Proposal: Disallow Ads in Signatures

[rhino34567]

At this point, the forum is mostly dead to me.  I used to be active in about a half dozen boards.  Now once every few days, I check the "new replies" link up top, check maybe 2 or 3 of the threads, click "mark as read" on the rest, and check Dev&tech for big news maybe a couple of times each week.

Feel free to go back to page 14 and check the post histories of the people I've got on ignore (everyone except DiamondCardz).  I have, and I'm not missing anything.

Ad signatures aren't the only problem here, but they sure are a big part of the decline.

Better handling of the ignore function (don't bump threads in the notify and replies lists when the only new posts are from ignored users) and ignore list syndication would help revitalize this place.

Maybe the staff could perform a small investigation on users that have been ignored by the highest percentage of members and if they are spamming, the staff would message them and disallow their sig for a while if they keep spamming

As it was previously said, I think allowing ads in signatures is good for new members, for the forum and for Bitcoin if it is handled correctly; it gives back to the new members that can accumulate some bitcoins while becoming part of the community; we should be careful not to always ask for changes that benefit us at the expense of others. Let's ask the new members if they want to disallow ads in the signatures.

When you don't like to see endless advertisements for PD or RGC you can always check "Don't show users' signatures." in "Look and Layout Preferences", you won't see the signature ads anymore and you will have a clear thread but you will still get the spam from the half dozen members that spam to get money;these members should be dealt with by staff : it is not easy to punish them since they usually kind of post comments related to topics but you can still tell they post for money because their posts are not interesting to read and usually don't add anything to the discussion

This sounds like a good idea. I am new here and I usually find myself at other people's nonconstructive posts. You might also want to take a look at this guy, which I have seen posting with extreme frequency (look at the amount of time between posts as well as their content): (EDIT: DELETED FOR PRIVACY'S SAKE). Many of the posts either repeat what has already been said or are just off-topic. But I am also not a mod (in fact, quite new) and don't know the criteria for a post to be considered spam.

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[galbros]

Maybe people are coming at this from the wrong angle?  The focus is (understandably) on the annoying people who post a lot in order to inflate their post count and get more revenue from the sig sponsors.  However, maybe the better people to target are the sponsors rather than just the abusive posters.  Given that the forum itself sells ads, maybe a well crafted message to signature sponsors showing how advertising with the forum directly is more efficient than annoying a large segment of the forum's user base might have a very positive effect.  Maybe even PMs from users about excessive posting by some users will convince the sig sponsor to reign them in.

Obviously, I am a signature seller, and the sad fact is it is one of the best ways to get BTC these days while also learning more about bitcoin.

[gondel]

In my opinion if there is no signature campaigns people will try to promote their service anyway with posts leading to their site or somhow try to encourage you with wrong link, etc. With ad in your sig it is clear that this space is for advertising and nothing else. Just my opinion.

[luckyluigi]

What some other forums do is only allow signature links for people who donate a moderate sum of money. Seems to work for many. It should increase the quality of posts at least a little bit, at least in theory.

[boumalo]

At this point, the forum is mostly dead to me.  I used to be active in about a half dozen boards.  Now once every few days, I check the "new replies" link up top, check maybe 2 or 3 of the threads, click "mark as read" on the rest, and check Dev&tech for big news maybe a couple of times each week.

Feel free to go back to page 14 and check the post histories of the people I've got on ignore (everyone except DiamondCardz).  I have, and I'm not missing anything.

Ad signatures aren't the only problem here, but they sure are a big part of the decline.

Better handling of the ignore function (don't bump threads in the notify and replies lists when the only new posts are from ignored users) and ignore list syndication would help revitalize this place.

Maybe the staff could perform a small investigation on users that have been ignored by the highest percentage of members and if they are spamming, the staff would message them and disallow their sig for a while if they keep spamming

As it was previously said, I think allowing ads in signatures is good for new members, for the forum and for Bitcoin if it is handled correctly; it gives back to the new members that can accumulate some bitcoins while becoming part of the community; we should be careful not to always ask for changes that benefit us at the expense of others. Let's ask the new members if they want to disallow ads in the signatures.

When you don't like to see endless advertisements for PD or RGC you can always check "Don't show users' signatures." in "Look and Layout Preferences", you won't see the signature ads anymore and you will have a clear thread but you will still get the spam from the half dozen members that spam to get money;these members should be dealt with by staff : it is not easy to punish them since they usually kind of post comments related to topics but you can still tell they post for money because their posts are not interesting to read and usually don't add anything to the discussion

This sounds like a good idea. I am new here and I usually find myself at other people's nonconstructive posts. You might also want to take a look at this guy, which I have seen posting with extreme frequency (look at the amount of time between posts as well as their content): (EDIT: DELETED FOR PRIVACY'S SAKE). Many of the posts either repeat what has already been said or are just off-topic. But I am also not a mod (in fact, quite new) and don't know the criteria for a post to be considered spam.

Can you PM me the member nickname please?

Maybe people are coming at this from the wrong angle?  The focus is (understandably) on the annoying people who post a lot in order to inflate their post count and get more revenue from the sig sponsors.  However, maybe the better people to target are the sponsors rather than just the abusive posters.  Given that the forum itself sells ads, maybe a well crafted message to signature sponsors showing how advertising with the forum directly is more efficient than annoying a large segment of the forum's user base might have a very positive effect.  Maybe even PMs from users about excessive posting by some users will convince the sig sponsor to reign them in.

Obviously, I am a signature seller, and the sad fact is it is one of the best ways to get BTC these days while also learning more about bitcoin.

If you wouldn't make more money after 300-500posts or so that would limit the rubbish posts

In my opinion if there is no signature campaigns people will try to promote their service anyway with posts leading to their site or somhow try to encourage you with wrong link, etc. With ad in your sig it is clear that this space is for advertising and nothing else. Just my opinion.

You can disallow signatures as well

[galbros]

If you wouldn't make more money after 300-500posts or so that would limit the rubbish posts?

I am surprised that the sponsors pay for posts above this amount.  I actually have a hard time getting to 50.  Not saying that my posts are never rubbish, but they are always as thoughtful as I can make them.

I do wonder what the sponsors would do if you PM'ed them and said, "good news, I saw an ad for your casino, bad news, the source spams the boards so excessively I will never visit you, sorry" what kind of response you'd get or if they would follow your advice and not pay for more than 300 or so posts a month?

[brush242]

This sounds like a good idea. I am new here and I usually find myself at other people's nonconstructive posts. You might also want to take a look at this guy, which I have seen posting with extreme frequency (look at the amount of time between posts as well as their content): (EDIT: DELETED FOR PRIVACY'S SAKE). Many of the posts either repeat what has already been said or are just off-topic. But I am also not a mod (in fact, quite new) and don't know the criteria for a post to be considered spam.

Why in the hell would you delete some poster's public nickname on a public forum where the public poster is posting posts publicly for the sake of ~privacy~?

That's stupid, if you want people to review his posts and report him to moderators. You want to showcase the problem, not hide it.

[oXo]

you should allow signatures for newbies IMO  .
I might be interested in renting your sig "and reselling it for PD" I can offer 10 satoshi's/day.

[boumalo]

If you wouldn't make more money after 300-500posts or so that would limit the rubbish posts?

I am surprised that the sponsors pay for posts above this amount.  I actually have a hard time getting to 50.  Not saying that my posts are never rubbish, but they are always as thoughtful as I can make them.

I do wonder what the sponsors would do if you PM'ed them and said, "good news, I saw an ad for your casino, bad news, the source spams the boards so excessively I will never visit you, sorry" what kind of response you'd get or if they would follow your advice and not pay for more than 300 or so posts a month?

Exposure is good but I think most operators are very self conscious of having a positive image as well or as positive as possible considering they are running casinos...

They would respond that they don't allow the members to spam and they will investigate your allegations

Allowing members to get money from their signature is great but it results in more rubbish posts but disallowing members to get money from their signature would eliminate a great thing to avoid getting a few more rubbish posts

[InvoKing]

So there is a rule in signatures ? This is already implemented these days ? Minimum of 50 post if you're a Jr. Member, I'm a newbie and i don't know this things. Can someone confirm this, i'm gathering information as of now. It will be very helpful for me. Thank you 

Nice. Bumping 4 years old topic.
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