Talk About a Strike to the Heart of What Makes Blogging Oh So Fun
April 25th 2007 13:06
I just got banned from Digg due to 'misuse' of my account, I suppose defending and upholding a democratic system does that to ya (remember what they did to... ah forget it).
What misuse may that be? Would it be the part where I encouraged people to join Digg but emphasized no one exploit it? Would it be the part where I defended Digg despite its mob rule system? Ok, so it's probably the fact I dugg my own blog one too many times, which is where the murky rules of Digg come into play is with the dreaded 'blog spam'.
Not that what I post is spam, I never Digg something that is a duplicate, I do in fact Digg lots of stuff not just for personal gain, and I have/had proof thereof, I be-friend people who Digg my submissions and Digg theres in return (about 99% of all my friends submissions get Dugg). Is it bad to do that? Maybe, not so sure, but I think I was banned because of the 'blog spam'.
Of course it isn't blog spam if it is useful content, I've made it to the front page several times with my blog posts and reached the upcoming list several times, if I were posting spam I wouldn't get that kind of attention, if I am getting attention from friends who just Digg my submissions for the sake of it and I were posting spam I would go off mainstream and submit stuff about penis enlargement, perhaps if I refunded all $20 I made thusfar from reaching the Digg front page three times, or heck, the full $50 I've made through adcents so far to Digg it would justify restoring my account? Because obviously I used Digg as a system of financial gain I owe Digg some commission fees, it can have all my adcents money, I'll get Google to transfer it to them direct. Digg after all isn't breaking even, should help.
I've put up with tons of abuse, crazy random emails from crazy maniacs who think I am either a Sony or Microsoft fanboy (runs either way) throwing death threats at me at worst or calling me a moron at least, all from Digg and I still used Digg, no, I didn't make money from it, at least I don't think $6.50 is worth the full hour it takes me to finish a blog post, polish it and submit it to Digg, get 25,000 hits and death threats/abuse via email or comments.
So what now for me? Will I stop visiting Digg like some folks did/probably have? Hell f'n no! I still like Digg, of course I don't have the popular 'mainstream' opinion of most of Digg (and in hindsight I think I was banned for my numerous pro-Microsoft submissions) so it does get aggravating for me from time to time when I see the wildly differing opinions getting lots of thumbs up but at the end of the day I still mostly enjoy reading what gets to the front page, it really is the best the web has to offer, almost always.
Regarding me getting banned due to 'misuse', I don't think I 'misused' Digg at all, and if I did I'd gladly pay back the few dollars I made through my rampant 'misuse', I don't feel bitter towards Digg's moderators in anyway, or the dude who banned me. Granted I will not setup another account even to comment or Digg stuff since I feel like the effort that went into my last account has been lost and I honestly can't be bothered building it up again, I don't have the time or the motivation anymore (broken spirits and all
).
I might be banned, I might think it's unjust, but to hell with it, I'm not going to just stomp off and say how bad Digg is, Digg is awesome and it always will be, though it will be slightly less awesome without a certain 'linkedList' browsing 'round (not that most Digg members would agree
).
What misuse may that be? Would it be the part where I encouraged people to join Digg but emphasized no one exploit it? Would it be the part where I defended Digg despite its mob rule system? Ok, so it's probably the fact I dugg my own blog one too many times, which is where the murky rules of Digg come into play is with the dreaded 'blog spam'.
Not that what I post is spam, I never Digg something that is a duplicate, I do in fact Digg lots of stuff not just for personal gain, and I have/had proof thereof, I be-friend people who Digg my submissions and Digg theres in return (about 99% of all my friends submissions get Dugg). Is it bad to do that? Maybe, not so sure, but I think I was banned because of the 'blog spam'.
Of course it isn't blog spam if it is useful content, I've made it to the front page several times with my blog posts and reached the upcoming list several times, if I were posting spam I wouldn't get that kind of attention, if I am getting attention from friends who just Digg my submissions for the sake of it and I were posting spam I would go off mainstream and submit stuff about penis enlargement, perhaps if I refunded all $20 I made thusfar from reaching the Digg front page three times, or heck, the full $50 I've made through adcents so far to Digg it would justify restoring my account? Because obviously I used Digg as a system of financial gain I owe Digg some commission fees, it can have all my adcents money, I'll get Google to transfer it to them direct. Digg after all isn't breaking even, should help.
I've put up with tons of abuse, crazy random emails from crazy maniacs who think I am either a Sony or Microsoft fanboy (runs either way) throwing death threats at me at worst or calling me a moron at least, all from Digg and I still used Digg, no, I didn't make money from it, at least I don't think $6.50 is worth the full hour it takes me to finish a blog post, polish it and submit it to Digg, get 25,000 hits and death threats/abuse via email or comments.
So what now for me? Will I stop visiting Digg like some folks did/probably have? Hell f'n no! I still like Digg, of course I don't have the popular 'mainstream' opinion of most of Digg (and in hindsight I think I was banned for my numerous pro-Microsoft submissions) so it does get aggravating for me from time to time when I see the wildly differing opinions getting lots of thumbs up but at the end of the day I still mostly enjoy reading what gets to the front page, it really is the best the web has to offer, almost always.
Regarding me getting banned due to 'misuse', I don't think I 'misused' Digg at all, and if I did I'd gladly pay back the few dollars I made through my rampant 'misuse', I don't feel bitter towards Digg's moderators in anyway, or the dude who banned me. Granted I will not setup another account even to comment or Digg stuff since I feel like the effort that went into my last account has been lost and I honestly can't be bothered building it up again, I don't have the time or the motivation anymore (broken spirits and all
).I might be banned, I might think it's unjust, but to hell with it, I'm not going to just stomp off and say how bad Digg is, Digg is awesome and it always will be, though it will be slightly less awesome without a certain 'linkedList' browsing 'round (not that most Digg members would agree
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Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Seems a bit harsh chopping someone off without specifics.
Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog
If people don't like your content, then they can bury it. F**king simple, really. Your stuff wouldn't make it to the front page if diggers didn't wanna read it.
At least you're not giving up the digg principle.
Grrr...
Comment by Ahmed
techy.Bytes
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Qwerk
Cinema Three
I agree yoda76, makes all the sense in the world to me, the only situation where I see a ban justified is if someone keeps submitting really crappy content really, really fast clearly for monetary self gain.
If I did say 'thats it, I'm leaving Digg forever' it would mean I'm lying because I'd still be visiting the site, so bleh.
I might ask 'em later if/when I feel up to it.
You know what sucks the most? The 'stop watermarking images' thing was doing really well - 7 digg's in 2 hours, they removed it. Damn buggers, that could have made the frontpage!
Maybe the fact I befriend the first bunch of people who Digg my submissions got me banned... oh well
Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog
Comment by Ahmed
techy.Bytes
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Qwerk
Cinema Three
Comment by yoda76
The Tube Blog
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Ahmed
techy.Bytes
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Qwerk
Cinema Three
Most bloggy spam I've ever done is read a three page interview and extract the juicy bits, but thats one of the reasons blogs reach the front page, they take the best of what the internet has to offer and shove it down your throat. So long as they reference their source material I don't see a problem with that.
On the other hand completely nicking an article copy paste style is pathetic.