Bye bye traffic bots

But notice how very specific they were in that: they *only* prohibit Search manipulation by trafficbots. That's it. We honestly can't conclude that they don't even *encourage* the very same manipulation by camping, as long as it doesn't crowd residents out of Mainland parcels.

That's one of the reasons that I suspect this to be a relatively short-term interim measure, meant more to appease the anti-bot crowd than to actually improve Search quality, and that they recognize than their more ambitious goals for Search will require a major rethink of how any traffic-like metric factors in to ranking search results.

Try having a nap and getting up again, Sling. You might be able to understand what is written more clearly - especially in my posts

Or better still - stay asleep. That way, the world will be a much better place. And take Mort to bed with you. He suffers from the same stupidity that you do.

Actually reading the whole blog post, it seems they are looking at search manipulation as a whole...

Bots are really a major system hog compared to the other methods, and as such a bigger target. But they are likely going to work on the rest, some just require changes in the background to be rendered useless.

And by changing how traffic affects things or is handled, camping may go bye bye as well...

Look, bot beget bots. Period.

Getting your store listed on the first page of search results (even at the bottom of the first page) for your store category(ies) makes a big difference in visitors and sales. Without a doubt. And that really sucks but cest la vie, right?

Now that LL is changing things around, this of course will change, but only until someone or group figure out how traffic is being calculated, and then the gaming will commence.

I do not really understand the current argument happening at this point in the thread because LL did declare the practice of using traffic bot "unfair".

Camping probably will not work, who knows. Having people on your land 24/7 cannot hurt can it?

This sounds more like on point with LL reasoning. As well as on point about the Search in need of a major rework.

I've never understood why an extensive freebie area wouldn't be the best way to build traffic.

I remember being a new user. Those places were always packed, and with actual people.

lag

Vienna Freebies solved that with two sims: a freebie sim and a sim with actual shops next to it.

They later cut back massively on the freebies and intermixed the freebie and pay stores, so I guess that scheme didn't work so well for them.

I've said this before and I'll say it again..... The answer is full integration of X Street into the SL Search. Type in "Red Shoes" and search should return you pictures of red shoes and links to the stores they are found at. Having people need to TP to stores to see their wares is a waste of time. Search in SL should work just like a Google search in RL does. Choose web links or images. There should be paid placement ads off to the side that are clearly identified as paid.

Eliminating stores would eliminate a huge chunk of Linden Labs income, because there's not much other reason for most businesses in SL to have significant chunks of land.

Also, the other day, I clicked on a link to XStreet in SL an it took me to XStreet in the in-world browser despite my settings being to always use my external browser. I do NOT appreciate that change.

I didn't say eliminating stores, I said eliminating the need to TP to random places on a list that is entirely gamed so you an see what the store has to offer.

Eliminating an in-world store is a good way to cut your sales in half.

Well said.

I would only add the following ..


(Ordinal's message) , DUH!

A mystery solved...

I invested in bots at the beginning of March. Not dozens to be locked in a skybox...just two. I modeled them after my partner and I,even named them after us,even PARTNERED them...dressed them up as close to us as we could,and set them dancing on a Bits n Bobs slowdance in the middle of my club(which is more of a garden with dance balls scattered in it than an actual building). And,yes,I did it for generating traffic.

By themselves they made my traffic go up from the bare 100 it normally was to 2800. People would see those green dots together,and get curious enough to actually use the landmarks I have been distributing all around SL for months and come dancing themselves...so for the past few months I have been getting on the average 10 unique visitors walking past my visitor counter,and most would summon a partner once they found a place to dance they liked,or just parked themselves in some corner and enjoyed the scene and music.Traffic would rise at times to 3500...enough to put me on the second page of Search,and sometimes on the bottom of the first page. I have no stores or adboards to rent,no real "reason" to want traffic other than I got SICK and TIRED of seeing my place always ignored. I tried advertising...but the only way to get green dots at a place was to have green dots there to begin with...so I tried this. And now I am being punished for it.

Traffic is now ZERO,and will stay that way no matter how many people I have visit. I myself understand the repulsion people have for stacked piles of empty polygonal meat shoved in inaccessable places,all to have traffic in the 6 digits. But what about me? I wanted traffic,but wanted too a small monument to my wife and I where the dance goes on forever...

What do you mean by that? And what do you mean by "being punished for it"?

those aren't bots, those are alts. and i highly doubt LL will come down on you for using them. how does anyone know if they aren't IMing away whilst dancing? i say put them.

If you mean you think you are being punished by having your traffic set to 0, you are mistaken. This is from the Status Blog:-

It's not you - it's the system that's broken temporarily. My traffic is also 0, but it'll come back.

And I agree with 3ring - put them back if you've removed them.

My traffic was 0 most of the day yesterday. I didn't get too upset because we've been through this before.

Today my numbers are back, so apparently they fixed my Sim

Well, if you just want the green dots on the map to attract more green dots, LL is (supposedly) eventually putting a system in place through which you can identify your bots as bots, and no traffic will be applied to them. You won't get the traffic from the bots, but you can have your monument and green dots, and presumably if the green dots attract more green dots, you'll have your traffic.

You should put them back for now - LL is only cracking down on the big bot farmers, it seems, and I doubt they'll come after you for your 2 dancing bots.

I didn't notice mine at 0 yesterday but I musn't have looked. I was much more concerned that SL had screwed up my html page and rankings

Awwww.....how wonderful to think this way. Do you by any chance have a brother?

i have a shrine unto myself on the mainland.

I noticed mine at 0 and a 16 sqm adcutted plot with the same keyword at 200+

Note that mine is a 8192 sqm in a expensive double prim zone lol

Ridicoulous.

Linden Lab does not define what a "bot" is in it's policy.

Any avatar that is on land for the purpose of increasing traffic seems to be illegal under the bot policy.

So if your alt is logged in to your land so you can bump traffic up by a few 100 points, your bot violates the bot policy.

There is nothing in the policy that distinguishes "bot" from "alt." There is nothing in the policy that says "one or two bots is okay."

The policy should not be written so vague that one has to guess at what one must do to comply.

I don't think one has to guess at compliance.

"Am I using automated accounts to increase traffic?"

If so, then dun do dat.