Is Recommending a Website Considered Spam?

[justalayman]

Thank you to everyone for all the good advice. I will immediately stop doing this and inform the client that I can no longer do it this way. I'm tempted to take down all the comments that I have posted and refund the client for them. Should I do this?

Yes you should refund all the money you have been paid. You are lousy at your job and should feel bad for accepting any money at all.


As to taking down comments; its up to you. I know many prevent editing after a short time so you may not be able to. I don't understand why you would bother though. I doubt the loss of your post would be a great loss of information to the thread

 

[LdiJ]

Yes you should refund all the money you have been paid. You are lousy at your job and should feel bad for accepting any money at all.


As to taking down comments; its up to you. I know many prevent editing after a short time so you may not be able to. I don't understand why you would bother though. I doubt the loss of your post would be a great loss of information to the thread

I think that he was doing what the client asked him to do...at least that is the way that it reads to me.

 

[quincy]

I think that he was doing what the client asked him to do...at least that is the way that it reads to me.

I read it in a similar way, LdiJ. And I do not think a refund is necessary (at least based on what has been written so far).

It appears Worried1990 might be fumbling a bit with his client-promotion but it is not something that cannot be rectified. Inserting mention of his client's business into a post on a discussion forum is also not the worst sort of spam. Spam, yes, but not blatant like many of the spammers who visit this site.

We have had attorneys visit this site, for example, who will offer good, comprehensive answers to posters' questions and then end their posts with a plug for their law firms. The law firm plugs will be removed from the posts but the good answers stay. The attorneys learn they can provide free advice absent advertisement (which most decide not to do ), or they can pay to advertise on the site (which some decide to do).

Spam is so universally disliked, however, that it is just not a smart way to advertise. There are better ways to promote a business.

 

[LdiJ]

I read it in a similar way, LdiJ. And I do not think a refund is necessary (at least based on what has been written so far).

It appears Worried1990 might be fumbling a bit with his client-promotion but it is not something that cannot be rectified. Inserting mention of his client's business into a post on a discussion forum is also not the worst sort of spam. Spam, yes, but not blatant like many of the spammers who visit this site.

We have had attorneys visit this site, for example, who will offer good, comprehensive answers to posters' questions and then end their posts with a plug for their law firms. The law firm plugs will be removed from the posts but the good answers stay. The attorneys learn they can provide free advice absent advertisement (which most decide not to do ), or they can pay to advertise on the site (which some decide to do).

Spam is so universally disliked, however, that it is just not a smart way to advertise. There are better ways to promote a business.

Once again I absolutely agree.

 

[Worried1990]

I think that he was doing what the client asked him to do...at least that is the way that it reads to me.

That's correct, the client specifically asked me to do it that way.

 

[quincy]

Once again I absolutely agree.

Geez. I think this might be a record of some sort for us, LdiJ.

I am glad both LdiJ and I understood you correctly, Worried1990. I would not worry about how you have promoted the business previously and work to promote it in a different way now.

 

[justalayman]

I think that he was doing what the client asked him to do...at least that is the way that it reads to me.

Quincy knows of my psycho...I mean psychic abilities. I'm not buying it for a minute. I suspect op will be name dropping shortly.

 

[quincy]

Quincy knows of my psycho...I mean psychic abilities. I'm not buying it for a minute. I suspect op will be name dropping shortly.

Hahaha. Ye of little faith, justalayman.

 

[single317dad]

And if it is illegal then the guy that delivers my mail 6 days a week should be in prison instead of stomping on my petunias and the USPS and our local rag should be indicted!

There's a difference there: within the mail system, the advertiser pays the fare to deliver their message via an established, legal, commercial service from the USPS, while on forums, the server owners pay the tab for free advertising that they did not agree to accept or deliver.

I don't like junk mail, either, but the difference between the two is important.

 

[quincy]

There's a difference there: within the mail system, the advertiser pays the fare to deliver their message via an established, legal, commercial service from the USPS, while on forums, the server owners pay the tab for free advertising that they did not agree to accept or deliver.

I don't like junk mail, either, but the difference between the two is important.

There is also an "opt out" of mailed advertising which eliminates much (not all) of the junk mail that is delivered to your home, if you want to free your mailbox of unnecessary clutter.

On a forum, it takes some effort to eliminate the spam that can clutter it.

 

[justalayman]

There is also an "opt out" of mailed advertising which eliminates much (not all) of the junk mail that is delivered to your home, if you want to free your mailbox of unnecessary clutter.

On a forum, it takes some effort to eliminate the spam that can clutter it.

I like junk mail, especially that that has pre-paid return envelopes. You take all the junk mail you get, including the stuff that doesn't have pre-paid envelopes, and stuff it into the pre-paid mail envelopes and drop it into the mailbox.

 

[single317dad]

I like junk mail, especially that that has pre-paid return envelopes. You take all the junk mail you get, including the stuff that doesn't have pre-paid envelopes, and stuff it into the pre-paid mail envelopes and drop it into the mailbox.

I used to stuff as much as I could into those envelopes, until I learned that if the business reply envelopes are over a certain weight (1.5 oz. if I recall) they're discarded. You actually cost them more if you just send back the empty envelope.

One mildly amusing take on the idea:

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2011/10/bank-junk-mail-brick

 

[justalayman]

going to have to get the...um...postage scale..ya, that's it...the postage scale and make sure they aren't overweight.

 

[quincy]

I like junk mail, especially that that has pre-paid return envelopes. You take all the junk mail you get, including the stuff that doesn't have pre-paid envelopes, and stuff it into the pre-paid mail envelopes and drop it into the mailbox.

We give all of the junk mail to our youngest, who answers it by decorating it with crayon drawings. Keeps the little one busy for a minute or two. The mail then either winds up saved because it is "cute" or it winds up in the trash when little eyes aren't watching. But sending it back to the originator is a good idea. The responses are sure to puzzle them.

 

[Worried1990]

We give all of the junk mail to our youngest, who answers it by decorating it with crayon drawings. Keeps the little one busy for a minute or two. The mail then either winds up saved because it is "cute" or it winds up in the trash when little eyes aren't watching. But sending it back to the originator is a good idea. The responses are sure to puzzle them.

Quincy, thanks so much for everything. Thanks to everyone else who has posted. I needed that. I recognize that I've made a mistake, and I have promptly ended it.

I guess I'm just shocked and embarrassed more than anything. Honestly, I'm normally quite paranoid when it comes to these types of things, so I'm not sure how this slipped through.

Anyway, that's enough internet for me for awhile.