed you have posted in a number of old threads (some more than a year old) promoting SweetIM. In fact, of your 9 posts in the last few weeks, 7 of them have promoted this application.
We like to ensure the forums don’t become filled with free advertising/spam. The posts about SweetIM are bordering on spam. If these posts continue we will moderate them and they will be removed.
I trust you understand our stance on this.
July 7, 2009 at 4:16 am #175224MrOatsMemberDoris wrote:As I said, I really don’t see the need to go delete the existing postsIt really is personal judgment on those things(deleting posts), and you would know whether or not to delete better than me.
And, the message you sent to the member sounded very professional and got the point across in my opinion! Nice work. 🙂
July 7, 2009 at 4:27 am #175228imported_Ven0mMemberIt’s not that I want to delete threads, it’s just I don’t want them to exist anymore.
Errr, I’ll shut up now, rofl.
July 7, 2009 at 5:38 am #175221FanaticMemberRather than delete them, I prefer the approach of contacting the member privately, but also counter posting replies that give ample warning to others. This ultimately gets indexed by google, so when people stumble across this stuff about SweetIM, they at least get exposed to the “other” point of view (watch out, it’s bad, caveat emptor).
Some people are crazy enough to love that shtuff.
July 7, 2009 at 11:03 am #175235Doris KenneyParticipantI’ve done what I can for now. My mind is at ease that I’m doing my best to protect the world from evil smileys.
July 8, 2009 at 12:58 am #175225imported_Ven0mMemberAs I asked above, who really needs that many smileys, seriously?
July 13, 2009 at 11:21 am #175236Doris KenneyParticipantAnd yet they continue…..I edited the direct link out of the last post while, as Jeff suggested, leaving the basis of the content for search indexing and putting my 2 cents worth in.
The link to Sweet IM was:
=http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?pid=298&cmpid=145440&plcmtid=91444010&cveid=87830000&cont=%280001093B%29&lpver=1&lc=EN-US&intro=7
That there looks quite alot like an affiliate link to me.
July 13, 2009 at 1:40 pm #175229imported_Ven0mMemberIndeed. Three strikes, since it’s spamming? I think the person’s down two. =P
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