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Has Shilling Increased Or Has Moderator Rule Enforcement Increased?

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EagerBeaver

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I have been noticing increased posts/activity in the thread concerning the banning of shills and duplicate posters, and am wondering is this due to increased activity by the shills, or increased activity by the Moderators in rule enforcement and the thwarting of the would be shills?

Without any data on shilling attempts and new registrations it is hard to say, but it seems to me (and this is just speculation) that there are a lot of would be advertisers who do not want to pay and are instead using duplicate handle registration as a means to advertise for free. Obviously this should be cracked down on, but the question is has this particular activity increased in the last year or so? If so, what can be done to stop it?
 
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viger99

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Shilling may or may not have increased but reviews seem like an endangered species these days.
 

somebodymtl

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Based on my recent observation I would have to say MOD rule enforcement has increased. Evidence? Please refer to post #2 in this thread... :p
 

Mod 10

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Based on my recent observation I would have to say MOD rule enforcement has increased. Evidence? Please refer to post #2 in this thread... :p

First; we never sllowed disrecpectful posts... So our rule has not increased...

Second : the topic isn't about MERB rules (in general), but about shilling...

To answer EB's question:
EagerBeaver said:
what can be done to stop it?
The only thing the members can do it to pm one of the mods (Mod 8,Mod 10 or Mod 11) when they see a suspicious member. The rest belong to the mods.

M10
 

Mod 8

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Hello everyone,

In some cases, rule enforcement has been tightened. In some instances this is due to having three active moderators on MERB where one mod will catch something the others miss, in others it is just that we have gotten tired of adults insulting each other and having flame wars as if they were children. Throwing insults around or making unsubstantiated or unprovable claims will get you banned.

When it comes to shills, I do not believe that there has been any great change in the numbers but they do seem to have been getting more obvious as well as more stupid. What we have been seeing lately are people who are getting banned for shilling who register another handle to continue their activities only to get caught and banned again. Not the sign of an intelligent individual. Of course there are always those who pop up and make one glowing review of a provider no one has ever heard of before and never make another post. While it is difficult to ban them as shills, we are certain that the members of MERB are quite intelligent enough to see the truth through the bullshit.

As for the lack of reviews, it is up to all members to contribute. Without reviews MERB will become an empty shell. You do not have to look very far to see the repercussions of a lack of reviews on a review board. So in the end it is up to all members to give new people a reason to join and share their own reviews by making MERB a welcoming and fun place to post and participate. In turn we moderators will do our best to enforce the rules fairly and evenly and do our best to keep minor disputes from becoming all out wars and to keep shills off the board.

If we all continue to work together MERB will remain the best review board in Montreal. If we begin to fight and constantly accuse new members of being shills and refuse to post reviews, well I think we can all see where that will lead us.

Mod 8
 

eastender

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Back on Topic

The seminal post raises a very valid issue that I think merits further analysis.

Most of the shilling and related rule enforcement seems to have its roots in the "free advertising venues" with providers trying to cross over to "pay for advertising venues" for greater benefits without paying for them.

Hope that a solution will arise eventually as tactics and patterns emerge. Until then we may expect more of the same.
 

GTA refugee

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I have noticed a trend where new names are popping up and racking up somtimes 300 to 400 post in just a few months. I have seen this much more on other boards. I have to wonder why all of the sudden quite lot of new members posting huge amounts? My own experience and observation is that new members tend to be very slow to post and may increase post later when they are more comfortable.
 

Dee

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When someone is banned for shilling there may be some value in including the name of whom they were shilling for in the notice.

What I notice is the endless 2 day bans for posting contact details of nonreviewed, nonadvertising SPs... I wonder if the Mods' chain isn't just being yanked?????

Mod11 we are being flamed and insulted... the proof follows... help....

adults insulting each other and having flame wars as if they were children. Throwing insults around
 
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Mod 11

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When someone is banned for shilling there may be some value in including the name of whom they were shilling for in the notice.
I think we already do this, don't we?

What I notice is the endless 2 day bans for posting contact details of nonreviewed, nonadvertising SPs... I wonder if the Mods' chain isn't just being yanked?????
Sometimes, I wonder the same. We are seriously thinking to push the ban to 2 weeks. Either people can't read or they don't give a damn.

Mod11 we are being flamed and insulted... the proof follows... help....
I don't understand that one.
 

EagerBeaver

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Questionable Posting

I saw that john_eh_mcduff was banned tonight, the 2 day variety, for posting contact info in the thread in which info is requested on SPs who shave. I seem to recall he was recently slapped with a similar two day ban. What makes no sense to me is why he did not simply PM the info he posted to the thread starter - the contact info. He could have PM'd the info, but I don't think he wanted to. He wanted the public to see that contact info. And I assume he also wanted to be banned. And the Mods granted him this wish.
 
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EagerBeaver

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Question For The Mods

Here is a question for the Mods: can a non-advertiser, by paying for MERB advertising, get an existing ban lifted?

Hypothetical: After a number of offenses, Poster A is banned for 30 days for shilling for SP X. As soon as the ban is applied and subsequent handle registrations are denied, SP X decides to pay for advertising and send Fred Zed cash by overnight mail. SP X then requests that Poster A's ban be lifted, as the contact info he posted is for a MERB advertiser. Is the ban lifted?
 

Mod 10

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Here is a question for the Mods: can a non-advertiser, by paying for MERB advertising, get an existing ban lifted?

Hypothetical: After a number of offenses, Poster A is banned for 30 days for shilling for SP X. As soon as the ban is applied and subsequent handle registrations are denied, SP X decides to pay for advertising and send Fred Zed cash by overnight mail. SP X then requests that Poster A`s ban be lifted, as the contact info he posted is for a MERB advertiser. Is the ban lifted?

Yes, the most recent exemple i found is this one: https://merb.cc/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=440767&postcount=251
2) Forbidden Activities:
vi) Posting under multiple handles. Only one handle per poster. Duplicate posters and/or obvious shills WILL BE EXPOSED to the world.

The following handle is actually Massage Lavandashilling for themselves.

backdoor joe Banned permanently

Your other handle,
Mira is also banned permanently

Massage Lavanda is banned permanently or until you become a paying advertiser

Advertising information is available here.

Mod 8

You can find similar cases in the dupplicate thread.

Mod 10
 

Mod 8

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Hello EB,

No. No ban can be lifted unless the moderator who imposed the ban decides to be kind and commute a particular ban to time served.

In cases of permanent bans for identifiable agencies or providers for unpaid advertising, it is indicated in the ban post that if they want to advertise the ban will then be lifted. But this only applies in certain cases as indicated when the ban is posted. No poster will have a ban lifted other than the advertiser themselves.

M8

EDIT: The example M10 posted above is a perfect example. If Masage Lavanda decided to advertise, their ban would be lifted but the shill handles would remain banned and not re-instated.

Here is a question for the Mods: can a non-advertiser, by paying for MERB advertising, get an existing ban lifted?

Hypothetical: After a number of offenses, Poster A is banned for 30 days for shilling for SP X. As soon as the ban is applied and subsequent handle registrations are denied, SP X decides to pay for advertising and send Fred Zed cash by overnight mail. SP X then requests that Poster A's ban be lifted, as the contact info he posted is for a MERB advertiser. Is the ban lifted?
 

EagerBeaver

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I searched the suspension thread and can't find it.

Would a rescinded ban appear in that thread? Also, are all bans automatically reported in that thread or does it happen that a Mod forgets to update the thread?

I recall one of the Mods coming in and saying that he was causing a disruption in one of her threads, he protested, and then I believe all the posts were deleted but I thought he had been banned for a short period. And for what it is worth, I did not think there was a problem that I could see with his posts, but it looks like they are all gone now.
 
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Mod 8

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If a ban were rescinded, there would be either a post in the thread stating that fact or the original ban post would have an edit included. There have been rare occasions where the original ban post was removed when the ban was given in error and it would be unfair to the member to leave their name in the thread. Doing a quick glance at the thread, I believe there may be about 4 such instances since the existence of the thread.

All moderator bans are reported in that thread. The only bans we do not bother posting are when it involves automated spammers who usually appear in the Health thread for whatever reason. These spammers come in groups and the posts are removed and the spammer banned. There is no reason to clutter the thread with such notices.

The only other bannings that do not get reported in the thread are the infrequent appearances of Elf/Tony. We have no intention of giving him the attention he seeks so desperately. In general we ban the handle and remove the posts he has made with no notice.

Also, on a couple of occasions over the years Fred Zed has banned a member or advertiser permanently and not bothered to post a reason or notification of any kind. His recent ban of Athana is one of those instances. This is an exceptionally rare event.

M8
 
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