Questions about using ref-links on forum

[ligeros]

I decided to move this post from the tread about Russian board moderation into separate tread.

Haven't you checked the sticky? It explains fully.

Yes, I read sticked posts very carefully. Unfortunately, even the best of them, Unofficial list of (official) Bitcointalk.org rules, guidelines, FAQ doesn't explain everything.

The most important part for me is about referral links because 3 of my posts have been deleted because of that.

"4. No referral code (ref link) spam" is all I could find about that in all three sticked posts. But what does that mean?

1. That using of ref links in posts is totally forbidden? But I see treads like this that contains 50+ ref links and still is active from Sep 2014. And this tread is not alone.

2. Many people including forum staff and users from default trust list used ref links in their signature. Does that mean that signature is exceptional place where ref links are allowed?
Where can I read about this exception?
Where can I read about  all possible exceptions?

3. Many people post links not to faucets itself but to faucets rotators or their personal web page with faucets list.
Formally these links are not referral. Really they lead to a bunch of referral links.
Is that allowed?

4. Some sites use invite codes instead of referral links.
Like "please, check genesis-mining.com" and use invite code ***** to get 2.5% of discount.
Are such posts allowed?

5. When I write review of some bitcoin service can I add at the end of post
"If you find this review useful, you are welcome to use my referral link (LINK) or you can use this non-referral link (LINK)" Can I?

6. Can I ask people to PM me if they want to use my ref link?

Do all moderators know all these nuances?

I don't want to break forum tules. I just want to know what I can and what I can't do.

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[Muhammed Zakir]

First of all, by posting referral links in posts, you are trying to advertise it but it isn't allowed

 A.1)

Hey. Referral links are actually allowed in certain threads, for instance if a person asks where they can get free bitcoins or what site should they invest in etc then it's ok to post them, =snip=

A.2) You are allowed to advertise in signatures but not in posts. Edit: You can advertise in posts if certain conditions are met(explained below).

=snip=
Ads are typically not allowed in posts (outside of the signature area) because they are annoying and off-topic. It is especially disallowed to put ads or signatures at the bottom of all of your posts. Except for traditional valedictions, which are tolerated but discouraged, signatures are for the signature area only.

However, if you are using the forum as a publishing platform to host something really substantial and useful, selling ads in that substantial work is allowed. To be eligible for this, your post must be in a topic that you started, and your post must be substantial and long enough to make the ad seem entirely insignificant. If in doubt, ask me.

A.3) It is a service and announcing it is allowed. If anybody is spamming posts with links to rotator, you can report it.

A.4) If it has any discounts or any giveaways, it probably fit in Games and Rounds. It is also allowed if a user is posting ANN or similar about a site, he is allowed to use referral links or invite codes but he shouldn't just post "hey, use this invite code and get X% discount!"

A.5) I don't think you can add when you are posting a review but you can add when you post an ANN thread about the site if there isn't one.

A.6) No, IIRC BadBear has said that if a user has referral links in signature and posting in the thread saying "check my signature" is also considered spam. So what you asked is obviously a spam.

I am pretty sure moderators know all these. "They are smart folks!" ~ BadBear.

P.S. Not an answer which you can rely 100%.

Edit: Discussion regarding referral link : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=987319.0

[Grand_Voyageur]

=snip=

Haven't you checked the sticky? It explains fully.

=snip=
"4. No referral code (ref link) spam" is all I could find about that in all three sticked posts. But what does that mean?

1. That using of ref links in posts is totally forbidden? But I see treads like this that contains 50+ ref links and still is active from Sep 2014. And this tread is not alone.

=snip=

=snip=
 A.1)

Hey. Referral links are actually allowed in certain threads, for instance if a person asks where they can get free bitcoins or what site should they invest in etc then it's ok to post them, =snip=

=snip=

Sadly, now I have only a few minutes to reply so, I have to limit my observation and comments to ligeros 1st point. I'm not so sure a post of only n-faucet listings with referral links is OK per forum rules. The example in the thread pointed out by ligeros to me look at best suspicious since if you look at the original quoted version of azguard's post in the jontrue post no referral link at all was present, so added his own referral later by editing his own post. The edited links doesn't state that are referral so, If you give it only a careless look in the hurry to make some easy crypto, you don't notice clicking on a referred link. AFAIK, in similar case Mods acted against such post even deleting the whole threads when overcome by spam so, I suppose they may have not noticed the OP behaviour in the NEW - LIST of altcoin faucet - UPDATE 12.03.2015 thread.
I will look to Staff reply to further clarification about the rule, since they've the final say on them.

[Muhammed Zakir]

Sadly, now I have only a few minutes to reply so, I have to limit my observation and comments to ligeros 1st point. I'm not so sure a post of only n-faucet listings with referral links is OK per forum rules. The example in the thread pointed out by ligeros to me look at best suspicious since if you look at the original quoted version of azguard's post in the jontrue post no referral link at all was present, so added his own referral later by editing his own post. The edited links doesn't state that are referral so, If you give it only a careless look in the hurry to make some easy crypto, you don't notice clicking on a referred link. AFAIK, in similar case Mods acted against such post even deleting the whole threads when overcome by spam so, I suppose they may have not noticed the OP behaviour in the NEW - LIST of altcoin faucet - UPDATE 12.03.2015 thread.
I will look to Staff reply to further clarification about the rule, since they've the final say on them.

He may have added to prevent deletion of posts or after he realized the "heavy" work. I think his post do fit what theymos said.^[1] So mod may not have remoed it.

[1] See quote in my post.

[Grand_Voyageur]

Sadly, now I have only a few minutes to reply so, I have to limit my observation and comments to ligeros 1st point. I'm not so sure a post of only n-faucet listings with referral links is OK per forum rules. The example in the thread pointed out by ligeros to me look at best suspicious since if you look at the original quoted version of azguard's post in the jontrue post no referral link at all was present, so added his own referral later by editing his own post. The edited links doesn't state that are referral so, If you give it only a careless look in the hurry to make some easy crypto, you don't notice clicking on a referred link. AFAIK, in similar case Mods acted against such post even deleting the whole threads when overcome by spam so, I suppose they may have not noticed the OP behaviour in the NEW - LIST of altcoin faucet - UPDATE 12.03.2015 thread.
I will look to Staff reply to further clarification about the rule, since they've the final say on them.

He may have added to prevent deletion of posts or after he realized the "heavy" work. I think his post do fit what theymos said.^[1] So mod may not have remoed it.

[1] See quote in my post.

Posts are still here...without refs. I think maybe he's only copying from other posts should not kept in the original form without referrals? I think that allowing such behaviour only assist people creating loopholes and spamming such threads in all the boards.
I saw theymos statement but I'm not so sure if it would apply here. Basically, azguard only copied from links provided by others, what "hard" work was?

[SaltySpitoon]

Question #1:

You may use referal links under a couple conditions.

1) It has to be marked. Hidden referal links are often removed.

2) The context for posting the referal link has to be on topic. For example, if I was to make a thread asking what Bitcoin exchanges people recommended for my particular situation, and you responded with a constructive post that was on topic to my question, you could post your referal link, and say something like, heres my referal link if you want to use it.

3) Don't start a thread to post your referal link. If you create a thread, even if its multiple paragraphs and pretty much on point, if you have your referal link in it, more likely than not its going to be seen as a spam advertising thread that will probably get removed.

Referal links are not banned here, but the majority of users do exactly what I said not to above, they get their referal links removed, and the misconception that referal links are banned is created.


*edit* sorry missed a couple of your questions.

Question #2:

You are allowed to put referal links in your signature, the main concern with referal links is people creating spam to give out their referal links. You can put whatever you want in your signature as long as its not a link to malware, or if its a link to a NSFW site, please label it as such. Nothing sucks worse than getting into a bad situation because that buycoinsdirect.com link in your signature is actually a cam site. Different user groups, IE legendary/Newbie have different restrictions on what sort of formating is able to be used in their signature. For example newbie accounts can't have links, certain usergroups can't have styled signatures, etc. That is disabled by settings not something you can accidentally mess up.

Question #3:

The faucet rotator rules apply the same as any referal link, such are the rules that I posted above.

Question #4:

Invite codes are the same category as referal links, and the same rules apply.

Question #5:

When you write a review and include your referal link, its really a gamble. As I said in rule #3 above "Don't start a thread to post your referal link. If you create a thread, even if its multiple paragraphs and pretty much on point, if you have your referal link in it, more likely than not its going to be seen as a spam advertising thread that will probably get removed." It will really be up to moderator discretion how your review is categorized, based on how many other reviews are there out there, how high quality is the post, are you just making the thread to give out your referal link, etc. While you could do it, the chances of the thread being removed are rather high, so you may end up wasting a lot of time writing a good review because of how the referal link is interpreted.

Question #6

And yes, you can ask people to PM you if they would like your referal link.

[ligeros]

Thank you very much guys for your answers. Many things became more clear for me.
I will study this tread and may be ask some more questions.

[Muhammed Zakir]

=snip=

Question #6

And yes, you can ask people to PM you if they would like your referal link.

Wouldn't that be same as

=snip=

"If you find this review useful, you are welcome to use my referral link (LINK) or you can use this non-referral link (LINK)" Can I?

 =snip=

and also same as posting "if you want to use my referral like, see my signature". BadBear's statement:

Do not make topics or replies just to share your referral link. Whether it's in your sig, avatar, personal message, profile, within the post itself, or tattooed on your forehead is irrelevant.

Edited for clarity.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

[DiscoverCebu]

I had one question too, is this thread allowed?
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1153129.0;topicseen

[redsn0w]

I had one question too, is this thread allowed?
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1153129.0;topicseen

The thread was deleted so I think it was not allowed (just my personal opinion).

[DiscoverCebu]

I had one question too, is this thread allowed?
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1153129.0;topicseen

The thread was deleted so I think it was not allowed (just my personal opinion).

Ah ok, I was gonna warn him about it, but wasn't sure if it was allowed in gaming and rounds board.