Black friday/Cyber Monday + Weekend inbetween rules

InceptionHosting · November 2020

I have had around 10 PM's regarding this so I thought I would just make a post about it.

Black Friday is the 27th, Cyber Monday is the 30th.

To make things simple time zone-wise (I work to UK/London) I think it is best if I simply say from the 26th to the 1st December regardless of where you are in the world as long as it is the 26th or 1st somewhere you can post any deal you want, as many as you want and as often as you want within the very simple ruleset below.

Do not spam the same offer over and over again.
Do not bump for the sake of bumping.
You must have a Hosting provider or Service provider tag to post an offer that benefits you directly (affiliate links not included)
NO PRICE LIMITS you do not have to conform to the usual rules for pricing.
None of the offers you make will count towards your usual offer count e.g. 1 per week etc.

There will be 1 big BF and 1 big CM thread for offers, I will do my best to keep it fairly indexed in the first post for at a glance viewing but I am no @nekki Hosts are not under any obligation to post in that thread only, you can maintain and create your own specific to your brand, remember you have unlimited edit rights over your own original posts.

EVERYONE is welcome and encouraged to cross-post offers you see on other sites here without limits as long as it is legal this will benefit the whole local and the wider community.

Basically a civilised free for all

have fun.

armandorg · November 2020

Sounds fair.

ehab · November 2020

getting excited already.

chimichurri · November 2020

@AnthonySmith said:
You must have a Hosting provider or Service provider tag to post an offer that benefits you directly (affiliate links not included)

To clarify the part about affiliate links: as long as it's a good offer (=not regular, but special BF pricing), even if we are not providers, we would be allowed to cross-post an offer from elsewhere inside the BF thread using our aff links?

(Personally, I don't have anything in particular in mind ATM, but perhaps this would result in more offers being posted

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@chimichurri said:

@AnthonySmith said:
You must have a Hosting provider or Service provider tag to post an offer that benefits you directly (affiliate links not included)

To clarify the part about affiliate links: as long as it's a good offer (=not regular, but special BF pricing), even if we are not providers, we would be allowed to cross-post an offer from elsewhere inside the BF thread using our aff links?

(Personally, I don't have anything in particular in mind ATM, but perhaps this would result in more offers being posted

To clarify, you as a none provider may post a link to for example a special Vultr or OVH deal you find even with affiliate links, I don't mind affiliate links as while they have a small benefit to you they don't really impact the purchaser in any way.

What I meant to convey is, if you don't have a provider tag, don't post links to your own hosting offers which you are likely the sole beneficiary of if purchased. also read as: if you cant get a tag for some reason this is not a loophole for you.

make sense?

Mr_Tom · November 2020

@AnthonySmith said: NO PRICE LIMITS you do not have to conform to the usual rules for pricing

What about yearly offers for newer hosts? I'll probably stick to monthly offers to be honest but just curious.

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@Mr_Tom said:

@AnthonySmith said: NO PRICE LIMITS you do not have to conform to the usual rules for pricing

What about yearly offers for newer hosts? I'll probably stick to monthly offers to be honest but just curious.

Yep that’s fine, no limits.

dahartigan · November 2020

That's a very fair set of rules Anthony. I like how you've "given enough rope" so to speak with regards to aff links, but maybe add some clarification that it falls under the general rule of being done tastefully (labelled as aff, not hidden behind a url shortening link so one could remove the aff if they are that way inclined, etc) - as an example?

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@dahartigan said:
That's a very fair set of rules Anthony. I like how you've "given enough rope" so to speak with regards to aff links, but maybe add some clarification that it falls under the general rule of being done tastefully (labelled as aff, not hidden behind a url shortening link so one could remove the aff if they are that way inclined, etc) - as an example?

Yeah, to be honest it is not like there is a team of mods here so I figured I would just remove any arbitrary rules that require moderation to begin with and hope for 99% responsibility and self moderation.

Regarding the affiliate links, I think as long as it’s a good deal I won’t be caring if it is not explicitly labelled as an affiliate link for this period.

It costs me nothing to use an affiliate link so they do no real harm especially during this period.

During the rest of the year though I only feel it is important to tastefully label them as such as it can highlight or prevent someone being labelled a shill themselves.

I suppose in general I am not as bothered by affiliate links, we both know what having a stick up your butt about those can lead too

dahartigan · November 2020

@AnthonySmith said:
we both know what having a stick up your butt about those can lead too

Haha yes, I'm very very happy those days are in the past

nullnothere · November 2020

@AnthonySmith said: It costs me nothing to use an affiliate link so they do no real harm especially during this period.

@AnthonySmith - not being a sourpuss, but I think do no harm (to anyone) should be a fundamental principle here. While the affiliate link may not "cost" the user (and of course due diligence and caveat emptor applies), obfuscating them or otherwise trying to leverage them for personal gain is very misleading in the least. I also think that it sets a wrong precedent wherein a provider could tempt unscrupulous users to pump and dump.

I'd much rather that affiliate links be marked appropriately so that at least there are no shady shenanigans going on.

@dahartigan said: rule of being done tastefully (labelled as aff, not hidden behind a url shortening link so one could remove the aff if they are that way inclined, etc)

I fully second this approach as it gives the user (clicking the link) the choice in a very fair and transparent way.

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@nullnothere said: @AnthonySmith - not being a sourpuss, but I think do no harm (to anyone) should be a fundamental principle here. While the affiliate link may not "cost" the user (and of course due diligence and caveat emptor applies), obfuscating them or otherwise trying to leverage them for personal gain is very misleading in the least. I also think that it sets a wrong precedent wherein a provider could tempt unscrupulous users to pump and dump.

I'd much rather that affiliate links be marked appropriately so that at least there are no shady shenanigans going on.

I agree, but during these 4 - 5 days, to be honest, I think it is just something I will have to let go, I won't have the time to effectively police that and generally, people are respectful here. outside of these 4 - 5 days, yes it will be policed and enforced.

ehab · November 2020

this is Ant now

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@ehab said:
this is Ant now

Accurate, I don't really count last year as the forum was only about 20 days old when BF/CM happened so it was not hard to manage.

This year may be different, its a bit of a tough one, I will put in as much energy as I can, but I don't expect a HUGE amount of action, we will see.

One thing we can be fairly sure of, there will not be 30 company Deadpool, pump and dump, run with your money in a month from deals here.

ehab · November 2020

@AnthonySmith , just pm with instructions if you need extra eyes/hands.
i also don't think you'll have a mess afterwards since it'll be more like

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@ehab said:
@AnthonySmith , just pm with instructions if you need extra eyes/hands.
i also don't think you'll have a mess afterwards since it'll be more like

That picture says "unhappy school life but happy childhood"

nullnothere · November 2020

@AnthonySmith said: I won't have the time to effectively police

I totally understand and certainly don't expect any of the super powers (or moderators) to police.

What does help though (coming from a regular user like me) is knowing that there is an official position in that these unethical practices are in the wrong. An odd mistake here and there is not an issue but if it becomes systematic then we too become a degenerate place where anything goes even if only for a few days. It would be a mistake to assume that there is official sanction for some actions.

Anyway... caveat emptor as always.

InceptionHosting · November 2020

If it becomes a problem over the 4 days I will solve it, I just don’t expect it to be one.

dahartigan · November 2020

I'm feeling hopeful that LES is going to be a lot more civilized than LET, should be easy for everyone to do the right thing here.. either way this will be LES first official BF so there's that to celebrate

Naix · November 2020

Thanks in advance boss! I appreciate all the efforts.

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@dahartigan said:
I'm feeling hopeful that LES is going to be a lot more civilized than LET, should be easy for everyone to do the right thing here.. either way this will be LES first official BF so there's that to celebrate

Cheers, although technically LES had a BF 20 days after it launched but this feels like the first proper one.

TheDP · November 2020

Also, been thinking about this and just to add, if possible, when providers are putting up their BF/CM offers they should include all relevant details and common information that people generally would look for, eg (not limited to): LG/speedtest details, DC location details, DDoS Protection availability, Port Speeds, deal/offer stacking possibilities, nested virtualization support etc..

Personally, I've seen at times offers with just product specifications and links to order. Due to this, I think it will be very beneficial for buyers/customers that they are presented with as much information as possible, as during these type of promotions, stock is extremely limited and usually not eligible for a refund so if providers can put up as much details as possible it could help buyers decide and purchase quicker. Otherwise, simple and frequently asked questions like "Do you have a LG?", "Do you support rDNS?", "Can this deal be stacked?" can get buried under piles of comments/posts and be overlooked, and by then, while waiting for a response from the provider or any members of the community (if anyone knows), stock could run out.

In a nutshell, providers shouldn't be quick to post but instead should take time (ahead) so buyers/customers can be quick to decide and buy

Just my 2 cents.

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@thedp said:
Also, been thinking about this and just to add, if possible, when providers are putting up their BF/CM offers they should include all relevant details and common information that people generally would look for, eg (not limited to): LG/speedtest details, DC location details, DDoS Protection availability, Port Speeds, deal/offer stacking possibilities, nested virtualization support etc..

Personally, I've seen at times offers with just product specifications and links to order. Due to this, I think it will be very beneficial for buyers/customers that they are presented with as much information as possible, as during these type of promotions, stock is extremely limited and usually not eligible for a refund so if providers can put up as much details as possible it could help buyers decide and purchase quicker. Otherwise, simple and frequently asked questions like "Do you have a LG?", "Do you support rDNS?", "Can this deal be stacked?" can get buried under piles of comments/posts and be overlooked, and by then, while waiting for a response from the provider or any members of the community (if anyone knows), stock could run out.

In a nutshell, providers shouldn't be quick to post but instead should take time (ahead) so buyers/customers can be quick to decide and buy

Just my 2 cents.

Yep, I don’t plan to enforce that but it is good practice.

debaser · November 2020

How about reposting offers from ColoCrossing outfits?

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@debaser said:
How about reposting offers from ColoCrossing outfits?

I will let @dahartigan decide that.

dahartigan · November 2020

@AnthonySmith said:

@debaser said:
How about reposting offers from ColoCrossing outfits?

I will let @dahartigan decide that.

I've decided to not to, it's too close to Christmas for the bullshit - ain't nobody got time for dat, etc

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@dahartigan said:

@AnthonySmith said:

@debaser said:
How about reposting offers from ColoCrossing outfits?

I will let @dahartigan decide that.

I've decided to not to, it's too close to Christmas for the bullshit - ain't nobody got time for dat, etc

There we have it, I delegated the decision, the decision was made, no CC outfits, please, to high risk.

dahartigan · November 2020

@AnthonySmith said:

@dahartigan said:

@AnthonySmith said:

@debaser said:
How about reposting offers from ColoCrossing outfits?

I will let @dahartigan decide that.

I've decided to not to, it's too close to Christmas for the bullshit - ain't nobody got time for dat, etc

There we have it, I delegated the decision, the decision was made, no CC outfits, please, to high risk.

It's a safe default. Everyone here came from that place, we all know how things are and if anyone feels so inclined to sample their wares they can do so from there. Bonus points come later when this forum isn't full of posts about people being scammed during BF 2020 on LES.. lol

MonstaAU · November 2020

We need Nekki. It's not the same.

InceptionHosting · November 2020

@MonstaAU said:
We need Nekki. It's not the same.

I asked him, he was not feeling it this year and did not feel he knew this community well enough, I tried to tell him that everyone knows him, but he did say last time was his last time so we got to respect that.

Black friday/Cyber Monday + Weekend inbetween rules

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