10:50 pm
August 8, 2009
I heard of SO only through word-of-mouth, but was so impressed by the "contract" terms and the positive reviews by its users that I dumped Rogers instantaneously. Forums like this where people can network to talk or trade is just icing on the cake, so I'm saddened to hear that the referral system is being abused by a few select individuals. Why not change the rules so that the referral provider must register his/her SO telephone number with their username in order to participate in the referral forum? Abusers then cannot shield themselves anonymously behind a slew of new usernames since their phone number would remain the same, and they would be disinclined to repeatedly buy new SO handsets just to register a new telephone number. Some people may object to providing their numbers online, and they're within their right to do so, but they have to accept then that they cannot "profit" from the referral forum without a measure of culpability. For the majority of us who are honest and just trying to snag an occasional referral, we should have no qualms registering our SO numbers with our usernames.
10:56 pm
July 24, 2009
I'm fairly new to SO and think it;s a good service for the money. It has all I need. Now ppl are complaining that they can't send a referral code and get the $10. Well it must be the tv generation expecting instant gratification. If you want to sent a code then work at it. I work at it and I've had a few.Certainly not every one but enough to keep me happy. I appreciate what this site offers ; especially the ref codes;don't go screwing it up for everyone because you're not happy...boo hoo.
If you don't like the way the site is organized then make your own and get some referrals that way . Maybe your mama can hold your hand and pat your forehead.
Make incoming call billing illegal!!
11:51 pm
April 23, 2009
11:57 pm
July 24, 2009
SAF = System Access Fee, usually $6.95/mon....
BTW...after dinns tonite I fired up yon lappy and opened this page...LO AND BEHOLD..there was an unanswered request which I was able to garner...no tools...no special stuff...just patience some work and a lot of dummazz luck :P~
quit whining and work at it!!
Make incoming call billing illegal!!
7:33 am
Cellgoof, don't get to smug. If you do get that referral, you have my ISP provider to thank. The connection here glitched and hung for about 2-3 minutes and I wasn't able to get the email sent when it should have gone out, and it appears yours slipped in between.
My loss, perhaps your gain, but no reason to be smug about it. You may have gotten very lucky this time. There are many people here who spend a lot of effort trying to get one slipped in between the ones who get six referrals a month, and it just isn't that easy to do.
Dannie
2:22 pm
July 28, 2009
All things considered, this is very smart on the part of Ztar/7-eleven. With everybody clamouring for referrals, telling everyone about how great their free cellphone plan is, everyone in the country is eventually bound to sign up. The majors will figure out something is wrong with their bottom line, and hey maybe I'll actually end up with a decent cell plan with my choice of carrier and phone...
Keep it up kids, it's a free market, winner take all... don't mind me, I'll just sit back and watch you fools duke it out, I've got better things to do with my time.
2:26 pm
August 8, 2009
cellgoof said:
don't go screwing it up for me because you're not happy...
There, fixed it for you. This isn't your website either, so who are you to berate us others for trying to brainstorm ideas to thwart referral abusers? There are far more providers than requesters, so it isn't simply a matter of "working hard". All we're trying to do is think of a way to level the playing field by cutting out those people who live day to day on referrals, never to pay an actual cent to SO for their service. If you're even half the hard worker you profess to be, then even you should appreciate that.
7:38 pm
July 24, 2009
Actually, I wrote "everyone" and not "me and you know that but much like most of our current politicians like to cloud the controversy. I use no special skills at all. My success is quite limited. I have no ill feelings towards the ppl that have a large amount of referrals...good on them. IMHO you're the one with the issue.You need to learn to deal with that in a constructive way.
BTW , this will be my last comment on this thread and hopefully it will be locked.
Make incoming call billing illegal!!
2:32 am
Hi Cellgoof,
You don't have to go back on your word and comment on this if you don't want, but I was wondering what the rush is to lock this thread? It doesn't exactly use up major resources, like its dimming out Toronto or something 😉 and maybe with a bit of thought a more fair system can be developed which will be fairer to all and spread around some of the "love", eh?
I'm giving some serious thought to how else it could be done and if I get to something that won't be too complex for Peter, I think I'll pass it his way for consideration. Probably the easiest system, since there are growing numbers of people who can benefit from referrals, is at least, in principle, to ask people to limit their referral responses to one per month (no matter how many phones the use) unless no one responds to a request in say, an two hour period. I've spoken to Speakout about this and you don't have to immediately register your referral code, as long as you have the phone and purchased a $25 time you've purchased,they should accept the referral code within a reasonable amount of time. You can only get one new customer referral per phone number in its lifetime anyway.
I realize anyone could violate the "spirit" of that by simply logging on with different names, but if it became an expectation of "fair play", it might actually invoke a bit of conscious awareness for people who are pushing the 6 referrals a month if the rules were one only.
What exactly would be "wrong" with an understanding of a maximum one referral per person per month here? It still leaves people to find other referrals outside of on this site if they must get those extras.
I don't know why people are opposed to trying to spread out the wealth a bit, it doesn't need to be a hyper-competitive game. I guess I just don't "get it".
If there is a bowl of candy on a coffee table, most people realize by social convention that it isn't considered good form to empty it in your mouth or pocket 😉
Art
8:09 am
March 15, 2008
11:41 am
>>>> I don't know why people are opposed to trying to spread out the wealth a bit, it doesn't need to be a hyper-competitive game. I guess I just don't "get it". If there is a bowl of candy on a coffee table, most people realize by social convention that it isn't considered good form to empty it in your mouth or pocket <<<<
Art, I think you've captured the sentiments of many users here. I wonder if those aggressive referral-seekers actually need and use all of the extra airtime credits, or are in it for the "thrill of the hunt", and to see how big a pile they can accumulate. I'm guessing that the anonymity of the Internet entices some people to act upon their selfish instincts, without the fear of social embarrassment that they might experience in a live social setting.
For myself, I played the "referral sniping game" a few months ago, and got three referral credits over the course of a week. That'll do me for at least a year.
12:37 pm
April 23, 2009
well i must admit i'm on the fence on this one. on one side rules are good, but over regulation is bad. i've long thought about suggesting a sticky on the referral forum called "Referral Etiquette" as a simple guideline.
First the requesters themselves can be confused on the process. I've seen people ask for codes just to see if someone would give them one, with no intention of using it. I've seen people repeatedly ask for multiple codes and then complain that they didn't work. I've seen people ask for codes to use months later if maybe they decide to get a SO phone, without realizing the 15 day expiry. So if you see someone appear to give out 5 - 6 codes in a month, chances are it was only 1 or 2 actual codes because no one was using them.
So my advice to requesters is, don't come on the forum and ask for a code until you have your new SO phone in your hand, ready to activate with a $25 mininum top up.
For the referrers, the candy bowl analogy doesn't apply to "teh interwebs" just like car analogies fail. No matter how frustrating, annoying, and despised a practice, the truth is Sniping is a common and accepted strategy when doing business on the web, just look at ebay, ticketmaster, any online limited promotions etc etc. I've been sniped plenty times by ninjas, and there's been times I was first referrer and the requester used someone else's code anyway.
For referrers I don't think limiting to 1 a month is a realistic expectation. For people to adhere to a guideline it must be easy to follow and easy to get consensus. My suggestion for referrer etiquette is not to send two referrals in a row. If you are the first to refer a code to someone, just skip the next successive code request, let someone else give their code.
Hopefully we can get to a point of being kind and having fun spreading the joy of Speakout!
10:27 am
August 13, 2009
Hi
I totally agree that we should have "Referrer Etiquette" and instead of having a brand new Sticky Post, we could ask to update the existing one "Rules for this forum" if it is possible
I would like to Add one more point to the above ettiquites.
To give everybody a fair chance we suggest that you should mention in your email the time (e.g. 24 hours) or number of codes you are willing to accept before deciding one
I'll be the first one, requesting a referral code per these etiquettes
Ali
5:40 pm
To lazyacer: I like the spirit of what you said. But I don't think "skipping the next" would slow down these aggressive posters as there are so many requests in a day. I still like the idea of 1 per month. People can use bots if they want, but say if they get 2 in a row in Aug, then (try to) wait till Oct to launch the bots again.
10:29 pm
I'd be splitting my sides laughing at lazyacer's seemingly innocent "reasonable solutions" if it weren't for the fact that he is the number one winner of the "aggressive referral award". He/she averages 5-6 referrals a month from my accounting over the last 3 months, so if anyone is taking his/her statements seriously, I suggest you reread the comments knowing the background.
He/she has at least two speakout phones and plays referral tag with the two referral numbers at his/her disposal, so he/she is rarely without a referral number while waiting for the referrals to be activated. It is always so cute when the fox puts chicken feathers on his/her fur to look like a chicken.
Don't fall for it. What I'd really like to better understand is the psyche of such a person. Do they actually use up all that time each month with their Speakout phone(s), or are they just needing to have it all because its a game of "keep away"?
Marq
10:47 pm
Hey Lazyacer, Let's see if I get this straight. Snipping is OK, because it can be done and because you do it? Do I have that right?
The only difference between the candy bowl analogy and this is you take all the candy when no one can see you do it, and you think that is justifiable.
Snipping in ebay, or anywhere else ,is really just bad behaviour you get away with because there isn't an easy way to stop you, and because most people attempt to be honest and fair and the resources to deal with people with the kind of behaviour you promote makes it difficult to justify the cost to fix.
And speaking of car analogies, some people justify taking cars because the keys are left in the ignition, or hey, they can hotwire them (just using their technological advantage, right?)
I find it really interesting that while you find your behaviouir just fine, you're bothered by "bad referral etiquette" by requesters because they inconvenience you by not using your referral codes right away, etc. Gee, what a bother that is when you have to deal with so many referrals each month, eh? It must almost be like a full time job.
I have an idea, why don't you restrict your referrals to one a month instead of six, cause then you won't have all that many bothersome requesters to deal with.
Jeez,
Art
10:56 pm
April 23, 2009
Two "guests" make a personal attack on a forum member in quick succession ... I'd guess Marq = Art
For the record I have one SO phone and do not offer codes on behalf of others. However I believe those who volunteer to help seniors or anyone else should be commended for their good citizenship.
As for the whiners and haters ... sigh