Who Leaves Clubs behind? Have you seen ClubAlert !!

[HomerJSimpson]

Chris you are quite right it is a forum and as such it is open to people to express their views. I am simply expressing my annoyance at being subjigated to spam and sales ploys that i Have no interest in. It is not case of simply ignoring the ones I'm not interested in as many have come on here with banal titles with no hint of the content. Once opened it is clear that the thread is nothing more than a sales pitch.

However as one who has only been on here for 70 or so posts I do find it a tad rich that you have the temerity to lecture me on forum behaviour. Having contributed for several years and been published both on the forum and in GM I think my views are in the most part widely accepted on here. Whether people agree with my point of view or not is their choice and I respect their decision. If you stay on here you will find that there are certain issues (custom fitting etc) that marginalise the forum and provoke heated debates. Words are said and even insults traded but at the end of the day the majority is done with tongue firmly in cheek and where boundaries have been crossed, apologies are always forthcoming both on the main board and via PM

 

[ColinR]

Chris Mc, it seems I am the only one with you on this. An internet forum is exactly that. A place where anyone can post, unless of course it has a restricted membership, which this one doesn't.

The contradiction is amazing, people come on here because they want to use the 'new media' to advertise new products and solutions related to golf, but here that is considered wrong and rude. I would have thought people would be pleased to look into new ideas. But no the rudeness that is expressed back is very harsh indeed.

There is some good stuff on this forum and I have enjoyed contributing, but if you want it to be like a private club, then make it a private club. Don't allow any Joe Public to sign up, do it by assigned username and pass word. Otherwise, grasp what the internet is and all that goes with it.

 

[Imurg]

But the point is this is a CHATROOM not a MARKET. There are other places to advertise. People come on here to chat and have discussions, not to sell things.

Why can't this be understood?

Am I typing a foreign language?

 

[mikeyp74]

Chris & Colin

As you'll see from my profile, i'm very new to this, but i can say since registering i have had some great advice and help from other members. I'm only 34 and hopefully in touch with what the internet represents since my job is in New Media Sales!

I see points on both sides, and to be honest how someone puts there words across is the biggest issue.

There is a for sale/wanted section for exactly that purpose.

I think since these guys have been on here a lot longer than us then they'll have a pretty good reason for giving this kind of stuff short shrift.

Read the advert, and visit the website posted - the guy could have come on here with a totally different approach and maybe left with some good advice.

Better to try keep the forum at a certain level than not to give a [****] i think.

But as you say it is quite simple - if you don't like it, leave.

 

[ColinR]

I am simply expressing my annoyance at being subjigated to spam and sales ploys that i Have no interest in.

Homer you have a very valid point here. But why do you feel you have lay into people, I just don't understand it. If you dont like it, ignore it. Its an internet forum, not the house of lords !!

You seem like a pretty laid back intelligent person. You post some great stuff. However there are posts that you make that I personally have no interest in at all and cant be bothered to read. For that, I dont reply saying 'what a waste of time' etc etc. I just leave it, as not everything will be to my taste. I accept that.

Personally, I'm ok with people coming on here and advertising new things. Its my choice if I do something with it.

 

[Parmo]

SPAM =

Spam prevention and deletions measurably increase the workload of forum administrators and moderators. The amount of time and resources spent keeping a forum spam free contributes significantly to labour cost, and the skill required in the running of a public forum. Marginally profitable or smaller forums may be permanently closed by administrators. Forums that do not require registration are becoming rare.

Hence why many people disagree with Spam. This forum is only part monitored and so leaves it to the members to be responsible for type of forum we all want to use and which would also encourage more noobs to interact and get involved.

GM have done a lot for this forum in terms of testers, publishing threads and giving freebies out not to forget GM golf days out, no other forum or mag is giving as much back to the reader and I think a little respect in terms of what is and is not acceptable is a small price to pay.

The gadget the fella is selling seems pretty good, not for me but the concept is very good and I am sure he will get investors in it. I don't think anyone would have minded if the OP posted in the sales forum, but to post in open chat knowing more people visit is what got members backs up.

Anyway Spam love it or hate it he has achieved what he came to do.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Colin,

I appreciate your comments and for the most part understand what you are saying. However I am not trying to make anything into the "house of lords" and I welcome and value anyones comments on any subject posted on here. What I and the majority of others don't like are people coming on here to sell products. That isn't what the chat part of the forum is for. If they only posted in the for sale section there wouldn't be any huge issue as everyone would be aware it is selling some golfing wares and can make a decision acordingly whether to read it.

What a lot of people don't appreciate is the use of the forum to flog products and services which should really be advertised in GM and paid for via the advertising sales team at the mag (we have had time shares, corporate memberships etc that simply do not belong on a chat forum).

What I and several others have done over time is to try and tell these posters that their approaches aren't always wanted especially as directly as the one that started this thread. We have tried being polite, sarcastic, amusing and even downright direct. In the main most spammers get the point and either resubmit their post into the for sale section or move onto other forums. If they would only come on and at least post a few comments and join in a few threads first they would find they receive a more receptive response.

I am thinking of starting some sort of magazine for the everyday golfer (not what goes on in the pro scene, top amateurs and club matches, but what happens every Saturday in the weekly 4 ball). I came on here and pitched my idea and asked if anyone would contribute or help with setting it up on the web and got a great response on here and via PM. I also blatantly plugged my coach last week as I had one lesson with his and went straight out and wonthe monthly stableford. The point is I merely mentioned my mag and the coach and suggested if they were interested to contribute or use his service. No web links, no phone numbers etc just word of mouth which is the idea of a forum.

I don't want to get into a long flame war and clearly you and I have different ideas about what is acceptible advertising on here. I respect that opinion, but even if I do not respond to the next lot of product promotions, there will be others who feel as strongly as I do and will make those feelings known

 

[Cernunnos]

Not read the whole 3 pages of this thread. But getting onto topic to answer the Spammer...

Nice Idea, (OP) but been done before with little flags in the bag. Can't think of anything naffer than that. The new Club Alert Idea although better is tbh a waste of time & money.

A tip I was given a few years ago is when taking two or more clubs to the side of a green always lay the pin at the side of the clubs you have taken there, meaning when you leave the green you wont risk leaving the wedge, or whatever behind.

Having said this its amazing how many clubs I've found on the course & deposited at the pro-shop for the owner to go & claim. Its the honesty of this golfing nation that means few people need wory about leaving clubs on the course.

I know the original poster has already been lectured to death on this but it is a marketing ploy, meaning post it in the for sale area instead, simple just come clean, yes You(OP) maybe looking for opinions, but its as a way of promoting & for you hopefully selling your wares.

 

[RGuk]

Re: Who Leaves Clubs behind? Have you seen ClubAlert !!

Reply....general....

I'm enjoying this thread and am glad folks are expreesing themselves. I think it's good we've reached 3 pages, not for the OP but because of the "dilema" we are faced with.

I don't like spam, for me it's just the same as all the junk I get through the post and the leeches on society that 'phone me up trying to sell some pointless stuff and invading my family/home/down-time. I deal with this lot by reminding them that by 'phoning they are breaking the rules of the TPS.

I'm on 3 forums and on the other 2 there is NO SPAM. End of. The MAJORITY of users of this forum are in agreement on this and despite rather ugly threads filling this forum and frequent calls for no-first-time-posts, we get nowhere.

But it's a democracy and better to have junk than no forum.

However, I'm intrigued by the OP comment about "wouldn't be welcome at my golf club" or words to that effect. At my club, there are specific rules governing all sorts, it is a microcosm of the democratic world, in that the will of the majority overides the will of the few, for the good of the whole.

Consider the OP as an advert or card at the club. Posted on the "independent" board, it might get seen by the odd person and maybe removed by those that take offence (I wouldn't do this myself). Posted on the main events or notices board, it would a) get taken down and b) be accompanied by a little invite to the committee room.

Perhaps an OP introducing oneself, and offering the opportunity to look at something rather than jumping in feet first on the main board might have proved a different response.

I leave you in the words of our great moral leader.

No offence, but I think you've simply approached this the wrong way...and you're continuing to demonstrate a certain ineptitude for people skills by your replies.

Would you consider it polite to approach a bunch of strangers in a clubhouse with the opening gambit you made? Where was the smalltalk, the introduction? Rather than a bit of foreplay you rushed in with a poorly disguised sales pitch. Having misjudged your target audience you then throw your dummy out of the pram and claim the moral high ground for your own misdemeanors.

What was wrong with "Can you help, guys? I'd really appreciate a bit of feedback." ? Having been told we're not interested you then offer no apologies for bothering us, simply a sleight on the quality of our membership and a dig at our maturity.

 

[Cernunnos]

Re: Who Leaves Clubs behind? Have you seen ClubAlert !!

TBQH IMO...(rofl) rather than jumping in & putting down spammers simply ignore an obvious spampost. Therefore: No replys = No interest, spammer looses interest & moves on, or stays & actually contributes to the forum itself.

 

[cm_qs]

Re: Who Leaves Clubs behind? Have you seen ClubAlert !!

Am I too late?

I would have jumped into this thread on page 1 with a witty diatribe about the evils of spamming......but I left most of my clubs lying about on the course and it took ages to find them all.

If only there were some sort of gadget that could have alerted me to my mislaid clubs....???

 

[USER1999]

Re: Who Leaves Clubs behind? Have you seen ClubAlert !!

The problem with that is that one day, you will turn on your pc, find 80% of new posts are spam, and then just abandon the forum as a waste of time. Then the forum will quietly die.

We don't want or need spammers, but I do feel we could be more polite in our dismissing of them. I know I could be, and maybe this thread has opened my eyes a bit. On the other hand, it takes two, and they could easily angle their requests in a way that didn't immediately annoy us. The fact that they don't, just winds people up.

 

[USER1999]

Re: Who Leaves Clubs behind? Have you seen ClubAlert !!

Sorry, not you Craig, I was reffering to Cernnunos

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Re: Who Leaves Clubs behind? Have you seen ClubAlert !!

The problem is a lot of spams are posted with plain thread titles which means most people click on it out of interest only to discover the whammy that lurks within

 

[RGuk]

Re: Who Leaves Clubs behind? Have you seen ClubAlert !!

TBQH IMO...(rofl) rather than jumping in & putting down spammers simply ignore an obvious spampost. Therefore: No replys = No interest, spammer looses interest & moves on, or stays & actually contributes to the forum itself.

I know - but where's the fun! I think even the most cynical of spammers wouldn't celebrate being torn to pieces. They might see a lot of replies as a good thing, but it's not is it? There is such a thing as negative publicity.
The thing is spammers lose interest either way, it's the fact they spam in the first place.

There's a huge myth in the advertising industry that all exposure is good exposure. I think it might be known as "lowering product hostility" or some equally strange theory. Essentially, it promotes the idea that constant ads (especially on TV) may not have an instant effect but at some point we (the consumer) will remember the product, and might choose it inadvertently because we "know " the name.

However, it won't work on a large percentage of the population, because some of the rubbish claims and intensely annoying ads stick in our minds permanently making us distrust or even hate certain brands.

My girls (including HID) won't go anywhere near some of the biggest advertisers on telly....you know, the likes of L'oreal or Olay or Dove.....they DISTRUST these brands.....I mean, how could anyone trust a brand that extols certain virtues of a product based on the "independent comments of 126 women last March".

The more BULL, the less likely we are to buy. It's simple....but try telling that to a £100k pa. exec....

 

[haplesshacker]

I'll think you'll find that you've just insulted a lot of members on here about being senior.

FYI. When I signed up, I received a warm welcome, was offered advice on questions that I'd posted, and I only started 'banter' when I felt more comfortable with the other members. As in a real life social occassion.

We each have our favourite products that we will give a viewpoint on, even though we will disagree.

There is even a product that we do sell as a company, though others retailers do as well, that I might have happened to mention were damn good on here once or twice. But up until this point I have never said that you can buy them from me. Firstly because if someone really wanted to know where to get them, they'd ask. And secondly, This forum is first and foremost for golfers to talk about golf, not to sell things as a business to other forum users.

If you (ChrisMC) feel that you have been ostricised by our little community, then who really caused that?

I won't fit in with the local chavs, the local Labour party, the football club, the rugby club etc. Do I cry about it, no. I do what pleases me, and as you say if you don't like it you don't have to partake in it. I'm sorry that you feel this way about this forum, but you makes your own choices.

Good luck with the golf though.

Haplesshacker.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

To follow up hapless's point we have a guy on here who produces a well know statistical software package that has advertised in GM and is used by a number of members. He has never plugged it but has offered free online support and advice when asked and goes out of his way not to mention the product unless directl approached so it is possible to have a product people want and use and come on here and behave responsibly

 

[medwayjon]

To follow up hapless's point we have a guy on here who produces a well know statistical software package that has advertised in GM and is used by a number of members. He has never plugged it but has offered free online support and advice when asked and goes out of his way not to mention the product unless directl approached so it is possible to have a product people want and use and come on here and behave responsibly

The man behind gokart has been on here too and he neither was cynically looking for a bit of free advertising, he actually made some sort of valuable contribution.

 

[Parmo]

Jon,
Any particular reason you joined 2 clubs? or is it more of you can? The reason I ask is that I don't belong to one yet let alone two and HID would be marching me up the 1 st fairway to get a refund if I joined a second after splashing out on memberships.

Also Homer who has the software package I wouldnt mind a new one, I use golfshake at the moment.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It is the scoresaver 2 which if you go to the website www.scoresaver.co.uk you can download and trial for a month. It is a one off hit of £35 but there is a discout available.

The guy you need to chat to is Andy and is on here as SS2