**MULTIPLE** Sales Threads Issue

BLF Site-related Issues
1

Sorry, I’m complaining this morning because there’s an issue that’s been kind of rampant here lately that probably needs to be “fixed” by an admin. I first came to this forum because of my interest in building/modding flashlights. I started out on CPF but I was mainly interested in building/modding lights…not buying…so I found this wonderful community. There are a lot of awesome, friendly, and very knowledgeable people here that contribute tons of information and help for others that aren’t as knowledgeable as they are and it’s absolutely amazing :slight_smile: However, there are some here that have never posted anything noteworthy, that do not contribute to the BLF community, and that aren’t here for help…they’re here to “feed” off of the community. Yes, I’m talking about the numerous sales threads that run rampant on the first page of the forum.

Now, I do my fair share of selling lights but I also try to share what limited knowledge I may have as well. I’d much rather assist someone in building a light than sell them one…that’s what the BLF community if all about to me…helping those who need it, sharing modding tips, and growing the community. I know that everyone likes a good deal and not have to pay outrageous prices for things. BudgetLightForum…BUDGET it’s in the name…everyone likes deals. However, not everyone is here to buy a light every single day. I like to browse the site to see what’s new, you know, to see who has modded what…I expect to see that but I do not expect nor do I like to see a ton of freaking sales threads on the front page that keep pushing all relevant and necessary information to the bottom or to the next page so that the OP of that thread can make a quick buck. Now I’m going to throw some people “under the bus” and you can get mad, mark my post as rude, send me hate PMs, or whatever you want to do because I really don’t care.

The number ONE offenders are:

Fin17
r3crac

Neither one of these people have posted anything useful…it has all been related to sales and they are constantly on the front page of the forum. I’ve seen other threads where forum members have pointed this out, yet they still ABUSE the system. They have no regard for, nor do they care, what any member has to say about how much they post about sales. They can easily update their first post and maybe every day or so post about the update. There is absolutely no reason for them to post stuff like they are doing.

The number TWO offender is:

freeme

Now, I can say that freeme has contributed to the forum as far as doing reviews, presenting new lights that aren’t exactly “known” about in the US, and a few other things. However, freeme is doing the same as Fin17 and it’s getting a bit ridiculous.

There has got to be something that can be done to have all of the sales SPAM stopped. Apparently the people that are doing this do not care about the BLF community other than to FEED ON…yes to…SUCK MONEY OUT OF BLF members.

:rage: Rant Complete :rage:

2

I’d say 1 thread per aff link poster would help a lot.
(BTW Freeme brings really interesting things at a truly by him negotiated price, so that is different IMHO then just copy paste a public deal and add an aff ID.

3

Invasion of the Mercenaries perhaps? haha

4

I tend to agree… a normal thread gets lost as it does not have the constant updating that these threads have. I am hear to learn, help and mainly build lights. Once in a while I will buy a light… as a mod host but I am not going to buy every “latest and greatest thing since sliced bread” just because it appears at 10% off. I do not know how to throttle it, but I think it needs to be done. Maybe real world contributions need to be made from time to time… but that would need someone to police it. :frowning:

5

Oh boy.

6

Don’t worry freeme. djburkes isn’t a MOD yet. :wink:

7

Djburkes is a genuine good guy, and we spoken a few times in the past. My apology for the mess that i have indirectly created. Guess i got too carried away when i was presented with almost a hundred deals at once. It is time for me to take a quick break. Peace out.

8

The best would be the one who first post the deal has it and others dont post the same deal in their topic

There is no need that fin, R3, freeme, tatsal, MadMax and others post the same deals

Especially as Banggood and Gearbest posted most of the deals on their own

9

Maybe a subforum for deals could be set up to avoid cluttering? Could the front page have a filter where a checkbox could be chosen to include or exclude the deals subforum from the recent posts list?

Sometimes the deals threads are fantastic (when I am looking for a new light) but sometimes it gets spam-ish too.

10

+1

11

But Freeme is one of us! Fair go! Freeme contributes a lot to BLF besides just deals.

What really is over the top is spamming my YouTube channel. I spend so long making videos its hard because i stutter so i have to stop and start so much and they just spam me!

This is a forum has a sub forum that is made for posting deals.

This guy aye lol

!

!

12

l may have posted deals years before GB and BG came to this site, but technically l don’t belong with the other gentlemen you mentioned for l am never an affiliate of ANY vendor, product links l give are all direct links.

l am here for the hobby, and l just enjoy organizing or sharing codes.

13

Regarding the two number one offenders I completely agree with you djburkes. It’s very passive aggressive, and something I consider quite wrong in this society. Not to mention what everydaysurvivalgear just posted is certainly not going to make me less upset.

14

this

15

Freeme, I usually don’t see your posts or M4D M4X’s posts a lot but upon looking at the forum this morning, there were quite a few about the same deals that the other guys were posting. It was all Gearbest related stuff with the same deals just different affiliate links. Like I said you contribute to the forum, you’ve done reviews, and you show great lights that we can’t see anywhere else…it was just the fact that there were so many different posts about the same stuff.

I don’t want to offend or upset anyone…I just want the forum to be used for what it is…not for what a few want it to be used for.

16

I agree with others on this, Freeme does contribute a lot to this community in the deals & savings for the lights hes gotten codes & discounts for. ( i have been appreciative many times for saving a bit of cost through FreeMe’s links. :+1:

17

Hi there,

You all probably know that I'm not a fan of creating more rules to solve problems. But the guidelines for affiliate linkers weren't very easy to find, and it's possible that some aren't even aware of their existence. So I slightly re-worded the guidelines for affiliate linkers (no major changes) and created a new post, which also now prominently appears in main BLF menu right below "Commercial Sellers". The guidelines for affiliate linkers now state the following:

This is a pretty good framework, and it tends to work. Freeme already explained what happened and apologized for it, and he has shown a willingness to work with the BLF community and respect the rules, so I would consider his case handled for now. As for the other offenders, I simply prefer to moderate the situation on a case by case basis, and I always try to take into account your (collective) opinions on who is breaking the spirit of the above guidelines.

I was recently made aware of Fin17 re-posting all of his deals into a new thread for no reason. I sent him a warning PM that he will be banned if another violation occurs, and I will follow through on it.

I hope this helps. Thanks for bring up the topic.

18

Thank you very much…I’ve seen it a lot lately and I’ve seen a few threads over the last couple of months about it so I figured I’d chime in :person_facepalming: I just don’t want new members or people browsing to get the wrong impression of BLF. I take pride in this forum as it is the greatest!!

19

First time I”ve ever wished to see the blink feature used on a web page.

20

Freeme and Madmax bring the real hard to get deals. I’ve run 2 group buys in the past and they are a pain in the backside. Even if I got a few percent as a finder’s fee (which I did not) it’d still not have covered my time doing it.