Gearbest Forum

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Baldy Conscience wrote: »

no offers for users after a week of having the forum.

Is there a minimum number or value of offers that these guys have to offer to the Boards.ie users, or are the users an afterthought after the lucre has come into the coffers?

All they need to do is have a direct debit to digit media's bank account.

Boards.ie: Niamh

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

Hi Niamh, I was wondering will it be possible to get an answer to this question? This isnt me being against Boards for "selling out". I fully agree with the need to monitise the site but in this situation I think it'd be good to clarify the situation to the Boards community.

Hi Brendan,
Sorry I'm only getting to this now.

Any accounts that might have been registered by GB would have been banned for shilling and remain so. However, many companies have started out this way on the site. They sign up to the site to tell us how great their products are, we ban them and offer to work with them for a price and let them openly tell everyone about their great products. Most of them say 'No thanks, you're grand'. A small number of them hold their hands up, say fair enough and talk to us about the options available. We already know they are interested in Boards and the community, we try to work with them to make their engagement transparent and official, and yes to also make money for the site. I hope that answers your question

_Tombstone_

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

no offers for users after a week of having the forum.

Is there a minimum number or value of offers that these guys have to offer to the Boards.ie users, or are the users an afterthought after the lucre has come into the coffers?

Coming up on 2 weeks, i see folk looking for discount codes...whatever about that. GB are not even throwing up promotional crap offers made outta sturdy stuff like cardboard and bailing twine....people lap that kinda sh1te up....€30 projectors, god luv 'em, ah shure it keeps the world turning.

When them Forums started their was a load of hot air about holding them to a high standard, that lasted for about 3 days and then it turned into, its their forum they can do what they want and now they've sunk so low you get nasty PMs if you ask the company's a tough question and responses are coming in broken English.

What's next, how crap can it all get...stay tuned!

Pelvis Parsley

It would be funny if it wasn't so ridiculous.

_Tombstone_

Another gearbest . com title being linked to gearbest site in their say hello thread...on the touch site.

This stuff was brought up in that skimlinks thread months ago.

Penny Tration

I'm not usually one to argue against site and mod decisions, but surely Niamh's response is an insult to those of us who actually follow the rules?


Originally, it was "gearbest didn't shill. they weren't a member of boards and therefore broke no rules, so the shills are banned and gearbest are allowed here."


Now, even if Gearbest themselves shilled, rather than getting a permanent ban like other shills, they were permitted to buy their way out of the ban?


So if I call someone a cnut, can I pay to get out of the resultant 1 month site ban? Can re-regs pay to have themselves unbanned, like gearbest?

dunworth1

_Tombstone_ wrote:

they've sunk so low you get nasty PMs if you ask the company's a tough question and responses are coming in broken English.

Wait is this actually happening? Are Gb sending nasty PMs to people now?

Fr_Dougal

Boards.ie: Niamh wrote: »

Hi Brendan,
Sorry I'm only getting to this now.

Any accounts that might have been registered by GB would have been banned for shilling and remain so. However, many companies have started out this way on the site. They sign up to the site to tell us how great their products are, we ban them and offer to work with them for a price and let them openly tell everyone about their great products. Most of them say 'No thanks, you're grand'. A small number of them hold their hands up, say fair enough and talk to us about the options available. We already know they are interested in Boards and the community, we try to work with them to make their engagement transparent and official, and yes to also make money for the site. I hope that answers your question

No, Niamh.

Many companies have started out advertising their own company on boards, been banned and offered advertising rates.

Shills like Gearbest have always been dealt with swiftly and banished for good.

What has happened here is, users were offered money to shill for Gearbest and they have been rightly banned. Then Gearbest have offered boards money, and they have been welcomed with open arms.

Complete double standards.

_Tombstone_

dunworth1 wrote: »

Wait is this actually happening? Are Gb sending nasty PMs to people now?

Feck.

No.

Its worse. Boards are. A few users mentioned it over in the ghost town thread (?).

gandalf

Boards.ie: Niamh wrote: »

Hi Brendan,
Sorry I'm only getting to this now.

Any accounts that might have been registered by GB would have been banned for shilling and remain so. However, many companies have started out this way on the site. They sign up to the site to tell us how great their products are, we ban them and offer to work with them for a price and let them openly tell everyone about their great products. Most of them say 'No thanks, you're grand'. A small number of them hold their hands up, say fair enough and talk to us about the options available. We already know they are interested in Boards and the community, we try to work with them to make their engagement transparent and official, and yes to also make money for the site. I hope that answers your question

So by this logic if any users were site banned because they sinned (shilled for Gearbest) in boards eyes they could also buy their way out of the ban.

Out of curiosity what would they have to pay to expunge their records?

Again what I am reading STINKS of double standards. Surely if you are giving Gearbest a reprieve you have to give the people banned because of them one also.

Again I believe you have severely diminished the Bargain Alerts forum and Community allowing a company that was so vilified that their very name was banned on boards and applied to the sites swear filter.

Pelvis Parsley

Not only that, gandalf, but the GB presence on the site is pointless, without substance, and utterly hamfisted. They seem to have handed the wheel to one of their junior staff, and given them no further instruction. One can only assume that their negotiations behind the scenes were no better, which says little about the people who pulled the trigger, and said they could come back.

The whole talk to/sponsored forum model seems to have moved from reputable (if not popular) firms, such as Irish Water, various broadband providers etc., to Anyone What Gives Us Cash.

I'd take a wager with anyone, that GB's presence here will be as short lived, as it was ill-advised. They'll default on the old direct debit, or else dirty their bib in some other way, and that will be that. All this grief, for nothing. Silly, silly carry on. As I say, there'd be humour in it, if it wasn't so pathetic.

Maireadio

gandalf wrote: »

So by this logic if any users were site banned because they sinned (shilled for Gearbest) in boards eyes they could also buy their way out of the ban.

Apparently it's different because Gearbest themselves weren't signed up to boards.ie, so didn't agree to the T&Cs. (unless of course if they did set up accounts that were banned, but that was just a hypothetical question, I thought, there was no confirmation that that happened).

This isn't a defence of the whole thing on my part, by the way, just shorthanding LoLth's long post on the subject as boards.ie sees it.

Penny Tration

Maireadio wrote: »

Apparently it's different because Gearbest themselves weren't signed up to boards.ie, so didn't agree to the T&Cs. (unless of course if they did set up accounts that were banned, but that was just a hypothetical question, I thought, there was no confirmation that that happened).

This isn't a defence of the whole thing on my part, by the way, just shorthanding LoLth's long post on the subject as boards.ie sees it.

Yep, but what's been said now is that IF Gearbest did indeed sign up themselves (rather than have boards members do it) to shill, they're above the lifetime ban rule for shilling because they paid.

So even if they themselves broke the rules and were sitebanned, it's overturned because they gave boards money.



Off topic but I feel sorry for their rep. It must be very difficult to deal with the posters, especially without having a very good grasp of English. Gearbest seem to have gotten some inexperienced young girl to deal with boards.

Turtyturd

Pelvis Parsley wrote: »

I'd take a wager with anyone, that GB's presence here will be as short lived, as it was ill-advised. They'll default on the old direct debit, or else dirty their bib in some other way, and that will be that. All this grief, for nothing. Silly, silly carry on. As I say, there'd be humour in it, if it wasn't so pathetic.

And it will be spun that boards removed them because they listen to the 'community' not the actual reason.

Barry Badrinath

Penny Tration wrote: »

Yep, but what's been said now is that IF Gearbest did indeed sign up themselves (rather than have boards members do it) to shill, they're above the lifetime ban rule for shilling because they paid.

So even if they themselves broke the rules and were sitebanned, it's overturned because they gave boards money.



Off topic but I feel sorry for their rep. It must be very difficult to deal with the posters, especially without having a very good grasp of English. Gearbest seem to have gotten some inexperienced young girl to deal with boards.

To me, a regular boards user. It is immaterial if Gearpest created accounts to shill on here or not.

The boards users who did shill, did it at Gearpests request. The company knew what they were doing and used the users to do their dirty work.

Boards.ie may be strapped for cash but they are certaintly strapped for dignity, honour and respect for their content creators, the regular user.

There is no justification for their decision. None.

_Kaiser_

I somehow missed all the drama with this company the first time round, but I've caught up on the history over the last fortnight and as with so many of the other recent decisions and directions taken by Boards, it leaves a pretty sour taste to be honest.

It dilutes the value of the BA forum, it makes a mockery of the previous stance taken by Boards, and I genuinely don't see what we are supposed to get out of it - yay cheaper deals on already bargain basement kit and a dedicated forum that reminds me of Bebo. :rolleyes:

It's yet another sign that those pulling the strings these days haven't a clue about the site they own, what the users come here for and value, and how to take it forward.

But just as with the rest of the feedback in the other thread, this too will be ignored or given some from-the-script answer that doesn't address the concerns of the people who generate the content this site is trying to monetise.

Cienciano

McGruber wrote: »

To me, a regular boards user. It is immaterial if Gearpest created accounts to shill on here or not.

The boards users who did shill, did it at Gearpests request. The company knew what they were doing and used the users to do their dirty work.

Boards.ie may be strapped for cash but they are certaintly strapped for dignity, honour and respect for their content creators, the regular user.

There is no justification for their decision. None.

Boards have justified it. To themselves. No one is buying it except a few mods and usual suspects towing the company line.
"We know what we're doing, we're taking the money, now kindly fúck off" seems to be the reply to the boards users.

_Tombstone_

Cienciano wrote: »

Boards have justified it. To themselves. No one is buying it except a few mods and usual suspects towing the company line.
"We know what we're doing, we're taking the money, now kindly fúck off" seems to be the reply to the boards users.

Hold on....they replied?!!!!!!!!!

markupmales

Offering good odds on this thread getting nuked by a staffer just like the Ghost Town one.
And 30 people who have seemingly never been near the thread before just coincidentally appearing withing seconds to thank the post announcing the nuke.

markupmales

markupmales wrote: »

Offering good odds on this thread getting nuked by a staffer just like the Ghost Town one.
And 30 people who have seemingly never been near the thread before just coincidentally appearing withing seconds to thank the post announcing the nuke.

Would you have preferred the other thread to run on and on in to infinity? Five thousand posts of differing opinions, nitpicking, axe grinding, etc aren't really going to help the Boards team tackle the important and helpful points that were raised. The thread would have gone around in circles.

Also what difference does it make if the post was thanked by less active people on that thread? Does it mean their opinion is less valid?

cherryghost

Are we allowing them to post about shady illegal streaming now!??

LuckyLloyd

:pac:

ThisRegard

After this was only posted on the Home Entertainment DIY forum yesterday,

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057612676/1/#post100111540

Boards.ie: Niamh

cherryghost wrote: »

Are we allowing them to post about shady illegal streaming now!??

We're definitely not. Illegal is illegal regardless of who's doing the posting. The post has been removed and we'll be having a chat with Gearbest about illegal streaming and our site rules.

Thank you for the heads up.

uck51js9zml2yt

Boards.ie: Niamh wrote: »

We're definitely not. Illegal is illegal regardless of who's doing the posting. The post has been removed and we'll be having a chat with Gearbest about illegal streaming and our site rules.

Thank you for the heads up.

Niamh
If that had been any other user they would have been infracted at the very least.
How come a "chat" is all that's needed now. Surely the rules were explained to GB when they agreed to them when they signed up?

Pelvis Parsley

How embarrassing!

degsie

Boards

Gearbest

Brendan Flowers

cherryghost wrote: »

Are we allowing them to post about shady illegal streaming now!??

The post or tread is now deleted. What was it?

zarquon

Brendan Flowers wrote: »

The post or tread is now deleted. What was it?

Gearbest promoting one of their android tv boxes by explaining how you could stream "Finding Dory" from the comfort of your couch rather than foolishly taking the time and effort and wasted money to go the cinema.

The Backwards Man

It's not like ye weren't warned.