Why, in the name of God, some people do that?
I know I might create a big debate by exposing this openly. The truth is, there are many people, like me, very concern about some members being involve in a non-fair behavior.
I won't say names but everybody know who they are.
I have seen people claiming they reach 5000 points (no VIP) and a week later reaching 10,000 points, about 10 days later that person is reaching 20,000 points. How do they do that? Are they magicians?
Well, I have taken this very seriously and found that those people are creating accounts (inviting "friends", real or not) that after a while you can see that the only friend they have (the new members) are the ones that invited them.
But not only that, they are the only people that send sets to those "members" (apart from the chefs, of course) and when you friended those "new members" you almost never receive the add back from them. If send icons, they never accept them and your stamps rest for one week.
Why do they do that? IconBuffet was created "to be a happy, fun place to hang out", as the chefs said, and to promote the icons they sell (I added that) in a community that eventually will use them. By doing that, they are not helping anybody but themselves. Whoever gets to 500,000 points first, will get a free "BMW", maybe, I don't know.
I'm very sorry but I couldn't get quiet while this is happening. Am I wrong? who knows. God is my witness.
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debbye on Jun 11, 2007
it is not a new issue.
josh
on Jun 11, 2007
If you feel like people are gaming the system, feel free to send us an email. We monitor gaming closely, and do our best to curb this behavior.
elnitido52 on Jun 11, 2007
Thanks Josh, I will do that.
lisamac on Jun 11, 2007
People seriously do that? What's the point then? I mean, the icons are cool and everything, but worth 'cheating' for? How much fun could it be?
rai on Jun 11, 2007
that's so low. :( It's just points, and cheating doesn't exactly get you anywhere. :(
josh
on Jun 11, 2007
Yeah, it's pretty lame. It used to be a bigger problem than it is now, but every now and then someone slips through our Patented Cheater Scanner™.
elnitido52 on Jun 11, 2007
The real problem is that you are celebrating that 100,000 members have sign in IconBuffet, how many of them are real? You can only see about 100 members interacting, blogging, swapping sets, responding etc.
rdunlop on Jun 11, 2007
If I don't create my own accounts, I won't have any friends who love me for myself.
silveria on Jun 11, 2007
wtf? I supposed you are talking about me, since I'm the only one who reached 5000, 10000, and reaching 20000 points successively.
This is laughable. I just happen to have a website that is popular enough to get me referrals, and I just send icon sets to those people I refer. Is that a crime now on this site? Do I have to remove the referral link on my website to prove my innocence?
I just had two large exams in a row that I spent NIGHTS studying. I don't have the patience to deal with this crap.
All my referrals are received fairly. Just ask the chefs if they want to check the IP addresses of those people who clicked in from my site.
Should I say... Sour grapes instead?
rai on Jun 11, 2007
umm.. yeah, what Silveria said is true.. :P I actually found this site from her website. :) But I don't really think it's directed to you.. :3
silveria on Jun 11, 2007
Who otherwise is that non-vip that reach 5000, then one week later reach 10000 points, and then is now approaching 20000?
elnitido52 on Jun 11, 2007
This is not a game!
This is serious business in a funny way!
cheiie on Jun 11, 2007
Here we go again :P
gswd on Jun 11, 2007
@cheiie - Yep. Someone broke out the horse.
Uberz on Jun 11, 2007
???????????
tamashii on Jun 11, 2007
Three words: Amsterdam High Seas.
cheiie on Jun 12, 2007
@gswd - just when we thought it was safe :P
justG on Jun 12, 2007
There are two issues that've been brought up:
- People creating dupe accounts, gaming the system. Badness.
- People inviting people who then only befriend them and only accept icons from them. Sour grapes.
In the first instance, people are taking advantage of IB. In the second, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, imo. I have friends who joined IconBuffet for two reasons: because they thought that the icons are cute, and because they wanted to help me earn points. They have no desire to participate in the community, they just want their free icons. You might not agree with it or like it, but they're not doing anything wrong.
And also, it is, actually, a game. Oh, and also.. what cheiie said. =p
LoopyMind on Jun 12, 2007
Argh may there be looting and booty 'ere done?! If it be that way, why was i not told of such undertakings ARGH! ... Argh, seriously, ye should not spend yar time pondering the ways of land'lubbers! ... Me says it to the way ye world works! Argh!
JBVisions on Jun 12, 2007
The problem with placing links on your site or where ever is you don't know who is going to sign up or why. I have a couple who have joined and I've sent them sets that they haven't accepted and I've had to wait for them to time out to get the stamps back. I have no idea who they are and there's no way on here of emailing them to find out.
There's one I could guess from the name he used, him I emailed. He signed up then got really busy work-wise and hasn't had the time to come back but will later on.
I have others who have joined and gone VIP....
and others who come on once a month to collect their sets when they get tokens.
Whilst I'd rather they all traded (more points for me) they don't all want to. I doubt that it's a big problem from the Chef's point of view, it's like most recruitment things, it's a numbers game. A certain percentage will go VIP.
I know it's annoying when you send a set or two and nothing happens. I think I have two lots at least stuck in limbo at the moment but I treat it as part of the game, some you win, some get stuck.
tommythewolfboy on Jun 12, 2007
I suppose people are always going to try and cheat the system - human nature after all, or perhaps it's a reflection of just how frustratingly addictive IB is ... damn you chefs!! ;)
I'd rather know that my points were earned honestly, but at the end of the day, life's far, far too short to be worrying about how many points I have on IB, or for that matter how many anyone else has. I love the free icons here, and I love the community you've got going on, but I suppose you will always have a few bad apples pushing the limits of the system (and I'm certainly not referring to you silveria, when I say that) - just don't let it get you down. Frustrating yes, but possibly an inescapable fact of human nature and its competitive drive. Just let the chefs know if you suspect something if it makes you feel better :)
Tachi on Jun 12, 2007
Why do some people feel the need to use God's name like an expression? >_>
Yeah, cheating is bad but... I'm frankly more disturbed by this.
But there will always be people who have no life and no scruples whatever, who will cheat any system to get what they want (more quickly). It's like the dog droppings someone forgets to clean up. You don't like them, but they're there, and you come to realize you should just walk around them.
Touching the other issue, I highly doubt the Almighty has any interest in icons. His system (the universe) doesn't need any. (Don't you wish your graphics were that impressive?!)
opello on Jun 12, 2007
Because relative standings in arbitrary, non-skill based systems is the only way to truly judge everyone!
I mean ... can't we all just get along! :) Let's have another math discussion!
iconmaster on Jun 12, 2007
If you suspect someone is creating dupe accounts to game the system, please send a note to chef@iconbuffet.com about it.
If this is about people signing up and never returning to the site, there's no problem -- as long as there really are unique people creating those accounts.
FallenAngel on Jun 12, 2007
@Tachi - I have it on good authority from my mate Pete, who says he's God, that he does indeed like icons, it's just he's not had time to sign up here yet ;-)
Unfortunately this sort of thing goes with the territory. I run a couple of web forums and I get no end of people signing up, but then who rarely, if ever come back. Why? No idea. Friends signing up? That's how IB works. If it wasn't for Jaybee I wouldn't be here now (and I'd be getting a lot more work done - lol!) Some will stick around, some won't. Personally I'm not a huge fan of collecting "friends" myspace-style, but yeah, this place is friendly and as others have said, very addictive.
At the end of the day, as tommythewolfboy says, life's too short to worry about trivial stuff like this. There are much more important things in life.
JBVisions on Jun 12, 2007
I've just checked a client's forum, there are 467 members on there who have never posted a thing. He doesn't give away free icon sets either so there was no incentive to sign up in the first place. I think some people just like filling out forms.
And yes her up there ^ is one of mine and I'm rather regretting it as no matter how many times I tell her she keeps trading with other people. Not on is it.
eury on Jun 12, 2007
Did the chefs encouraged vigilantism? If you send out items no one asked for, repeatedly, then you are spamming. Simply stated: You deserved to get your stamps held hostage. My own page from time to time is clogged with unwanted items. If you don't want your stamps tied up, don't be (insert your own perjorative tag here)and send unsoliciated sets.
JBVisions on Jun 12, 2007
So if a newbie signs up, not as a referral and nobody sends them any sets on spec due to "(insert your own perjorative tag here)" and they don't want to post in the blog or don't have a clue they should, then they gets sets how? Thought transference?
FallenAngel on Jun 12, 2007
It's not the unsolicited deliveries that annoy me, but the unsolicited deliveries when it quite plainly says in my profile that I have no tokens that annoys me. If people can't be bothered to read it, then the stamps get held to ransom. There's one member at the moment who's repeatedly sending me sets. Those stamps have found themselves bound and gagged and they won't be going anywhere anytime soon. If, on the other hand, I have tokens but just don't want 'X' set, then I just decline it.
Newbies I think are a different matter. If you come here not knowing anyone and you're not particularly the sociable type, then unless people do send you sets you're not gonna get much of a collection.
eury on Jun 12, 2007
JB: Chef send them regardless. 1 set per month. If they want more, the it's time to open up the yap box. Classic Pavlov habitual/behavioral change.
JBVisions on Jun 12, 2007
Stop referring to the newbies as Dogs, it's not nice. ;-)
opello on Jun 12, 2007
eury wrote:
If you don't want your stamps tied up, don't be (insert your own perjorative[sic] tag here)and send unsoliciated[sic] sets.
That's a fine and dandy point to take, but if people don't indicate somewhere in their profile that they don't have tokens or whatever, it's somewhat difficult to know. I arbitrarily pick people from the list of "these other members don't have such-and-such a set" to send to, and used to spam my list of friends with many a set. And if I remember correctly, one of the early posts mentioned "spamming" was more or less the intention, at least in some respect.
Betty on Jun 12, 2007
it's not spamming, it's sharing.
eury on Jun 12, 2007
JB: Any implication of newbies = dogs are reaching on your part. Pavlov demonstrated that the shift is applicable to human.
Opello: Your definition of spamming as intentional notwithstanding, your intent, like it or not, is established the moment you clicked "sent."
Now, your complaint about ppl not showing tokens. Such would cut both ways. Put it up there and invited a bunch of spam, not putting up there and voila...your case. So damn us if we did it and damn us if we didn't. I would just prefer people stay out of the send button and be on their merry way. If they insist, I will hold their stamps hostage. 7 days, I've read elsewhere, can be a torturous ordeal for a IB addict. Aptly said, fittingly too, that they deserved every minute of it.
Betty: Spamming or sharing, take your pick and spin. Senders call it sharing, receivers, one at the very least, see it as spamming. Dice it whatever you like.
iconmaster on Jun 12, 2007
I don't really know what this post is about anymore.