OZBARGAIN REWARD to Members ??

babiguling on 28/11/2013 - 10:46

Hi all!

Not sure if this has been discussed here before.

1st time when I joined OZB last time I was thinking about what the function of the votes on each deal posted for. I thought those member who got lot of votes, earn points and later on can be exchanged into gift card or cash :)))
But realized there's no such thing here.

Is it possible for OZB to reward members with certain amount of votes of the deal they posted with gift card? :P
Let say a deal with 100 - 200 positive votes will get $25 value of cheque, 201-300 positive votes will get $50 from OZB Freebie excluded)?

Hehehe, Just a thought,.. or maybe non sense talk.

Well, no harm asking, right :)

Ask and you will be given, Seek and you'll find? :P

Site Discussion

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 28/11/2013 - 11:14
    +2

    There used to be a monthly reward for the top most voted deal but for some reason this has been abolished.

    • babiguling on 28/11/2013 - 11:19

      ah, never know OZB had this before. :) thanks for the info

    • scotty on 28/11/2013 - 11:28
      +16

      "some reason" — logistic headache & people start gaming the system. We are now running fewer competitions but higher valued prizes. Current birthday comp with $500 gift card top prize for example.

      As of "gifting based on number of votes" — I think it would a recipe for trouble.

      • babiguling on 28/11/2013 - 11:32
        +2

        I see. fair enough. Thanks boss for clarification.

      • kabigon on 28/11/2013 - 11:36
        +1

        "some reason" — logistic headache

        Yep for example the Sony Powerbank deal was deal of the month for October even though the Coles Connoisseur deal* was posted in the same month and got more votes (votes were split over Oct/Nov).

        *(Not trying to toot own horn, a deal you have to search for is a lot more valuable than something that anyone can see from the front page of a catalogue).

        • scotty on 28/11/2013 - 11:47

          Yeah. If we do have a monetary prize for that and I would need to resolve the dispute on who get the prize. Also don't post a good deal near the end of the month :)

        • leeroys_dad on 28/11/2013 - 12:51

          wrong. the coles connoisseur was meal deal of the month ;)

        • Scrooge McDuck on 30/11/2013 - 15:37
          +1

          Most votes over a 30 day period from posting awarded on the last day of each month.

        • k on 30/11/2013 - 17:05
          -1

          Err maybe a prize for the top deal in each category?

          If it worked years ago why wouldn't it work now?

      • [Deactivated] on 28/11/2013 - 12:24

        Love to know how "people start gaming the system". I can understand that monthly prizes could get out of hand but I'm fascinated as to how it could have been done.

        • tanoshiiki on 28/11/2013 - 13:18

          The simplest thing I could think of just register a whole bunch of accounts and upvote one particular deal.

        • kabigon on 28/11/2013 - 22:57
          +5

          Or just have one account vote for Everything Ever Posted

          Have seen frantic plus spamming before when watching the live page but never to this extent. That must've been some fast clicking…

        • foobar on 29/11/2013 - 07:26

          Eh that's bizarre, gotta wonder what they're up to?

        • Bargain4U on 30/11/2013 - 01:54
          +1

          With IP addresses you easily stop people and only count votes from active members (ie. posting and commenting). Right?

        • Scrooge McDuck on 30/11/2013 - 15:39
          +2

          +1 for Pokémon reference.

        • roughana on 15/12/2013 - 20:08

          No, because multiple legitimate members may be seen to be at the same IP address.

  • Moots on 29/11/2013 - 23:57
    +25

    OzBargain is purely for profit, let's be honest. OzBargain is nothing without fellow members, people let each other know deals, bargains, how to save money, OzBargain sits back on the affiliated links for non-registered users, commissions, yet members that actually make a lot of effert to post, seek, and gain a majority of votes are just like anyone else but with a dot as a badge. As the above example, no rewards for any members, because it's too much trouble. Pocket the money, put on a few competitions that benefit OzBargain in noise of sharing, social media, even the social events you have to pay for yet OzB is employing full time people to work on the site constantly. It'll be great to just one time, be listened too with the suggestions, and add more user interaction for members. Nope, Neil always declines everything, never accepts any feedback on the site, actually more than anything. He seems to take offense to suggestions, I've given up even trying… Coincidence Scotty's popular posting sites is Dell and Lenovo? No. Obviously some little deal going on there. 70 Posts on Lenovo… C'on, their deals aren't even great.

    • Bargain4U on 30/11/2013 - 02:53
      +5

      Bravo, I think you have captured the underlying sentiment of members very well.

      • jacklynhydejr on 30/11/2013 - 08:01
        +7

        Not really… I read that rant and think, bah humbug Ebenezer. If you have such deep seeded reservations about the integrity of those that run the site then go elsewhere. If you think the poster of a deal has subverse intentions, then don't read their posts. If the people who run the site have found a way to make some money out of it then good for them: why shouldnt they? No doubt it is quite a time consuming endeavour. You are getting a never-ending influx of bargains - what more do you want? Get a lot of votes for your deal and bask in your personal glory; demands of rewards sounds a bit greedy to me.

        • BlazinPast on 30/11/2013 - 09:38
          +6

          I agree to an extent though with what Moots is saying. I suggested something similar a while ago. Look at WNK's and easternculture's frequency in which they have posted deals over the last 2 months. I remember just in August/September, they would post a string of great deals a day. You would have the main page filled with their deals. Now you don't see them as often.

          Easternculture: 57 deals in September alone. 11 in total for October+November.
          WNK: 49 deals in September alone. 32 in total for October+November.

          I suggested something like a reward just to show as respect that they spent a lot of effort finding deals - just an incentive and to let them know their spot in Ozbargain is much appreciated. I wouldn't call that greed.

    • scotty on 30/11/2013 - 10:35
      +15

      Yes OzBargain is a business to me now. The kind of business that I take 50% pay cut to read this kind of cr@p whole day, but I thoroughly enjoyed it — seriously, developing OzBargain as a platform (which I do while not busy moderating and organising the content here) is still much better than paying off technical debt in my previous job. Those engineers amongst us would know what I mean.

      Anyway, to answer OP's question directly, I WILL reward some members this year. When? How? How often? Selection criteria? I won't reveal them, but there will be rewards and tributes to respectful members of the community.

      • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2013 - 12:25
        +1

        If you have technical skills I must ask why would you waste your time moderating silly minor comments and small petty issues. This site is great because their is hardly any spam, but couldn't you employ a cheap moderator( no education reqmnt) thus low pay and optimise your time elsewhere? I guess working at home is one of the perks. I have been long term Ozbargain "leecher" and noticed changes are very slow for such a huge site and community( for someone who considers their full time job developing the site.

        • scotty on 30/11/2013 - 14:10
          +10

          You said you came from WP and reckoned this site adds features slowly? :) actually a lot of new features are members only, and gradually we will push out features to opt-in beta testers first.

          As of not hiring "cheap moderators",

          • Good, cool headed moderators that have are already familiar with the community, have good skills, morality standards, being "team member", etc - ain't cheap.

          • I also personally want to be involved with the community. This site wasn't started as a business. While it has become one, allowing me to focus on developing this site full time, I still want to be part of the community.

          • Employees rest on weekends. Business owners don't. I am replying this, from the perspective of a business owner, on Saturday, while trying to help my daughter with her assignment at the same time (that one is more tricky though).

          This is going off topic.

      • t_c on 30/11/2013 - 16:28
        +2

        If there was a reward system for deals that made certain milestones such as 5k, 10k, 15k, unique clicks, it might give ppl the incentive to post more and better quality deals, which can't be a bad thing for the site. And to put it all into perspective YouTube rewards their content providers via the partnership program so they can share in some of the advertising revenue.

        • antzz on 30/11/2013 - 16:52

          With you tube I agree that content creator receive some money back since it cost them a lot to produce content. Your bargain post doesn t require money to post in effective comparison to video stuff I believe.

          And if the content of ozbargain is not on high quality you would not come back everyday I believe

    • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2013 - 13:02
      +5

      Scott Yang has every right to make profit from this website. He is an internet pioneer so to speak, an early adopter of the online shopping boom, and as a result has reaped the rewards. There is risk in all business ventures but fortunately no other adequate bargain sites existed so critical mass was achieved and now he has a thriving community which essentially runs the site itself (via deal posting and discussion).

      If Scott wishes to create competitions, incentives etc he must know that he will reap some rewards in terms of increased web hits, affiliate links and other monetary inflow methods. To be honest I only stumbled upon this site via whirlpool. He could run a social media marketing campaign to increase Ozbargain's exposure on Facebook and Twitter, possibly opening up the market of older consumers which have never heard of the site and are more likely to spend more(in terms of affiliate links) due to higher average income than the sites currently mainly younger than average population base. Just because they have higher incomes doesn't mean they don't want to save money. Also increase Ozbargain's user friendliness, the logo could use a revamp(currently has a 90's geocities vibe) and posts on FB could be more fun and interesting rather than just deal posts, actual interaction with your audience would be excellent. This would lead in greater uptake in social media thus spread exposure of the service, far and wide to new target markets.

      This is the nature of capitalism, he is not going to simply give you free stuff for the sake of giving back, he must know there will be some gain for him in the long run. The "gain" might not be a straight up $ cash one as many here focus on, but rewards will occur later on(albeit hard to quantify).

      • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2013 - 18:11
        +1

        He is an internet pioneer

        Lol, no.

        • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2013 - 19:47
          +2

          My apologies for this wall of rambling text, was drunk from last night :S.

        • SupeNintendoChalmers on 02/12/2013 - 16:21
          +2

          he's a www entrepreneur and had the vision and courage, unlike some posters here to follow his heart.

        • KiLLUMiN4Ti on 07/12/2013 - 23:29

          @Davo93 -gold :D

      • andyken on 30/11/2013 - 22:50
        +2

        Haha try to kiss scotty a$$ hehe

    • Commonwealth Pig on 30/11/2013 - 20:37
      +15

      I see things quite differently.

      I see this community as a place where people can give and get back. People share deals that they find and take advantage of deals that others find. I don't see why anyone should need a monetary reward. The reward of being able to make use of bargains that are applicable to me, that I may not otherwise know about is reward enough for me.

      OzBargain is purely for profit…OzBargain sits back on the affiliated links for non-registered users, commissions,

      "non-registered users" is the key point here. Members are not served affiliate links and are in fact encouraged to use cash back sites such as Start Here. Non members are also given the option to use a direct link rather than the affiliate link. This is a long way from forcing everyone to use links that make OzBargain money. Members are also able to opt out from viewing ads on the website.

      In regards to the reduction in number of posts from users such as WNK and easternculture as mentioned by BlazinPast. Who's to say that these users just don't have the time to source bargains and post them in the capacity that they have done in the past. Personally I don't have enough time to actively source that number of bargains and post them. I do however have enough time to periodically jump on and give back to the community by moderating. It's comments such as many in this thread that make me wonder why I bother volunteering my time.

      In regards to your comments about Neil. If you could see the moderation logs you might be amazed at the amount of time and effort he puts into this community. I don't care if he is "staff" or not, the sheer volume of reports, investigation, time and effort that is put in by Neil is truly amazing. There is no way that this community would run anywhere near as smoothly without it and all he ever seems to cop in return is criticism and bad attitude from users like yourself.

      Moots, no one is forcing you to be here. You have made it abundantly clear in recent months that you dislike the operation of OzBargain but yet you still use the site. I cannot understand why this is.

      I must stress that all of these views are my own and no moderator discussion has currently occurred on this topic.

        • Commonwealth Pig on 30/11/2013 - 22:15
          +1

          Without your mod status you wouldn't see my complaints

          Not true. Although I wouldn't see all of them you have made "complaints" that all can see. Such as this one.

          I'm not going to indulge the rest of your troll.

        • Moots on 30/11/2013 - 22:21

          Um. That resulted in the user rating getting removed. Again you staff don't know the difference about feedback.

          Did my suggestion of feedback make a difference? It did. Case closed.

    • Baghern on 02/12/2013 - 12:14
      +2

      Actually I like the fact that there are not too many things that we can get involved with. It means the site stays true to its original intention.

      I've been to many forums, anytime you put in some kind of reward/recognition system, people try to 'game' it. It becames an overwhelming hassle.

      Considering how large this site has grown, of course its a for profit site.

      What makes it a great site for me, is that despite its size its tried to keep itself at a 'ground' level.

      If you really want to get involved with the site, maybe ask for a job. Rather than volunteering by being active and expecting some kind of reward.

  • SpaceNinja on 30/11/2013 - 02:18
    +7

    * grabs popcorn *

  • gtech on 30/11/2013 - 16:41
    +8

    Hi All,
    I must agree with moots and davo.

    (Moots) I agree that there appears to be some correlation between lenovo and dell posts that should be made more transparent. If we are going down the path of moral standards etc.
    As an oz bargainer I would like to see people who make the effort rewarded or recognized in an open fair manner.
    And getting new features would be gladly welcomed by all.

    (Davo93) I agree that this is a commercial operation and that scotty has every right to make money of it. I don't think anybody can complain about that because that's capitalism and and looking back with hind site anybody can say that was going to make money. The standard principle applies here just as it applies every where if you not happy take your money else where.

    Thus I don't have any quams as to business owner making money of this operation, in fact I think its a great example of enterperneurship with a unique business model. But I do agree that because this business model has a large contributing community, which in fact are its stakeholders it must pay significant attention to their needs (a very hard and complex concept). It also means that it must have higher transperancy levels then nost businesses.

    Now as a member of this community I believe that we all have the right to express our opinions, which may or may not be echoed by the larger community. And since Scotty you chose this business and its model I think its only fair that listen to those opinions before shooting down people in flames. Whilst as the business owner we must respect your judgment as to keeping at heart what is good for the business.

  • antzz on 30/11/2013 - 16:47
    +3

    This is a very weird request imo. Ozbargain is like facebook and google who make money based on information it received from member. Does google give you gift card? Hell no.

    Scotty earns what it created no more and no less. It even put some back in the gathering and competition.

    Some of the best member is rewarded by becoming mods and also personally from every deals we manage to get

    The idea of paying member for posting great deal will increase spam and opportunist in the community

    This is an internet business and one of the most respected in australia.

    I am sure most member saved more money here trading information compare to facebook.

    I will support your cause when facebook star giving me money until then you are free to make ozbargain copy and see your self what is the cost to start such a website

    • Moots on 30/11/2013 - 16:49

      Does google give you gift card? Hell no.

      They actually pay you, if you put Ad's on your site, as OzBargain does, Google owns YouTube. You get paid by the views, and ad's clicked, so yes. Google does in-fact give cash value out as a reward.

  • Moots on 30/11/2013 - 16:48
    +3

    I think it's great to make money, and if Scotty didn't, it'll be silly of him. I am not denying any of that. What I am saying is, take out the everyday users, you I, the most popular posters, TightArse, EasternCulture, even JV, I'm sure JV has bought someone random here with one of his 15,000 comments somewhere in the SEO charts, yet when the everyday user posts a deal, they need to clarify that it's affilated, bla bla a list of rules. When sneaky Scotty, takes up deals with Lenovo, and Dell, to post deals with those codes getting him a commission, double standards? I think so. Practice what you preach is the old saying. Everyone can appreciate OzBargain as a community, a business after all, that's all the staff keep going on about, but than look outside the box. Without the community, there is noone, no revenue, no secret little deals, no advertising dollars, yet you get a $100 gift card competition, and what? Nothing. You pay $5 for your meetup event. Pretty poor quality towards the community to be honest.

    • Mikinoz on 30/11/2013 - 16:56
      -1

      Whilst you make some valid points, what is the alternative to this site? Those codes you say scotty puts up, are emailed to anyone who is on the mailing lists.

      What is your real problem, jealous you didn't make this site? you think members should get some dividend?

      • Moots on 30/11/2013 - 17:00

        Jealously? No, it's called socially speaking, having a valid say as a supporting body of the community. I'm no different to anyone, nor did I start the thread. I just agree, and obviously looking at the other comments of the community, I and the OP aren't the only ones speaking our thoughts so don't come towards me with a personal attack. Pointless, I couldn't care if I get negged, I'm speaking the truth, it just so seems no staff here likes the truth, so be it. There is 14 people that agree with my comment. I'm sure theirs loads of support.

        Have more to say about it? I couldn't care, you vote as an Australian in the elections, so do I. We both get our vote, it may not be the same, we see different points and that's exactly why you vote. That vote allows you to speak, even though it's one in 16 million votes approx.

        The entire website is 2nd sided. The rules clearly say for example, don't double post. Yet depending on the user, there seems to be users taking deals, uploading individually, and that's fine? Double standards all over the site.

        • Mikinoz on 30/11/2013 - 17:08
          +1

          Again i agree with some points, mostly second paragraph. Like the voting system which isn't really a voting system. Although make your point and move along, its not a personal attack. Its a question.

          You post is like a personal attack on Scotty though, if i was him i would have monetized the crap out of ozb too. Try and be a bit more open minded, as a community its not a bad place after all. Not everything goes the way you or i want it too.

        • Moots on 30/11/2013 - 17:13
          +5

          I understand your points, and I try and understand everyone's. I want to make it clear, I am like everyone else here at OzBargain, no special powers nor can I speak on other peoples behalf but if I don't target scotty who can I target, no one else is on this thread, I've made it clear my thoughts about Neil, he really doesn't care about anyone elses thoughts, so whats left? Scotty. This is my feedback, if he accepts it, good on him and that's great, but he refers my comment as "cr@p he has to listen to." Wait a second, I am just a member of the community, yet my comment is now deemed crap, because I am speaking my mind? I am actually offended and clearly shows how much OzBargain really gives a cr@p.

          As per a comment you made in the 2nd comment, I forgot to mention

          Those codes you say scotty puts up, are emailed to anyone who is on the mailing lists.

          Some codes maybe, but he would have seen my comment, he didn't rule out my point though. Why is it two high up Technological Companies his two top posting companies, with the codes looking unique for OzBargain.

          Example of coupon from Lenovo: OZBGLENXMAS the first paragraph is "Some exclusive bargains for OzBargain". They not only are exclusive to the community, But I assume they are exclusive as an affiliated, commissioned coupon code. Why is it we have to declare Affiliated Links, or promo codes, yet Scotty does not need to tick the "Affiliated" box, or declare a commission, because he made the site? Yeah well, He also made the posting guideline policy. (Which I can now see being updated on the next couple rollout of updates to the site as a disclaimer or whatnot.)

        • andyken on 30/11/2013 - 23:00
          +3

          I agree svotty own this site and have every right to make money

          But as community, as membea, as normal user i agree with Moots

    • neil on 01/12/2013 - 00:08
      +11

      You pay $5 for your meetup event.

      I'll respond to this as it pertains to me.

      In the first discussion of having a meetup, we looked to the Brisbane Meetup as an example. Due to not charging a ticket price, we had a lot of no shows. After research of others organizing meetups, by charging a tiny nominal fee, no shows are reduced greatly. Out of about 65 RSVPed we had around 60.

      The ~$300 doesn't cover the cost of the venue/staff, the drinks we bought (100 soft drinks), food 18 pizzas & 5 garlic breads (e.g.pizza at $15 each), t-shirts given out, 4 $20 gift cards given out on the night. We are talking 4 digits here.

      Not to mention I recruited 2 friends, 1 to deliver all the stuff to the venue, and 1 friend to help me at the door. I'm sure there are beers owed to them at a later date. ;)

      • akula on 01/12/2013 - 17:19

        up vote for the effort for organising a meet up.

      • regenade on 01/12/2013 - 20:24

        It was a great and well organized meet. Kudos to Neil and OzB. The $5 was just a token and seeing the attendance, we should prefer to keep it that way in future.

        My one cent is , once in a while we can have some giveaways like Tech sites and I am sure lot of affiliate/Store Reps will be interested to give us some prizes. As for rewarding top posters, it should not be based on any numbers/votes, the mods/Scotty should decide and may be reward one poster every month. The reward small or big does not matter, it just what might keep the community alive and kicking.

        • scotty on 01/12/2013 - 21:42
          +1

          One mistake I made before is letting the merchants to participate in our regular rewards — that turned out to be a logistic nightmare and made you feel that you owe the sponsor something (which I am trying to avoid).

          Let me rephrase it again — we will reward some users in December for their contributions and achievements this year. I am also planning to bring back regular rewards / competitions next year (maybe monthly). Won't be "200 votes for $50 gift card" kind of non-sense that's easy to game on, but fixed number of prizes each month.

        • NosDan on 08/12/2013 - 11:32

          neil/scotty i must say you completely screwed up on this…. did you forget where you are?

          you should have advertised the RRP of this "deal". im sure at a $195 saving over RRP everyone would have been happy with the $5 cover charge…

        • neil on 08/12/2013 - 11:44
          +2

          We did - 84% off RRP.

      • SupeNintendoChalmers on 02/12/2013 - 16:33

        I couldn't make it, but I appreciate your hard work.

  • k on 30/11/2013 - 17:03
    +5

    I agree with all the points mentioned by the above users.

    There are always promises to give back to the community in most site update threads but it's always competitions which are skewed to the creative community. Why can't OzBargain have weekly competitions with smaller prizes instead of a $500 1st prize with competitions running every few months. Maybe a $50 top prize with a range of challenges relevant to all users rather than creating a song, collage or video.

    TopBargains which is obviously a smaller site rewards the top user of the month with $100 in cash so I don't see why it is a logistical nightmare. However if this would not be a viable option, why not some merchandise? Maybe OzBargan t-shirts for the top deal of the month wouldn't hurt the site too much right?

    Also I believe the removed of the affliate system has discouraged many users from finding good deals. I understand you removing the Amazon links but why others sites? When I posted frequently I tried to find a balance between affliate and non-affliate deals. These days I go meh, I can't be bothered posting anymore.

    • Moots on 30/11/2013 - 17:08
      +2

      Also I believe the removed of the affliate system has discouraged many users from finding good deals.

      Agreed 100%

      I understand you removing the Amazon

      The back end I assume has been hardcoded to use OzBargains official affilated link.

      These days I go meh, I can't be bothered posting anymore.

      Welcome to the clan I did this ages ago, I posted in TWAM, was pretty much just palmed off, I have seen this with other top posters, yet OzBargain can't see this. They couldn't really care about the community clearly. If they did they wouldn't have so many people now really thinking about how bad the OzBargain Users are truely treated.

  • Turd on 30/11/2013 - 21:19
    +5

    I remember the first few years of OZB. When it wasnt popular. I got like a $20 or $25 for having the most popular bargain for the week. And another time I got a free USB drive..

    ahh those were the times!! :P

  • neil on 30/11/2013 - 23:25
    +28

    I came home last night after our first official OzBargain meetup feeling quite positive. Lots of fun people, lots of serious bargain hunters and realized we've only scratched the surface on the bargain ability. We gave away lots of t-shirts, gift cards, and hopefully will do more stuff like this in the future.

    Looks like the positive feeling was short lived.

    Well, I figure I should probably respond as Moots mentioned me 3 times. I'll answer the rest of the questions in another comment.

    We've dealt with lots of people here and for the most part, it ends in a positive or at least an agree to disagree position. However, Moots is the most manipulative and disrespectiful member I have ever met. It's really disappointing and sad really as Moots and I use to chat quite often about Mrs. Browns Boys as well as some other stuff.

    Over the years, we've handled issues with people personally attacking him (happens to others sometimes). Some mild and some quite big involving another company. We worked with him to resolve the issue and remove any personal information that shouldn't be out there. He was promoted to a power user and was making some great contributions and all was good.

    It all went downhill sometime when he started posting his company deals here. In the course of a year, he sockpuppeted and spammed the comments with his company's products. This lead to the loss of power user status and further incidents lead to him being in the penalty box. He has also falsely been telling users he is part of OzBargain staff. Over the past year, there have been more incidents in which we've had to step in an assist him with little thanks and insults. Even today, yes today, he spammed another deal promoting his company. There's even more to the story but I'll think I think you get the gist.

    But let's review your questions :

    Neil always declines everything, never accepts any feedback on the site, actually more than anything. He seems to take offense to suggestions, I've given up even trying…

    The gist of his questions/statement is OzBargain shouldn't have improved the search because it's not something he wants. The badges are crap. and "What is User rating? Why is it there?"

    Scott and I clearly explained why search was improved mostly as users had asked for it to be improved. Scott also removed the user rating based on Moot's feedback.

    To which Scott replied that this feature is available.

    To which I answered, you only receive the duplicate badge once.

    • In a TWAM thread in August, we answered a question Moots had.

    • In another TWAM thread, Moot's pointed out that blank comments can be made. Scott answered that he will fix this which I believe he has.

    • In another one, Moots pointed out that the URL was missing in reports. We answered by thanking Moots despite calling me lazy and fixing the issue.

    • In another thread, Moots asked us how to make a link. We answered how. (It's in the formatting help under each comment).

    And it goes on and on and on. That's 7 questions and answers in a year that I've mentioned. That's fine. We want feedback but don't accuse us of not listening or answering or having some alternative motives.

    Enough is enough.

    All suggestions are welcome and you can see what we are working on here.

    • akula on 01/12/2013 - 17:30
      +3

      Well, i did not know about these stuff :(

      • antzz on 01/12/2013 - 19:29
        +5

        Well at least now we know who the hell is this Moots is really is. He is a sore loser socket puppet that lose out to competition and attacking mods for personal gain. Another broden type user

        • NosDan on 08/12/2013 - 11:49
          +2

          It all went downhill sometime when he started posting his company deals here

          just in that one line it all makes sense.

          some people just think they are entitled to something just because they were born. they think they can lie, cheat (sockpuppet) and steal (post in a competitors deal) from others and its all ok because they are "so important" or "more important" than someone else.

          heres a little advice for anyone who thinks this way, guess what? your wrong, its not ok. :)

  • neil on 30/11/2013 - 23:43

    As for the original question, rewards for posts.

    OK, so OzBargain is about finding bargains and many times involves gaming the system (eg. VPN). Getting a prize for the most voted deals is very tempting for someone to game the system in order to receive the prize.

    With IP addresses you easily stop people and only count votes from active members (ie. posting and commenting). Right?

    Yes, that's one mechanism but there are people who use different IP addresses via VPN or using another computer etc. We have seen companies post their deals on their Facebook and all of a sudden we have loads of new accounts voting up their deals. It's a constant battle to fight sockpuppeting. There are usually a few a week which involve lots of moderation time.

    However, I wouldn't throw in the towel. Weekly prizes can be given out possibly with another metric. Let's say the most popular deal in terms of traffic reported via Google Analytics. Sure, you can try to game Google but it's a lot more difficult than gaming OzBargain. So that's one possible solution.

    As for logistics, well I'm happy to be in charge of determining winner, contacting them, and sending out cards however that's up to Scott.

    There are always promises to give back to the community in most site update threads but it's always competitions which are skewed to the creative community…. Maybe a $50 top prize with a range of challenges relevant to all users rather than creating a song, collage or video.

    OK, you are right there. Our contests are definitely focused towards the creative. What challenges did you have in mind?

    Maybe OzBargan t-shirts for the top deal of the month wouldn't hurt the site too much right?

    Good idea!

    Also I believe the removed of the affliate system has discouraged many users from finding good deals. I understand you removing the Amazon links but why others sites?

    Only Amazon was removed. All other referrals are still intact. Got an example?

    • k on 01/12/2013 - 01:10

      OK, you are right there. Our contests are definitely focused towards the creative. What challenges did you have in mind?

      Like this! http://blog.ozbargain.com.au/2013/ozbargain-january-2013-pho…

      Only Amazon was removed. All other referrals are still intact. Got an example?

      I mean affliate links in general - not referral linksl. E.g. mp4nation has an affliate program.

      • neil on 01/12/2013 - 01:16
        +1

        Ah cool! Yeah, the photo contest was fun. OK, I'll see what I can come up with.

  • tyler.durden on 01/12/2013 - 08:26
    +2

    Neil,

    You didn't address the issue about scotty posting affliated links without saying they are affliated..

    That was a good point made by moots…
    I didn't realize this was happening…till moots pointed this out..

    ie. the double standard..

    There is something I wish ozbargain would fix..

    -we need a <new deal> link when viewing it in on mobile phone..
    The current method to go to new deal is not very efficient..when navigating on a mobile phone

    -search preference..
    when we search, it sort by relevance, but then a lot of those deals might are expired..e.g dominoes
    It should be sorted by <newest> then relevance..

    I don't know about rewarding people though..it's a double edge sword..
    on the one hand, you should share the wealth, since it is the community that is making this site,

    without the community, there is no ozbargain..

    yet at the same time…

    1. I think it could cause this site get spam, or people start gaming the system..like you said..ie socketpuppet, alot of affliated links deals which are not really good deals..

    2. Also what is a good deal?

    people could post alot of threads on
    -amazon free ebooks, (there's a site that list all free ebooks, so someone could just post all those links
    -free ios games, apps (this can be found from other ios apps that list alot of those free stuff)

    So ppl could just post
    amazon ebooks threads daily, etc..
    and be the same ppl that get rewarded every month…

    • scotty on 01/12/2013 - 22:05
      +1

      scotty posting affliated links without saying they are affliated.

      Like? I have been sent tons of deals from merchants everyday, and every link I posted are plain URLs. Yes, for some merchants our system would then convert it to affiliate links (as part of OzBargain's business model) for guest users only. Logged-in members are never presented with affiliate links, and guest users can opt out if they want. See this wiki page for explanations.

      If you are referring to Dell / Lenovo deals. Well I have been a long time Dell user (since ~1999 and at my previous job it's an exclusive Dell shop so I've always got latest Latitude), but at OzBargain we've been buying Lenovo gears. That's what we use, and obviously I'll post their coupons. Once you post too many of their deals, they start contacting me directly & offer exclusive code.

      we need a <new deal> link when viewing it in on mobile phone

      Our mobile site still needs to be optimised. You'll notice that we kept mostly the same code base / HTML output for desktop and mobile sites, and trimming down the feature via switches and media query / responsive design don't always produce optimised result. Something that I still need to work on.

      when we search, it sort by relevance, but then a lot of those deals might are expired

      Yes. Done. I know that it has been frequently asked and I feel that it has to come after our search backend upgrade to give us a better performance to get it to work properly.

      Search alert is also coming. Worked on that this afternoon and will be pushed to the site tomorrow to make it available for those who opt-in beta-features.

      • tyler.durden on 02/12/2013 - 11:19
        +2

        I think moots was referring to the double standard..ie you don't say those lenova deals etc.. are affliated..while other people have to follow those rules..

        not that you can't post them, just that you are not following the same posting rules..

  • neil on 01/12/2013 - 12:21

    You didn't address the issue about scotty posting affliated links without saying they are affliated..

    If it's a question for Scotty, then Scotty can answer better than I can.

    we need a <new deal> link when viewing it in on mobile phone..
    The current method to go to new deal is not very efficient..when navigating on a mobile phone

    What do you mean not efficient? It's the same format as the desktop site.

    -search preference..
    when we search, it sort by relevance, but then a lot of those deals might are expired..e.g dominoes
    It should be sorted by <newest> then relevance..

    You can save your search preference. This thread is the best to make your comment. I believe the search is still actively being worked on.

    • tyler.durden on 02/12/2013 - 00:35

      @neil

      -Tried surfing this site on a mobile phone yet?

      it is inefficient to navigate to new deals link…
      You need to click deals > new deals
      but the links is small, so harder to click on a phone..

      just have a separate new deals link would make it easy to navigate

      Also you say you can save the search preference, but why not just make
      sort by newest first, since this site is about time based deals..
      so a relevant sort would be meaningless to many people if it is expired..

      Also why is the search preference not found in my account settings?
      I hope you are not saving this by cookie, since I use ccleaner etc.. that may clean those cookies..
      It would be better to keep the setting in the account setting…

      @scotty
      I think moots was referring to the double standard..ie you don't say those lenova deals etc.. are affliated..while other people have to follow those rules..

      not that you can't post them, just that you are not following the same posting rules..

      • neil on 02/12/2013 - 00:42

        -Tried surfing this site on a mobile phone yet?

        Yes. I do agree with you the links are small to touch (on my Galaxy Nexus). Do you have an example from another site where the menu works well?

        Also you say you can save the search preference, but why not just make
        sort by newest first, since this site is about time based deals..
        so a relevant sort would be meaningless to many people if it is expired..

        Best to make that point in the search thread as well as the other search questions. I don't know the answer to the cookie question.

      • rekabkram on 02/12/2013 - 01:17

        Instead of going to www.ozbargain.com.au go to www.ozbargain.com.au/deals

        Set it up as a favorite and you'll always end up on the new deals page and not have to deal with it.

        • tyler.durden on 02/12/2013 - 10:13

          Yes, but i also want to see the front page as well..

          but when u are the front page it is hard to go to new deals on a mobile phone

      • andyken on 02/12/2013 - 09:17

        For mobile user : to check new deals simply add at the back of address /deals so www.ozbargain.com.au/deals rather than click menu and click new deals with our big finger

  • abandc2003 on 01/12/2013 - 18:41
    +7

    Personally I enjoy the community 'feel' on OzBargain. Yes, I'm primarily here in the hope I save money and in return if I find a bargain I think others might like I post it.

    If members want to go down the route of prizes, rewards and competitions all the time then I say make the membership pay for it. ie. Pay for membership and you get all that 'exclusive' stuff. For the current free membership I'm happy to get the no ads and a head-start on the deals.

    Given that we're already saving money by reading/using OzBargain and this occurs each year, demanding free sh*t seems a bit crass.

    • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2013 - 23:23
      +2

      I'm happy to get the no ads

      You must use the internet wrong, I don't see ads on any site.

      Occasionally when something isn't loading correctly I may disable these blockers (to check) and I am dumbfounded at how intrusive and over-the-top advertising has become in the last decade.

  • rekabkram on 02/12/2013 - 00:06
    +3

    I don't think every user deserves to be rewarded when they post a decent deal but I can see the merit in rewarding those that have really helped out the Ozbargain community as a whole, WNK is certainly one that comes to mind.
    A member for 7 months with over 370 deals posted with an average score of 34.5, so not only have the deals been frequent but they've been really well recieved (although admittedly I found the Udemy deals a bit much, but then some people really liked them).

    In saying that, the guys who run the site have absolutely no obligation to give anything. They have set up and run a very successful site which helps people and has started a community. While some site shy away from having from having people discuss company's bad practices, It is an important part of Ozbargain and the site is better for it (main point of reference being OCAU where they stopped vender verdicts after being unsuccessfully used over members comments, even though they won the court case it cost the site a small fortune and it was almost shut down as a result).

    I've always felt that more than anything the site is about helping each other out as well as getting a laugh out of so many bad puns. If the admins choose to remunerate anyone then I suggest that they give something to the unpaid moderators that give their time, past them then to the contributors that offer broad and popular deals that help to keep the site clicking over.

    All of this though should be done at their discretion, don't forget that anything they give is literally taking money from their pockets.

  • _Bruce_ on 02/12/2013 - 09:54
    +7

    I would like to voice my support for ozBargain administration. In particular I appreciate that threads like this, no matter how misguided and insulting and not removed.

    The internet is (unfortunately) made of people, and everyone views things differently, so no matter what you do someone will get upset. Taking the high ground and letting this air and rationally stating your case is the best anyone can ask for.

    Keep up the great work.

  • earths_pacifist on 02/12/2013 - 10:30
    +21

    It amazes me sometimes the sense of entitlement that people have. (this is not an attack on anyone it just baffles me tis all.)

    I will be honest in that I have not posted many deals and I am not the type of person that will buy because there is a sale (mostly because I dont have the money to do so) so I actually dont use a lot of deals posted. I do check it almost every day however and I will contribute when I can eg. forums and retail questions.

    I dont believe that anyone should necessarily be rewarded. This is a site of give and take. Your reward is being able to access great bargains which in the end is probably saving you more money than say a $50 voucher. The more active users there are the more bargains that are posted the better chance everyone has to save money.

    I think competitions are great as it actively engages the whole community however it may be necessary to do some that arent as creatively inclined (I dont have a creative bone in my body :P)

    Scotty I think you and the other mods do an amazing job. Starting as a pet project and moving on to a booming community it cannot be an easy thing to run everyday and I thank you for it.

    • Davros on 02/12/2013 - 10:33

      Well said and +1

    • CheapCoffee on 02/12/2013 - 17:42

      Very well said! The sense of entitlement that some people have is absolutely ridiculous.

  • kazrina on 02/12/2013 - 11:42
    +4

    I have signed up just to make this comment (have been watching and benefiting from OzB for months). earths_pacifist has pretty much just stated what I wanted to say.

    Participation in this community is its own reward. If people don't post deals, there would be no site. Your reward for posting deals is access to the deals other people post.

    Yes, people like me lurk and benefit from other peoples hard work. If the price for that is clicking through affiliate links, I'm glad the admins have put that safeguard in place to generate an income for themselves (I dare say it barely covers server costs, let alone a decent working wage).

    Thanks Scotty and other admins for putting a great tool in place, and for dealing with the spam/insults/childishness so that everyone else doesn't have to. I wish you every success - and will try to contribute myself now I've finally made an account.

  • BuyNow Think Later on 02/12/2013 - 11:45
    +2

    Scotty & other mods are doing a great job. For those who consistently attacking them, please either take it or don't visit this great site. No one is forcing you to visit this fantastic site. Let them get back to their normal tasks.

  • babiguling on 02/12/2013 - 14:23
    +1

    Whoah!!!?? didn't check this thread for long,.. suddenly it has 60+ comments, what's happened here? —__—"

    • akula on 02/12/2013 - 14:58

      Scotty doesn't know…know..scotty doesn't know…Matt daemon .

  • SupeNintendoChalmers on 02/12/2013 - 16:39
    +5

    I don't get the purpose of monetary incentives. Why can't we post great deals simply to help people? Or is altruism dead in some peoples hearts?

    edit

    Seriously this society is getting more and more "whats in it for me?", rather than "whats in it for my neighbour\community?"

    \end rant.

  • CheapCoffee on 02/12/2013 - 17:54
    +2

    Ozbargain is a platform for people to share. And being able to participate in this exchange of these ideas is a positive for everyone including the people who post the deal themselves.

    Although I don't post many deals, when people agree with me about a bargain and when I helped people save some money, I am happy for those people and I'm just glad to be a part of this community.

    For the staff of OzBargain, I am already very thankful for providing such platform in the way it is because in my opinion, no similar website (eg. Slickdeals) has an open community like OzBargain. And I believe they have every right to make money from it for providing us a place for this community.

    I really believe the sense of community is the core of the website that drives people to participate and monetary compensation is certainly not required for this community to continue.

  • GiggidyGoo on 02/12/2013 - 17:58
    +5

    I don't know about you guys/gals, but this community has saved me hundreds of dollars. And it is highly satisfying to be able to find a deal to share that will save other people some money in return. That's enough reward for me.

    Yes I know its also fun pissing off the big companies like Hardly Normal and reading the friendly banter/comments on a daily basis but that's a side reward… 8 )

    I honestly can't think what I would do with all my spare time if this community didn't exist!

    Keep it how it is. Don't change a good thing when you have it. [few beers later], I love you man…{hug}

  • Baghern on 03/12/2013 - 13:30

    If OzB ever gets to the size of "youtube" or Scotty does a Huffington Post on its members… then you have a right to complain… until then…

    You sound like a former friend I had, always whinging about his employerS, they don't do this they don't do that, they just care about money, we(he) should be rewarded more/deserve more… the fact is the employer takes the risks, you may be a crucial cog in the machine, but your still a cog, one of many many cogs.

    • QF1 on 04/12/2013 - 01:10
      -3

      and your point is????

  • bluedufflecoat on 03/12/2013 - 14:45
    +2

    Dear OzB,

    My 2c:

    1. You've helped me spend money, but intelligently and stretched my bucks and I am grateful.
    2. I appreciate the forums here, because people have always been helpful with my queries, especially the "help me find a bargain" section. This community is a great resource.
    3. Giving back to the people? Well, I think I've already received lots… if I truly wanted more, well yeah, I echo some of the people who have already commented that the competitions have been skewed towards creative things. I'm not so creative… and time-poor, so I don't have time to participate. Otherwise, the odd, "lucky draw" door prize or something similar is better than nothing.
    4. OzB giving to charity occasionally and letting members vote - this is a good thing. Keep it up.

    Thank you.

  • auna on 03/12/2013 - 14:52

    There needs to be incentives for people to vote. Some members have said they don't even vote until they receive the deal in case they need to then neg vote.

    There are too many deals in the 15 to 50 range. I have seen 1000+ clicks on some ~50 vote deals.

    Many times comments yield better information that the original post. Yet most of the time they barely get any recognition. I honestly doubt many people even get to read it.

    My only suggestion is to reward content creators by cashing out their activity somehow with bitcoin/litecoin. Reddit does the same thing - you can cash out Karma into bitcoins. As to how to support this? Run a faucet where every entry costs 0.001 bitcoin. The winner gets 85% or so of the money and the rest fund the cashing out for Ozbargain.

  • maxpowers on 03/12/2013 - 16:57

    Your reward is the purchase of something you may or may not require.

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