Wedding Forum - Why are links banned?...

Please don't hate me, but why are we banned from posting links?

I could understand advertising being banned but it can be a right pain in the neck if you're trying to be helpful (or someone else is) and you have to go searching about on other people's walls to find the link they're talking about.

I've never before come across a forum with this rule, so it is a bit of an oddity to UKB.

I never really understood that either..you're not advertising..I'd want a cut of their profits if I was lol I just use the chat thingy and send links that way. It's loads easier. If you copy and paste the link they can click on it immediately. I have sent pics, music, all sorts to my friends on here x

post links on your own wall it's easier and just tell people it's on there :)

I delete all ads on my wall, and block the companies so they can't leave anymore!

I know it was suggested about a year or so ago when new ideas were given to IT Man that we could possibly have a thread where we could post all links to and what they were for so that all members of this forum could access it as it is sometimes difficult to recall links you have used if you havent saved them yourself. But as yet this hasnt happened and cant remember now if it was agreed upon.

The whole NO LINK in the forum rule came about because of advertising...............companies were leaving links and because of advertising we were deleteing them. Members were leaving links of friends companies (some of which do advertise on here some that dont) as well as companies they had found and they were getting left there.
But because we were deleting some and not others the people that pay to advertise were complaining that some people were getting FREE advertising. (A company could join as a bride and say ooooo ive found this great site heres the link, check it out and we wouldnt know that they were the owner of said company).
So UKBRIDE thought the only way around this was to BAN ALL links IN THE FORUM, which is why you can post to your or other's walls (advertisers cant do this unless they pay then its an automatic thing).

As for the advertising on your walls this is what companies are paying their £36 a month for, so it wont stop but you can delete the ones you dont want (only the companies in your area will be on your wall) and even ban them from coming back if you want too.

Here's what it says in the rule thread.........


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ADVERTISING AND LINKS
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Advertising of a business, product or supplier is not permitted on the UKbride forum. Only brides to be may make use of the forum with the only exception being UKbride experts. These are experts in their fields who are there to offer impartial advice to forum users. These suppliers can be identified by a badge on the forum that says “UKbride Expert”. These carefully selected experts are entitled to use real world examples drawn from their own experience to answer questions, but not to blatantly advertise their own business. For example: "We at XYZ photography generally find that most brides spend upwards to £1000 on their photography - this would be a realistic figure to put into your budget. "



NO links of any kind are to be posted in the forum, if you want to share something youve found, then please by all means let ppl know in the forum but post the link to the profile wall of those who would like to look or on your own. This is because we had ppl questioning why we could post some links but not others. To stop the confusion we at UKBRIDE decided ALL links would be banned in the forum.

All advertising and links will be DELETED by the moderators!

Advertising on the forum or blatant advertising on members walls or through pm is also not tolerated.
This includes promoting friends/relatives businesses. Tell the person asking that you know someone then post on their wall NOT on the forum.

No names of other sites/companies/shops that do the things ukbride does will not be permitted, ie if you find another site that has the same wedding tools that we do then you may post to ppls walls IF asked but do not name in the forum.
Well known sites like facebook and ebay can be used in convo but NO links to them may be used (most ppl use nicknames for these like bay of e and face ache, which is fine if you wish to do this if unsure).
Also people RECRUITING to other site's is not tolerated and your account MAY be suspended or even deleted.

NO emails are allowed in the forum.............this is for your safety as well as our clients and other members

same here hoxxyhula..my wall is useless..I go straight onto the forum and basically only accept friend requests on my page.

well said barbie86 couldn't agree more.

The reason a blanket ban was chosen was so that the moderators were not accused of bias.

For example... say I used Photographer X, loved his work and recommended him to a few people. Not advertising.
Bride A's brother is Photographer Y. She could say he was wonderful without disclosing he was her brother. Advertising.

However the posts could look identical.

We also had people joining the site to just spam their companies pretending they had used them. Since banning links, this has almost stopped, and can be quickly stamped out. Without this rule the moderators had no basis on which to delete the posts.

It can be annoying for genuine recommendations. However its has meant the forum has run alot smoother. I do browse other wedding forums, and see regular complaints over advertisers.

As for walls- you can delete any posts you don't want.

dove

Dove and June xxxx

spooney has it been that long for u now, looking at it i thinking im getting towards my 2 yr mark lol, but yeah u are right i prefer poting to the person instead as well xx

rachel i think thats what most of us do if we are honest, i know thats what i do lol xxx

I don't really expect it to change, but I wanted a proper explanation as it is a bit of a pest.

Most forums have the ability to ban "IP addresses" - so if someone were to join up just to spam advertise it would be clear who they were and their IP address be banned.

If someone did say "my photographer is fab..............." and it turned out to be their brother. I doubt that they would be making asuggestion in every thread, as they would do it on chat.

9/10 times when suggestion is made, I think ah what the hell I cant be bothered to go here there and everywhere, so I dont end up leaving an opinion or comment.

I always try to see both sides of the coin - If I was an advertiser on here, I wouldnt mind it, as I would be given a direct insight to what the members were looking for, and should it be something that I offer I would contact them directly.

This whole thread has said "we ignore, dont use, ban the ads on our walls" - To me that isnt very cost effective for advertisers. As they are paying for something that we dont use.

Think it is all about balance and getting an average, as what ever way things go, nobody is going to agree.

Maybe the answer is to do a trial run, recruit a few more Mods and try it out. You never know until you try and you cant try unless people make suggestions!

Fab thread!

can i just say that we have had times that a bride has tried to promote thier own business or that of a family member, i can think of one that i discovered afetr doing a bit of dectective work....on the forum it appeared that they were a genuine bride and this was a company they had come across......not so ,
As mods we do not just delete links we sometimes put in a lot of time working out if someone is just reccommeding a company or promoting it for thier own gain .....we do this world quiety and in conjunction with J

All of this is done to make UKB a better site for its memebers

lala xxx