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Ban " I Got Banned Posts " without review .

Moderators need to review such posts before allowing them to be published.

         

Green_Grass

7:42 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



I have become paranoid after reading :
" I got banned for doing nothing wrong " kind of
posts.

The various webmasters who post under this head have no obligation to share their URL ( as per WW TOS) with us and consequently we have lot of misinformation that comes up.

All members try to guess at the reason and their guessing game can create major problems for us, new members. Not all information that is disseminated is correct and guesses can really go wild.

I feel such posts should be pre reviewed by moderators or selected senior members before publishing. The website of the poster should be properly pre scanned by the moderator before allowing such posts. Rest of us can thus be sure that prima facie the poster did nothing wrong and can then proceed with our analysis.

This way of working 'blind' in such serious cases is not a good idea.

What do you guys think?

Marcia

7:54 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>>problems for us, new members

I have to completely agree. It can create problems for us "old" members, too.

I have become paranoid after reading :
" I got banned for doing nothing wrong " kind of
posts.

Me too.

There's no way to know or verify what was or wasn't done, nothing productive can be accomplished, and all those do is create a negative environment and make many people either nervous, frightened or hostile.

If they were at least combined and all kept confined to one thread as a compromise, people who hate them would more easily be able to ignore it.

ann

8:23 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Count me in with the paranoids..

I sometime read two or three of those kind of posts and honestly dread to try to log in to my account LOL

And I really don't need the stress this creates so I am all for someone checking the stories out...some of them might be nothing more than trolls trying to stir things up but we have no way of knowing.

Ann

Iguana

8:42 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



I really like them. I admit they are getting a bit predictable now:

1. I was banned. I did nothing wrong
2. Poor you, write to Google
3. Hey, are you the person advocating this scam?
4. Silence from the original poster and the WW Jackals descend to feast on the carcass

Marcia

8:56 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>stress

Exactly! There's enough stress we have to deal with in life that can't be avoided (health issues, plumbing problems, car repairs, missing out on good sales at the malls, and having to do housew*rk, for a few) without getting involuntarily pounded with more stress, most of which is for the most part useless and unresolvable.

>I really like them. I admit they are getting a bit predictable now:
Very predictable, and repetitive too, though admittedly occasionally there may be a funny one (though not funny to the person it happened to).

So for people like you who like them, you could have them all in one thread, where everyone could slug it out collectively.

>Moderators need to review such posts before allowing them to be published.

Well, that would involve having it a pre-moderated forum, so they're caught before going public and sucking people in.

How about a fairly detailed FAQ being made available for common issues that come up? That certainly could be a collaberative project done voluntarily by the many seasoned,helpful people around here.

The same issues seem to come up repeatedly, including those concerning the disenfranchised dumpees, and in a spirit of compassion, having a central repository of simply written FAQs with pertinent information made available for them would help troubled poople or those seeking basic knowledge for starting out tremendously, and possibly avoid repetitions ad nauseum so that the emphasis and focus would be more on maintaining an environment of positive input and movement toward growth.

[edited by: Marcia at 9:12 am (utc) on May 8, 2006]

Hobbs

8:58 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Here is what I said previously in the "Clicks attack" thread:

frankly I'd rather see WW ban the "I've been banned" threads and direct their posters to a FAQ

miguelito

9:05 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Iguana and Hobbs are exactly right, or maybe the staff could open a separate sub forum for them so that all those virtual sherlock holmes can offer their advice as much as they want without clogging up the main forum

martinibuster

9:24 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Silence from the original poster and the WW Jackals descend to feast on the carcass

Hasn't happened in a long time.

I'm surprised it hasn't been noticed that pro-active moderation has been applied to address this issue within the last few months.

This thread is several months too late. All of these issues have been addressed, resolved, end of story.

I challenge anyone to point to the last Banned thread that was allowed to go on to a bloody resolution, then list the url for the one before that.

Virtually all of them NEVER get that far.

mack

9:47 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



With a non pre-moderated forum is is almost impossible to prevent certain threads going public.

My train of thinking on this issue is, we need to let a thread run it's course, we can't tar everyone with the same brush. Even if a story sounds suspicious, we will never really know, people have the right to ask questions, and we shouldn't jump to conclusions.
There are instances when a thread really isn't productive, in these instances it will be removed.

I challenge anyone to point to the last Banned thread that was allowed to go on to a bloody resolution

Ditto!
That we do stand against, personal attacks, no matter what the reason are not allowed.

Mack.

Green_Grass

10:09 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



"This thread is several months too late. All of these issues have been addressed, resolved, end of story. "

Really.. I did not notice .. sorry .. I joined less than a couple of months back and must have read atleast four " I got banned threads". They may be off the forum now, but the information / misinformation has already spread to the " active " members..

That is why the paranoia has come to stay...

Not to say that the moderators are not doing a great job...

But maybe this specific issue can be dealt with differently..

Woz

10:16 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Um, one doesn't have to read the threads one does not like.

Next!

Onya
Woz

21_blue

11:29 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



martinibuster wrote:
I'm surprised it hasn't been noticed that pro-active moderation has been applied to address this issue within the last few months.

I had noticed it, but didn't say anything because the TOS say we're not allowed to comment on moderator actions.
///
OO
.>.
\_/

Hobbs

11:31 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



I was not supporting the banning of the feeding frenzy, I actually mind and support ann's and the OP's take on the level of stress those threads create in the first place.

martinibuster, I am yet to find a friendlier forum and I am not a forum fequenter (for lack of a better word), and that says a lot, no need to be defensive as the efforts are well felt and appreciated.

Back on topic, yes, they do create a tense environment and each is usually followed by 2 or 3 panicky how do we protect ourselves threads.

Hobbs

11:36 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



one doesn't have to read the threads one does not like

Like deer and head light, it's natural compulsive behavior.

Marcia

11:55 am on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



>>natural compulsive behavior

Not for everyone. It's sometimes possible for some to choose not read, but quite compelling to satisfy curiosity - result, on a repeated basic, is unnecessary stress.

>>one doesn't have to read the threads one does not like

Very true, but it is, however, impossible to avoid reading the titles when scanning a forum to select what to read - and unsettling nevertheless, even when resisting reading, just knowing what's there.

The bottom line is distinguishing between what's nourishing and what's toxic - *whatever* it may be - with strong emphasis on the "whatever" part.

Khensu

1:32 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



A few weeks ago, I suggested a forum named "Google ads Emergency Room" but I wasn't taken seriously. It would attract most and we could redirect the others to it. The mods, admins, and volunteer elder statespeople "ad docs" could frequent it and do the triage for them there.

FrostyMug

1:45 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I don't mind having the posts, but then again, I've been here a while and learned that these posts, like some above mentioned, will most definitely end with one senior member finding something in previous posts of the 'banned' some fraudulent activity they did or were asking about doing.

I do read them though, to see what I could learn and to know that google is protecting the AdSense publishers and it's service from a few bad apples.

hal12b

1:48 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



99% of the time it is from somebody with 0-9 posts, usually just 1. They speak broken english and sound like they are 13 years old. I am willing to bet each time they click their own ads for hours on end.

Khensu

2:07 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



Think of all of them that are coming in here and now think of all or them who are not!

At first I was miffed my the $100 "get paid" thershold. If a newbie is going to scam in some way I am sure they can't contain their exuberance. G checks them out when the money is due and if anything seems off-color they ban them at that point, keep the money and return the "bad click" money to the advertisers.

Think of how many people are getting banned and how much money they are confiscating. Ofcourse it takes time to do the review but I am sure G is comming out ahead.

Green_Grass

2:25 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



The guys who got banned before their first payment from G may have violated TOS and may deserve to be banned. I have nothing against that.

What is worrying is the misinformation they spread on this forum , knowing no one can actually check out their website.

Then we all get worried , thinking maybe G is actually quite arbitrary ...and God ...and we publishers are totally at their mercy...

when actually the situation may be quite different.

I don't know about others but sometimes, I worry a lot.
Like the other day my broadband connection was not working and I tried to log on to Adsense. When I could not do so , I nearly panicked like hell!

When I saw that the DSL modem was the problem...I got my breath back..

Stress levels are going up for me..

maybe I should stop tracking adsense every one hr:-) ...

jomaxx

2:31 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



These threads have produced a lot of useful information in the past. Most of what we know about how Google interprets its rather broad terms and policies came from these discussions, and they give a ton of insight into the environment that Google's operating in.

They're certainly a lot more useful to me than the "how do I make money from AdSense?" threads or the "can I use this trick to draw attention to my ads?" threads or the "my earnings are down" threads or the "has Google updated your payment status yet?" threads.

Khensu

2:37 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



I have split my sites 50/50 Google/YPN and I am very happy with the results and the "egg spread". If there was an equally viable third alternative I would employ that too. Even if you run YPN on a low performing site or page you still have the option to spread that code over the rest of your pages in an emergency at any moment. Ergo, the odds that I could be put out of business in a flash by some anomalie is greatly diminished and I can sleep much better at night.

Granted, either might not do as well on the opposite pages than they are presently on (I did weeks of testing to aline them properly) but I won't be wiped out.

moTi

2:44 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



don't take this too serious, but i for one find the "i've been banned for no reason"-threads highly entertaining.
more than ever if members get the chance to catch the op's url in one way or another.
in most of all cases, it can be found out quickly, that the op has done something clearly against tos. to detect this and to point out the fraud is part of the fun.

example: [webmasterworld.com ]

this thread was closed by a mod after everything has been cleared up and before the feast on the carcass.

ronburk

2:52 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



their guessing game can create major problems for us, new members

Given the number of new members who show up expecting to make a living off of AdSense in short order, I would say there are worse problems than the "I bin banned" threads.

John Carpenter

3:06 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



I find the "I was banned from AdSense" threads actually quite useful. They help you realize that relying on income from AdSense as a long-term full time job might not be the best idea. Even if you don't click your own ads, there are many malevolent people out there who might cause you to get banned anyway (Google admitted knowledge of click attacks comitted by competing advertisers, not just publishers). That's nothing but a picture of harsh reality. You may decide to ignore it, but then you will live in illusions.

What paranoids and neurotics really need is psychotherapy (not "Chinese" pre-moderation).

Green_Grass

3:12 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



"What paranoids and neurotics really need is psychotherapy (not "Chinese" pre-moderation). "

It is too expensive!

Anyways G accepts Chinese pre moderation so It can't be such a bad thing... ;-)

May we all live in Utopia ..

21_blue

3:22 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Seeing as how this thread has been moved about 375 times, perhaps we had better be careful about asking moderators to ban things - one sticky moderator finger could result in us all being banned.
///
OO
.>.
\_/

Green_Grass

3:43 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



I sure we all fully appreciate the good job done by the moderators. This thread was not started with any malintention.

It is just that some webmasters misuse this super forum and maybe we can just get a line on the 'wrong ' guys.

The moderators have always been very vigilant. I myself have been edited out by them once or twice for violating the TOS of WW by being a little too personal in my replies .. I understood the reason a little late but now appreciate the thinking behind the move.

Well done guys ..Keeep the forum safe...

I do apologise for any poorly constructed comment.

;-)

Hobbs

3:44 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



>moved about 375 times

what was that about?
took 10 minutes to get here :)

ann

4:30 pm on May 8, 2006 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Yes, I totally agree that the mods are doing a great job. I have also been edited out from time to time. :)

Here's a thought: allow the OP to put their URL in the post and one or two senior members be appointed, for about a 3 month period,to check out the site to see if there are any violations detectable.

Just a thought I'm throwing out there. It would help lift the load off the moderators.

Ann

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