Attention all members...please read!!!

[ZambucaLu]

I really hope you all (including suppliers) take time to read this and offer any helpful input.

1) SPAMMERS: As you may have noticed, we are having an awful time with spammers here. The thing is, they are operating a bit differently than they used to. I mean, the ones that blatantly come on and post numerous links all over the place are easy...but we are seeing more of a strategy now.

I see some now come on and post like they are new members...seemingly normal conversations....but then they always add that link. Now as much as I realize this in itself is not a single indicator, I think it is something to be wary of.

So new member xyz comes on..."I love my new ecig...I got it from abc.com" might seem harmless...unless every (or most) posts thereafter contain the same link. Then I think it's someone we need to keep any eye on. Most newbs come on and introduce themselves and either ask for help and/or give some kind of account of what they are using or are looking for. The ones that continually post site links are the ones to watch out for.

But I think this is the biggest tipoff: The site they advertise is grossly overcharging. For an example, if a member comes on and says they found a new site and you check it out and it seems like a decent site with decent prices....low or comparable prices....I wouldn't consider that as spammy as someone coming in and promoting a site where the starter kits are grossly overpriced.

The former might really be trying to help other members find a good deal....the latter is only interested in promoting a site and isn't thinking of saving anybody anything. If they were, they would be more likely to come on and complain about the higher prices rather than try to promote them.

So please all...keep an eye out for this stuff and don't be afraid to hit the "report" button on such posts. At least we can check it out if we weren't already aware of it.

2) Next is unregistered suppliers. We do have a bit of a dilemma here because I am not always aware when SJ has approved a new supplier so sometimes it can seem like spam when in fact, they are legit.

What to do? If in doubt, report it....or, simply ask right there if they've registered. I've seen a few do that and the member will then reply....that they have, or are trying to, or they didn't realize, etc. If no reply, it may very well be a supplier spammer.

Also, I know there is a question around about multiple accounts. Sorry, but this is out of my hands right now...but I am trying to see if SJ is interested in changing any rules about that.

I am writing this because I believe that as a group, we are all looking out for the best of the members, and the forum as a whole. Any help with this would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading,
Lu

 

[dumwaldo]

Google the phrase 'paid to post on forums". It is very enlightening if you are not already aware of how many companies will pay a person to post on forums.

the massive blucig thread seems to be littered with a ton of these types of posts.

Price of the product is not always an indication of SPAM. The blucig is actually very reasonably priced, some might even say cheap in comparison to what you get but many of the posts in that thread are SPAM non the less.

It is a difficult fight and I wish you the best of luck with it. I for one will make it a point to hit the report button when I see posts I think may be potential SPAM.

DW

 

[NY JETS]

I am glad I am not the only one noticing. There are so many under the table links and posts going on. The guy who wrote a long article about e-cigs to be published in an unknown location just happened to link a website, that upon further review had only been up for under a week. Also if you checked out the site, many of the things written there were also in the article. Not obvious to the casual reader, but if you are paying to be a sponsored supplier you will notice it right away! I couldn't believe how long the article was to post one link but the thread had a lot of views so it was probably worth it for him. It's impossible to stop them all but I really am happy that our mods are aware of it.

 

[BiteMe]

Lu...
I saw the post this morning where SJ was looking for additional Mods. I think that this will help by getting more eyes out there looking for these specific things.
I'll personally keep my eyes open for spammers and hit the report button when I see something fishy.
Thanks for bringing it up!

 

[LaceyUnderall]

Another thing you can do to be a more informed/cautious member of the forum is when you see a link that is questionable, do a little background check on the URL.

How to do this: Browser Update Page. Scroll down about half way and you will see a list of links under "Resources", one will be WhoIs search. Click on it. Type in the URL and from there, the information of who owns the website will pop up. Most are public info, unless the person who owns the site has marked it as private. It will also tell you when the URL was purchased.

From there, you can make your own deductions if you feel comfortable with this website and it can be very telling what type of "supplier" you might be dealing with. Once you start investigating on your own more often, you will start to notice certain patterns etc.

This is a great tool to use on any site you may visit or come across.

 

[Nicfits]

Thanks Lu,
I used the report button last night to report a potential spammer.
Glad to see you deleted him or her. I checked his/her posts and he/she had only made 5, all of them were spam, trying to sell their wares.

Keep up the good work Lu,

 

[Oliver]

Yes, we do need to have a debate about multiple accounts. Should we just make them forbidden and ban any member found to have them instantly?

I'm not sure what legitimate reason anyone could have to have multiple accounts.

 

[Tallgirl1974]

Ask if we cant pay to stay members....heck just 50 cents!
)
Id pay just to be able to read the good stuff...this wading thru junk posts stinks.
Its not just ecig spam either- did you notice the few diet site spammers on the weight loss thread?

 

[eplanet]

I am glad all of these issues are coming up, there are so many members here now that I find it hard to keep track of what is going on...as for multiple accounts, there is no need for that.

 

[Nicfits]

My only question is, how do you identify someone as having mutliple accounts? Is it from their IP address? And if so, what about couples for instance, who both use the same computer and both are forum members?
Would this prohibit them from both being members?

LOL, Just trying to picture it.
My wife and I are a lot alike, but if she was to post with my username saying how much she loved her pink 901. I would be a little .


Sorry, I try to inject a little humor every now and then.

 

[Jim Davis]

Yes, we do need to have a debate about multiple accounts. Should we just make them forbidden and ban any member found to have them instantly?

I'm not sure what legitimate reason anyone could have to have multiple accounts.

If you look at it rationally, multiple accounts are for the purpose of spamming, and trolling. I honestly would delete them immediately, and keep an open mind for a possible unusual case, which would be left to your discretion.

 

[Jim Davis]

My only question is, how do you identify someone as having mutliple accounts? Is it from their IP address? And if so, what about couples for instance, who both use the same computer and both are forum members?
Would this prohibit them from both being members?

LOL, Just trying to picture it.
My wife and I are a lot alike, but if she was to post with my username saying how much she loved her pink 901. I would be a little .


Sorry, I try to inject a little humor every now and then.

That's not really a multiple account. That's multiple users on a single account.

 

[Walrus]

That's not really a multiple account. That's multiple users on a single account.

lol... I think he was saying they have multiple accounts so that his wife doesn't make it look like he's talking about a pink e-cig. They'd each have their own login, hence multiple accounts on the same IP. Taking this one step further, say my wife was a vaper... she has her own PC. She'd want her own account... but we are behind a firewall. The external world only sees one IP address for my household... but there are 5 PCs in here... if my kids (all over 18) were vapers and had their own logins... Now we'd have 5 accounts from one IP address.

Of course, a little common sense goes a long way too. Just monitoring the posts would help determine if they were malicious or not.

 

[Caesarea]

God and his cohorts were 3+ users on one acc, alas.

Gonna leave it to the tech-minded. But hope it can be arranged so that bona fide couples/sharers will be OK and also bear in mind the needs of folk who use different computers at work and at home, and long distance travellers like TDMouse.

C.

 

[Nicfits]

That's not really a multiple account. That's multiple users on a single account.

Hey Jim, you changed your avatar.

Thanks Walrus for helping to clarify that.

Jim,
The jest of my post was referring to how it would be, if for example, the two of us had to use a single account using the same IP. That is, if multiple accounts from the same IP were not allowed.
My main question and concern is how this would effect legitimate accounts that use the same IP.
It would not effect me here, as I am the only one on our IP that is a forum member. I just used my wife and me to paint a scenario as an attempt at a humorus example.

 

[Jim Davis]

lol... I think he was saying they have multiple accounts so that his wife doesn't make it look like he's talking about a pink e-cig. They'd each have their own login, hence multiple accounts on the same IP. Taking this one step further, say my wife was a vaper... she has her own PC. She'd want her own account... but we are behind a firewall. The external world only sees one IP address for my household... but there are 5 PCs in here... if my kids (all over 18) were vapers and had their own logins... Now we'd have 5 accounts from one IP address.

Of course, a little common sense goes a long way too. Just monitoring the posts would help determine if they were malicious or not.

Sometimes I have a reading comprehension problem. It comes with the old age.

 

[Jim Davis]

Hey Jim, you changed your avatar.

Thanks Walrus for helping to clarify that.

Jim,
The jest of my post was referring to how it would be, if for example, the two of us had to use a single account using the same IP. That is, if multiple accounts from the same IP were not allowed.
My main question and concern is how this would effect legitimate accounts that use the same IP.
It would not effect me here, as I am the only one on our IP that is a forum member. I just used my wife and me to paint a scenario as an attempt at a humorus example.

I understand it, just read it wrong.
Yeah, the avatar, I figured I use my real name, I might as well put a real pic up too. Everyone should put their pic up. It's nice to be able to put a name with a face.

 

[Nicfits]

I understand it, just read it wrong.
Yeah, the avatar, I figured I use my real name, I might as well put a real pic up too. Everyone should put their pic up. It's nice to be able to put a name with a face.

I wouldn't want to crash the server. 8-o

 

[Elendil]

What's next? Fingerprint readers or DNA scans to log in? I understand the need for some reasonable safeguards, but too much paranoia and the bad guys get exactly what they want.

If you start restricting too many freedoms and you will drive away people the same way the bad guys are trying to. They want everyone looking for conspiracies behind every corner, that's how they get their jollies............

 

[AmyLynne]

I guess 99% of the forums I am part of had the no multiple login rule. I see where multiple users in the same home could have issues, but those would be easy enough to iron out.