Discussions

Who flagged my recent Shameless Blog Promotion thread?

Posted by Seabuckthorn • 10/23/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: flagged, members, question, spam

I'd just like to know. I posted a thread promoting my most recent blog post. I realised when I posted the title that it actually sounded like a spam, so I said "And hey, I know it sounds like spam but I'm a long-time legitimate member who's contributed in many areas and it's not spam", but it got deleted.

So, I'd just like the people who flagged it to please cop to it, and say why perhaps?

User Comments

10/23/09

bettieblogger

Did you place it under blog promotions? If not, that's probably why it happened.

[reply]
1. 10/23/09
  
  Seabuckthorn
  
  Yeah, I put it under Shameless Blog Promotions.
10/23/09

MadameX

I didn't flag it, but I do remember thinking that despite your protests, it was indeed spam. It was basically aimed at telling us how good a product was--kind of an infomercial for something you're selling, if I understood correctly. And I don't recall you including anything discussion-oriented in your post here.

That said, are you even sure that someone flagged it? Our admins are capable of independent decisions.

[reply]
1. 10/23/09
  
  Seabuckthorn
  
  Yes you're right, it was a blog post by a staff member who had a very positive experience with the products made by my company. Is that always spam? I'm not sure what you mean by the second part of your comment - which post are you referring to regarding discussion?
2. 10/23/09
  
  MadameX
  
  I would think that any thread the sole purpose of which is to market a product is spam, yes, but that's not my call to make--just personal opinion.
  
  Re the second part of my comment, it's always been my understanding that shameless blog promotion threads were meant to start discussions, not JUST to drop a link and encourage people to go to your blog. Of course, the thread is gone now and I don't recall exactly what it said, but I don't remember there being anything there to talk about without actually clicking through to your post.
3. 10/23/09
  
  Seabuckthorn
  
  @MadameX, thanks for your reply. Actually, the thread wasn't for the sole purpose of marketing a product, but I get that that's what you were left thinking.
  
  On your other topic, there are so many other threads where the poster just posts a link with a sentence or two that I kind of forgot that it's a guideline to include more comment in the originating post - I certainly would take a gentler tack with a long-time good-faith member of the community if I came across something similar: either sending them a shout or replying on the thread suggesting that they add more info to comply with guidelines.
  
  I'm not saying that any member has a right to that type of treatment, but I think that taking the time to check out the bona-fides of members who might have in good-faith contravened the guidelines - rather than flagging without checking - is part of being a good community member.
  
  I certainly don't post to BlogCatalog to get visitors to my blog - notwithstanding a recent thread which hits high in google searches, I only get about 3 visitors a week from BC, and I visit about 20 blogs a week *through* BC. I visit and post here because I like the community, and I guess I kidded myself into thinking I was in good enough standing here that - even if people didn't want to visit my blog based on my posts (which has been pretty much true anyway for the whole time I've been here) - my posts wouldn't be looked upon with the contempt reserved for spammers.
  
  Taking something personally that's doubtless not personal, I know.
  
  Anyways, thanks for your input. I appreciate you taking the time.
4. 10/23/09
  
  MadameX
  
  Seabuckthorn, I hope this won't offend you, but I was surprised when you said in your initial post that you were a longstanding member. I see that it's true, but you are a pretty low-volume poster, and I didn't recognize your avatar when the thread we're discussing first popped up.
  
  As you said, that's probably not at issue anyway. While I agree with you that people whose intentions and participation are known should maybe get a little more slack, there's been a lot of hot discussion lately about admin "playing favorites" and I suspect that the rules are going to be enforced very evenhandedly for a while.
  
  Totally unrelated to the issue of the deleted thread, if you posted here more often, you might find that you got more traffic to your blog from BC. I know you said that's not your purpose. It's not mine, either, but when I am active in discussions I find that I get much more traffic from BC than at other times.
10/23/09

Onchong

Not me! I know how to flag down a taxicab, but not a discussion thread. LOL

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