I am absolutely beside myself on how bad the moderation has become on StumbleUpon. I see many messages coming through my toolbar that look like (Please S.t.um.b.le if you like). What’s with the periods between words?
The reason for the periods between words is to mask the actual message. It has been known that StumbleUpon is automatically flagging messages through the toolbar from members asking or exchanging Stumbles. Here’s the problem I have with this rule. If people like what you stumble and add you as a friend, than why is it against the rules to share content that people are interested in?
I think this falls under a very gray area called self promoting. If I own a blog and I am sharing what people are interesting in, how is this self promoting? I am not sharing a post that’s selling a service or product. I feel that this needs clarity, but it has been like this since day one. If you have a dot com you are considered a commercial site.
If you are sending a page through the toolbar and you’re simply saying – (I hope you like) or (I sent you this page that you may find interesting), how is that self promoting? You are not directly asking for a thumbs up or review.
The Bigger Problem
There’s a group on StumbleUpon that acts like a vigilante and is doing more harm than good. This group has formed a coalition that has influenced the StumbleUpon staff to place member accounts under review. If your account ever gets placed under review, you can kiss it goodbye. I know many members that were put under review for no apparent reason. These members shared their blog posts with friends, which is not spamming. If a member is adding you as a friend, than it’s the same as opting-in. They didn’t discover their own articles, so don’t even go there.
The so-called vigilante group goes by the name SP@M FREE. I’m disappointed that StumbleUpon permits such cowardly behavior from a group that acts on opinion and not facts from research and proper moderation tactics. What do you expect for free?
StumbleUpon Community Rules
- No posting of illegal, threatening, libelous, or obscene content.
- No posting of another person’s or members personal data, such as contact details.
- No publication of or forwarding of private messages (PM’s) to 3rd parties without permission.
- If you are in dispute with another member, please keep the matter private and contact StumbleUpon Support immediately.
- Reviews or tags should not be used to level personal attacks on other members, site owners or contributors to the sites reviewed.
- Do not impersonate other members.
- Multiple accounts per user may not be created without permission from StumbleUpon.
- No mass unsolicited messaging or commercial spamming permitted.
- The Group Share tool may not be used to request ratings and reviews.
- Exchanges of ratings and/or reviews are not permitted.
- Requesting ratings and reviews from other members is not permitted.
- Payment or receipt of compensation in exchange for ratings or reviews is not permitted.
- You cannot use 3rd party clients or scripts to access StumbleUpon.
We need StumbleUpon to improve and clarify the rules for sharing.
If you recently had been put under review, you can contact Walter, StumbleUpon Community Manager. Good luck in getting a response.
If they make a tool, do they not want people to use it? Isn’t it all about finding new sites, sharing new info? I don’t get it..
.-= Susie´s last blog ..Ginger or Mary Ann? =-.
Susie,
It’s the computer nerd wannabe tough guys who think every breath they take is one less gasp of air for everyone else.
yes, I am getting mad about this too, I keep a nice balance and when I do send my blogs to my friends, I never ask for a review, however, some of these people get out of control as far as getting their asses in the air…….geez! I am to the point where I will unfriend someone before I will endure anymore of that type of intolerance. If you don’t like what I send, which I dont send spam style, just ignore it, but some of these stumblers act like they are God or something! For goodness sakes, just dont even bother me if you arent interested in who I am……..
.-= Bren Parks´s last blog ..Mystic’s Fantasy Landscapes =-.
Bren,
Right on! If you don;t like it stumble through. That seems so simple.
I was trying really hard to find the thread for you on this in the forums but it was a while back and I really can’t seem to locate it, that and I am not sure which forum it was in but monofsu had said in response to a question about sending personal blogs to people that she believed it was fine to do so once, she suggested that the person only send out their main page and let the users decide about the rest which I thought was a nice and fair suggestion. Of course it isn’t a “rule” but it is suggested behavior by staff. Surely following that simply guideline will insure no one mistakes your sends for spam. Of course do as you please, I just thought you may appreciate the information :)
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
Let’s create a social site for sharing. Let’s provide a toolbar to make sharing really easy. And then let’s penalize our members for sharing. HELLO!
.-= Jonathan – Advanced Life Skills´s last blog ..Deep Insight on Life From My Grandpa =-.
Jonathan,
I agree with what you are saying and I just don’t think StumbleUpon as a company realizes that they’re in fact losing members and needed traffic for the advertising option.
I share all day every day with my SU toolbar and I have never once been penalized in any way what so ever..Just saying..
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
I forgot to mention this too……why are we limited to 500 friends? I have that and have about 100 people who have requests sent to me…….I cant accept the ones who are interesting because of the limit! I think it is incredibly stupid to have a limit, like having mommy tell me how many friends I can have……..whats up with that?!
.-= Bren Parks´s last blog ..Mystic’s Fantasy Landscapes =-.
Bren,
I agree that they shouldn’t limit the amount of friends. It just doesn’t make sense. I mean Facebook doesn’t practice that why should SU?
Actually, facebook does have an upper limit of friends, but it is very, very, very high. I only became aware of it when I read that Harvard economist Greg Mankiw had reached it http://bit.ly/C5Um.
He announced that he had “won” facebook and there was no longer any reason for him to continue. He subsequently deactivated his account.
.-= A. Zuck´s last blog ..Jason, Where Have You Been? =-.
I got up one morning and got met with a nasty comment from someone who was my friend on here about sending him a site. He was so nasty and said that if I sent anything else to him and mind you I don’t send much he would remove me as a friend. LOL, I just went ahead and removed him myself. Almost let him get in the middle of my day.
Neva,
It’s just another person that had someone pee in their Cheerio’s. :)
I know what you mean Neva Flores, I can certainly understand getting upset at spammers, I get a few now and then too…..but too bad these people have to ruin it for the rest of it, all I can say is if you can’t handle having me send a page I made now and then and not even asking for anything, then you were NEVER REALLY a friend at all, so yeah, I am going to do the same thing from now on…….
.-= Bren Parks´s last blog ..Mystic’s Fantasy Landscapes =-.
This sounds suspicious. This vigilante group sounds like a cover for SU employees playing fast and loose. If not, then how and why is it tolerated? Since when does an entity this big allow itself to be manipulated by a little gang of thugs? I smell a dead fish in Cleveland. This is, I believe, SU acting like six-gun Pete’s! No way would this conduct be tolerated on the say so of a few disgruntled peanut gallery hooligans. Sorry, this sounds like SU protecting it’s ass while terrorizing targeted individuals. I’m looking into other branches to express myself, so if I’m reviewed, I won’t respond one way or the other. I’ll just move on.
Right on jilli, my sentiments exactly!
.-= Bren Parks´s last blog ..Mystic’s Fantasy Landscapes =-.
Jilli,
You put in a way that no one can. I just love the commentary, and I miss you as well!
The things is… SU doesn’t take actions against spammers on their own (they srsly just don’t even have the time, SU staff = 32 people). The only way SU staff will get involved and put an account under review is if SEVERAL members deem that account as SPAM, they do so by flagging that account as a “spammer” and only THEN does SU Staff come along (in their own good time, sometimes takes forever) and decide IF they agree with all the stumblers that flagged that account as spam and IF they do agree they then place the account under review.
The “SP@M FREE” forum has next to nothing to do with this process. There are no SU staff members in that group (as far as I could see) and I HIGHLY doubt anyone at SU HQ EVER bothers to even GLANCE in the general direction of that group. That group is merely a collection of users who detest spam, who work together to expose spammers, they are in fact doing us all a great service.
You said “This vigilante group sounds like a cover for SU employees playing fast and loose. ” That is just preposterous, srsly. SU staff doesn’t need a cover…rofl! The group itself has NO POWER, they are not the authority, they cannot put anyone under review, they are just users, users with opinions who share their opinions with each other, nothing more.
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
Serina,
I am quoting you “The only way SU staff will get involved and put an account under review is if SEVERAL members deem that account as SPAM, they do so by flagging that account as a “spammer” and only THEN does SU Staff come along (in their own good time, sometimes takes forever) and decide IF they agree with all the stumblers that flagged that account as spam and IF they do agree they then place the account under review.”
This is pretty much what my post is all about when I say a group or vigilantes that form a coalition against a member who is deemed as a spammer.
I invite you as a guest poster to author a article on StumbleUpoin best practices. I hope that you will become a regular here as I enjoyed the healthy debate as Moira has said.
Thank you!
But that isn’t what they do, they are not a “group or vigilantes that form a coalition against a member who is deemed as a spammer”. What they are is a group of people who talk about spammers, it is still up to each and every person on an individual bases to decide if an account posted in that group is a spammer or not. People do not just flag someone a spammer cuz someone in the group said to, they go and look and decide for themselves and SU still has the final say so. For instance, lets say everyone who reads this post and disagrees with me decided to then got to my blog and flag me as a spammer out of spite, would I be put under review? No, lol. Why not? Because when it got to the step where SU staff comes to evaluate my blog they would see the flags were put there unjustly and remove them. :)
Flags = alerting staff.
Staff = final say on being put under review.
Please please take my word for it when I say SU staff carefully considers each blog before placing it under review. They take it seriously, they really really do. It would be silly for them to not take it srsly, I assure you they want more members not less. They would never knowingly sacrifice a good member, that would be bad business. They are doing their best, I know sometimes that doesn’t seem like it is enough but their best is all they can do.
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
Serina,
I had 3 accounts put under review and I don’t sell a product or service and never would spam. In fact one account was 3 years old that I worked very hard in building a community of friends. Than I saw what was posted in the SP@M FREE group which was 100% false and this is my experience and why I wrote what I did.
I appreciate all your insight and it has shed some light on questions I had.
Just need to correct something I said(“There are no SU staff members in that group (as far as I could see)”), it has come to my attention that there is in fact a staff member in the sp@am free forum HOWEVER that person is 5 pages in on the recent visitor list and there for has not been keeping anywhere near a close eye on the group :)
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
You’re working very hard to defend the sp@mfree group which makes me think you are possibly a part of them. Make no mistake I detest spam just as much as the next person but I think the point is this. If there is a member of this group that thinks someone is spamming, and they mention that, then the entire group may just flag them automatically based on one persons complaint. Hence the reference of a vigilante type group.
.-= Gerald Weber´s last blog ..How to Free Your StumbleUpon Inbox From “SPAM” Shared Messages =-.
Ohhh mann your not going to like my opinion on that :( Here is the thing… the fact that you have had THREE accounts not just one put under review is important for a couple of different reasons…
First reason, it is unlikely that you would have had three accounts put under review for spamming if you were not spamming. Now mind you, I take you as a kind and cordial individual and I don’t like name calling so without seeing those blogs with my own eyes I would not call you a spammer out right. I also believe it was entirely possible you were spamming without knowing that is what you were doing, I have seen that more than once. For instance you can be considered a spammer for simply reviewing the same sites repeatedly.
Second reason, having more than one account is against the rules and all accounts can be put under review for that alone should SU discover you own more than one. It says so in the TOS.
I am glad the information I have provided has been of help to you, I sincerely want SU to be as spam free as possible.
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
Serina,
On the first account I did every now and again discover my own blog which I found out is against TOS. The 2nd account I didn’t discover my own blog articles, I used the stumble toolbar often to stumble across new sites. This is what puzzled me and still today I have no idea why I was put under review.
Well there are always clues. For instance on the blog you have now you may notice some of the sites you review often other people have reviewed with comments such as “this is spam / thumb down” that is because those sites are viewed as spam. This should be a clue to you, something to take note of, a moment of pause to say to yourself “hm is this spam?”
When you review a spammy/commercial site one time that is one thing and is easily over looked but when you repeatedly review that same site it just ticks against you more and more.
An example for your reference would be the “http://green.findanyfloor.com/” site that you have reviewed and thumbed several times. *I* would consider that spam and believe me if that is what I see when I look at it that is what others see. I also noted this person spamming that site: http://rdj111.stumbleupon.com/blog/
I am sure there are others but I couldn’t be bothered to locate the full spam ring..mind you most spammer hunters are far more diligent than I am. Everything I figured out from your blog I did so in a matter of 3min.
I actually found several examples of what could be considered spam in your tag cloud but I think one example is enough to clarify it to you.
If I was first glancing at your site and had never spoke to you here this is what I would think: “hmm this guy looks like part of a spam ring, it appears as though he is trading discoveries, perhaps discovering a friends site and the friend is discovering his?”
The thing about spam rings is Stumbleupon members are hip to that sort of thing and can recognize it so its as pointless as discovering your own blog.
The fact of the matter is, SU shouldn’t be the #1 way you drive traffic to your site. You should SEO it properly, get a good google ranking, write interesting content etc. and then you will get good organic traffic that is far more valuable than the pointless spike you may get from a high bounce rate that people from SU give you when they see it and run off asap.
I would strongly suggest you rethink the way you utilize stumbleupon or you may continue to rinse and repeat your way to creating a new blog every couple of months for being put under review.
There are ways to self promote that are NOT against the TOS btw.
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
Serina,
A lot of good information and I appreciate the tips. My main source of traffic is Search. I practice SEO for a living with the company I am currently employed by. It’s so true that your bounce rate percentage increases through referral traffic specifically SU.
Thank you!
BTW – That comment would be a great blog :)
Strange. I’ve never encountered spam while using stumbleupon.
Ron,
How many friends do you have? The more friends the more likely you will get spam. If your blog is do-follow, you will get a lot more spam.
Anymore, I am almost afraid to use StumbleUpon.
About two months ago I had to go through and purge about 20 ‘friends’ because I got so tired of getting 3 or 4 ‘suggestions’ from them daily, and if I didn’t Stumble their suggestion, -they’d just send it again a few days later! That alone is sufficient cause for me to drop them as ‘friend’ but matter to be worse, their sending ME suggestions yet their OWN mailbox was so overflowing that I could not send or contact them in return!
-thestickman
.-= thestickman´s last blog ..When Spell-Checker Programs Go Rogue =-.
Stick,
If a member has their mailbox full, I remove them immediately, as it suggests that they’re only in it for them selves, thus not caring about your shares.
Yeah .. me too // I’m sick of stumbling a friend’s site, and replying and get a message that their mailbox is full. I immediately put up a sticky on my monitor to remind me, then send them a complimentary notice via SU PM. I then give them one more chance after that, or decide after receiving a reply back.
The ones that continue to be full, or don’t reply back are not your friends, and if you look at their recent stumbles its usually non-existent or months old.
This seems to be a problem on many social networking sites. The rules aren’t clearly defined to anyone except those meeting out the punishment for breaking them.
Remember Digg and the controversy surrounding it several months ago? If you were a member of the inner circle, you could bury an article and it went nowhere, even if it would normally have done well.
SU and other sites argue that they want to prevent gaming the system, but it seems that they’re gaming the system too.
.-= Joanie´s last blog ..9 Tips for attracting Twitter followers =-.
Joanie,
I remember Digg doing that and it seems that SU is following its own death.
I am not comfortable with this type of “goings ons” I enjoy Stumble Upon. I enjoy my friends sharing. If someone gets tired or doesn’t care for things I share, please drop the friend thing. I absolutely do not want to annoy anyone with what they may consider nonsense. I must be more considerate in the future. Understand that I am not running scared. Just being considerate and kind. For some of you in this wild-wild world of fun and games, please do not get confused and consider my kindness as a weakness. I have very good friends at
SU. We are serious regarding our understanding of the internet and the time we spend on-line. We have found a great joy with Stumble-upon.
Elizabeth,
You are absolutely right on. If you don’t like what I share, don’t be negative in your reply and just remove me as a friend. No one is holding anyone to the fire.
They really opened the door to more spamming with that Share This feature, and now they are trying to crack down on people using it.
I think they should stop over-analyzing every account and start with the really blatantly obvious ones that send 10+ links from one site on a daily basis, or the ones that send links from Digg, Reddit and other sites.
They should also allow a reconsideration for those users who do get unfairly banned from the network, to explain why they do what they do and why they do not believe it is harmful to the community.
Of course, like other networks, they probably won’t listen to their members and, thus, end up losing them.
~ Kristi
.-= Kikolani´s last blog ..Merlin Crosses the Rainbow Bridge =-.
Kristi,
Right on! I have no problem receiving two shares a day from a friend, but to get 4 to 7 a day is just out of hand!
I actually do not stumble requests that include digg URL’s or Reddit URL’s in the message .. I’m here to help my friends and hope my friends also help me – but, I know what Reddit and Digg buttons look like thank-you.
.-= HART (1-800-HART)´s last blog ..Can You Determine Your Pet’s Worth? =-.
I don’t think they over-analyze every account… How could they? That would take some serious man power, which they do not have. They just follow up on member complaints/flagging and even then only do so when there are enough of them to get their attention, which frankly I for one am grateful for.
They do allow reconsideration for members that are “unfairly” put under review, I have seen several accounts be reinstated after being put under review :) They allow people to plead their case in situations where it is warranted.
I note more than one spammer commenting on this here… Wana know what I think/know? Probably not….
Oh look more spammers bitching about being busted for being spammers. This writer doesn’t even know wtf they are talking about check the very last line:
“If you recently had been put under review, you can contact Walter, StumbleUpon Community Manager. Good luck in getting a response.”
LOL yea, try checking your facts, for realz, yea extra good luck getting a hold of Walter as he is NOT EVEN ON SU RIGHT NOW. LMAO I’m not going to tell you where to really go cuz spammers just need to gtfo but omfg lol this cracked me up.
Oh and the Spam forum.. oh the reference to that nearly made me snort I laughed so hard. Stumbleupon doesn’t take action based on the requests from the people in that group. Here is how it works, someone posts “spammerdouche.stumbleupon.com is a total spammer, ew” in the group forum and then everyone who sees that post goes to spammerdouche.stumbleupon.com’s blog and decides for themselves if they agree. If they agree that spammerdouche is indeed a spammer, they flag him/her as such and THEN if said stumbler gets enough flags for being a spammer the system THEN alerts SU staff who takes a PERSONAL look at it themselves and decides if they agree, if they do, bam under review.
People who are “just sharing their own blog” all “friendly like” don’t get flagged as spammers. I have a couple of ppl like that on my friends list in fact and I like their work, it isn’t the only thing they send me and they never ask for a review or thumb. Get a clue spammers, the real stumblers on SU don’t like you and the PEOPLE have spoken, the PEOPLE are why you keep getting busted and put under review, not the staff, SU staff doesn’t even have time and resources to deal with you system manipulating bottom dwellers. Its the users that will come for you, the users.
In other words… pretty much all the claims on this page are totally false, but hey, nice try and junk ♥
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968737/ =-.
Bravo Serina! You continually amaze me with your depth of thinking, there is a big difference between creative people who share and spammers! Too bad the spammers make it like this……the writers of this site are not spammers either, and are trying to find a balance like the rest of us…….In fact, I have gained a lot of very useful info from their posts.
I am personally getting tired of getting noni juice promoting spammers who write reddit this thumbs up that, I don’t mind people sending their own work, but I would like the same courtesy as I show:
That means don’t overload them with multiple shares, and expect my support, if I am not interested, I will pass, and I have a lot of active friends who I love hearing from, these spammers clog up my inbox to the point where I feel like I have to run the gauntlet when I click my incoming sends……….
And don’t ask me to stumble things, or reddit or whatever, I don’t ask my friends to do that. I feel it is rude, and I want my work to stand on it’s own merit. A true honest opinion, good or bad is more important to me than lip service because it is the best way for me to improve my ability to express my passion and art.
.-= Bren Parks´s last blog ..http://BrenParks.stumbleupon.com/review/35474790/ =-.
If someone asks you to reedit/digg/thumb something they are breaking the Terms of Service and you should flag them as a spammer, thumb them down and block them.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/terms/
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
“There’s a group on StumbleUpon that acts like a vigilante and is doing more harm than good. This group has formed a coalition that has influenced the StumbleUpon staff to place member accounts under review. If your account ever gets placed under review, you can kiss it goodbye”
= All false.
…and Bren.. I wouldn’t be too sure about that, I see spammers here. I’m not flagging anyone or anything because frankly I just don’t care enough… but I still have eyes to see.
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968737/ =-.
Serinadruid,
There are spammers here? Let me be the judge of that. Thanks for the comment and you’re entitled to your own opinion.
When I spoke of spammers, I did not mean people who are spamming this blog, I mean ppl who spam SU and the whole point is for everyone to judge for them self so I will go ahead and be the judge of that as I also encourage you to be. ♥
No, people, I am not bitter. I don’t even care all that much to be honest but I am not one for allowing people to spread untruths about my friends and stumbleupon is my buddy :P
and lol! *down girls* Thanks for defending me! But I am bound to ruffle some spammer feathers with all my words against spam. I have written each post with a huge smile on my face, so I think we all know I am not bitter about anything but bless you for that. lol poor guy hardly said a thing against me and you jumped all over him, you girls make my smile even bigger.
I’d like for someone to use facts rather than attack me personally.. you know like about how 90% of what is on this page is false accusations… find a point, contradict me there. no making stuff up though, try to use facts, k thnx ♥ Oh.. and when doing so, please, feel free to include your stumbleupon url as validation that you are not a spammer *winx* after all, I did, didn’t I? :))
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
Serina,
I have no beef with anyone, though I didn’t want a flame war to break out here. I appreciate everyone’s comments and hopefully we can see a change for the better. I have been a member since SU was in beta and it’s still my favorite social network. I met and made a lot of true friends.
90% wow that is such a high number.
Yea, I outlined some of the false accusations in my original review and some of my comments.
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
Wow .. serinadruid is quite the bitter one .. that’s a shame really .. a waste of energy i.m.o. for anybody to waste
.-= HART (1-800-HART)´s last blog ..Can You Determine Your Pet’s Worth? =-.
no, actually she is not, she is just knowledgeable, she has helped me a lot on SU and is really a sweetheart, you have misjudged her really! She is just tired of the spammers who send tons of promotions for noni juice and stumble this for me crap………..I think you misunderstood her comment completely!
.-= Bren Parks´s last blog ..http://BrenParks.stumbleupon.com/review/35517866/ =-.
Hart…if you have to resort to a slagging match do it somewhere where someone gives a S**t….
Sreinadruid is a very helpful stumbler and one of the most respected people on here….it’s such a pity that you don’t take a leaf from her book..you may just learn something….”intelligent imput”
i too have had more than my fill of spammers on here and but for the insight of Serina’s vast knowledge would remain clueless like you
oh…and have a nice day…Slainte
Moira,
Ouch – poor form. We all have opinions and some may not be accurate, but they’re opinions.
i agree fully but what kind of opinion is “Serinadruid is quite the bitter one”…That’s a personel jibe and nothing whatsoever to do with the subject matter….
Totally, Serinadruid is a sweetie! We all have our opinions, but let’s not get mean to one another here…..
.-= Bren Parks´s last blog ..http://BrenParks.stumbleupon.com/review/35530242/ =-.
Moira,
I agree and like life, friends will back you up when someone goes against you. It’s natural and normal. Thank you for commenting.
lol I love you guys.
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
Moira .. I feel nothing wrong with my comment – if you follow the timeline. My comment and opinion was made after Serena’s 2 comments (1) 8/24/09 9:27pm and (2) 8/24/09 10:39pm
I am extremely justified and happy that it may have been my comments that showed serena how anti-social and mean her comments were, before she has come back and offered valuable tips, advice and inside protocol reference to the SU workings. Everybody deserves a second chance, and I’m glad this crowd gave serena hers – I look forward to reading potential guest posts from her on this blog, if she chooses to do that.
While I’m back in here .. I would like to add one more thing ..
Serenadruid mentioned below …
They would never knowingly sacrifice a good member
I am proof of the failing of that argument and if you look at the facts (which I’m sure is readily available to SU group) there is absolutely no way that can be denied or disproven. But, I can live with that knowledge and will not relive it out into the general public once again.
.-= HART (1-800-HART)´s last blog ..Can You Determine Your Pet’s Worth? =-.
I think this is a great post. I won’t get into the apparently simmering issues between various commentors here.
What I do think is that asking people to Reddit or Digg or Prop or whatever is inappropriate. Though I participate in other social networks, I am not going to honor a request for endorsement through the stumble bar for one of those other networks. This is just my decision on this matter. I think everyone should make there own determination on this issue.
As for the full boxes, this is perhaps one of the most aggravating things to me. I understand that it can occur because you take a weekend away from the computer. I am referring to those whose box is always full. Why participate in a sharing network if you only send shares and do not receive them.
For myself, I will not stumble anything sent to me that is a blatant advertisement. I’m sure that the item on the catalog page that you are promoting is wonderful but I will not be thumbing it up; hey you got me in your visitor stats just for viewing it. And as for Noni Juice and Acai Berry, just don’t bother to send them.
.-= Rich Dansereau´s last blog ..Internet Advertising: A Right Way and A Wrong Way =-.
Rich,
I appreciate the well thought out comment. You provide good commentary and opinion. Thank you!
“Noni Juice and Acai Berry, just don’t bother to send them.” I love that little statement – so true!
I agree 100% that asking people to Reddit or Digg or Prop or whatever is inappropriate. It is also against the rules.
See the rules here: http://www.stumbleupon.com/aboutus/community_rules
Regarding full in-boxes, I just want to remind everyone that everyone uses SU slightly differently and some people use it as just a blog and never ever click their stumble button, of course this is not what SU was intended for but they are still fully entitled to use it that way just as you are fully entitled to unfriend them. :)
I have had to remove MANY people from my friends list and actually do some vetting of the people I allow onto my list.
I had people so brazen as to send requests to click on “at least three” of their adsense ads. How much more bold can you get?
Don’t get me started with the folks that are too lazy to promote Digg, Reddit, Mixx, and the other sites and try to just push everything through SU shares… sigh.
.-= Chris Burns´s last blog ..Integrate wordpress Blog In Joomla Website =-.
Chris,
Now that is bold! Asking people to click on ads is gaming the system. Pathetic is all I have to say to that. Thanks for the comment!
Yea! No kidding! Bold and stupid, google adsense is rather clever, it knows where your traffic comes from, it pays attention to the clicks and if you get caught gaming that system they will ban you forever.
Asking someone to click ads through SU is spam and against the rules as well… Another good example of a spammer :)
See people? That is why the SU members police the system the way they do, the less spammers the better.
I have come across something interesting. I have friends who SU me regularly, several have been removed by SU for self-promo. There are two or three who sent in exactly the same manner and still do. I waited, and waited but they still enjoyed SU in full, they were not removed. I wondered what the difference was between the two sets of friends and carefully looked over their profiles etc, to see what was what. I then realised, the ones who are still sending a lot of their own stuff to me, sponsor SU. To me it is obvious, pay and stay or show and go >LOL
.-= Glynis Smy´s last blog ..A Bite Of The Apple =-.
Glynis,
A few members have said the same thing or along those lines. In fact one member suggested that its StumbleUpon’s way of making you pay for Stumbles than to get free ONES. I am a paid advertiser and have been for over a year now.
You do have a point, you can become a paid advertiser as Frank pointed out and I think by definition that would make you less likely to be put under review for spamming. If caught spamming you may get a warning first or some such (speculation).
HOWEVER “sponsors” are something different and can and are put under review for a multitude of reasons including spamming. It is possible those spamming friends you spoke of have yet to be discovered by SU staff, users have to do their part for SU to even know a person is spamming. If you feel you are being spammed I suggest you flag those users as spammers.
Frank,
i’m glad you mentioned friends..i forgot to say that Serina is one of mine…and as such i know she only ever speaks her mind on subjects such as this based on fact…she has indeed done her homework on this subject and in that i trust her and value in her opinion…The “friends” and the “sharing” aspect of stumbleupon is it’s most valuable asset…The spammers will come and go and any advice i get on how to rid my pages of such tripe is always welcome….Thank you also for your comments…..
A lively debate is always healthy……provided we all stick to the subject matter..
Moira,
Thank you for sharing and you’re right in saying a lively debate is healthy. I hope to see you and Serina here more often. I would welcome Serina to do a follow up guest post here about StumbleUpon that would provide information on best practices.
Thank you Frank ,i’d love to take up this invitation but all i have to offer is my humble opinion and perhaps my personal experiences with spammers…Serina however knows her facts and is well up to speed with the ins and outs of this ..i trust her judgement/opinion on this and all matters su….Having said that i do realise her time is precious and will most definitely stay tuned….Slainte go leir….
Moira,
Thank you and the invitation is open.
Thank you for the offer but I really think proper etiquette for Stumbleupon use can be discovered through merely reading the TOS and using a bit of common sense. :)
*bad taste in my mouth* I just got spam in my inbox *sigh*
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/32968470/ =-.
yep, and here is mine……
http://brenparks.stumbleupon.com/
Bren,
You are the best! Thanks for being a friend!
This is a little off the subject but has anyone else found that SU seems to be finding less and less sites on the Internet? I get on and in two days I can count 20-30 repeat stumbles I’ve had just the last two or three days. I have my “indicator” file FULL. You can only choose like 127 topics/subject to Stumble when you click the SU button. I have ALL 127 choices picked and I’m seeing repeats over and over. Beverly Crusher’s world (read: The Internet) is SHRINKING!!!! Why am I seeing the same sites over and over?
go to the help forum for that but I suspect that you already have.
I may be mistaken on this but when you hit the stumble button, I think you get stumbles from your friends circle data base, you need to hit the world button to stumble all sites on the net in your interests……that is my understanding……….when you hover on the world button it says stumble all…at any rate, I get a much wider variety when I stumble the all button
.-= Bren Parks´s last blog ..http://BrenParks.stumbleupon.com/review/35530242/ =-.
I too have noticed that some people self promote and get away with it. They ‘share’up to six or seven links to their own blogs, etc. everyday and nothing is said. Yet others get put under review for much less, which effectively means ‘banned’ as there is no redress, they do not have a right to defend themselves.
The same people are careful what they thumb up but they still inundate others.
I too believe that some of those who ‘sponsor’ SU get away with a lot more.
.-= louie jerome´s last blog ..An Lack Of Deodorant At Thorpe Park =-.
Louie,
Money is king in almost everything.
It’s sad that people abuse stumbleupon to the point that they have to take stupid measures to control it, which in turn leads to stupider measures to get around.
.-= Daniel´s last blog ..Who Invented Television =-.
Daniel,
It’s like anything else in life, some people will find a way to take advantage of something.
So true.
.-= serinadruid´s last blog ..http://Serinadruid.stumbleupon.com/review/33291269/ =-.
hmmm. this article has been posted twice on stumble
He11,
And your point? Are you going to post this on your SP@MFREE forum at SU? :). Hope you enjoyed the post!
ha ha no :P
I was just wondering about that and it just so happens that I found an explanation on the help forum
Hi all what a read!
Let me say first that I am a huge friend of Seriadruid…she has helped so many people and is always there to help or find out where you can get it!
Now having said this..I was put under-review several months ago..in fact I just decided to come back. I had a very pleasant blog, with pictures of all types and things…a G rated..I detest spammers…and had been apart of that spam reporting group, no longer but was.
Why I was put under review you may ask..well seems as tho I posted a picture and a small poem 9 months deep into my blog and they say I used copy written poem..maybe I did..can’t remember.but I had a program at the time that told me where ppl visited my blog and no one had gone that far back into my blog..so….why then I asked myself..I promptly removed the poem and waited to be re instated which I was. After a few of my VERY good friends posted and asked why I was under-review..
Long story short I just don’t feel the same about stumble as I once did..I after a few months away…I double stumble things a lot now …I try not to send on to much ..only what I think my individual friends like..
I am trying to get back into liking stumble again tho well..it is taking me time..
However and I will close after this Serinadruid is one of the few people you can count on to help you and she knows her stuff..there are a few ppl on here that are great to have as friends and she is one of them….
Here is hoping I did not sway to much from the topic..
Bitty2
.-= bitty2´s last blog ..http://bitty2.stumbleupon.com/review/35754882/ =-.
Bitty,
As I mentioned in the comments, Serina has been helpful through out the comment section. I am glad you back and hope to communicate with you again.
Thank you for the comment!
@serinadrid: “For instance you can be considered a spammer for simply reviewing the same sites repeatedly.”—this makes me very afraid and I’ll tell you why.
One of my SU friends is a photographer who happens to have a blog. He shoots great photos and I stumble his stuff all the time. I also comment a lot on his blog. Does that make me a spammer according to the above statement?
.-= Teasastips´s last blog ..How To Make Money Using Fan Pages =-.
Its been a while and after Digg , Stumble Upon is putting himself on Axe. What next? Reddit?
I’m so much done with Su and Digg.. Both coming up with new features, which instead of helping new users are putting them off..
.-= Harsh Agrawal´s last blog ..WordPress RSS feeds Goes Real time with RSSCLOUD =-.
Harsh,
I have never been a Digg fan as it’s too clicky. If you’re not part of that elite crowd forget page one.