I thought the title guidelines were pretty clear - http://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/help:title_guidelines.
It would be fantastic if advertising spam like this were removed:
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/37703
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/37701
It's not that hard for moderators to delete posts with inappropriate titles.
It’s not that hard for moderators to delete posts with inappropriate titles.
Personally I would prefer not to remove/unpublish deals based on just an inaccurate title. Like Davo, if a deal has bargain values to it and if it benefits at least some members of our community, I'm personally ok with it. I find that mostly deals posted by new members/reps do not adhere to our title guidelines, but most eventually adapt to our standards after several corrections by mods. Now if only all new reps read the guidelines before posting, then it would definitely make all of us happier. :)
It would be fantastic if advertising spam like this were removed:
Agreed that some may see it as pure advertising, but some may not. Without concrete reasons (e.g. normal everyday pricing, % off is always offered, no mention of the product/service they're selling, etc) for mods to justify a deal removal, I guess it is then up to the community to decide if the deal is a bargain. If you are able to find the same product/service cheaper elsewhere, feel free to neg it. Through my own observations, I notice stores that frequently garner many negative votes usually do not have good reputation among members here.
Also, some spammy deals or deals with inaccurate titles/descriptions are easily missed by mods, hence why we always appreciate it when members help report them. Once reported, they're normally corrected or get unpublished fairly quickly.
One other mod comment
The change to self moderation using negative votes is two edged. As a mod I now tend not to look into deals with negative votes as much as before. If you really have an issue that you want mods rather than the general population to look into, use the report button.
And again - some "deals" are limited in audience, the solar pool deal while 10% off maybe a good discount if I was in the market right now, I very much doubt if it gives me any urgency to divert funds being spent elsewhere, especially as summer is half way through. But then like Davo said it could be a deal for some. And if we kill deals that are "different" we may just end up all watching imported blue ray DVD's while munching on Domino's pizza.
The different deals attract a different audience who also may post a deal etc
If it only benefits just one person, then surely it's not a "bargain"? If you use this to justify not deleting posts, then you're setting up an unfortunate precedence and will probably be overwhelmed by extremely niche posts (e.g. those microwaves, and other stores will probably catch on).
Using any sort of adjective is advertising (i.e. not objective). For example, the "innovative" new solar pool heater.
Using rhetorial questions is also advertising. "Need a new microwave."
Using phrases such as "These are sure to sell out, so get in quick." (http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/37742)
Maybe OzBargain should charge a commission for reps to post, based on the number of positive/negative votes the post receives. However, that's probably not feasible.
Or maybe reps need to meet a certain positive post criteria (e.g. an average of 5 positives per post), otherwise they (and their store) is banned. Obviously, this may encourage sockpuppeting, and increase workload for moderators.
ironically the solar deal has now been upped to 20% after comments about the discount were made.
We have so many differences of opinions as the site grows eg
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/32452
One key thing Scotty said he was working on (But it requires programming) is for people to tailor their deals according to their own filters, That may help people avoid deals they dont like and reduce some agro.
As for rhetoric in titles - individuals do the same as reps, so its not just a Rep thing. We do have posting guidelines to help people understand that doing a Kevin turns people off the deal, so they are doing themselves a disservice
But seriously guys, these examples with spammy titles are also ones that actually come with spam (or potentially come with spam as I haven't checked the prices to see if they're any good). But the point I was getting at is, if we got a very good deal with a spammy title, the deal would still be voted up to the sky but if the deal is crap, then I would expect the ozbargain community to kill it with negative votes very quickly. Either that or it won't get enough votes to be seen on the front page anyway.
Say bargaincrypt brings out the Logitech Z5500 for $99 and has the title "Need new speakers? The innovative Z5500 are now $99! Get in now as they're sure to sell out quick"
The title is has all the problems suggested by jkiht9 but I would not be surprised if it gets 500 positive votes by the end of the first day.
I don't think we should get too worried about the titles because the ozbargain community is relatively harsh on anything deal that looks fishy and the negative postings can sometimes be a lot faster in killing the posting than waiting for the next mod to see it.
fair call, i understand your frustration. Usually we fix up titles the first time. The second .. and third, i start unpublishing them. See previous warnings i've dished out.
As far as the other "deal" goes. It looks very spammy, however i have nothing to compare it with. I'll give the benefit of the doubt with this one.
EDIT: also, if the deal saves one person on ozb, i think its a benefit. We are supposed to be a community of bargain hunters afterall
Also, moved this thread to announcements and feedback.
As far as general spam goes, i've started being a little bit tougher on reps who continually post crap. Scotty and the other mods have been looking at some other ideas.