Whisper campaigns on the SL forums and trust networks

Since I didn't phrase it as a question and because people get angry rather than contribute interesting debate - it got moved to off topic.


So - I'm trying again.

Obviously people can and will pose questions in the general forum regarding products in the SL marketplace. These can sometimes be sincere, and sometimes they can be simply be posed by alternate users who then follow up with a clarification .. ala instant product marketing in the general forums.

How to stop?

Number of ways:

1. Move to blogosphere so people can subscribe to thread writers they are interested in
2. Integrate the trust network(friends and/or friends of friends, etc) from SL into the forums so people can see who they trust and who they do not

Any other thoughts / ideas?

Couldn't we trust the community to monitor themselves? It will become pretty obvious pretty quickly if one alt keeps asking about products and then the main keeps answering that alt. I don't think i have ran across many postings like that you are describing either. Most of them i assume to be real questions. And even if the main responds with their own store locations and such, whats to stop any competition from posting their store locations as well?

I really do wish you would stop trying to make mountains of molehills. Sometimes, people just find something interesting and want others to know about it. To attempt to call all such things 'advertising' is disingenuous at best.

Of course, if there is some serious rash of commercial posting here, and I'm just not seeing it, please do feel free to point it out. By post, of course. Links. Thanks.

I honestly think this is a solution looking for a problem. People are not so easily manipulated, especially on an ongoing basis. It becomes apparent pretty quickly when this is happening, and even then, it is so minor and has the opposite intended effect. Those who use alts in an abusive way such as this probably think it is an effective marketing technique, but I don't see it as really having any noticeable impact, or even remotely being a problem on any kind of scale worth worrying about.

Heh heh OK

Considering I make a living doing this, I find the opinions here pretty interesting. It only shows me how effective it really is.

Thanks guys

blaze, serious question: do you think there are such things as negative whisper campaigns?

Not entirely sure what you're asking.

I do know, for example, that when Kriss Kritter bumped my atomic bomb thread I sold like 5 of them in one day. There was plenty of negative commentary in that thread.


I am completely innocent on that one though.

It would be an interesting experiment. Create a product, list it under an ALT, and then we as users could debate / argue about the merits in the general forums and see what effect it has on sales.

I mean, say instead of wanting to promote a person and/or business, a person were to do the reverse via a whisper campaign?

Well, that was my point. The Atom Bomb Thread had lots of negative things to say about me, yet sales still rose.

I find it highly distasteful when people run out of stuff to rant about, and begin manufacturing controversy.

Dude, you didn't remove the accusation.

Another idea I had was to move all product questions to a product discussions forum.

Do I think it happens? Sure.

Do I care enough to think it requires a solution? No.

You should have seen the fun stuff that was there before. Involved the outing of your alts, so I removed it.

As it is, I merely stated what everyone here can see. When you become bored, you begin fabricating issues to rant, rave and pontificate about. It's the epitome of trolling.

Here's the standard blaze strategy:

1. Post something either with an alt or with the primary account that fits today's rant objective.
2. Assume that this post is representative of SL as a whole.
3. Having thus assumed that there is a problem, begin complaining about it vociferously to raise awareness of the newly fabricated problem.
4. Convince a couple of people that the problem is real.
5. Once this support has been connived, retreat to bask in your superior intellect for having once again saved us from ourselves/them/barons/banks/advertisers/everyone.

Agreed, my personal favorite was "What about automated spamming of the pictures on the home page?" which was just so happened was made possible by the macro program she just happened to create. Classic stuff, really.

I would have to agree w/ most of the points made here.
Does it happen? probably,
Do I care yet? nah......not at this point
If it becomes blatent and frequent will I notice? yep most folks here aren't dumb

But clarify the statement U made that I quoted above, maybe I'm interpreting this wrong but are U suggesting that we all be privy to who is friends w/ who in game? Thus I can either support or dismiss anothers veiws based on if I do or do not like their friends?

Or one could also say.....the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Yah know, you guys are making me vain! I'm starting to think this is all about me

Alas, you would never know which YOU it was about.

im begining to think blaze is just a figment of my imagination