Group inviters, die.

Automatic group inviters that pester me before anything's even rezzed? Just die. Please.

Thanks.

Everytime you get an invite, just mute them. Next time you are there it'll be silent.

Hey i do not know why i did not think of that.

Next time i go to the adiXXion sim i am going mute crazy.

Of course some objects can't be muted....some talking joints for example. But I think muting the owner works.

I believe automatic group invites like that have to come from bots, so muting them should work just fine.

-Atashi

I've managed to avoid shopping at places that automatically invite you to groups, with two exceptions, but I knew I'd be joining those groups before I ever purchased.

Also, if a shop auto invited you, write the owner of the store a message that you will refrain from buying and promoting there until they remove it.

Hit them where their crisis is, and they obey.

Some repeat the group invite every time you're there, regardless of your joining status. Two places I can't mute because that would mute the owner and I would not get other messages I need to see. And finally, muting does not stop the friggin blue dropdown boxes that ask you every friggin time you get there if you'd like a landmark, or a notecard, or a freebie, or footmassage... or whatever. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

As much as I side with muting the stupid auto-group joiners, consider something else before you mute the owner. I seem to remember sales not being able to go through in some situations after the owner had been muted. :?

What do you guys think of what we do. There's no auto invite when people arrive but if you click on one of the parcel display boards you get an invite. Actually, we're not doing it right now I had to shut the bot down to fix some stuff.

Obviously it does all the usual stuff like avoid reinviting you if you're a member or if you've already been invited recently.

Yeah, I'd say that's ok, as long as it isn't spammy. I'd rather a separate thing to click specifically to join the group, however.

Well, if your display board says, "Click here for group invite and make more information available," then no one has any reason to complain. They click fully knowing what to expect, which is more than what I can say about buying something and getting an invite.

And it's great that you don't have it mindlessly repeat invite!

Ah, well, it doesn't you see. It says "click here for more information about renting this parcel" and then you click and you get the info but you get the group invite as well.

Truth be told there's no benefit to being in the group. I just like collecting names.

That's what mine does - the sign just says basically "Click here to join the group" and if you click it, you get a group invite. It doesn't send anything else, not even a notecard or say anything in open chat. It does send an IM to the person saying they should receive the invite shortly, so they know the click has been 'registered'.

If they don't click the sign, nothing happens at all.

-Atashi

At my place there is a group inviter next to the money chairs (membership needed for them). It must be clicked to join, and however the group is quite large, I often wonder what the use is No idea if the people using the money chairs, eventually will come to the store when I publish my new releases.

Furthermore there are 2 boards (1 at entrance, 1 in the shop) to join my hippogroup. Those must be clicked to join as well, and are much more useful as people choose to join for product updates/releases.

Whenever I go to a place where the blue popup comes, it annoys me. Does not keep me from buying if I want the stuff, but I hardly believe anyone joins by it. Especially since the popup comes before anything is rezzed

Generally when I encounter the blue group join drop down boxes (I seem to notice these more at dance venues), that's the last time I go there.

If that's the most troublesome part of your SL day, then you lead a Blessed SL Life

It's part of running a successful SL business. It's a tool that should be used if you are serious about conducting business in SL.

I used to hate them, myself, before I had a store - but if I receive one now, I know that the shop owner or dance club is on top of things and taking advantage of helpful marketing tools and trying their best to build their business. If you leave this step out - you are missing the boat.

If you visit my store, you will receive a group invite within 24 hours. I do not use an automatic inviter, I plug each name in by hand to invite. Time consuming, yes - but that way, if someone had requested not to be invited again, their name is on a list of Do Not Invite again names. Also - if I see the name pop up again the next day, and they have not joined group, I leave them alone, and don't send another. Even with over 100 visitors each day, I do remember names, as most of them are quite unique (to say the least).

But here's an interesting tid bit. After 6 months and thousands of invites, only ONE person has asked not to be invited again, and she was very sweet about it, and we had a very nice conversation. I don't even have to keep a running list - her name is in my head. Also remains in my head as an example of someone who was extremely polite. A handful of people have asked "why" they received the invite, and I explain it was because they visited the store, explain what the group has to offer....and they join...no hostilities at all.

Without that tool - I would not have close to 500 group members which generate 75% of my business, so go easy on the business owners who have a passion for aggressively promoting and building their business.

I personally do not care to hear Tummies Talking....but I don't go off on the "mother-to-be", as she is simply passionate about her SL Experience and maximizing it....(just like the passionate business owners are)....and it's not going to wreak havoc with my SL Day

I do that with people who run "copybot protectors".

I get accused of wanting to run copybots. I also, if I happen to be an NPIOF Argent, get accused of *being* a copybot. I don't know how smart they think copybots are, but sheesh.

I don't imagine that they will care about people griping about other kinds of spam.

Personally I like being asked if I want to join a group but most times the join request gets sent to me rudely without so much as a "hello" and I normally refuse it. On the rare occasions when someone actually takes the time to ask if I want to join I usually am so surprised that I will actually join... even if I really don't want to.

I do that with people who run "copybot protectors".

I get accused of wanting to run copybots. I also, if I happen to be an NPIOF Argent, get accused of *being* a copybot. I don't know how smart they think copybots are, but sheesh.

I don't imagine that they will care about people griping about other kinds of spam.
I have a store, and I don't spam people. Maybe I'd be more successful if I spammed them, made my products chat on zero when you teleport in, and ran 6 or 8 traffic bots, but I am not convinced and even if so I would consider all that an unacceptable cost of doing business.

Most people who don't like spam will just not do business with you. They won't tell you. Especially when they've asked a few business owners to quit spamming and gotten a bunch of obscenities in response.

I understand your thoughts, Argent, but rather than taking a few sentences here to make a judgment........

I invite you to the store, to have a look around, to consider the whole picture, and to see what you think about how I do business, and if you feel uncomfortable there, please let me know....the store is about as spam free as you can get, unless you get mad at the random gift giver tossing you nice gifts....(I've not had any complaints - except for Bernie the St. Bernard greeter because he slurps and snores loudly)......and I promise not to send you a group invite after you've been there

Without encouraging new group members, and not working constantly to take care of the group members I already have, I would not have a business in SL. They are very simply the reason I am here and having a successful business experience and enjoying the experience, so I will continue to send the invites. Many more have thanked me for the invite after they joined group, than the one who asked politely not to be invited, so I consider it a crucial store function for any successful business.

That's your opinion, Mickey, and you're entitled to it, but there's more than one way to run a business in SL. I'll stick to Jojo's advice, tyvm, as she tends toward the positive and doesn't take jabs where none are needed.

hmmm....I didn't consider that a jab, but just a reminder to count your blessings for what you do experience in SL...and that seeing a little blue box jump on screen for a second or hearing a Tummy Talk is not necessarily going to wreck your day.

But thank you for the Jabbing Reminder....duly noted with your example

This isn't about your store, website, product, attitude, personality, or anything else that I could learn from visiting your store.

My comment is about whether being a business owner should have anything to do with whether you believe spam is acceptable.

I've had the same discussion with people who use traffic bots, who use copybot protectors, who send out email spam, who post spam to newsgroups. They all believe that it's essential to the success of their business.

First, I would not keep my business in operation if I had to spam people to stay solvent. I don't believe it's appropriate behavior, no matter what the medium, no matter what the perceived benefits.

Second, I don't believe it's necessary. I've never been spammed by the people running the most successful stores I visit. There's a few store groups I stay in, despite the 25 group limit, and none of the businesses involved have spammed invitations, and all of them have far more than 750 members. One just had a party recently (on their own sim) after passing 3,000 members. To join her group you have to be invited, and it can be a bit hard to find the group inviter... it's not a big obvious in-your-face prim, it's a little box against the wall next to the stuffed llama. And then you have to wait a couple of days, usually, to join. When there's a group gift out, you have to wait until it's taken down... and almost every time I visit the store there's people asking how to join the group.

If it's possible to get that kind of response when it takes some effort to join, I really doubt it's necessary to spam people trying to get them onboard.

I don't join store groups usually, but in general I don't like unsolicited group invites. I prefer the "Click Me" signs.