Traffic Bots Against the TOS of LL?

Actually it's not - not when it comes from me, and I completely with Ciaran about it. I have gone out of my way and asked strangers in my store about this very thing, and not one of them has said a single word against it. Every one of them has been happy enough with it. As with all polls, a sample is all it needs to get the general picture.

Err you mean this part:

"The fraud comes in when those picks are used in ranking to imply that the parcel paying for the picks is somehow more worthy of ranking than another parcel."

As I said, someone has decided that the parcel is more worthy than another, that's why they've chosen to put them in their picks. This really isn't a difficult concept to follow.

Far more people happily go about buying products or services than they do moaning about traffic bots. If it was such an issue of national importance, hardly anyone would be selling anything.

I have been to your store and had no clue about any traffic bots, until I got flamed because I went to your store (was awhile back now)

I actually visited a few other stores before yours, but found what I wanted at your store

I couldn't care less if you or anyone else uses bots to raise your traffic score

the only time bots inpact me is when I can not log in due to high logins, and I think... if all the bots were gone just how many of us humans could log in

would be nice to know (ball park figure) just how many bots are logged in at any given time....

as I said over all I don't care about bots, until it directly impacts me (and so far knock on wood, that has only been once that I could not log in)

Gimme a break!

Read back your own words to see who is talking from their behind. I could not are less why the majority is not interested but they are not. No matter how happy it would make you if they were, they are not. But feel free to educate them. In fact, these threads are educating them. See how many join in saying they dislike bots/picks camping? If they cared so much, don't you think they would?

The great majority is silent, and just wants to use this platform as they see fit. A few thousand users join the forums. A few hundred decide to post. A dozen speaks out against bots. Yet they speak, as if the whole community is against it. Well I have news: they are not. A minority is opposed, a minority is not opposed, and a majority does not are. That is what the figures say. These topics, and in-world sales prove that more then enough.

Store owner : "Hi there! Do you think that I'm a bastard for using traffic bots?"
Polite customer: "No"
Store owner : "Hi there! Do you think that I'm a bastard for using traffic bots?"
Polite customer: "No"
Store owner : "Hi there! Do you think that I'm a bastard for using traffic bots?"
Polite customer: "No"
Store owner : "Hi there! Do you think that I'm a bastard for using traffic bots?"
Polite customer: "No"
Store owner : "Hi there! Do you think that I'm a bastard for using traffic bots?"
Polite customer: "No"


Based on this sample, the vast majority of people do not think that the store owner is a bastard for using traffic bots.

If ALL Search was used properly that wouldn't happen too easily as all listed sale objects are on page 2 of that search listing. It doesn't take long to go down the list and find the product name you're looking for. If people are too lazy to do that.....more fool them!

Nope, what you had said was:
"If someone sees the reward they receive as worthy of putting the place in their picks.."

The reward is what is worthy to them, not the parcel itself

Have they fixed the issue whereby there was a limit on how many items appeared in the search results?

If you thought you weren't doing anything wrong, why wouldn't you want to express your opinion?




So the fabricated number IS the true number?????... wow, why didn't I think of that.

Slavery IS Freedom ... of course!!!!

Yes but that's what picks are, personal choices. The reward offers added value for that parcel for the person choosing to place the pick on their profile.

If a parcel is offering paid picks and an individual really doesn't like the parcel, then they won't sign up to the paid picks for that parcel. They have that choice.

I get your point Sling, you're saying that a pick doesn't mean a parcel is superior, but that's not what picks are, picks are individual choices, they have always been individual choices.

No that was not the point you were trying to make initially. People against using traffic as a metric are indeed not a minority, about everyone says that. Including people like Phil and me. You were talking about people opposing the gaming of traffic, that is something different. That IS a minority.

Once more, because some people keep thinking that GSA is not fit: Search All beats all other forms of SL search so far. So it was a good decision from LL. The fact that the results an be influenced to a certain degree is part or it, like any search engine an be influenced.

Firstly, i don't use either traffic bots or camping bots.....and yes i'd like to see the end of them too!. As it's not against LL TOS for the moment, we just have to live with them and make our own purchasing choices. Calling it fraud is a bit extreme.....misleading...maybe!
The "maybe" only comes into play if they don't actually sell the product for the Keyword used.

I have SL businesses that compete directly with those that choose to load their SIMs with traffic bots. Needless to say, i'm off the radar when it comes to Places Search for most of the popular keywords relating to my sector. I don't condemn my competitors for using the tools to enhance their own visibility and ultimately their sales.....fair play to them, that's obviously one of their key marketing stratagies. I chose my own way which was a different route.

You got flamed for it? Some people should learn to look after their own own little part of SL and leave others to look after theirs. People from here do come to my store and buy things.

That's good to know Raorth

I don't believe that ever happens. It's what people shout about here when logins are restricted because their understanding has been misled by the vocal ones here, but I don't believe that it's ever bots that cause logins to be restricted, and dumping them out won't allow anyone to get in.

I'd like to know that too. I am sure that it's a lot less than the 20,000 wishful thinking figure that's been mentioned in this thread. My thinking is this:-

The lowest concurrency that I see these days (when I get up in the mornings, and the U.S side is asleep) is in the low 30ks. Most of the world is awake at that time, so I don't think it's unreasonable to suppose that most of them are people. I'd be very surprised if there are anywhere near 10k bots.

it is not a matter of doing something right or wrong

it is a matter of being attacked by those who think it is wrong

That is why I THINK many folks do not speak out about being pro traffic bot
If someone is ok with it then obviously they do not think it is wrong, however that will not change the fact that if they were to speak out about it, others who are anti traffic bot, would rip them to shreds (and they would, we all know that ppl love to attack others around here)

"Artificially inflated" is the term you're looking for

Do try to to write things with a semblance of sense, Sling.

That was me misinterpreting something right at the very start. It wasn't true.

even if there were 10K bots, yes if they were removed, that would allow space for 10K humans

that is all I was saying

I was not saying bots are causing the high concurency, just that when I (a paying customer with 2 premium accounts and tier) can not get it, my first thought is, why can't I switch places with a bot (cuz we all know bots are in world and that they are well... bots)


that is my only issue with bots (of any type, not just traffic bots) be they group invite bots, model bots, camping bots, or whatever else there is.

Ah right, I just noticed last time I was in your store that you don't have everything set to show in search.

You can't draw any conclusions about how the majority of people feel about the issue from these forum threads or from asking a small amount of people in world. To claim otherwise is absurd. Considering those making the claim that most people don't care do so in the name of justifying their own behavior what else are they going to say? In these threads we get exactly what any logical person would expect from the pro-bot camp - self-serving justification and nothing more.

I guess, yeah, I sat on my ass and wrote http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/SVC-633 , back before they announced the GSA choice.

Really, I pretty much have no dog in this fight: I've no aspirations to "win" the search game, so I guess that makes me one of those losers by default. But somehow, just aesthetically, I'd kinda prefer that the results I get when I do a search be based on something valid, and that the winners be determined by something not entirely artificial.

Remember what happened to Bella in the previous bots thread? She was just a normal user who stated that she couldn't care less about traffic bots, and they ripped into her. They even suggested that she might be me, and she was a complete stranger to me.

I could be wrong, but I don't think they have that effect Rhaorth. Some bots hammer the system, but well used traffic bots don't. The system creaks when large numbers of real people are in and hammering the system. That's my understanding, anyway.

That's right. I list a few examples of each type of product. I have close to 1000 items, and that would make a hell of a page for people to look through. They just wouldn't do it. And to make it easier for people, I have the items listed in type groups rather than all jumbled up.