Just got a warning for having my BC URL in my signature :(

[Raichi]

I don't understand, people have been putting their BC entries in their url for ages, and now all of a sudden I get a warning for it?

Official Warning from The Neopets Team

 

You have received an official warning from the Neopets Team for violating the Neopets Terms and Conditions. Do not spam (or encourage others to spam) the message boards, guild boards, or other site areas. This includes off topic boards, or making multiple boards with the same topic in a short time span. Posting topics simply to try and get the most replies is spamming. This includes advertising for your Beauty Contest entry on any boards outside the Art board.

 

The following is the message(s) that caused you to receive this warning. Any profanity, inappropriate language, or bad acronyms have been replaced with asterisks (****):

[fontc=#00FF00f=tahoma]Agent Y97 kindly requesting your vote[p][fontc=black] Good luck :) [p][ <BR> <BR>------------------------- <BR>]*xweetok* http://www.neopets.com/beauty/details.phtml?pet=Zinnia2597 *xweetok*

If you continue to break the rules, your account will be permanently frozen. To see a list of Neo Rules, please visit http://www.neopets.com/chatrules.phtml. Please do not reply to this NeoMessage.

 

 

What do I do now? Forfeit on advertising and this not get gold?

Did anyone else recently get a warning for wishing a pound board good luck?

 

I just don't understand since I didn't really break any rules! I didn't ask for votes outside the pound board, I just wished someone good luck, the asking is simply my font.

 

Just... someone please help me out here, I don't want to lose another account...

Why does TNT always give me unfair warnings... :(

 

I'm so clueless, I really need to know what to do, it's so unfair if I now have to remove my url from my signature or no longer visit the pound boards simply because I'm entered in the BC.

WHILST other people freely bump the pound boards WITHOUT getting unfair warnings.

 

I really didn't break any rules ;_; this is how people have been doing it for years now!

[Atta]

Is the pet on the same account that you are advertising from?

I can't use the Neoboards, so I'm not quite 100% sure about the rules.
But I have heard that you can only advertise Beauty contest entries from the account that the Neopet is entered on.

[Raichi]

Yes, besides, the account the pet is entered on is the only account that has that signature :O

 

I didn't even risk asking for votes on my main account's guild, that's how carefully I thread...

[Lamppost]

Maybe TNT is interpreting the rules to mean you can't ask in your signature. If it's in your signature, it still appears on the other boards, so I could see an interpretation where that counts and is against the rules.

 

I think your only option is to try to comply. You could also ask about it in the editorial, if you wanted, and report anyone who is violating the rules to try to make sure it's a fair playing field. Complying with the rules should not cost you a trophy because everyone else should be complying with the same rules.

[Xepha]

Pound chaters are very sick of people begging for votes in their signatures. They get their share of spam already... so someone probably just reported you. Next time, try to add a bit more to the conversation as to not sound spammy.

[Raichi]

I usually do add a little message, but most pound chatters are actually glad to finally see someone bump their board after bumping their own for 3 pages >.>;;;

 

So I don't understand why people are always talking about how they hate it, because I've never actually met someone who hated it. I think people are just assuming it and the people who dislike bc spam are a great minority.

[Xepha]

Well, even if they are a minority... it only takes one to report you and lead to this situation.

[Nataluna]

the way i see it, is TNT have bolded for you "Agent Y97 kindly requesting your vote" as the section violating the T & C in their mind.

 

you are directly requesting the vote in your siggy, which is kinda spammy, and you are propositioning a person directly with your signature, which violates the warning bit which says "This includes advertising for your Beauty Contest entry on any boards outside the Art board."

 

most BC signatures i see just have the BC link in their signature, and the person directly requests with their post, or usually posts a simple good luck without referencing their signature.

 

and like Xepha said, not everyone appreciates BC spam, i know people who will not vote for BC spam, and some who actually put in their board posts: no BC spam. some people welcome it, and put it in their first post too, but it does only take out person to be offended for you to get warned.

 

its why i usually chat on a side, so i can legitimately say i can't vote. i personally only vote if i actually do like the art, not because someone gave me a bump.

[Rune Valentine]

You will notice people who ask for BC votes usually word it as "Spare a vote?" instead of literally asking for a vote. I'm not sure why one is okay and the other isn't, but it's how TNT likes their rules and how someone found a loophole to report you. Probably just be more careful next time in how you phrase things. TNT has a lot of weird rules and workarounds, not all of which are easy to follow :P

[Raichi]

So if I change kindly requesting your vote to spare a vote I won't get warned? :O

[Nataluna]

maybe?

 

its probably worth changing it at least, but we don't know exactly what the moderating team will consider not spam sorry :(

 

but you would be better off to change it or remove it definitely, it may be worthwhile trying to clarify this either through an editorial or by asking for help on the Art boards :)

 

good luck with the BC regardless ^_^

[serein]

Ah, that's weird. I haven't entered the BC in a while (almost a year) but I would also wish good luck to people on the PC/AC/etc with my link in my signature, and I never was in trouble for it. :/ I would submit a ticket and try to explain it was your signature - maybe they assumed it was in your actual post.

[Raichi]

I did so.. I sent them this ticket..

Issue Type: Warnings and Suspensions

Summary: Warning for Spam

Regarding Username:

Have you purchased NC?: No

When you received your warning or infraction: 29/3/2013 06:12pm

Further explanation, additional details: The message that caused my warning was that I was wishing someone good luck in the pound chat.

 

The warning explanation indicated that I was either spamming or advertising my Beauty Contest entry outside the Art boards.

 

My message was good luck which cant possibly be considered spam.

 

And I wasnt advertising my beauty contest entry either, to do that I would have to say please vote for me in the BC

 

Its not against the rules to put your beauty contest entry in your signature, or text in your font. And if its frowned upon to have please vote as part of your font, please make it against the rules.

 

I humbly request for you to revoke my warning and give me a personal response. (I really dislike computer generated responses)

Now. The ticket status is and remains OPEN, so it means it's not completely sorted yet I guess.

 

BUT I did receive this neomail:

You were sent the attachment with your offending text as an example to help you better understand which rules were broken, and why that behavior is unacceptable. Quoting any message that contains examples of rule breaking can and likely will get you warned again! Saying someone else said it, and then saying it yourself is still the same thing.

Which is just a computer generated mail stating that in the official warning they quoted the message that got me in trouble(aka the message where I said "good luck") and that I'll have to make due with that.

 

Now I request people to please don't judge my ticket. I am who I am, I've tried to be as polite/formal as possible. It just doesn't come as easy to me as it might come to you.

[siniri]

I would send in a question to the editorial asking for clarification on whether it's still okay to put BC links in your signature, and clarification on when it becomes "spam." Because it's not clear, and TNT likes to spell things out.

[Raichi]

Thanks, I might just do that ;_; still upset about the way my ticket got treated. Sending me computer generated messages after I specifically asked not to -Psh

[siniri]

Well, yes, ticket answers are often cut-and-paste (it makes sense given the immense workload), but TNT claims that a human being decides which answer to cut and paste. You could also re-open the ticket, again explaining it was in your signature, and citing the editorial that said having it in your signature is allowed, which is why you're confused.

[jefferey]

I would just stop posting on neoboards altogether. Twice now, I've been unfairly frozen for using the neoboards. Someone must have reported you, or something. We all know how it goes... some pathetic mod decides to abuse their power and warn/freeze someone for doing absolutely nothing wrong.

[Raichi]

But it's kind of impossible to get votes in the BC without posting on the boards :O

And the ticket is still open for some reason :O so it's not like they closed it.

 

Perhaps they're having a big meeting about it soon... hmmm... or it's just one of those tickets they leave open forever. I've had a bunch of those before.