Sometimes, when going around and advertising on other people's sites, I just think that some admins need to take a step back and breathe. Because some of the rules and attitudes I see are ridiculous. My favorites are when people say something akin to "Don't spam, double-post, post a Proboards ad, etc. etc. or we'll spam your chat box!"

It's important to remember that, at the end of the day... It's just a game.

I agree totally. it is supposed to be all about the fun. I started a thread sort of complaining about this kind of thing in another forum. I personally go goggle eyed trying to follow some forums' rules in regards to ads. But then again, a lot of people are obviously happy to listen to those rules and follow them because there are adverts on those sites, so I guess each to their own huh?

I don't mind rules like "Post in the right section" or "Don't include unnecessary punctuation." Those are understandable (though some of them, like the punctuation one, just create more work for the admins... but I guess if you're willing!).

I just don't stress about it that much. Several sites have advertised in my "Linking Back" section even though there's not an ad for my site on their forum, and some mess up and have advertised twice in my "Linking First" forum. But it's not a big deal. I advertise where we haven't, and if someone posts more than once in the "Linking First" forum, then I just advertise there again. I don't need or want to make a scene and spam someone's chat-box; that's just a bit ridiculous.

I'm taking it that sites like that are run by a bunch of 12 year olds that think they're important because they're in charge of a forum.

If they spam my C-box, I will get a few friends and we'll spam it so much we'll crash it in return.

That hardly seems like the more mature reaction. To each their own, but I don't see how snarking about pre-teens and then immediately following it with "I'll one-up them so hard!" is any less juvenile then creating a ridiculous set of arbitrary rules.

People really need to relax and not take advertising so seriously...

It all depends on how well the one-up is performed.

It's kind of like reminding the little bums of how retarded they must be to dare challenge you.

It's like an issue of pride and strength.

Not everyone here agrees that the mature response to every problem is to ignore it.

I certainly said nothing about ignoring a problem, so you're just making presumptions in that regard.

Using "pride and strength" as you did made me smile, I'll admit. If I'm going to get into an altercation on the Internet over something so silly as breaking a RPG's advertising rules, I don't think pride or strength is going to come anywhere near the equation. I've been in enough 'net bickering matches to know that it's usually a matter of bitchiness and one-upmanship, regardless of whether you attempt to start off civilly or not. Pride and strength, in my experience, comes in when you are defending your ideals as a person. I certainly hope that everyone has better things to do in their lives if either is involved in an Internet spat.

Advertising is serious business -- or so it seems to some people.
Sometimes I've anonymously asked in my cbox why they think it's appropriate to say they'll spam your site if you mess up on advertising, and the answers are even more hilarious.. "Lol~ Because they deserve it/It's annoying for us so they need to be annoyed in return" is the most common answer.

Sigh.

I find it highly immature and annoying when people attack spam c-boxes. You can't prove you're more mature than someone else by stooping down at their own level and acting nothing but immature in return. If anything, all you can possibly prove by doing that is that you are better at acting foolish than they are, ruining your intended point completely.

True.

Lesson: Don't be a bitch, don't spam the c-box kids. (but hack the shit out of the site. That'll show em XD)

Christ, you're all acting like a bunch of immature preteens. I have no idea what I can possibly add at this point, except 'who the Hell cares about advertisers'? They make themselves look foolish in their overzealousness.

Immature preteens? Really? Hmm. I'd have to respectfully disagree.

The majority of what I see here is some people venting out their opinions on why some things are annoying them. It is a rant, after all. I've seen rants on this forum far more immature than this. This topic here just happens to be about why these overzealous advertisers are a little grating and, at times, even a real pain in the butt to clean up after, since they occasionally take it way too far and spam boards over minor slights.

It is mildly annoying to have to read all the crazy rules some sites come up with sometimes, but not necessarily something to go on a huge rant about, I agree. This is a rant about people that take it even further than that. The people who actually attack other boards.

How is getting attacked over something incredibly minor not at least a little rant-worthy? Maybe we don't all have the iron fortitude for letting everything, even attacks aimed at a board, completely roll off our backs at all times like you seem to have. I suppose it's great that you can let things not get to you at all, of course, but even I, who also tends to let things go, get annoyed sometimes. Everyone's allowed a peeve, right? I'd never advocate attacking a board in return for these things, as that solves absolutely nothing in the end, but it does start getting on my nerves to see these things so often at places, and talking about that, or reading like-minded views on the subject, is a useful and harmless vent for that little bit of built-up frustration.

:pink:

Well, not everyone.

I overstated my case.

After all, this is a rant. :p Hehe.

What bothers me is when people who don't even play my site want to advertise on it. Erm, no? It's not like they want to be affiliates or anything but what would it help me to advertise your ad on my site? Erm, and it bothers me when they advertise in my c-box.

The advertising rules for my site are simple:
If you post on my site, I should be able to post on yours.
There needs to be a guest-friendly place for me to post.

That's it.
And yet I went to this place after they advertised on my site and it was like: :] You need 100 posts to advertise.

Heheh, no.

Fair enough, SmathNa. :lol:

The way I see allowing others to advertise on your site even though they don't play with you is that this is a cooperative way to further both of yourselves. Allowing guests to advertise on your site is a way to return the favor that they also allow you to advertise on their site. Thus, you both benefit from this, by getting your ad out there for others to see. The more places you advertise at, the more people are likely to see your site. Thus, the more potential members you'll gain.

Many sites have rules that ask they be allowed to advertise on your site if you advertise on theirs for this very reason. Meaning that unless you have guest advertising on your site, you aren't allowed to post yours on theirs. Other sites don't have this rule, and you'd be allowed to post anyway, but there aren't many who will let you.

But, if you're doing well as far as activity and not posting your ad on sites where you're not supposed to, I see nothing wrong with you having member's-only ads. You may be limiting yourself, but if you don't need the advertising options, then you're not really losing anything.

Do you have the permissions set so guests can't post? If not, that will probably solve the problem of non-members posting ads. If you'd like to try allowing guests, maybe you should make a separate subforum for member ads, so they are given prominence over the guest's?

As for c-box advertising, that's horrible etiquette on their part. I assume you've got a rule up that says not to, but some people just don't follow rules. Unfortunately, the only thing you can really do is just delete the comment. =/

I was only joking... :sweat:

Because spamming my C-Box is the most mature thing in the world.

Sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire. You get sick of taking the mature route, especially when someone screws around with something on your site that you take time to work on and build, all because they're miffed that some one, accidentally or not, didn't adhere to a little bit of protocol on their own site.

As stated before - Ignoring does not always make you mature, and you can't take the high road on everything. When you decide to "step on space" that someone else signed up for, or in some cases, paid for, and screw with what is going on there, you are deserving of what ill may befall you from the said members of that site.

Smathna - look at the pot calling the kettle black. The fact that you came in here to say that makes me wonder about your own maturity issues. But then again, that's not what this rant is about.

(if some of you can probably tell, this is not a good day for me today)

This seems very similar to an argument against war, to be honest.

The methods of this war are merely online rather than on land.

Would you say the same thing if you were a president and your country was being invaded?

I've never actually had c-box spam issues, but the way I see it, spamming the spammer's c-box would just provoke them to spam your board further, which would be counterproductive to your goal.

RP = World politics, it's true.

Actually, unless they started deleting topics/members from my board (ie hacking), I probably wouldn't declare war on their site. Deleting is ~murder!~

lulz at the war metaphor.

I happen to be a pacifist. So, yes, I would say the exact same thing. And I never said all I would do is ignore the problem. I just happen not to believe in "might makes right", and would like to believe that education is a more lasting solution than forcing your will on someone else.

But I am not going to get into war politics over a forum roleplay. They are hardly the same, aside from on a basic comparison level that falls apart when you analyze it. War is a far more serious issue, and ignoring these spammers on occasion is hardly really comparable to not taking action if someone declared war on my country. If I don't talk to spammers, the worst they will do is continue to spam, not kill people.

But, anyway, I agree with Sunday. Lulz at the overblown and stereotypical war metaphor.

Regardless.

Educating them isn't going to make them feel bad.

What's the point of responding to that kind of behavior if it isn't going to make them feel bad? Isn't that boring?

Wouldn't teaching them what they're doing wrong, and doing so until they actually understand, not make them realize the fault in their actions, thus making them feel guilty?

EDIT: I would also like to add that, if you are doing something just because you are bored, perhaps you should find something else to do aside from destructive, attacking behavior? If I were to educate someone, it would be because I believe they would be better off for it, not simply because I feel like annoying someone.

Your idealistic views of educating everyone in the world on how to behave like perfect schoolchildren are slightly unrealistic.

And frankly, they hardly accomplish anything.

To be honest, spamming a cbox holds no gravity whatsoever. Who cares? It's more like a game than like a serious issue. I might even be interested in spamming a cbox that didn't even threaten me, purely for the sake of watching all the butthurt retards make a big deal out of nothing.

And why should I hold the duty of teaching anyone anything? For me, if I want to teach something, it isn't because I want to make the world a better place, but rather because I like discussing the issue I plan to teach.

Perhaps I am an idealist. Actually, I'm well aware that I am. But the right way is not always the fastest way, and it is often frustrating and full of opposition, but in the end it is the only true way to make, and keep, lasting changes.

But I'm exiting this conversation after this post, as you seem to not particularly care, and things are getting off-topic. Though, frankly, your eagerness to harm other's feelings purely for laughs makes me worry for you a bit. You should ask yourself how you would feel if the shoe was on the other foot and someone was trying to get at you just because they were bored.

And I never stated it was your duty to teach anyone anything, only that you should consider doing something other than attacking people to alleviate boredom. It is no one's duty to educate, they either do it because they love it and they care, or they don't.

No hard feelings, but I think I'm done here.

:innocent:

Sorry for derailing your rant, Sunday. <3

SpazzyMal,

i definitely put that up, but that's when the c-box problem started happening. I mean my site isn't even that big yet, it's just starting. lol of course i've deleted everything. And it was definitely the: people came in, advertised, i checked their site, and i couldn't advertise.

Oh, I see. Hmm. =/

I only have one rule on my advertising board:

"Don't advertise here if I can't advertise back. Please have a guest friendly advertising board that I can use."

That's it. I see no point in having more rules than that. :\ I don't wanna make a lot of unnecessary work for myself or others. I know my eyes glaze over when I see 15 bulleted rules for advertising alone. Wtf, mate? xD

Advertising != srs bsns.

Am I the only one who thinks this topic has gone "off topic"? Let's not fight people. It is a waste of precious energy on a site where we are all just around to chat and have fun.

I started a topic about the perils of advertising and I think by some cosmic karmic link, I have been on the receiving end of difficult advertising people! LOL

A fantasy action site of some kind advertised this morning with our forum and when we tried to link back, part of their list of rules was "No proboards". Figures, so I just deleted their ad.