Delete topic please thanks
hurrah, even if it WAS real you would have to give them your address and email etc and they can sell them for a bundle....
hurrah for spam and telemarketers!
LoL, how long have you been using the web?
Thats like one of the oldest spammer methods. Never trust anything thats free (excluding ags)
That's easily overcomed by using multiple e-mail addresses. Works for me on most sites.
I have not received any spam from them, and they don't ask for Credit card or anything. You have to sign up for an offer (such as AOL 9.0 free for 45 days) but thats easy to cancel.
So I'm still believin :D
Plus I just made a new email address, just in case. You can use Hotmail, etc.
;]
Hmm... you shouldn't use the net! >:(
This is the reason why there is so much spam ...
Because people fall for this kind of shit.
My friends still send me those emails about the missing kid, or the 'send this to 10 people and you'll receive a coupon', even after I've told them repeatedly that it's all bullshit and they're just signing up for spam.
It's amazing to me that people still get suckered by this shit.
You want proof this is just another spam-scam?Ã, Go to eBay and search for iPod ... you'll find hundreds of entries that say, "Not an auction" and are just links to this same scam.
pwn'd
Nice of you guys to automatically dismiss it as spam. I tried one of these things out, as a test. I signed up with www.freeslide.com for a free Sony Handycam. So I did it, signed up for six offers (yes, six, all worth it), most of whcih I could cancel before the free trial was up, and others that required minimum purchases, like a printer ink web site (minimum purchase $30). I needed ink anyway, so it worked out.
After a small bit of misunderstanding regarding my status (because they changed over to a different method of redeeming stuff for the camera), I got it in the mail.
A brand new, good quality, new, Sony Handycam video camcorder. It came sealed, in the box, complete with manuals, in perfect working condition.
I then sold it for $220, and then bought a JVC MiniDV camcorder for $260. It all worked out ini the end. :)
So it's not always fake. Actually, it's probably never fake. They just might require certaini things of you. I could get a free iPod, but I'd need to order a new DirecTV service before I could. Oh well. :P
You only have to sign up for 1 service....and they include AOL(45 days to cancel), blockbuster online (2 weeks) or 4 -5 more. Easy stuff
I'll cancel aol for a free ipod anyday lol
Yeah, actually the free iPod thing was definitely real. I know someone who actually got a free iPod from it. I don't know if it's real anymore, though, because they got a lot of publicity once people realized it wasn't just a hoax.
Yes.. The Ipod deal is real... All you have (had?) to do was sign up with ebay and bid on an item. It wasn't a hoax.. Somebody did a whole report on it, too.
Yeah, it is a real pyramid scheme, one that is paying people like YOU to spam your fellow internet users until you get a free product!Ã, Sign up now!!!! but don't use the referral links Relik used because we don't want to reward him for spamming the AGS forums now do we... wait, actually we don't want anyone rewarded for spamming ever, so uh... how about people don't sign up for this, ok?
It'll soon fall under its own weight like all schemes like this, and the people running it will end up with more money, and a bigger list of gullible people's verified email addresses to sell the bigger it gets, at the same time more and more people will have signed up for things and not recieved ipods because they haven't yet managed to get 5 (or 10 in the PC scheme) people to do the same, and more spams will have been put on message boards across the internet.Ã, I have even seen these spams in torrent files on our beloved piracy sites! This is obviously taking it too far ;)
The majority of people who take part in this will not get an ipod, fact.Ã, See if you can work out why yourself.Ã, The people who are rewarded are those who got in early enough and spammed the most succesfully, and of course the people running the whole thing.
This isn't spam, I'm not soliciting jack crap. Especially since the mod removed my Referral links, which is fine with me. I just offered to see if it was real, and LET you know. I asked for your help IF you wanted to help me, didn't just post some crap like "LoOk FreE PC! Get OnE NOW!" But nevermind, mod please just remove this topic. Thanks
Straight from the rules:
Quote7. No spam or ads -- They will be deleted.
I didn't see the links, but I'm guessing they were links to an ebay scam ad or something similar. I don't care anyway. Relik, if you'd read the rules you'd know we don't allow this sort of thing. It's doesn't matter how you justify it. We don't want that kind of stuff here.
And that goes for anyone else wanting to post something similar.
So if it was "Spam" why didn't it get deleted? instead of flamed ?
I was only offering to help
Instead get flamed
It's ok though, I don't care, everyone else's loss.
I'll post pic's when I get the stuff :D, unless you consider that spam, then i won't :D
You are one of the people who easily fall for tricks like that. I wouldn't even trust this impossibility.
Hehe...two or three people can prove that they recieved an ipod, and then a hundred thousand gullible people think they have the same chance.
Why don't you play the lottery? It's not a hoax either, you can actually win something.
uh, lottery? To win the lottery there is like a 1 in 1 Million chance. And you got to spend a small price each time you play.
lmao, man, you have to get 5 people to sign up.......and you have to cancel a Free trial LoL
Not quite a lottery................
Do a little searching and you might change your mind about thinkin its a scam ;], there's plenty of sites, with pics :D
In the interests of peace, why not postpone the discussion until Relik gives us either the pic of the PC installed and ready to go or his apologies? There ain't much sense in going on like this...
I agree there isn't a reason why we should talk about this.
All I did was ask anyone if they wanted to help me see if this was real.......I didnt disturb the peace, others flamed me lol
But yeah, just wait for the pic's ;]
Hmm, not a lottery eh? Let's take a looksee here
1 Person at the top of the pyramid running this thing
Let's say he emails 100 people to start off
100 people, each need 5 people to get their ipod
Ã, \/
500 people, each need 5 people to get their ipod
Ã, \/
2,500 people, you get the gist here
\/
125,000
\/
625,000
\/
3,125,000
And I believe that's the limit of the number of people who use the internet in the UK. Even if ALL OF THEM sign up, do the math and you see there are 100+500+2500+125000+625000 = 753,100 people with ipods, compared with 2,371,900 dumb schmucks at the bottom of the pyramid who are left with nothing, because there aren't enough people in the world for them all to find people to sign up. That's even assuming everyone who gets this thing will sign up, which they WON'T.
Relik, I'm not saying you disturbed the peace, I'm saying the peace got disturbed.
The point got interesting, though, but right now all that new posters can do is repeat information. Anchangel's post is an interesting one, but the point was already made. And I can bet someone's going to post back at him. And so on and so on and so forth.
Does everyone agree that WIRED.com is legitimate?
IF they do, the they should read this....
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,64614,00.html
Oh? Look's like it may be real?
Sorry for being sarcastic, but people tick me off when they speak ("iT's A ScAm") before they read.
P.S. IF anyone would still like to help me, hehe, Email me at Dran0@hotmail.com
Quote from: Relik on Fri 27/08/2004 22:47:36
Does everyone agree that WIRED.com is legitimate?
IF they do, the they should read this....
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,64614,00.html
Oh? Look's like it may be real?
Sorry for being sarcastic, but people tick me off when they speak ("iT's A ScAm") before they read.
P.S. IF anyone would still like to help me, hehe, Email me at Dran0@hotmail.com
While it iw real, it's still a pyramid scheme. Wired didn't say it wasn't, it just said you could get an iPod. The guy saying it wasn't a pyramid scheme was coincidentally a representative of the company giving away the iPods.
The math still works - eventually, the pyramid reaches the bottom and won't work anymore. The quote mentions that they aren't akin to Amway, who also vehemently denies being a pyramid scheme.
The idea isn't that you can't get an iPod, but that you can't just assume that you'll be able to find a lot of people to refer to because most people realize that in the end there are suckers and there is a good chance that they could be one of the suckers (suckers being the millions at the bottom with no one to refer).
I've read it ...
It's still a scam.
But if you're all about it, then good luck.Ã, Maybe you'll be the 1 or 2 out of 2,000,000 who gets lucky.
I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you though.
Make sure you tell the thousands of people who you get to sign up for this not to use their real e-mail address and to make sure they don't put your name (and real e-mail address) in when they sign up.
Happy spamming!
Relik, even if it's not a scam, it's still an ad (and this includes any promotional material from marketing companies). And we decided not to have any ad-postings here a long time ago.
Sure, the iPod may seem like a good deal, but I always follow the maxim: "If something looks too good to be true, it probably is."
So, I decided to put my maxim into effect by reading the terms and conditions on the site. I noticed a few things that worried me such as:
"Users must be residents of the United States, and there can only be one account per shipping address." -- THis didn't actually worry me. It's a pretty basic comment, nothing big to worry about. It only rules out non-American resident. That includes me, which I'm happy about. Read on, and you'll find out why.
"By signing up for this website, the user agrees to receive emails we or another 3rd party may send about special offers on our website, as well as third party advertisements or offers." -- Interesting, especially when you consider the next part.
"There is no way to cancel an account. If a user no longer wishes to remain a part of this site, they should cease to access their account, and nothing more will happen with their information" -- The bold part worries me in particular.
"This website nor it's parent company, Gratis Internet, does not guarantee the availability of any product on our website; on occasion, products may be back ordered from our supplier or their manufacturer. In cases involving backordered products, we do not guarantee that the products will ship within any given period of time." -- An escape clause if they run out of iPods. How convenient.
I also read their privacy statement:
"We may send you offers on behalf of our business partners. Keep in mind that if you take advantage of an offer from a Gratis Internet business partner and thus, become their customer, they may independently wish to send offers to you. In the event that you are not interested in receiving future offers from these affiliates, you must contact them directly to fulfill your list removal request." -- This seems a little worrying.
"Some of our business partners (e.g., advertisers/offer providers) may use cookies on our site. We have no access to or control over these types of cookies." -- This worries me as too.
Now, get ready for a real kicker because I saved the best for last:
"We may work with other third party businesses using the personal information that you supply to us on the main signup page to bring selected retail opportunities to our members via direct mail, email and telemarketing. These businesses may include providers of direct marketing services and applications, including lookup and reference, data enhancement, suppression and validation and email marketing."
Isn't it strange that there's a clause like this that basically says, "We have the right to give your personal information to other parties for mail, email, and telemarketing purposes." And remember that line in the terms and conditions where it said: "There is no way to cancel an account"
This basically means they own your personal information and can do whatever it wants with it. Even after you "cease access to your account", they've still given your information to third parties. They may not give you personal details to third parties after you "cease access", but they've still got those details on file and have probably already given them to other companies while you were a member. And the only way to stop the junk mail from those other companies is to "contact them directly to fulfill your list removal request". To which, I say "Good luck! HAHAHAHAH!"
Now get ready for this: since you've agreed to do this, these third party companies can use cookies in any way they want as stated in the privacy statement. Gratis has no control over how these cookies operate. So these third-party companies basically have a) your contact details, b) the potential to use cookies. And think about what they can do with all this.
Sure, it's not a scam, but it's a very sleazy way to allow a marketing company the right to post spam with your consent. And if you sign-up, you've agreed to all this, as per the terms and conditions and privacy statement.
I noticed that the privacy statement was reviewed by Trust-e. Who are Trust-e? According to their website, Trust-e is "an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to enabling individuals and organizations to establish trusting relationships based on respect for personal identity and information in the evolving networked world. " Great, so why did they give the thumbs-up to a privacy statement that doesn't respect personal identity? Well, I looked at their webpage and found this:
(http://truste.org/images/sponsor_aol.gif)
And I reread that Wired article that Relik posted. Lo and behold, what did I find:
"it's a new form of online marketing supported by companies like eBay, AOL and Columbia House."
"Subscribers are given a choice of 10 different offers, including a 45-day trial of AOL and a two-week trial of Ancestry.com's genealogy service."
"Instead, they explained, Gratis Internet is paid a bounty for sending potential customers to sites like AOL, eBay or RealNetworks."
So, basically Gratis' privacy statement is worth diddly-squat. AOL sponsered the company that reviewed it. And of course they're going to stamp their seal of approval on it because AOL profits from Gratis' service. Think about it: if eTrust didn't stamp their seal of approval on the privacy statement, they'd risk their sponsership with AOL. Basically, Gratis can say whatever they like in their privacy statement and still get a "seal of legitimacy" from eTrust.
Also, Relik, I don't think Wired's is legitimate. At least not on their position on this issue. Wired is owned by Terra-Lycos, and their privacy statement is also approved by Trust-e, so obviously they're going to write a possitive story that promotes AOL. Plus, they also have a relationship with Doubleclick, another web-marketing company -- so much for an independent view on spam marketing companies.
Plus, the Wired article mentions this line: "FreeiPods.com is certified by Truste, which means the site adheres to the organization's privacy standards. It does not mean the site can be trusted to send out free iPods." Sure, the lack of trust over the iPods is mentioned in the article. However, there's no mention of your personal data being sent to third party companies in the article. Why? I already said why. Because Wired's parent company has a pretty strong relationship with Trust-e too.
And all this isn't some big secret, nor is it a conspiracy, because it's all spelt out in black and white. People just don't bother checking these things. I just did a 2 hour surf and found out all this information. It's easily available.
So, what this all is is just one big fishing exercise by ad companies. They grab a heap of potential customers by dangling an iPod on a stick, spam them per their approval, and there's nothing said victims can do about third party companies using their personal details even after they "cease access" to Gratis because they've already given their consent.
The question you have to ask yourself is: Is an iPod really worth all that spam you'll get in the future?
In any case, I've shown this is clearly just a spam marketing exercise. That's why stuff like this isn't allowed on our forum.
Ok, well I asked a mod to delete this topic a long time ago. The only reason I'm still posting in it is because I still believe that I didn't "Spam" you. If I spammed you, there are probably 100's of links on this forum that "Spam" or Promote another site. I still believe my original text said "If anyone wants to help me" thats why its "General Discussion" I don't care to discuss this anymore, so please just delete the topic, which should have been deleted when a Mod first saw it.....since it was spam
Thanks :D
Can we just lock this thread and move on.Ã, Is there really a reason to keep arguing back and forth whether it's spam or not.Ã, Let bygones be bygones and lets keep this one happy community.
I think Relik made a bad choice in posting this, and i feel he is sincerely sorry.
We are keeping this one happy family. But I think this thread serves an important reminder into how gullible some people can be, especially when they don't read the fine print.
Also, here's a Snopes Forum Article on the subject:
http://www.snopes.com/message/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/9/t/001657.html#000007
It seems this kind of thing has been happening since July.
Then can SOMEBODY please explain how in the world i got my free camcorder? Did it magically appear out of my ass? Or did I perhaps get it for signing up for offers withOUT having to refer friends?
That's the thing. You could always create alternate emails and play the game that way, if need be. It was easier a year ago. Now it's not so easy to get free stuff.
There IS such a thing as a free meal (http://www.yesitsfree.com) and things CAN appear to be too good when they're really true (www.freeslide.com pre-June-2004). :)
It looks as if the company is not making Ipods but making spam
Quote from: QuantumRich on Sat 28/08/2004 04:56:02
Then can SOMEBODY please explain how in the world i got my free camcorder? Did it magically appear out of my ass? Or did I perhaps get it for signing up for offers withOUT having to refer friends?
That's the thing. You could always create alternate emails and play the game that way, if need be. It was easier a year ago. Now it's not so easy to get free stuff.
There IS such a thing as a free meal (http://www.yesitsfree.com) and things CAN appear to be too good when they're really true (www.freeslide.com pre-June-2004). :)
Yes, you're right, Richie. You got your camcorder because marketing companies were suddenly feeling very generous and decided to give away free stuff without any catches. Cause, you know, marketing companies (or any company for that matter) don't care about silly things like making profits or attracting a client base. How stupid of me for even questioning such motives of marketing companies.
On a related note, I found this Wired article about Truste: http://www.wired.com/news/exec/0,1370,51624,00.html
Notice how they attack Truste, but not as much the companies behind it (such as AOL) or the companies that adapt the policy. Why? Because the companies behind it (such as AOL) are the ones getting the rubber-stamp for their privacy policies and are basically self-regulating. And any that help such sponsers can easily get the rubberstamp too. Basically, they're a front for large net companies to rubberstamp their own privacy policies, despite clauses allowing spam.
Wired, eBay, AOL, and Gratis all have privacy policies approved by Truste. And all are involved in this iPod "marketing exercise".
Here's a good article on Truste with links regarding their history (especially the Yahoo debacle): http://www.unicom.com/chrome/a/000140.html
And like I said, this isn't a conspiracy theory, nor is it news. This is all contained within each company's privacy policy and this kind of marketing exercise was reported by several publications with time periods ranging from a few months ago to several years ago.
What I'm trying to say is, even if you see a Truste symbol on a privacy policy, it still might not be legit.
I think this is a pretty relevant discussion, and I don't see a need to lock it.
Also:
QuoteSorry for being sarcastic, but people tick me off when they speak ("iT's A ScAm") before they read.
That doesn't describe the nature of this debate at all. I think we're being quite calm and reasonable.
DG is doing a good job on showing the well-designed machinery behind a system like this. I myself do not approve on this kind of concealed marketing, even if I would have won a computer or whatnot. Too many people will end up in the claws of the big marketing companies, without any rights or means of defending themselves.
QuoteSorry for being sarcastic, but people tick me off when they speak ("iT's A ScAm") before they read.
And perhaps if
you had read (the fine print), as Daniel pointed out, you would have realized it wasn't all it was cracked up to be :)
I'd rather pay a few hundred bucks for an iPod than sacrifice my soul to a spam-scam like this.
Just my personal opinion, as I said before, you might get lucky ... or something.
First off, I did "read" the fine print, and this is what I say:
Who gives a CRAP if I get some extra junk mail in my real mailbox......it's not like I don't get 4,000,000 per month anyway lol. It's not very hard to throw away 1 extra piece of paper a day.
Also, I used a new email address that I won't ever use again after this is over. So, they keep my "info" on file and I can't cancel my account with them. I don't care, they do NOT have my credit card info (you sign up for AOL or something, but it's AOL), telephone number, or anything else of relevance. They have my address (uh-oh, more junk mail :/) and a new email address (never use that one again :O) and thats it, that's all they ask for. If they had asked for my telephone number, I wouldn't have done it, cause I don't like telemarketing. So, to each his own.
Still I didn't want to Debate this issue, people can decide for themselves whether or not they want to sign up. Again, all I did was ask anyone if they wanted to help me.
:)
P.s. Please take note, that they don't ask for your telephone number. Just want that to be clear.
Have you ever heard of identity theft, there giving away your personal info to 3rd party spammers. There putting you at risk to many cyber crimes.
I love how people are treating this like it's all some big machine that's out to eat them. I for one understand the principles behind this operation. It's business, people. They want money.
As for giving away my information, I couldn't care less. Everybody already has my info anyway, why not? Why should I care if AOL is one of the supporters? Let them make their money. If I can get something out of it, why should I care if a company sells my info to them. It'll be of little use to them anyway. Yahoo filters out all of my spam emails rather efficiently and I have not received any telemarketer calls int he past year.
As far as I see it, I have a free camcorder, and all I had to spend was $30 on printer ink. I got free trials to a bunch of companies (AOL, Ancestry, etc.) which were useful in their own ways. Freeslide.com had the BBB (Better Businiess Bureau) logo, and I even checked them out with BBB. I did my homework.
You are all LOSERS I bet you have J.O.B.s (Jerk On Board!11)!
Just because there will be "eternally broke" written on your tombstones, don't try to steal our dreams!
GO DIAMOND!
I think you people need something better to do than attack a poor guy who was wondering about this silly thing.. Yeesh.
Relik, you're still missing my point, which is this: We are not going to helping you out because what you posted was spam, as I've shown. We are an adventure game community. We're not here to sign up to marketing companies and what not, despite whether there is free stuff on not. People have done so in the past and the mods have go so far to lock their threads. And we want to make sure you (and everyone else) understands that clearly.
Richie, it is basically a machine, and this has been well documented. But like I said, it doesn't even classify as a conspiracy because all the terms and conditions are overtly stated. However, very few people read the fine print because the text size is so small (and it's a long, dull document too). That's why when you see small print in a privacy policy, you know there's something to hide.
As for BBB, I checked them out too. They're basically the same as Truste, as they're funding by the same big businesses that they're supposed to watch over. Basically, they can't do very much if someone launches a complaint on one of their members. So I give them as much legitimacy as Truste.
LGM: We're not attacking. Read again through the last few posts and tell me where we've made attacks. All we've (DM, Andail, myself, etc) all done is said it was either a scam or a marketing ploy and stated why. I think it's important to bring such facts to light, and I don't appreciate being falsely accused of "attacking a poor guy".
Quote from: DGMacphee on Sun 29/08/2004 01:54:38
As for BBB, I checked them out too. They're basically the same as Truste, as they're funding by the same big businesses that they're supposed to watch over. Basically, they can't do very much if someone launches a complaint on one of their members. So I give them as much legitimacy as Truste.
Correct me if im wrong, but isn't this how the world is run?
Well.. You've been accusing him of posting spam... As if he had some evil intent on doing it.. Like he worked for the damn company or something.
It is a sketchy plan, I give you that.. But honestly I think this just got blown way out of proportion. The internet is not some big chomping machine out to get you. It's like saying everyone in New York is going to gang-rape you or mug you.
You guys should look at this >>
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,50131,00.html
QuoteBut honestly I think this just got blown way out of proportion.
On a side note, it seems like lots of things get blown out of proportion, especially when someone feels personally attacked (which, mostly, isn't true). The "Frank the Farmhand -racist" and that Monkey Island AGS thread by a newbie, a loong time ago, come to mind...
Yeah, off topic, I know, but I had to say this.
QuoteCorrect me if I'm wrong, but isn't this how the world is run?
No, there are a great number of industries that have other forms of regulation than what is basically "self-regulation". For example, some industries conform to government regulation instead of self-regulation, like doctors and dentists.
Since Internet Privacy is a relatively "new" issue for governments, there isn't much out there to regulate marketing companies. In Australia, there's the Spam Act and certain parts of the Privacy Act. But these acts are useless because the Internet is an international medium. It's difficult to apply Australian law in an international context. Very few have tried and succeeded. Only one springs to mind.
QuoteWell.. You've been accusing him of posting spam... As if he had some evil intent on doing it.. Like he worked for the damn company or something.
It is a sketchy plan, I give you that.. But honestly I think this just got blown way out of proportion. The internet is not some big chomping machine out to get you. It's like saying everyone in New York is going to gang-rape you or mug you.
Firstly, I accused him of posting spam because he did post spam. I'm not being mean or attacking him. I'm stating the obvious, and I've shown why. I didn't think he had an evil intent in doing so, so I'd be happy if you didn't say I did. I pointed it out and said, "We don't appreciate you doing this. Look at our rules."
Secondly, the internet IS a big machine -- It is a series of networks. But you're probably talking more about internet marketing companies. Well, if you are, they work in a machine-like way in our society. If you've ever studied up on how all facets of society manufacture our lives into a bland and mediocre centre, you'd understand how such a machine works. Many theorists have said so, and I can direct you to some texts on the subject if you like. But this is really off-topic.
In any case, I never said such a machine was "out to get you". Like I stated three or four times, there is no conspiracy. Everything is spelt out for you. It's not that the machine is out to get you. It's just that a lot of people are lazy in checking it all out and think they can just get something for nothing with no strings attached. Thus, they end up walking blindly into a trap that has a sign that says, "Warning: this is a trap!" (Though, the sign is printed in very small letters most of the time)
All I did was point out how it all worked so a) people could understand, and b) show that what was first posted in this thread was spam, so no one got the wrong idea. I don't see why you're getting worked up about it and saying people are "attacking him".
If I said "U R MORON DOANT POAST SPAM HEAR RETAERD!", that would be attacking. But I didn't. I'm not calling him a moron or retard or whatever. I don't even know him. He's probably a very smart guy for all I know. All I know is he posted some spam, and I said "Hey, look at our rules. We don't allow this here", regardless of whether he was asking for help or not.
Now I hope some people here can cool it and discuss this a little more maturely. Like Andail said, the only reason this thread was still here was because the discussion was relevant. I hope we can keep it that way instead of overreacting.