Terms & Conditions

As pretty much everyone knows, Gratis does not allow you to "walk a friend through the sign up process." They also do not allow people to sign up through the same IP address. Both of these I think are pretty harsh rules.

Some people are somewhat computer illiterate or intimidated by these kinds of processes and need to be walked through. I'm not sure what the harm is there.

The IP rule really places a burden on people who share IP's with others (such as dorm rooms.) In my case, I sent out my link through my interoffice e-mail and several signed up under me by clicking my link in their office so that they all come from my work's IP address. I can also see where you might have friend over at your place and tell him about it and then get them to sign up there from the same place you signed up (using their own mailing address, of course.) Again, I'm not sure what the harm is there.

Anyway, the first I had really heard about the walking people through sign up issue was when I was put on hold and received an e-mail stating that it was not allowed. I didn't learn about the IP address issue until I started visiting these forums which was also after I was put on hold. I assumed I just somehow missed them in the terms and conditions.

I began thinking that it sure would have been nice to know these things from the beginning so I went back and read the terms and conditions and the FAQ's at the FreeiPod website. I don't see anywhere where it is stated that you cannot walk someone through the process or that you cannot sign up from the same IP.

Maybe I'm blind and just missed it but in any case they should probably more prominently display this information when you sign up. Obviously, since they are the ones giving stuff away for free, they can set the rules however they want. But it would be nice to clearly know the rules going in instead of finding out these kinds of details after you've gotten your referrals and hit the "submit for approval" button.

Anyway, I apologize for the long post. I'm not trying to complain. I'm not even currently on hold. I just find myself constantly thinking "man, I wish I knew then what I know now." I'd probably already have an iPod on the way. wink

thanks for posting this, man )

what in the world do they mean by "walking people through"? I mean I've sat there at a friend's computer and showed them how to sign up and all that...wtf is wrong with that?

as far as the same IP goes, if that's the ONLY problem, then you should be fine. However if everyone uses the same addres and email then you'll have some issues.

Yep I totally agree. It SHOULD be there somewhere in the terms and conditions but is not (or was not last I checked). The IP part isn't a steadfast "rule" but it is one of the things that raise red flags for fraud for them....check > THIS POST <[=http//forum.freeipodguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=613]> THIS POST < here where I asked about that. I personally had 2 of my 5 people sign up on either my pc or one on my home network and it wasn't flagged. Of course I did not try to cheat or anything and both people signed up on their own and did their own offers.

I can completely understand the issues they have to deal with though and that is why it's not as annoying to me as some. I don't know what percentage of their signups try to cheat them somehow but any amount that do will take time away from the legit users because they have to deal with it even if it is just one cry. If using the same IP is a common way of catching them, then I am fine with them using that as a stricter tool to catch them...as long as they let legit people like me though after checking heheh ;).

The other thing about walking people through...that one is tough. I haven't read or heard anything about that being against the rules until I saw Harry post about it here...and honestly it is kind of unfair for people to be put on hold because of it since it does not state that on the site. There is no way of knowing it would be bad without that. And really, with some of my friends, that would be the only way to get them to do it...is show them exactly which steps to take, how to do it all. Lucky I got enough other people to fill in my 5 lol.

I can see why it would be a problem though, or at least a theory. I assume they (gratis) doesn't mind so much but the advertisers do. The advertisers want valid, unique leads that can lead to customers. If Gratis sends them a bunch of people who can't even figure out how to sign up and complete an offer then there is less of a chance that person is "techy" enough to be a likely customer. I know that if I had tried to get my mom to sign up I would have had to help her with every single step lol. And I know that she wouldn't be the ideal customer for say, AOL, since she never goes online and has no desire to.

It probably also relates to people trying to "cheat" by just getting 5 of their family members addresses and credit card numbers and signing up using all of them. Sure they are all legit people but most likely are not even going to check out the trial offer. And I'm not sure if it is possible to know the difference from Gratis' end but multiple accounts on the same IP could look like that, which is probably why the IP is an important tool for finding fraud.

It is sad that we have to suffer the extra defenses because of the people that are assholes and try to cheat something that is free anyway.


[quote60510579c4]Obviously, since they are the ones giving stuff away for free, they can set the rules however they want.[/quote60510579c4] lol yep...and that IS in their terms and conditions heheh.



Anyway, it's good to hear that you are not on hold anymore...just means their "security" is working and at least they realized you were legit.

I'll ask my contact about getting the TOS updated to include that sort of information. Check back in a week or so.

Well now the terms and conditions link is dead. My neighbors and I share a network and so far one registered.

I am trying to persuade people as to the legitimacy of these programs, but how can people follow rules if they do not know what they are?

Tadeo,

I just tried the link and had no problem.

Firefox must have blocked it with no message. I got it through IE.

Jester,

Thanks for the link to the forum topic. I had not seen that. I guess the IP address rule is not a hard and fast rule but more of a red flag for them to consider when evaluating a referral. I had a co-worker's referral rejected and the only reason I can think of is that it was from the same IP (we both signed up from work.) I was not given an explanation other than I needed to go out and get a couple of more referrals to replace that one and the one from my parents that was also rejected.

As far as walking through goes, I don't know why the advertisers would care if someone were walked through signing up for their offer. Just because someone isn't comfortable signing up for something doesn't mean they aren't legitimately interested. There were offers for computer training CD's, diet supplements, credit cards and other items for which being proficient and comfortable with a computer is not a pre-requisite. My parents use the heck out of the internet yet don't know how to hook up a printer and usually won't even install software unless I come over and watch them do it.

But, yes, I do feel lucky to no longer be on hold. I'm disappointed that I have to continue to work to get referrals when I've already gotten five unique ones but at least I still have the opportunity to get an iPod.

Since the e-mail I received from Gratis stated in no uncertain terms that I cannot walk someone through the process it really should be included in the terms and conditions. This way it is clear up front and it doesn't look like they are trying to impose rules that they failed to disclose after you've already gotten your referrals.

The IP address issue could just be addressed in some sort of tips section for referrals in the FAQ. Maybe they could have a section entitled "What kinds of things can cause me to be put on hold?"

I agree with everything that has been said, in fact, I had been wondering if I was the only one wondering about these issues.

From lessons learned in the past, I decided to throughly read the TOS when I joined the Gratis sites, and like everyone else has said, after coming here and reading through threads, I have learned MUCH MUCH more about what NOT to do, and in hindsight I wish I would have known all this at the beginning - because now i'm starting to second guess my own account. I have "walked through" a couple friends, although not with them in front of me or even in my physical presense; it was over AIM. People find the sign up process confusing and I was willing to give them tips on how to do it. The survey throws them off, pages don't load as they should and so on. I more or less acted as a tech support for them through IM's as they signed up, to ensure everything went well, nothing more - nothing less. I certainly didn't think that would constitute 'fraud'!!! After reading threads here about "walking people through" and "sign up patterns" and all that crap, well ...its really frustrating.

Case and point If you offered to award 100 people 1 million $ each for successfully completing a Gratis site without cheating the system, the majority would fail simply due to the fact that they would inadvertantly do something or another to get themselves labeled as 'fraudulant' no matter how good their intentions.

Gratis is entitled to make the program as strict as they want, I just wish it were layed out more clearly as to exactly what will get you in trouble so that those of us who are truly trying to legitimitely complete the process can do just that. ?

I will say though, I do have respect for Gratis for the fact that they WILL hear out someones case if they are put on hold. Under their TOS they have no obligation to re-evaluate an account, and most companies wouldn't. Anyone who is aided in getting off hold, should make sure to give a big thank you back.

how do they know if you walk someone though i dont understand that part?

[quote33e74614af="jtfields"]The IP rule really places a burden on people who share IP's with others (such as dorm rooms.) [/quote33e74614af]

the only way it would come from the same IP is if they used your computer. no 2 computers connected to the net can have the same IP
address.

the ip's would be similiar.

for ex.

say yours was (152.152.152.152...your roomates wouldnt be the same but it would be something like 152.152.152.153)

Calvin You're dead wrong. Something like 255^20 computers could theoretically have the same IP. It's called Network Address Translation (NAT).

http//www.justfuckinggoogleit.com

[quote302f6e1753="Admin"]Calvin You're dead wrong. Something like 255^20 computers could theoretically have the same IP. It's called Network Address Translation (NAT).

http//www.justfuckinggoogleit.com[/quote302f6e1753]
Could in theory go deeper. Especially if I use IPv6.

Several ISP's run behind proxies. To a webserver, their users appear as 1 IP.

Most companies have this as well. Many colleges too.

As you guys said, there are many ways to have duplicate IP addresses. I'm not sure why they pay so much attention to it anyway. The average consumer does not have a static IP, they will have a dynamic IP so everytime they log onto the internet their IP is different. Even most consumer DSL services use PPPoE to assign dynamic IP's. Most users with static IP addresses will be from big companies who will have numerous employees or some other type of big network sharing the same IP address (as in my case) which can lead to trouble with the Gratis system. The exceptions are cable and bridged DSL services where a consumer is actually given a static IP.

Yup, i'm part of the exception...i'm on cable and my ip's static...or at least it takes it about 4 to 6 months to change

It looks like they also check click patterns and stuff like that.

How in the world would they ever have an inkling you've "walked someone through" the process? That makes no sense.

Tyketto,

I'm not sure exactly how they get their "inkling" that you've walked someone through. There are probably certain indicators and patterns they look for. In any case, the Gratis review system is definitely designed to err on the side of caution (their favor.) I would be willing to bet far more legitimate referrals get rejected than fraudulent ones. Guilty until proven innocent. wink