Please read, don't be an unwitting pawn in a sneaky supplier scheme.
Functions disabled in this real specimen (from Calaban's post just above), but not in his or yours!!!!! Click on them and see!!!!!
Here's another example of the same trick by another supplier:
These look innocent and cool, right? Wrong! They're a sneaky trick and if you get suckered to use them you're an unwitting part of it... over 37000 of us and growing like an epidemic by the minute.
Read on:
SJ Posted about signatures being under 5K. To save bandwidth.
Note that the "smoke free" signature that was originally from "haqur.com" was recently "acquired" by the "trademarked" SmokeFree on 3-23 or so. (Look carefully at the words "smoke free" on the earlier version - supposedly a labor of love - and compare to the "SmokeFreeTM" on the version since 3-23, a version which is now an MLM marketer's stealth tool that each of you is hosting, as unwitting as it may be).
Couldn't find a TM assigned to "Health e-Choice" either (as claimed) who is SmokeFree. Nada TMs.
So you are providing a free link to Health e-Choice, a supplier selling the "SmokeFree" which looks to me like the Cixi (e-cig) E9. (like current S51, EAZE Magnum, Red Dragon, Bloog, eSmoke, etc.).
They have an aggressive and deep channel (Pyramid) "MLM" has your email address and is using this to collect more. Anyone who started using this meter since 3-23 or so, now has a direct link to them in their signature or wherever else they paste the code.
Now I don't think it will save much bandwidth (about 6K), it would help, depending on how many members use it - the jpg or png is hosted elsewhere but...
How do you feel about putting a link up to a supplier in your sig? How do you feel about never knowing it?
The same goes for the
vape version which links to another, I believe, non-sponsoring supplier.
When you use these thingies you are not only helping them you are running a script on their server - which can be programmed by them to do anything at anytime. I deleted even the pre SmokeFree one because of this. Haqur rhymes with......
I think suppliers should support the forum but not advertise. (Is that possible?).
Members should be aware that they are inadvertently linking to un-supporting suppliers who are mining email addresses by using what otherwise were once just cute, informative meters.
I suppose you can beat it somewhat by using a phony email (you might set someone else up by doing so) to get the cute banner, but it is programmed and linked anyways and that's out of your control.
So far, they've got 37,000+ "advertisers" and email addys. Nice trick, right under your nose.
I'm working on a safe ECF version that will be hosted right here when approved and totally controlled by SJ. Will let you know when done. Accepting ideas for it now (logos, what to meter, etc.).
In the meantime I would get rid of those now and hope you don't get spammed when they decide to blast-off.
