Banned for Spam

[bobbyk45248]

Anort3 banned me, was my first time helping people on here.

My display name was Bobs Onsite Computer Repair in Cincinnati Ohio

Did I help too many people too quickly or was I banned because I used my company name and location as my display name?

If the latter is the case, how bout just asking to change my name?

I definitely didn't spam anything. I simply was trying to help people with motherboard problems.

Can a moderator please respond to what the deal is?

For my first time using Tom's Hardware and only trying to help people, I have a very bad taste in my mouth, not to mention Anort3 wouldn't reply to me response asking him why I was banned?

Thank you.

 

[Hamperking68]

You would probably have more luck messaging an Admin of Toms Hardware

This doesn't really need to be public.

http://www.tomshardware.com/community/profile-2199259.htm

 

[Deleted member 217926]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2083474/read-forum-rules-styling-posts.html


Please don't...

• Spam or encourage spam. Commercial spam is handled with a zero tolerance policy. No posting links to any commercial service or product if you are personally affiliated. OEMs are present, but indicated expressly as "Official Representatives". No posts to advertise or promote.

Changing usernames is not an option with our current forum software. I received no message from you outside of this post ( actually I got a PM from another user) to reply to.

If you legitimately want to be a member of the forums and help people we will be glad to have you. If you want to advertise a business this is the wrong place.

If you feel you need to talk to an admin please contact our assistant community manager _Johnny5 at the link HamperKing was nice enough to provide. He'll be glad to reiterate our official policies for you.

 

[ssddx]

if you were looking for a second opinion then i am sorry but i must reiterate what anort3 stated. any of the other moderators or staff will say very much the same thing.

that previous username is definitely an advertising attempt. you not only listed the store name but even the town it was in. a quick google search can easily push customers to you. if that does not classify as trying to push out a name and drum up business i don't know what else would. as anort3 stated quoting the rules we have a zero tolerance for advertising spam given the amount of it we receive.

looking at your post history however seems to be fairly typical. you mention that you are a tech but have not tried to advertise from what i have read. if you want to continue to help members in this way and not advertise then you are more than welcome to do so.

unfortunately name changes are not possible in the forum software currently. banning inappropriate usernames and having users create a new account would be the only solution we can enforce.

while i agree you may have a bad taste in your mouth, that could have been avoided by reading the rules. i think you should have known self-promoting or advertising are no-go on most forums though.

 

[bobbyk45248]

Thank you. When I read banned for spam, I was thinking me posting advertising or flooding the server. I did read the forum rules and did not see specifically anything about bad user names but I did not read the TOS.

I did think it would be a good way to help people and at the same time, if people were local, it could drive a little business to me for issues not able to be resolved. Just being honest.

I was looking for a way to earn some respect and trust through my answers and something possibly in return.

It's OK for the big boys to use their company names though (example Corsair). Not fair at all. The little guys don't get any love and aren't treated the same. It should be no company names at all or everyone can use their company name, but I am sure they pay the big bucks to your site in some manner. I won't be hanging here anymore.

Thank you for the answer to my issue and good day.

 

[Rogue Leader]

It's OK for the big boys to use their company names though (example Corsair). Not fair at all. The little guys don't get any love and aren't treated the same. It should be no company names at all or everyone can use their company name, but I am sure they pay the big bucks to your site in some manner. I won't be hanging here anymore.

Thank you for the answer to my issue and good day.

While you may feel this way, Corsair, WD, G-skill, etc company reps work re-actively on this site. Ie they respond to technical support issues with their products that the user already owns. They do not reply to threads where someone asks "I'm picking between a Seagate and a WD hard drive which is better" etc. So yes, it is fair, despite how you may see it. In your case you may be motivated to shoot down solutions or maybe not give enough information in an attempt for a user to give up trying to fix it themself and bring it to you. And what better place to do it but the largest tech site in the world, one that costs quite a bit of money to run. Meanwhile we have many other users whom have a similar business to yours that never mention it once, nor have it in their username.

You are more than welcome to pay for such advertising here through the parent company, however its more than fair for you to be advised and prevented against using the site for your own personal gain.

 

[g-unit1111]

It's OK for the big boys to use their company names though (example Corsair). Not fair at all. The little guys don't get any love and aren't treated the same. It should be no company names at all or everyone can use their company name, but I am sure they pay the big bucks to your site in some manner. I won't be hanging here anymore.

Because those companies have official representatives, and they have to apply for that status and comply with a special set of rules to get representative privileges. It does not work for everybody.

 

[Wolfshadw]

I would reiterate, if you want the final word on this, please Private Message our community manager, _Johnny5, using the link provided above. I don't think anyone would complain if you used the screen name, "BobbyK45248" (yes, I do realize that is the Cincy Zip Code) to assist the community with their computer issues, so long as you stay away from advertising your business.

-Wolf sends