Hosts Advertising on vB.com

[Steve Machol]

<Split from another thread>

Note to both PDWebs and TheForumHost.com. Please do not use these forums for advertising or as attempts to gain customers. We have been too tolerant of this up to now. Thank you for respecting the forum rules.

[tgillespie]

Note to both PDWebs and vB-Host. Please do not use these forums for advertising or as attempts to gain customers. We have been too tolerant of this up to now. Thank you for respecting the forum rules.Not trying to be a pain, but why is it considered advertising when we simply post our recomendations. Is it because we have ties to the company we refered? I guess I am not clear as to why I can't post a package that suits his request.

[Steve Machol]

Just send an email or PM instead.

[tgillespie]

Just send an email or PM instead.Oki Dokie. That would probably be a smarter advertising method anyways. Did I say advertising :eek:

shame on me

thanks Steve :cool:

[TheForumHost.com]

Not trying to be a pain, but why is it considered advertising when we simply post our recomendations. Is it because we have ties to the company we refered? I guess I am not clear as to why I can't post a package that suits his request.

now it's ties? Another post you and a friend started this new company and yet another you were only the "designer" and had no part in advertising (yet you have a hugh banner too).

If you read the rules, self promotion is not allowed unless it is in your signature and then only if it does not compete with a vB product. Posting links to a website yours or others is advertising. This isn't WebHosting Talk and no one wants to see this forum turn into such a shark tank. Recomendations should to be made by customers, not owners as we would be just a tad bit biased.

[tgillespie]

now it's ties? Another post you and a friend started this new company and yet another you were only the "designer" and had no part in advertising (yet you have a hugh banner too).

If you read the rules, self promotion is not allowed unless it is in your signature and then only if it does not compete with a vB product. Posting links to a website yours or others is advertising. This isn't WebHosting Talk and no one wants to see this forum turn into such a shark tank. Recomendations should to be made by customers, not owners as we would be just a tad bit biased.I guess deep down, I want the company to succeed. I was paid for my services and he's kinda kept me on as a semi admin, but I wouldnt consider myself apart of the company, for the sole reason I do no GET PAID :( I just want my designs/creations to succeed :D

[RichM]

This really bugs me, it is ok for users to suggest web hosts, but it is not ok for web hosts to suggest themselves.

I do not see what harm this can cause to vBulletin, it will only go towards helping others which is what most people should do anyway. If it wasn't for advertising then none of us would be here... Seeing that we are all paying vbulletin customers posting in this forum we should be allowed some credit.

I'd also like to point out that vBulletin gets free advertising, that is at the bottom of all of our vBulletin forums, we pay them so why do we have to keep their url in the footer? Because of their terms and conditions, but no matter what crap they put in their Terms of conditions, it does not make them fair nor does it make them right.

The vb staff are just stuck up if you ask me.

[Steve Machol]

This really bugs me, it is ok for users to suggest web hosts, but it is not ok for web hosts to suggest themselves.

I do not see what harm this can cause to vBulletin, it will only go towards helping others which is what most people should do anyway. If it wasn't for advertising then none of us would be here... Seeing that we are all paying vbulletin customers posting in this forum we should be allowed some credit.I understand what you are saying, but some people were starting to take every opportunity they could to mention their services on these forums, and frankly it was getting out of hand. (We also received complaints about these posts being a violation of the no advertising rules in the forum rules.)

The bottom line is that these forums are not set up to be a free advertising vehicle for people. Web hosts can still reply to the user by Email or PM however. So neither the member or the web host is prohibited from contacting each other.

P.S. Members recommending hosts do not have a financial interest in doing so. However if they use an affilite link, then they do have a financial interest and those posts aren't allowed either:

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42918

[Arcanium.Net]

I don't really like that sig..... ip addresses are not something you usually want to hand out to the public, that is why forums usually hide ip addresses from users. Btw, this thread is a little bit off topic.

[KeithMcL]

I don't really like that sig..... ip addresses are not something you usually want to hand out to the public, that is why forums usually hide ip addresses from users. Btw, this thread is a little bit off topic.
You'll only get to see it as others will see their own IPs, but I agree with you. I don't like it either. Could it be regarded as an invasion of privacy?

[phill2003]

I don't really like that sig..... ip addresses are not something you usually want to hand out to the public, that is why forums usually hide ip addresses from users. Btw, this thread is a little bit off topic.
dunno if anybody told you already (i didnt read the rest of the thread) but i cant see your ip or anybody's ip appart from mine its a script.. i would need to be looking over your shoulder to see yours lol :)



I don't like it either. Could it be regarded as an invasion of privacy?


what a load of bob, since when is it an invasion of privicy to look at your own ip???

you can do it with webpages too lol i think paranoia is setting in :D

[KeithMcL]

What if the scripts he's using records the info? And, not only does it show the IP, it shows the ISP, OS and Browser being used.

I'm not that bothered about it, just curious tiss all.

[RichM]

I can't believe you have decided to change the topic over my sig!

It is not an invasion of privacy because ONLY YOU can see that information....

I don't know how it works but if you rght click on it and see the image source, that is where i got it from and they are a big company so you are all safe.

[RichM]

Moving back on topic...

I had my email address in my signature and silly Freddie decided to remove it because it is "against the forum rules"...

How PATHETIC is that? I bet if it was something@aol.com they would not do anything about it, however as far as i can see something@MyDomain.com is no worse off than something@AOL.com because if they call it "advertising" then it would be classified as advertising AOL too... Blah!

I have to say that this and other reasons are putting me off vBulletin, we don't get treated any differently than what InvisionBaord or PHPBB would treat us, yet we pay for the damn thing.

Because the new InvisionBoard beats crappy buggy VB3, i will be using it on all of my other boards and when my licence runs out i will use it on my main one too. vBulletin do not care about us at all, all they care about is ripping people off and not giving anyone any credit.

In the world of business, the customer is ALWAYS right, looks like vBulletin do not see it this way, instead they come up with excuses and try to wiggle themselves out of the situation and get away without doing anything about it.

[Steve Machol]

Bobbaz,

I have to admit I have no idea what you are talking about. I can't imagine any of us asking someone to remove a simple email address from a sig. I suspect there is a bit more to it than that. Please feel free to contact me directly and tell we exactly what it was that was in your sig.

[Scott MacVicar]

Well you have to take into consideration that the current version of IPB has been in use for over a year now. 1.2 is just an addition of a few new features.

vBulletin 3 is a complete re-write thats been our for around 3 weeks?

The policy we have here is to not allow advertising. If you feel this is too strict then you can use the support system from now on. The forums here are not a right and customers have been banned from the forums before for not following rules.
Just like a store down at your local shopping centre would ban you for not following the rules they have set out the same will happen here so dont claim that we're treating you that differently.

[RichM]

I don't advertise on these forums with the intent to gain users from vBulletin customers, all i have done is mention myself or put my email address in my sig and i get moaned at by you guys.

I do not post on these boards saying "I will offer you 5gb web-space and 10gb transfer for $5 a month, please click on my link"
Infact the only time i have been close to commercially advertising was when i was offering free web space to someone with a vb license who had a popular forum, the intent of this was purely to test out my new server so i could offer better support to clients who wish to use vBulletin on our servers. In which case my thread had got deleted and one of you guys PMed me with your usual rubbish. This was back when i 1st got into the web hosting industry.
As far as i was concerned i was being generous, and i did not consider this as "free hosting" because i was offering the same as what a paying client would have got.

I think you need to revise your rules, and maybe remove this forum from the board because it is defeating the object.

We do get a mass number of clients asking us "which is the best forum software to use" now why the hell should WE refer THEM to vbulletin?!

[Steve Machol]

As I said there is nothing wrong with putting your email address in your sig. Please feel free to do so.

[Scott MacVicar]

I agree you with that this forum is a bit pointless and should either have it renamed and description changed.
I guess its time to review the rules again. We haven't done it in a couple of months now. I'll see about looking into it this weekend.

[RichM]

Well why don't you allow advertising to the extent that it does not become SPAM? I.E you will not allow people to constantly advertise their service on a regular basis?
It will not harm vBulletin and it will only go towards helping others, bare in mind that if web hosts did not exist then most of you would not even be running a forum, so maybe you should give them some credit.

Now that you have the automated unban feature, maybe it would be a good idea to enforce timed bans for those users who do abuse their rights, this way by allowing advertising in moderation it will not become a mass of SPAM.

Sorry if i am begining to not make sense, it is 4am here and i am tired heh.

[express]

I agree also that it is a pointless forum. I have been around here for sometime, time after time I have seen arguments here on this topic. I myself had a signature on this forum the same way over a year and no one said anything about it then one day out of the blue they said I was breaking the rules. Funny I have over 900 posts here and it took that long to see it. But I believe and this is my own opinion which everyone is entitled to wrong or right that this is due to one simple reason.

Look through the threads in this forum and you will see one hosting company that always gets pushed here. The same one time after time. So I would say that has alot to do with it. We would not want to possibly take any business away from them now would we?
All in All Vbulletin is great product my clients enjoy it and I am grateful for it.

But here on this topic 2 choices should apply. Open the forum up for all hosting companies or close it. If you choose to keep it the same way I understand the purpose as do other people.

[Freddie Bingham]

The rules state that you can not have text and an image in your signature. I simply removed the text from your signature and it was not because of what the text said. I don't care what your signature says as long as it is within the guidelines we have established. I respectfully ask that you remove the text that you added back to your signature.

[Steve Machol]

Freddie was answering Bobbaz.

[boutwell]

...
Because the new InvisionBoard beats crappy buggy VB3
...
Sorry to take the thread OT again, but I had to say somethign on this. I am currently using the latest beta releases of both VBulletin and IPB and I would take VB over IPB any day. Granted, IPB is a bit more polished but I am sure VB will be as well when it hits RC.

I am not sure what went on with your sig, but bashing the product because of a misunderstanding/miscommunication is rather bad form in my opinion.

Cheers vB devs. Keep up the good work. If I had the donors I would be a full vB shop :)

[phill2003]

What if the scripts he's using records the info? And, not only does it show the IP, it shows the ISP, OS and Browser being used.

I'm not that bothered about it, just curious tiss all.

you can do that with any webpage you look at, and what benefit would you get from knowing the info anyway..

ok i spose if you are using a dodgy instalation of xp pro and cant get updates you might have a hole or 2, but if you do that you deserve all you get :)

like i said (and its not aimed directly at you more a generalization) the internet breeds paranoia with everyone seeing hackers everywhere.

mind you when you have prepubescent youngsters with a little knowledge your going to get some that like to cause chaos.....



looks like this thread has about 4 different convo's going on :D

[RichM]

What is wrong with an image and an email address underneath it? It is not as if it is using up loads of space is it....

I really do not understand these silly rules you have made up, what next? Telling people off for using smilies?

[walter]

Come on, why is it that some people can't follow rules? If you don't like them kindly ask the mods to change the rules, if they don't want to change them and you can't live with the rules, go elsewhere.

This board is for vBulletin customers sharing informations and not for advertising: I'm a host myself and gladly would use the opportunity to bring attention to my offers by posting ads, but if I was in their shoes I would handle it the same way. If they would allow ads or promoting posts this forum would be flooded with useless posts.

[Steve Machol]

At the time the rules were made, certain people had signatures that were easily taking up half a page or more. The rules that resulted were a sincere effort to ensure that signatures were not overwhelming the forums. While the rules may not be perfect, the forums are much easier to read and navigate now then they were before the rules were in place. Far from being 'silly', we believe this benefits everyone since it's much easier to read the posts and respond to questions.

However your point about an image and an email address is valid. The trick is in writing the rule in such a way that is fair and does not open up the potential for abuse again. As Scott said we'll be taking a look at the forum rules again.

[RichM]

Well maybe if you don't allow anymore than one line of text with an image? Or maybe you could edit the forum to not allow it?

[KeithMcL]

I think this discussion has gone as far as it can. You're probably better off closing it now. But don't forget to tell us when the new rules have been written up.

[RichM]

Maybe we should have our say before they go and make stricter rules.

[SaintDog]

While I will admit, I have gained a few customers from vBulletin.com & vBulletin.org, I cannot say they owe it to me or that they are required to allow me to display even the link to my hosting services as my website, much less in my signature.

The vBulletin support forums are for vBulletin users to gain support for the product, nothing more, nothing less. vBulletin/Jelsoft has added a few extra forums to 'spice up' the chat between members and such, but they are not required to have them listed for any reason, they are here for our enjoyment.

While I do agree having the hosting forum open and not allowing hosts to advertise is a bit pointless in some cases, it is not their job to provide advertising for us, our companies & businesses, or anything else for that matter.

I honestly have no problem referring other hosting companies or simply contacting the user in question. It often is best to directly speak to the person making the request rather than sling around offers and many links to your websites, or even posting your actual hosting plans on-site.

vBulletin is NOT WebHostingTalk.com and I am very thankful for that. Personally, if I saw the forum turning into the hosting requests forum there, I would probably not come back here, rather, just use the support ticket system because the requests made on that forum are so out of this world and out of touch with reality it makes me sick. You have people asking the world for nothing and that is something I think Jelsoft/vBulletin and the developers are doing their best to prevent.

Would you honestly rather see a slew of hosts coming in, just to get business, offering the world for nothing and completely ripping off the user base here? I think not and to be honest, I would rather, as stated above, contact them directly rather than have such happen.

You may say it cannot happen, but it only takes a few minutes for word to spread and all the "kiddie" hosts to come on full force with such offers.

[express]

Well Said!