questions → is this spam?

vote-for20vote-against +20 -0

Is this spam?

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm missing something obvious. You tell me.

The vast majority of deals posted by @mansnorkle link to what I assume is his own site: stupidfunnycrap.com

It's this site I find objectionable. Evey item just links to Amazon. But it goes further, scraping all of its text from Amazon including Description, Features and Editorial & Customer Reviews. It reformats the text making it look like original content*.

I suppose the site /could/ be getting referral payments from Amazon (if Amazon even does that) which would mean they're taking money away from Woot. But it looks like the site is built solely to generate ad-revenue as a superfluous middleman between deals.woot and Amazon without offering anything original. I'm surprised this is even legal.

Opinions?

*There is a disclaimer in gray on slightly-lighter gray at the bottom which reads, "CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC...."

by anotherhiggins
asked a year ago

15 Answers answer

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vote-for14vote-against

I'd agree with you, but then, I am not as tolerant as some on that issue in any case.

I really hate all the crap that @guitarwoot posts (it's always some random one of a kind thing from his site on etsy), but I just got tired of hitting the Tattle button. I reserve that now for when he offers up those fake bracelets for various causes (because, as far as I can tell, you can buy all the junky "breast cancer support" bracelets you want, but not ONE CENT goes anywhere but to him).

So, yes, I think EVERYTHING that @mansnorkle posts is spam, but what do I know?

shrdlu
a year ago

vote-for13vote-against

I concur with you both on both those deal posters and I gave up tattling on them both because their deals kept getting posted.

hobbit
a year ago

vote-for10vote-against

Noted. Thanks to all.

jumbowoot
a year ago

vote-for3vote-against

@shrdlu: I might have unwittingly voted for @mansnorkle's bacon wallet posting.

heymo
a year ago

vote-for3vote-against

@jumbowoot: Thanks!

anotherhiggins
a year ago

vote-for5vote-against

Amazon most certainly does pay referrals. And not just for that item. If you click through his site to Amazon, you are cookied and anything you buy from Amazon within a 24 hour period of first entering Amazon through his site is credited to him.

btw ... I don't ever vote or look at anything from eBay, either. eBay deals on deals.woot make me mad. This is my mad face ... (`_´)

debbiedunlap
a year ago

vote-for4vote-against

@debbiedunlap: I actually have a fairly narrow rule for eBay stuff here. IFF posting is from Deals Woot Staff, AND NOT and auction, then I vote it up (unless it's something I don't like). I Tattle on auctions, eBay or otherwise. I ignore eBay deals that are not auctions, and not posted by staff.

Works for me. YMMV. HTH. HAND. TTFN. TANSTAAFL. Ummmm...

NSA CIA NRO DIA DISA FBI DHS TSA NGO TSG (dang, running out of acronyms and abbreviations both).

shrdlu
a year ago

vote-for3vote-against

@debbiedunlap: A few retailers have begun to use eBay as an audience. As such, items from those retailers are for sale. We do our best to find the best of those deals and bring them back here.

jumbowoot
a year ago

vote-for4vote-against

@shrdlu: FUBAR!

lavikinga
a year ago

vote-for3vote-against

@lavikinga: SNAFU!

shrdlu
a year ago

vote-for2vote-against

@shrdlu: Hmm - and if you have been involved with the first 4 at the bottom, we probably have mutual friends.

sand4me
a year ago

vote-for2vote-against

@lavikinga: TARFU!

sand4me
a year ago

vote-for3vote-against

@sand4me: Every one of those. Not just the first four. No third party introductions possible, so we'll never know about the mutual friends.

Actually, I made a mistake. I think that NGO is now NGL.

@lavikinga: Okay, I don't get that one. I can figure out the last two, but the TAR has me perplexed. Crap. Never mind. Google is my friend.

shrdlu
a year ago

vote-for4vote-against

@shrdlu: Fcked Up Beyond All Recognition. It's a cousin, I think, to SNAFU. And then there's Tango Uniform also known as being Tts Up, a.k.a. broken/dead.
How about a euphemism? "Partial Panel" The jet jockeys should recognize that one.

lavikinga
a year ago

vote-for6vote-against

was it here that I figured out what Whiskey Tango Foxtrot really stood for?

I now have named one pet Whiskey, Next will be Tango, although I do have a cat named Tiger so maybe I will go for Foxtrot and see if anyone gets it.

hobbit
a year ago

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a year ago
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