Grave digger aka "shootyou", & Spam marketing.

[GUS]

If like myself & other members who contribute to this site because we love what Ryan does, love Halloween decorating, & carving & in some cases create a micro-site of your own pics & interests that link in...

Then you may find yourself somewhat bemused following the endles links with little or no content to find that Gravedigger who recently joined has a site made up with "lists" (alot unfilled, basically a link directory to copy & paste guff with little or no content, basically you'll be sent on a link to link clickathon with very little to show for it).

It's not like me to be outright derisory of folk such as this however the spam came thick & fast, spam length comments with no meat content within)
His Latest link is for another copy & paste straight from the net page whereby if you click on anything else it opens a new site, & another, & another... etc.

That isn't what we're about in my time here, we share resources, suggest interesting pages that made us laugh, or tips relevent to our joint interests

We do not on the other hand spam each other with copious link sites.
Well we didn't.

So whilst he's here may I ask you to make up your own minds on Grave digger, just bear in mind that spam links & content are a mere click or two away on his "site" ..not buried very deeply.

want to see what grave digger is? ...

Actually.., i've just had a look you are simply "spam-I -am" which makes you an incredibly dull read with derisable content, thought i'd pop onto your top 100 to check your list of lists, & most of it is simply more lists of lists, or directories.
About as stimulating a read as a phone directoy ...it's not.

You came here to simply spam the backside off a genuine site & fill it with your garbage, thing is there may be something useful hidden in ther however it'll be so tightly squeezed inbetween your forum on marketing top 100 sites that it has no merit.

you clearly don't love halloween you just wish to cash in via links.

I for one have had enough of your guff, Suggest that powers that be puts in an "ignore user" or simply bans you for your obvious contempt for others.

Gravediggers own "site" is a feeder for a site that hosts all the would be junior spammers called gototop100, no more no less,
The "forum" ..laughable) is "how to make money" ...promote your site.

..However the fact is these folk are mere leeches sucking links of other folks quality work, & to be blunt the folk that make & leech via these lists simply & "stoopidly" link link sites, in the real world after 3 clicks of spam you are going to hone your search via a proper search engine right?

So to summise, Grave digger is a troll amongst genuine folk, don't click his links they're smoke & mirrors.

try denying it Grave Digger.

You've all been notified, ..this troll aint under the bridge

I for one would suggest a complete ban & wipe of his naff threads.

[zombombie]

I agree. I tried ignoring his rubbish but I had enough when he asked why there was no option to post a poll when starting a new thread (you can check out his drivel on the Suggestions page).

He's trolling and spamming the hell out of the ZP! forums. I think a lot of regulars here have seen him for exactly that, a spammer, but new comers might not be so lucky and end up clicking through his links.

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Grave Digger - you've messaged me personally a couple times, and you've at least made the appearance of active participation here on the forum. So I'm sorry to make an example of out of you. But GUS brings up some good points...

Most of the posts you start are just links.. to sites with more links. And the replies you post are often very short, such as "Looks good" and "Looks cool" and "So beautiful."

These sort of posts don't add much value to the forum. If you think something is cool, you could try typing at least a couple sentences explaining why you think it's cool.

Relate to us on a personal level, share some opinions, tell a story.

Make it clear the reasons you like this site or like Halloween in general. It's usually very clear who has a true passion for art, crafts, horror, holidays, or pumpkins.

I'd like to give you the benefit of the doubt, since you appear to be a human and not an automated robot. You'll realize that the members here are pretty welcoming to newcomers who are still finding their way around. As an example of our tolerance, just look... you made it to over 100 posts before anyone spoke up.

I'd have to agree, please no more links to sites without unique and interesting content. If you'd like to contribute longer posts with some interesting value, you're welcome to do so.

On a more general note, I notice a lot of new members who create a forum account but never speak. Spammers laying in wait? Hard to say, but I don't quite understand why they join but never speak up. Maybe so they can log in and use the "view new posts" options?

I may have to post this elsewhere in the forum eventually, as I doubt new members will read this far through this thread (and I likely won't leave this content here for all that long).

But addressing any new forum members... I encourage you to participate on a personal level. There aren't many hard rules here, but certain guidelines of etiquette are appreciated. My hope is that any new forum member will post at least once, in the "Personal Introductions & Updates" section.

Introduce yourself. Tell us how you got here, why you love Halloween, and any other personal tidbits you care to share, about your work, family, traditions, or whatever else. By doing at least this much, we're more likely to believe that you're a genuinely interested person, and not a zombie-like spammer whose account won't be active for long.

[Grave Digger]

Ok, I guess it's time for me to leave here!!!

**** y'all!!!!!

Good-bye!!!! Blow me everyone!!!

[zombombie]

Funnily enough, I expected a response like that. That lives up to your usual caliber of post here.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[GUS]

Bye GD, slam the door on your way out, then we know you've gone!

now lets get back to business.
Spammers, they don't care about us ..so nor should we about them!

[matspud]

Having read through GD's posts I didn't see a whole lot wrong I did notice a couple of his posts had silly links but there were some OK ones too. His banner and website I ignored anyway and many of his posts were longer and more informed than mine
It did seem to be odd that he didn't find the patterns first or know who Ryan was though. Sorry he left with such a tirade as it just gives credence to the comments although I do still think he is interested in Halloween just maybe not as into pumpkin carving as the rest of us.

[monstermash]

I did pick up on a few dodgy things myself. It seemed as though he hadn't even bothered looking at the rest of the site or for any info he supposedly wanted. It just looked like most of his post were a link or an excuse for his big signature to show up. Could be genuine, if so I am sorry GD, but I think Gus has found you out.

[Hottie McNaughty]

I've pretty much been ignoring him from day one. It was obvious that he didn't have the Halloween 'bug' like the rest of us. His posts seemed excessively spammy. And not in the good canned kind of Spam way.....

[pagemaster1993]

I Googled the name Grave Digger Spammer and apparently; if it is the same Grave Digger; has been a name of a spammer on other sites. I did this research after this was posted though so I had no clue until his posts got more and more ridiculous.

[nosferatu]

I agree with Matspud.

Whilst the links may have dug him his own grave, I didn't see too much wrong with his actual posts. Excuse my naivety but he seemed to be going to a lot of trouble to try and spam - he even posted a couple of photos of himself.

Is it perhaps just a case of someone eager to contribute and trying too hard to find a voice? Lets not forget we have people of all nationalities, ages etc here and we want to encourage those that are interested to participate, I hope that this tar and feathering doesn't discourage others to speak up.

One thing that is great about this forum (unlike most) is that it is friendly and non-judgemental whilst also encouraging and, I believe, helps nurture the creativity within us.

However, his last post and ultimately his epitaph, is a reminder of what we don't want.

[Grave Digger]

Well I didn't mean to spam some links here.... so you see my banner and website in my own signature, right? That's actually my own website. Also, if I did spam other links here then I'm truly sorry about that. Can anyone forgive me? And, please excuse my foul language b/c I lost my temper.

[St0ney]

On a more general note, I notice a lot of new members who create a forum account but never speak. Spammers laying in wait? Hard to say, but I don't quite understand why they join but never speak up. Maybe so they can log in and use the "view new posts" options?

Ryan:

I can actually shed a little light on this part.

May not be ALL but you will find Some.

This is a new game, these guys are playing.

What they do is they Join as many Boards they can.
It don't matter what the Board is or the topics it covers.

Why do they do this?
It's just to add their WWW Link in their Profile.

Search Engines Like the top Dog Google, It's believed that they Base a sites ranking - By How many sites Link to them.

Googles Bots, don't distinguish between Websites or Forums.
So these guys are Getting their Link to their sites by way of adding it to their Profile.

What's really SAD: is this profile link counts as if you added their banner on your links page. The Bots only read TEXT.

So banner or URL in profile is the same to the bot.

What I do, is every few weeks, I sort my member list by www.
if I see no post was made by a member for a period of time, I remove their Link.

I could look into this, But I'm sure we could add a no-follow rule for www links, (where the Search Bots don't count these links)

But This does not work for the Genuine Members that have websites.
I want the folks that contribute to the board, to also be successful with their websites if they have one.


Spammers on the other hand are removed immediately .

[St0ney]

I do want to add one last thing,.........

Most boards have pretty much the same basic rules.
Be respectful of the site and members at all times.
No Spamming of any kind. Do not spam with links to your site or someone Else's Site or product,

etc.......

But... Some boards have different rules in place.
This is not about Grave Digger, it's just a general to cover this part.
For I'm not going through this board to see what he posted.

Take the Wiz Board, They allow their members to place a banner in their signature. (which is fine - if their okay with it) It's their Board so they decide what their members can and cant do.

My board, Does not allow banners or web-links in the sigs.
I just think, Their really Distracting to look at.

And if the member with the banner is a big poster.
That's even more times I have to look at that banner.

this is not really Spam - But I just don't want to see their Banner in every post.

members can add their link, and it shows as a www button under every single one of their post. If folks want to check out their site, they know to click this button.

[Hottie McNaughty]

St0ney makes some good points.

There are a few unwritten rules that people who have been on forums for a long time seem to follow. They are basic, common sense types of things and I know it's a bit nitpicky but they help to keep a board pleasant and informative for everyone.

Don't be spammy....no one likes it.

Don't take threads off topic (which I think I just did....go me!).

Don't make fluff posts with no real information just to boost your post counts.

Do remember that grammar counts.

Do post an introduction and make an effort to get to know the other members. A board like this is for hard core fans and you've already got something in common to talk about!

Don't create a thread with a title that has nothing to do with the topic. If your topic title doesn't tell me what in the post then I generally won't read it.


There, I'm done being nitpicky.....off to more fun Halloweeny type talk!