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Affiliate Links in Posts - Rule Revision?


  

22 members have voted

  1. 1. What should the rule be regarding affiliate links in the UBot Forum?

    • People should be able to post affilliate links in posts, as long as the post is useful and relevant.
      7
    • People shouldn't be allowed to post affiliate links in posts, but they should be able to put them in signatures.
      9
    • Affiliate links shouldn't be in posts or signatures. People should only sell their own creations.
      4
    • It makes no difference to me one way or the other.
      2


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Recently, I was made aware of a post someone made in which he gave some useful, solid information, but also put in a ton of affiliate links. This was a regular member of the forum. The post itself doesn't come across as spammy if you read it, but the affiliate links are pretty transparent. In my mind at least, it cheapens it a little. In my own opinion, we should probably have a rule against using affiliate links in posts to keep our forum from looking like an article dumping ground. I wanted to get everyone's opinion on this first though.

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I think users shouldn't be able to post affiliate links as well as links to a sales thread. The only time a sales thread link should be posted is in a buy thread where the bot being requested is relevant.. 

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Wise decision and will help me at least from having to sift threw and decipher the credibility of posts. I think no affiliate links should ever be placed in in forum like this (except ubot specific help products in sigs). I have come across posts like this 3 or 4 times sense I have been a member, and it does cheapen the forum and the main product, When many users have spent 700+ extra's+(29$ a month) already they dont want to have to do an investigation into posters motives in order to get some good info to learn a product they have already paid for, and still paying for.

 

I dont have to spend my time moderating post's like Gogetta, but from my point of view users making ubot specific help products seem to

be very helpful to mention many times, and I may not have ever known about them if makers where only allowed to mention them in the sales thread so Im on the fence about what I think might be best to do with those, but if its a constant headache for mods to keep sellers in line, then I have no problem with these people being forced to work within their sales threads. After all is said and done this forum is to help people that already have the core product learn to use it, and not get constantly pushed for more bells and whistles, even though I like bells and whistles sometimes. :)

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if a member is really sharing a useful website, and there is an affiliate link that would help them earn a little (keeping the money in the family) then they should be able to ask you to pm them for the affiliate link if you want. But yes, threads with direct affiliate link promotions are a no go me thinks. No probs with them being in signatures.

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I didn't vote because the option wasn't there that i would select

 

I believe you should be able to have affiliate links in post or signature.

But "DO NOT" hide it.

 

Let people know its an affiliate link, and give them the original link as well.

People genuinely want to help someone if its useful.  But don't force them to go through your link.

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I voted in SIG most forums do this. Where all marketers here and know stuff in sigs should be treated as adverts. The issue with having a link in a post is sadly people will make false claims to make money (I'm not referring to any past threads just what I have seen in the past) to end if someone thinks a product is worthwhile they can advertise it in SIG we have a strong community to spot the fakes

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I didn't vote because the option wasn't there that i would select

 

I believe you should be able to have affiliate links in post or signature.

But "DO NOT" hide it.

 

Let people know its an affiliate link, and give them the original link as well.

People genuinely want to help someone if its useful.  But don't force them to go through your link.

 

This is actually a pretty good point, but I think it would create a lot of work for the moderators in evaluating the honesty in each person's post. We'd have to be really careful in drawing that line in the right place and it would just get muddy.

 

That point aside, it looks like the clear winner here is that affiliate links are allowed in signatures but not in posts. That sounds like a pretty reasonable compromise to me.

 

I furthermore generally agree with TJ's point that if you're marketing someone else's product under the guise of an honest review, you should use the principal of full disclosure, even if your link is just in your signature.

 

This topic is still open for discussion, but barring any earth-shattering arguments, we'll probably add this to the rules.

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I agree with TJ *IF* affiliate links should be permitted at all. I personally would prefer to not see them at all because it takes away focus from what I believe to be the ambitions/intentions with these forums. It's a development forum, if people announce their own products it makes sense, but announcing other peoples' products simply doesn't make any sense to me.

There are other places to go for that.

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LOl Ya I read the post that your refering to on this forum... He never even bothered to spin his article... I geuss he's waiting for that new spinner feature in Ubot5... heres the original article without the affilate links... ROFL...

 

http://www.blirt-magazine.com/display/newsarticle.php?id=925

 

http://www.ubotstudio.com/forum/index.php?/topic/14883-stay-focus-and-get-your-bot-project-finished/

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LOl Ya I read the post that your refering to on this forum... He never even bothered to spin his article... I geuss he's waiting for that new spinner feature in Ubot5... heres the original article without the affilate links... ROFL...

 

http://www.blirt-magazine.com/display/newsarticle.php?id=925

 

http://www.ubotstudio.com/forum/index.php?/topic/14883-stay-focus-and-get-your-bot-project-finished/

 

ok yeah I didn't realize that. that's pretty shady.

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LOl Ya I read the post that your refering to on this forum... He never even bothered to spin his article... I geuss he's waiting for that new spinner feature in Ubot5... heres the original article without the affilate links... ROFL...

 

http://www.blirt-magazine.com/display/newsarticle.php?id=925

 

http://www.ubotstudio.com/forum/index.php?/topic/14883-stay-focus-and-get-your-bot-project-finished/

 

 

I thought that was the case and did a copyscape on it right after I saw the post but found no dupes and didn't feel like putting in more time to find were he pinched if from, and this was from an active forum member.. This is a perfect example why affiliate  links shouldn't be allowed in post's and possibly sigs. It motivates odd/bad behavior and screws up the focus of the forum because affiliate marketers are an annoying bunch that will always push the rules envelope. Thats fine, just go do it on your own sites or the plethora of forums filled with people that didn't' buy ubot.

 

I mean even if you look at sigs in the fourm, isn't a signature suppose to be basically 1 text link to an affiliate product or the persons own website but affiliate marketers always go overboard with these. Look at TJ or some others on this forum. I count 5 hyperlinks in his sig, and there might be others who put even more info into the sig. This is distracting and makes forum pages look like a banner farm. Just my opinion. From what i can tell TJ makes great products, but I have the ability to understand what he and others sell without the need for large mesmerizing images and 5 backlinks shoved in my face sometimes 5 or 10 times in 1 thread, and so do other affiliate marketers.

 

From the voting It looks like im in the minority with my militant stance on this, but I guess I just separate ubot from my own marketing. I bought this product with a general goal to help my own websites, but without a specific goal and feel this forum should help me utilize this product as best it can. Allowing me and others new to ubot to do this will help me make the decision to upgrade to pro/dev or buy more products related to ubot (TJ and others), and without a lot of distractions I can do this better/faster. I think a strict policy on this helps new ubotters keep focused and probably helps MODS/ADMINS spend less time cleaning up junk, and gives them more time to post helpful info in the forum.

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affiliate marketers are an annoying bunch that will always push the rules envelope.

 

I take offence to that.  I'm an affiliate marketer and were not all bad :)

 

 

Look at TJ or some others on this forum. I count 5 hyperlinks in his sig, and there might be others who put even more info into the sig. This is distracting and makes forum pages look like a banner farm. Just my opinion.

 

TJ is by far one of the most helpful members on this forum.  The least he deserves is to fill his sig with as many links as the forum rules allow.  I believe most, if not all of his products in his signature are his OWN creations, and directly apply to Ubot. 

 

If you don't like looking at the signatures (which I personally can't stand), you have the option to turn off everyones signature, or just a certain members.  That way you don't have to even see a signature.

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I am in no way trying to bash you or be disrespectful at all.  In the end it will be seth and team that makes the final decision, but I think forum signatures have always and should always be allowed to advertise your goods, be it aff. products or your own creations.

 

Although, this is a forum for Ubot customers to get help and to help others.  So maybe any product advertised in the forum members signatures should be strictly related to Ubot  or fellow internet marketers...

 

But then again what do I know, I don't even use my signature :P

 

My 2 cents for the day,

Justin

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TJ is by far one of the most helpful members on this forum.  The least he deserves is to fill his sig with as many links as the forum rules allow.  I believe most, if not all of his products in his signature are his OWN creations, and directly apply to Ubot.

 

Yeah, maybe TJ wasn't who I should have used as an example because I know he's one of the most helpful guys, but I saw his sig as i was posting, and it wasn't really to target him, just was pointing out how annoying it is to see these large sigs. If this was a forum that didn't have a software/product I purchased tied directly to it I wouldn't feel the same. I do agree that he should be able to plug his products in the forum sigs, and even in post's when the topic is relevant for him to plug them. I have seen his post's and he's very good at helping people and tying in his free/pay products in his posts in an effective and helpful manner, but I think he's a minority because most affiliates/marketers do not poses the skills and discipline to not be blatant about spamming.

 

 

this is a forum for Ubot customers to get help and to help others.  So maybe any product advertised in the forum members signatures should be strictly related to Ubot

Definitely agree with this, ubot specific products in sigs dont bother me, in fact they help, was merely pointing out the large distracting banners and a lot of links annoy me in this specific forum.

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If this was a forum that didn't have a software/product I purchasaed tied directly to it I wouldn't feel the same. I do agree that he should be able to plug his products in the forum sigs, and even in post's when the topic is relevant for him to plug them. I have seen his post's and he's very good at helping people and tying in his free/pay products in his posts in an effective and helpful manner, but I think he's a minority because most affiliates do not poses the skills and discipline to not be blatant about spamming.

 

Definitely agree with this, ubot specific products in sigs dont bother me, in fact they help, was merely pointing out the large distracting banners annoy me in this specific forum.

 

Agreed.

 

Thats why I disabled signatures so I don't have to look at them.  But I suppose some people aren't even aware that option is available.

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If you don't want to see a specific person's signature, the "Block" button is your friend. :) It only takes about 10 seconds to see if someone is simply trying to get conversions or if they are trying to help out, and if they are only trying to monetize, then they can face the repercussions. In many cases, affiliate links give a discount if the person uses it, and the money adds up for both people. As long as people don't take advantage of the forum, I do not see a problem with affiliate links. If they decide to take advantage of innocent people looking for help, then they can face the consequences.

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If you don't want to see a specific person's signature, the "Block" button is your friend. :) It only takes about 10 seconds

 

I think im fighting an uphill and losing battle on this because so many ubot users are marketers. My point of view is that I shouldn't have to block them, this forum is setup to help ubot users, not affiliates, not people selling ubot related products so I dont think any advertising slots is owed to them regardless of if they are helpful or not. I do think it should be fine that they plug ubot related products in sigs/posts when relevant, but that is not nearly as important as remaining focused on helping users learn ubot. The way sigs work in a standard forum should not be compared to the ubot underground because this is more of a private forum.

 

This forum has nothing to do with making money for its members (unless there is a sub forum) aside from what you can do by learning/mastering this software. Basically I dont think users should be subject to having to filter out the nonsense like they do in a typical forum because they paid the price of admission.. Thats my view and Im sticking to it.  :P   But like mateit said its all up to Seth anyway. I feel that even voters in this pole who voted to allow affiliate links most likely have monetary motives to vote for affiliate links in this pole and not because its whats best for the community so should those really count? They are likely biased and not looking out for ubot users learning experience (kind of like letting the wolves guard the meat), but how they can leverage the forum to earn money witch is not the goal of the forum, and my only point is that this forum should be focused on ubot users learning experience, everything else is a distance 2nd. I realize Im not going to win over any people that like to post affiliate links, but I have said my piece. Happy botting! :D

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Almost all of us are involved in affiliate marketing.  I want someone to get financial credit for me signing up for a service or product that they told me about.  I would rather click an affiliate link than something that's not an affiliate link (as long as it's transparent, like they aren't using a cloaking redirect script and it actually links directly to their affiliate link).  As long as they are providing useful information and it's not blatant spam, I say allow it.

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I don't think that motivation for contribution of content to this forum should be earning money through affiliate links, since I think this would result in a thin content where writers only intention is to earn money. That's why I think we should limit such types of posts by only allowing to use affiliate links in signature, since that would limit the number of products writer can promote on this forum (consequentially number of affiliate posts). To limit signature you could for example limiting number of lines that signature can have and maybe also limiting size of images (if we talk about signatures already).

 

For those who are defending affiliate links in content....if one really wants to award the writer for the post that he wrote one can still click the link in the footer.

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