[[consolidated_rules]]
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consolidated_rules [2010/12/16 13:32] Davo1111 |
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| - | Whirlpool has a great rules page, we are writing one up in a similar format for testing purposes. If you like it/hate it, please let us know :) | ||
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| - | Contents | ||
| - | Summary | ||
| - | Rules | ||
| - | Sockpuppeting | ||
| - | Deal Posting Guidelines | ||
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| - | ====== Deal Posting Guidelines ====== | ||
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| - | ===== Basic Rules ===== | ||
| - | |||
| - | Please follow a few simple guidelines to make OzBargain a better place for both the bargain hunters and merchants. | ||
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| - | ===== Starting Etiquette ===== | ||
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| - | The guidelines are a rough blend of what this site was intended for and the changing attitudes of the community. They have been written to try and help make your experience here, more pleasant. | ||
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| - | Especially for your first post. | ||
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| - | On that point, one thing to avoid is, telling the community that you are new, and asking them to take it easy on you. A number of people have tried this as their opener and it does not go down well. | ||
| - | |||
| - | Also, note there are markers underneath user ids to indicate if this is your first post and if you are still new to OzBargain. | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==== Before posting a bargain ==== | ||
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| - | It's a good idea to check that you are getting and/or posting a good price. | ||
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| - | A few things to check and/or included for your bargain are: | ||
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| - | * Did someone else post the deal already? How to search will be explained later | ||
| - | * Is this really the best price on the web [[:list of price comparison sites]] | ||
| - | * What is the cost of postage and handling is included, if applicable | ||
| - | * Is this deal accessible from Australia | ||
| - | * If it's specific to a particular location, specify that | ||
| - | * Check the fine print, that a low initial cost does not have a huge responsibility attached | ||
| - | * If it has special conditions (including walk in only, a particular payment method, membership required) those should be at least referenced in the title and definitely stated in the body of your deal | ||
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| - | Be transparent about why you are posting a deal here: | ||
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| - | * Declare upfront if you have a relationship to the business or it's people. | ||
| - | * Declare upfront if you will some how benefit from the posting or if someone asked you to post here. | ||
| - | * If someone might question what is going on, if they found out something about you and your relationship to the deal, be upfront and include that in the body of the post. | ||
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| - | Notes to merchants: | ||
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| - | * As OzBargain is a community website, deals that you have posted will be judged and voted by our community members. Post when you have a bargain and not for plain advertising. Plain adverts may be removed or may make it difficult for you to post, when you have something that really should be popular. | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==== Link directly to the source ==== | ||
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| - | **Always** link directly to the specific product page, wherever possible. | ||
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| - | Do **not** link to the company's top-level website unless there is no specific page that could be used instead. Linking to a top-level website, especially when there is a direct link to the product, is often regarded as spam-like conduct and is not welcomed. | ||
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| - | Also, if you have an affiliate link, link directly to the specific product and if you want to include the affiliate link in the body of deal, remember to declare that it is an affiliate link. | ||
| - | |||
| - | === Media File Uploader === | ||
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| - | When there is no direct link to the bargain or information supporting the bargain, you can use the [[media file uploader]]. | ||
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| - | The [[media file uploader]] is [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/14069#comment-75624|not needed]] in the vast majority of cases. The uploader should only be used for scanned images (e.g. catalogues, flyers) and photos (e.g. receipts, pricing displays) when there is no webpage or website that could be linked to instead. | ||
| - | |||
| - | In particular, the uploader is [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/14069#comment-75624|not be used]] to link to an image of a deal. OzBargain's [[foxshot|screenshot engine]] automatically provides an image of the webpage posted in the deal. There may be a small delay before the image appears. | ||
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| - | ==== Search first ==== | ||
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| - | Someone else might have already submitted the deal. In that case, vote on the existing deal instead. Duplicated deals will be deleted. | ||
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| - | Please use the search function first before posting anything. You can also use [[deals by domain]] functionality to check all the recent bargains from that store. | ||
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| - | Note: To sort your search in order of creation date, with most recent first, add the following to your sort | ||
| - | > sort:created | ||
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| - | eg **zoo sort:created** | ||
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| - | ==== Be descriptive ==== | ||
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| - | * //Please check [[Title Guidelines]] on how to write descriptive title for your deals.// | ||
| - | * //Please check [[Tagging Guideline]] on how to correctly tag a deal.// | ||
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| - | Please explain clearly what the deal is about:- | ||
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| - | - State the merchant and product model, and provide a brief description if you wish. | ||
| - | - State the price. | ||
| - | - State the location (city and state) if it is specific to an area. | ||
| - | - If it's a deal for walk in customers, mention that | ||
| - | - If shipping is required, state the shipping cost to major Australian cities if this information is available; approximate range is ok if the exact cost is variable or not available. (Store representatives **must** provide this information - there should be no reason to hide this from potential customers.) At the least, state "+Shipping" | ||
| - | - State any relevant terms & conditions, such as expiry date and any "hidden catches". | ||
| - | - Summarise briefly why it is a bargain - why did you buy it or consider it worth sharing? How does the price compare to elsewhere? Can you comment from personal experience on the quality of the product? | ||
| - | |||
| - | * Do provide the most relevant details but do not copy pages and pages of specifications from the link. | ||
| - | * Please use the > sign at the start of any line of text copied from webpages, flyers, etc. The [[http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax|Markdown]] [[http://michelf.com/projects/php-markdown/extra/|Markdown Extra]] syntax will mark this text as a quote (with a left-hand orange border), rather than appearing to be your own words. | ||
| - | |||
| - | * Note: If you know someone who works for or owns that business or if someone asks you to post or comment, state this when posting or commenting | ||
| - | |||
| - | ===== Grey Area ===== | ||
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| - | There are a number of grey areas regarding bargains. This section of the guidelines covers what is less desirable. However, the ultimate action taken can vary from one deal to another, based on community response among other factors. | ||
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| - | ==== Limited Quantity ==== | ||
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| - | If a bargain is for a limited quantity, that fact and the quantity, should be publicised in the deal (in the title ideally). | ||
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| - | If a bargain is for a low quantity, it might be "unpublished". | ||
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| - | ==== Questions about Seller ==== | ||
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| - | Where a seller is unknown, has very little history to establish a sales history, or there are other problems identifying that the end organisation really is a retailer, wholesaler or manufacturer, the deal might be unpublished or modified. | ||
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| - | We've had a number of stores trying to just dump links to their site without identifying anything on their site that would be a bargain. | ||
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| - | So, please make sure to identify a bargain on your site or don't post until you have one or you may even get your site banned or worse. | ||
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| - | ==== Listings on Mass Retailing Sites ==== | ||
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| - | If it's a listing on a site such as eBay, Oztion etc please follow all other guidelines to see if the listing should be excluded for any reason. | ||
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| - | Remember to consider whether it really is a bargain as compared with stores. | ||
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| - | If it still looks okay, next look at the history of the seller. If they've been selling for a while and still seem to be active, the listing is more likely to be allowed. | ||
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| - | * //Related article -- [[Posting Guidelines on eBay]]// | ||
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| - | ===== What Should Not Be Posted ===== | ||
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| - | It might be easier to spell out what should not be posted here. Your "deal" might attract negative votes from OzBargain members and/or getting unpublished if you post the following material. | ||
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| - | ==== Duplicates ==== | ||
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| - | Don't post duplicates. Please search OzBargain before posting. | ||
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| - | ==== Auctions ==== | ||
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| - | Don't post auctions. | ||
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| - | ==== Competitions ==== | ||
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| - | Competitions are not deals, so please do not post competitions, contests or anything that only a small number who have registered might win. If you have a very good competition that you wish to share with other members at OzBargain, feel free to post in one of our [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/forum|forums]]. | ||
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| - | ==== Free Software(Freeware) & Free Websites ==== | ||
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| - | There are so many useful free software programs and websites out there that if we listed every great one, then we would be inundated with deals. Feel free to discuss any of these in one of our [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/forum|forums]]. Alternatively, add the freeware to its dedicated free software wiki page -- [[:Useful Free Software]]. | ||
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| - | Examples of what you **shouldn't** post: | ||
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| - | * Software: [[http://getfirefox.com|Mozilla Firefox]] (Free Browser, Always Free) | ||
| - | * Websites: [[http://www.google.com/|Google]] (Free Search Engine, Always Free) | ||
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| - | Examples of what you **should** post: | ||
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| - | * Software: [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/10109|DVB Web Scheduler Pro is now free]] (Normally you have to pay for it, now free) | ||
| - | * Websites: [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/10349|Used Car Ads Free on Carbuddy.com.au]] (Free for now but later on not free) | ||
| - | ==== Charities/Donations ==== | ||
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| - | Just like free software and freeware, there are many great charities out there. Charities are not a bargain but feel free to post any charities or good causes on the [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/forum|forums]]. | ||
| - | ==== Affiliate Links ==== | ||
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| - | * //Related article -- [[Affiliate Links]]. As of 2010, OzBargain is also using affiliation links to **guests**, i.e. not logged-in members, as part of its monetisation method.// | ||
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| - | Affiliate links are generally **not welcomed** over here in OzBargain. Not that we do not want you to make money, but instead OzBargain already have a very good [[store:moneybackco.com|cashback scheme]] in place that is partnered with many affiliation networks in Australia. Therefore by using your link, our members might miss out the chance of getting cashback, which makes your deal more expensive! | ||
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| - | However, if there is no affiliation network that can provide cashback to our members, i.e. they will have to pay the same amount anyway if they don't click through your link, then the moderators here //might// turn a blind eye on it. Please make sure that you put enough declaration in your post about the affiliate link. Please **do not** post affiliate links in the main URL. | ||
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| - | Due to the influx of [[:list_of_one_deal_a_day_sites|Daily Deal]] and [[:list_of_group_buy_sites|Group Buy]] deals, affiliate and/or referral links on such deals are not permitted. This includes links or codes within the deal description. | ||
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| - | Steps to take: | ||
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| - | * Check whether this merchant already has commission cashback offered by sites like MoneyBackCo. If No, then | ||
| - | * Make sure you check that the deal you are posting is not part of a Group Buy or Daily Deal site. | ||
| - | * Make sure you declare your affiliation link. For example, | ||
| - | * It contains my affiliation link, and if you click through and make purchase, I will be getting commission from your purchases. | ||
| - | * You can also provide a non-affiliate link (optional). | ||
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| - | Moderators still hold the right to unpublish offers or remove affiliation part of the links, if found inappropriate. | ||
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| - | ==== 18+ Only Sites ==== | ||
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| - | Sites with adult themes should not be posted on OzBargain. | ||
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| - | * More discussions [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/11112|in the forum section]]. | ||
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| - | ==== Too many deals ==== | ||
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| - | Store reps can post about offers from his/her store. Stores should have only 1 rep. Stores should post no more than | ||
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| - | * 1 bargain per day | ||
| - | * 2 bargains per week | ||
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| - | That also means if merchants have something that they want the whole OzBargain community to know, they need to plan ahead and only post the ones that will attract the best responses. | ||
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| - | For everyone else, we are currently having discussions about limits on posting | ||
| - | http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/19678 | ||
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| - | There doesn't seem to be anything official yet, but once you get past 2 listings in the same hour (or 4 in 2 days) some users seem to start scrutinising your deals much more closely. | ||
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| - | ==== Multiple Bargains for the Same Site ==== | ||
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| - | Think twice if you are posting more than one deal from a site. Are they all really good deals? | ||
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| - | It's also possible to post a deal, mentioning the best offer, and mention "+ more" in the title, then put details of the other bargains in the same posting (along with direct links to those items too) | ||
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| - | If more than one post is found for the same site per day, some posts may be removed to reduce clutter (especially where postings are not considered bargains). | ||
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| - | ==== Special note: Sales, Catalogs and Stores ==== | ||
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| - | People generally value their time. | ||
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| - | If you know there is a good bargain or two in a sale, catalog or store, it's a good idea to mention one or even two bargains, in the title, and provide direct links where possible, to those items. | ||
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| - | If there are multiple bargains in the same sale, catalog or store, it is still advisable to post once only. Then multiple items can be listed in the same posting; probably with what looks to be the best or most popular bargains at the top. | ||
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| - | Postings that reference a sale, catalog or store but don't provide enough information to find at least one bargain, may be unpublished. | ||
| - | Multiple postings for the same sale and/or catalog may be unwelcome and may be unpublished. | ||
| - | Multiple postings for the one catalog and/or sale are especially unpopular if they all occur on the same day and if they all come from the same person. | ||
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| - | If someone else posted earlier from the same sale or catalog as you now want to publish from, please post under the other person's listing. | ||
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| - | If you do post separately it should be an especially good bargain, it may attract a more critical eye from some readers and it might still be unpublished. | ||
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| - | ==== Group Buy Deals ==== | ||
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| - | [[:list_of_group_buy_sites|Group buy]] sites such as Jumponit & Scoopon sell their items after reaching a certain number of people who agree to buy their items. | ||
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| - | * Only deals that are active are allowed to be posted on Ozbargain. A deal is considered active when a user goes to purchase the deal and their sale is immediately finalised. A deal is inactive when a site requires X amount of people for the purchase to go through and that number hasn't been reached. (e.g. 35 bought, 65 more required to get the deal) | ||
| - | * No Referrals. Due to the recent influx of such deals, referral links or codes are not permitted (including the description) for such sites. | ||
| - | * Please remember to include the state that the deal is applicable to (e.g. $49 for a $100 Dinner Voucher & a Bottle of Wine at Example Restaurant [NSW]) | ||
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| - | ==== Gambling / Betting Deals ==== | ||
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| - | Deals which involve betting and/or gambling should not be posted. | ||
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| - | While discussions on betting and/or gambling may be discussed in the forums, moderators reserve the right to remove them at their discretion. | ||
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| - | ==== Jobs / Work ==== | ||
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| - | Jobs or deals that resemble paid work are not bargains. | ||
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| - | ===== banned items ===== | ||
| - | ====Banned items on OzBargain==== | ||
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| - | Items on this list shouldn't be posted on OzBargain. Please note this is not an exhaustive list and may not list all items. | ||
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| - | * [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/24029#comment-262798|R4 Cards]] | ||
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| - | * Adult products (Lingerie, Prophylactics OK, Toys and Pornograpy not OK) | ||
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| - | * Counterfeit products | ||
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| - | * Illegal Items | ||
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| - | * Pirated software | ||
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| - | * Private sale of alcohol (Prohibited by law) | ||
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| - | * Console modifications that circumvent copyright protection (PS3, Wii, etc.) | ||
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| - | ====Banned websites on Ozbargain==== | ||
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| - | * Deals from [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/15412|McDonalds]] | ||
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| - | * URL shorteners (Bit.ly, Ow.ly, etc.) | ||
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| - | * Deals from [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/redballoon.com.au|RedBalloon]] | ||
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| - | * Sites displaying nudity. | ||
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| - | Sockpuppeting | ||
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| - | ======= Sockpuppeting ======= | ||
| - | For the purposes of OzBargain, it's posting a deal, comment or voting while not declaring that you are affiliated with the company. | ||
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| - | Some examples: | ||
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| - | *A person posts a deal pretending to be a customer when they are actually the business owner. | ||
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| - | *A friend, family member, or employee posts a deal without declaring affiliation. | ||
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| - | *The OP creates multiple ghost accounts which then vote or comment on the deal. | ||
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| - | ====== What you can do ====== | ||
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| - | Reporting your suspicions is a good idea but as the mods have a multitude of tools available that detects sockpuppeting, it's best to leave the investigation to us. Please submit issues either via the REPORT button or in the [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/forum/10041|Talk with Mod forum]] | ||
| - | |||
| - | ====== For those who get caught for sockpuppeting ====== | ||
| - | |||
| - | If you are caught sockpuppeting, then you will be banned. The length of your ban (e.g. permanently or 1 month) depends on: | ||
| - | *the severity of the incident | ||
| - | *initiating a dialogue with us through the [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/forum/10041|Talk with Mod forum]] | ||
| - | *an explanation of the sockpuppeting | ||
| - | *what policies you set to prevent this in the future | ||
| - | *whether the sockpuppeting was intentional | ||
| - | |||
| - | Whilst many users & stores have been permanently banned for sockpuppeting, some have come back. These companies have imposed a strict social media policy and become valuable members of OzBargain. | ||
| - | |||
| - | =====Are you guilty of sockpuppeting?===== | ||
| - | |||
| - | Are you.... | ||
| - | *working for the company? (all tiers - including management!) | ||
| - | *on the companies payroll? | ||
| - | *designing the companies website? | ||
| - | *working as a marketer for this company? | ||
| - | *designing/making/producing the product being sold? | ||
| - | *related to someone mentioned above? | ||
| - | *a contractor for this company? | ||
| - | |||
| - | have you.... | ||
| - | *been asked by someone to post on this site? | ||
| - | *been offered money/prizes/incentives to post this deal? | ||
| - | |||
| - | If yes, its okay! All you need to do is declare your affiliation | ||
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| - | If its a direct affiliation - tick the "i am a rep" box. | ||
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| - | If you're unsure, just write it in the body of the deal. | ||
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| - | Example: "Disclosure: I worked here over the holidays" | ||
| - | |||
| - | ====== References ====== | ||
| - | [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sockpuppet|Wikipedia:Sockpuppeting]] | ||
| - | |||
| - | [[http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/8912|Ozbargain: Sockpuppeting]] | ||
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Last edited by Davo1111 on 2010/12/16 13:32