Spamming to new users!

Ok, im new here and i know how to do everything, i learned from a4f. I Keep getting PMs of people tryin to make me do their refs and its getting annoying. Is their anywhere i can post to explain to everyone i dont need help! evil
I would understand everyone welcoming me but then saying "if u want to start making money let me know" part is getting very annoying. This part just tells u that these people just want ur ref and dont care about anything else. This is an unforgettable experience when first joining a site. OH! their is another pm welcoming me and trying to fish me into a trade, mods plz do something as this would make me want to go away!
x

UMMM??? lol I think you just did it...no worries as moderators and KeithA are on top of that, and all you need to do is report the persons that are actually posting offers...welcomes, as you state are not spam.

I'm sorry that you are having a hard time here as a start, but there are many good traders that offer help and honestly don't require you to trade with them in order to give that help.

Much success to you, and no, I'm not spamming you....my signature has my trades, but not in anyway asking you to do so.....lol.

Hope you do have a sense of humor dear, as many people here are very friendly and enjoy a good laugh, it is part of what makes this forum a great place to be, not to mention many honest helpful traders!

Margpt D

I got that too )


It does help to state publicly that you are an experienced trader )

There's not really much we can do to prevent a person from sending a PM to a new user, but we can act if someone reports it.

I recently signed up for a different forum just to take a look (it sucks, by the way - nothing compares to FiPG) and in my signature I wrote that even though I am new, I am experienced outside of that forum. I also put a line in saying that I would happily report PM spam twisted

See hun? There is one already, and only took an hour....just let them know what is going on and who is causing the problem...many steps are being taken to put a stop to spamming....

Margot D

thanks, i dont mind to be welcomed i like that but its after the welcome, they send u all these links and it bothers me because i have to check back everytime (on the internet quite a bit). Thanks for the help!
)

The really bad thing is the scripted messages designed to hit up the newbies before they even get a chance to look around. For example
[quote6bcea4e08e]"Would you like to earn $25 on allforone.yourgiftsfree.com? If you green instant, I'll pay $30. This isAa great site that allows you to order an unlimited amount of times. You wouldn't have to complete an offer but once. After that you can continue getting referrals. Now that's some residual income." [/quote6bcea4e08e]
She's trying to pay half of what that green is worth AND she's telling them they only have to complete an offer once when in truth they have to complete 4 separate offers. [b6bcea4e08e]People like this are just the freebie version of sleazy used-car salesman![/b6bcea4e08e]

I swear I think some people have a script that looks for any post by a person who has under 5 posts and auto-responds to them or pms them grrrr

This is why I steer away from A4F.

[quote67b4ed426b="theman2005"]This is why I steer away from A4F.[/quote67b4ed426b]

You have no idea how much PM spam goes on at FIPG then..

[quoted8a2cba50b="theman2005"]This is why I steer away from A4F.[/quoted8a2cba50b]

I got a lot of that at A4F too. People seemed nice enough, always saying they'll help newbies, but it was a little disconcerting being rushed like that. I got that here too but not as many.

The PM I posted was sent to a new user on FiPG a few hours ago by a pretty experienced trader.

Skepticalcynic.. would you mind PMing me with who did it?

It's a big problem here too, not just at A4F. And we're cracking down on it as best we can. It's difficult to be proactive about in the sense of preventing it, because attempting to automate something would not only be difficult but would risk blocking legitimate PM's. The best we can do is start making examples of those who abuse it, to the extent of banning them if they don't listen.

[quote65e08d468e="skepticalcynic"]The PM I posted was sent to a new user on FiPG a few hours ago by a pretty experienced trader.[/quote65e08d468e]

I know exactly who you're talking abut, I got one very similar. roll

I had this happen to me, too, but I passed it off as nothing.

[quote26bc9bbc54="CollidgeGraduit"]Skepticalcynic.. would you mind PMing me with who did it?[/quote26bc9bbc54]

It was not actually sent to me - someone I've been helping out asked me about it. I forwarded the entire message to you just now.

Thanks, I warned the person to stop doing it.

So if we mention nothing about trades or money or sites. And just offer advice on reading the rules and honestly offering help - is this now forbidden?? I think I have proven the fact that I have helped many traders and if they decide to trade - then I welcome them but I do not ask them to trade with me. Is this wrong??

PS some of my sites are in my signature - but of course no links. I think you can remove them - right? So if the sites are removed - is sending a welcome PM still NOT permitted?

Clarification would greatly be appreciated. Thankyou )

[quote52ccc13e1e="CollidgeGraduit"]Thanks, I warned the person to stop doing it.[/quote52ccc13e1e]

I won't do it again. oops wink

[quote4c8440bd34="sandra habina"]So if we mention nothing about trades or money or sites. And just offer advice on reading the rules and honestly offering help - is this now forbidden?? I think I have proven the fact that I have helped many traders and if they decide to trade - then I welcome them but I do not ask them to trade with me. Is this wrong??

PS some of my sites are in my signature - but of course no links. I think you can remove them - right? So if the sites are removed - is sending a welcome PM still NOT permitted?

Clarification would greatly be appreciated. Thankyou )[/quote4c8440bd34]

I have now read both posts on the subject, and it looks as though with or without you signature, it is now forbidden.

Some welcome it, but others complain, and those are the ones that have created this issue of spamming to expand to welcomes, and offers of help. I know I have helped many I've never traded with, as you have also. In fact I often spend a great deal of time out of the forum using Yahoo mess to do so. But I would steer clear of any of the welcomes now Sandy...don't want a temp ban on one of the best gals and traders on FIPG !!

I do understand all 3 points of view... But think we may loose many new folks if we don't show some interest towards them. Maybe a standard welcome letter from the forum could be worked up and auto generated to encourage users to give the system a try ? If I had not received my welcomes, I don't' know that I would have had the courage to take the leap.

Thanks,

Margot wink

All over the rules and posts, new people are encouraged to find an experienced trader "with presence" once they have lurked long enough to know what's going on. That is exactly what I did - thank you Sandy. And I actually lurked awhile BEFORE even joining this forum.

I think that getting new users involved right away is contributing to a lot of newbie reds. I understand the point of being made to feel welcome. But the initial unsureness is what causes people to lurk and to read and reread - and then when they are finally comfortable enough to reach out and say hello, they are actually [i48bae80be5]ready[/i48bae80be5] to get started. If we make them feel more comfortable, I think the tendency is to jump the gun.

Just a thought...

[quote077ee3f720="skepticalcynic"]All over the rules and posts, new people are encouraged to find an experienced trader "with presence" once they have lurked long enough to know what's going on. That is exactly what I did - thank you Sandy. And I actually lurked awhile BEFORE even joining this forum.

I think that getting new users involved right away is contributing to a lot of newbie reds. I understand the point of being made to feel welcome. But the initial unsureness is what causes people to lurk and to read and reread - and then when they are finally comfortable enough to reach out and say hello, they are actually [i077ee3f720]ready[/i077ee3f720] to get started. If we make them feel more comfortable, I think the tendency is to jump the gun.

Just a thought...[/quote077ee3f720]

Very true.

I also lurked around the forum for a few months before finally joining.

[quote9e8bef5336="skepticalcynic"]All over the rules and posts, new people are encouraged to find an experienced trader "with presence" once they have lurked long enough to know what's going on. That is exactly what I did - thank you Sandy. And I actually lurked awhile BEFORE even joining this forum.

I think that getting new users involved right away is contributing to a lot of newbie reds. I understand the point of being made to feel welcome. But the initial unsureness is what causes people to lurk and to read and reread - and then when they are finally comfortable enough to reach out and say hello, they are actually [i9e8bef5336]ready[/i9e8bef5336] to get started. If we make them feel more comfortable, I think the tendency is to jump the gun.

Just a thought...[/quote9e8bef5336]

Exactly, thank you for explaining it that way. There is a wealth of information in in the Help! forum, and by spending a few days there, it's easy to tell who is helpful. It's not that hard for someone to pop in there, spend some time reading, and post if they have a question.

Hi! I am new to this forum. I just signed up an hour or so ago, and I immediately got two PM's. I am aware of the spamming rules, and I just need to know the procedure for reporting them. Do I just copy/paste and PM them to a mod., or what is the procedure here? Thanks for your assistance.

[quote6ce5ade116="red1159"]Hi! I am new to this forum. I just signed up an hour or so ago, and I immediately got two PM's. I am aware of the spamming rules, and I just need to know the procedure for reporting them. Do I just copy/paste and PM them to a mod., or what is the procedure here? Thanks for your assistance.[/quote6ce5ade116]

Hi red -- please just PM me the usernames. I can view their PMs from there.

[quote19f5d3ceb4="CollidgeGraduit"][quote19f5d3ceb4="red1159"]Hi! I am new to this forum. I just signed up an hour or so ago, and I immediately got two PM's. I am aware of the spamming rules, and I just need to know the procedure for reporting them. Do I just copy/paste and PM them to a mod., or what is the procedure here? Thanks for your assistance.[/quote19f5d3ceb4]

Hi red -- please just PM me the usernames. I can view their PMs from there.[/quote19f5d3ceb4]

Really? Maybe I should start calling you Big Brother... http//forum.freeipodguide.com/smilies_mod/upload/26f86810cae1678d5483f880d7812320.gif[" alt=""/img19f5d3ceb4]

[size=919f5d3ceb4](Seriously though - that would be a cool tagline...)[/size19f5d3ceb4]

[quote1ffd3249ff="skepticalcynic"][quote1ffd3249ff="CollidgeGraduit"][quote1ffd3249ff="red1159"]Hi! I am new to this forum. I just signed up an hour or so ago, and I immediately got two PM's. I am aware of the spamming rules, and I just need to know the procedure for reporting them. Do I just copy/paste and PM them to a mod., or what is the procedure here? Thanks for your assistance.[/quote1ffd3249ff]

Hi red -- please just PM me the usernames. I can view their PMs from there.[/quote1ffd3249ff]

Really? Maybe I should start calling you Big Brother... http//forum.freeipodguide.com/smilies_mod/upload/26f86810cae1678d5483f880d7812320.gif[" alt=""/img1ffd3249ff]

[size=91ffd3249ff](Seriously though - that would be a cool tagline...)[/size1ffd3249ff][/quote1ffd3249ff]

It's true Melissa, they have THE POWER or "the force is with them"...lol Big Brother is good! So mind your "P's" and "Q's.!"

Also seems I was misunderstood...I never want any new person to jump the gun. It concerns me greatly when a new person requests a trade the same day or very close, that they joined....doesn't seem to me to be near long enough to absorb all the info available to make things go easier for them, or us. Just thought an auto generated welcome note (along with encouraging much time to read all topics) would at least show that we have an interest in their being here a bit more. So many sign up and never come back, and it's a sad thing, as they did sign up for a reason, and that was to see if it is for real, and if honest money could be made.

Or, another thought...a goodwill ambassador that does not trade? Just have my mind working overtime here to give these new people a warm welcome and good suggestions/advice, to help encourage them to stick around.

Thanks,

Margot D