Contributor Suspension Announcement

I'm very sorry if I launched a series of complaints. My outrage was entirely directed at the disrespect shown by a user who I witnessed in real-time flooding the forum with seventeen mindless posts in less than an hour (yes, seventeen new discussion posts/polls from one person in that short of a time frame).

I know the EF staff works hard to make an awesome community and, knowing this, it only increased my anger to see the company's generosity abused. I wasn't complaining about how the staff handles the abuse at all. I realize you have a strict protocol for handling such abuse and that it takes time to do so.

I was simply exhausted after being up all night studying (and using the EF forum for an occasional break). I became overly emotional and vented my annoyance. The final straw that made me snap was when I noticed yet another spammer going at it (who was not quite so prolific as the first one I described, but is one we've seen spamming before). I'm not offering this as an excuse, just an explanation.

Please know that my posts were not meant as a criticism of the EF staff. Far from it. Again, I offer sincere apologies. I regret helping to stir up bad feelings.

Hope you guys are enjoying a restful and joyful Labor Day weekend. We look forward to "seeing" you next week.

(I really do owe you guys those cream cheese brownies I bragged about making now, huh?) less

Hello, everyone:

Wow, a lot has happened while I was off during the weekend! There's so much to address, so please forgive me if I overlook something or if things out of order.

1. I am very aware (as is the entire EF staff) that we have other contributors who are seemingly taking advantage of the EdenPoints program. Yes, they are suspiciously similar to activities of the recently suspended contributor. However, it is merely a suspicion that we are currently investigating and as of yet I cannot treat this as multiple accounts created by one person.

2. Carrie Ann has addressed the impatience that has been expressed in this thread, and I am personally thankful that she took time out of her much deserved weekend to comment here. I hope everyone takes to heart what she has said.

3. I see that some of you have apologized and I greatly appreciate that. I understand the desire to end the seeming abuse of the generosity of our EdenPoints program, and we are handling it as quickly and as best as we can. Having said that, I think we all need to step back from this and give everyone some breathing room. As Carrie Ann has said, all of us on the EF staff have several duties beyond the forums and we must tend to them as well so things do indeed move slowly.

4. Many of you have made great suggestions on ways to adjust the EdenPoints system and we are considering them. Again, this is something that takes time and, yes, more threads like the ones in question will pop up. Sometimes the best thing to do with the forums is to ignore those threads that you feel are inane, ridiculous, or what have you. Creating your own threads and posting on those that interest you will bury these threads.

5. I realize that this thread has cooled down, but as the moderator I wanted to let everyone know that I am up to date on all that has happened. Flags are being investigated and contributors are being e-mailed.

6. Last but not least, please bear in mind that we do have several new people signing up every day and that they may very well be legitimate people creating threads and accusing them of being the suspended contributor is an assumption that you really shouldn't make. If you have no personal interest in these threads, feel free to not post on them.

Oh, by the way, the offer of cookies and brownies and whatnot has put a smile on my face and I appreciate the generosity.

OK, I think I've gone on long enough. As always, feel free to message me with your concerns and I will address them as soon as I am able. less

Hello, everyone:

Wow, a lot has happened while I was off during the weekend! There's so much to address, so please forgive me if I overlook something or if things out of order.

1. I am very aware (as is the entire EF staff) that we have other contributors who are seemingly taking advantage of the EdenPoints program. Yes, they are suspiciously similar to activities of the recently suspended contributor. However, it is merely a suspicion that we are currently investigating and as of yet I cannot treat this as multiple accounts created by one person.

2. Carrie Ann has addressed the impatience that has been expressed in this thread, and I am personally thankful that she took time out of her much deserved weekend to comment here. I hope everyone takes to heart what she has said.

3. I see that some of you have apologized and I greatly appreciate that. I understand the desire to end the seeming abuse of the generosity of our EdenPoints program, and we are handling it as quickly and as best as we can. Having said that, I think we all need to step back from this and give everyone some breathing room. As Carrie Ann has said, all of us on the EF staff have several duties beyond the forums and we must tend to them as well so things do indeed move slowly.

4. Many of you have made great suggestions on ways to adjust the EdenPoints system and we are considering them. Again, this is something that takes time and, yes, more threads like the ones in question will pop up. Sometimes the best thing to do with the forums is to ignore those threads that you feel are inane, ridiculous, or what have you. Creating your own threads and posting on those that interest you will bury these threads.

5. I realize that this thread has cooled down, but as the moderator I wanted to let everyone know that I am up to date on all that has happened. Flags are being investigated and contributors are being e-mailed.

6. Last but not least, please bear in mind that we do have several new people signing up every day and that they may very well be legitimate people creating threads and accusing them of being the suspended contributor is an assumption that you really shouldn't make. If you have no personal interest in these threads, feel free to not post on them.

Oh, by the way, the offer of cookies and brownies and whatnot has put a smile on my face and I appreciate the generosity.

OK, I think I've gone on long enough. As always, feel free to message me with your concerns and I will address them as soon as I am able. less

Thanks Kristi!

Things seem to have calmed down alot since the suspension. Thanks for all your hard work.

I started a thread about blocking a fellow user. I didn't mean for it to be a total bitch fest, but I guess it did turn into a bunch of complaining. I really just wanted to know if I could block her posts. So, I'm sorry if I made any of the staff feel unappreciated. You guys are awesome! Thanks for all that you do. less

I, like everyone else here, appreciate all the hard work the staff at EF does for us! I did have a thought, maybe you guys could have some sort of probation period where points are taken away from a specific person for abusing them?

Not trying to add to complaints, but I did notice someone who "followed" me and then I went to their profile and they had followed and unfollowed tons of people and manufacturers, including myself. I know you guys are super busy and I don't pay any attention to any posts that seem ridiculous. I just hope that isn't why I'm not getting good feedback on my posts less

I, like everyone else here, appreciate all the hard work the staff at EF does for us! I did have a thought, maybe you guys could have some sort of probation period where points are taken away from a specific person for abusing them?

Not trying to add to complaints, but I did notice someone who "followed" me and then I went to their profile and they had followed and unfollowed tons of people and manufacturers, including myself. I know you guys are super busy and I don't pay any attention to any posts that seem ridiculous. I just hope that isn't why I'm not getting good feedback on my posts less

I think the problem stems from what has happened to us all in our lives. A program is instituted and then someone abuses the system. Business is hurt and the business recinds the program and those of us who actually follow the rules are left penalyzed while the cheaters go on to another company, game, store you name it. The thing is people EF has always, as a whole, done it's damndest to be fair. Case by case the issues have been dealt with and things pretty much only get better.

All of the EF staff benefit from the various programs and don't want to see them gone...OR abused. They will deal with the problem and they will also ask the community if they are stumped for some advice.

Not too long ago the staff were forced to outright ban a member for various issues and they were roasted for it...now they are being roasted for NOT banning a member. We can't have it both ways. I meant what I said, very little productive comes from police actions they should be taken only after all avenues have been exhausted, which Ef is good about.

We don't need any changes to the program that would penalyze legitimate members, we just need to ignore spam! Let them get their $.10 and be happy with it! For crims sake we get so much for a simple review, and even more from a well written and received review. There are enough of us here who care that we can continue to trundle on ignoring troublemakers and welcoming fresh faced new toy users.

I still think we need an EF potluck...food, wine and sex toys! Who's with me? less

I agree with you! Not only about EF and all, but also the potluck!

You have my bow.....

link



^-^

P.s: Couldn't figure out how to add the picture to this post, so I just put the link. (and I know about the whole links and formatting info thing, but that didn't really help me much, to be honest, lol. I've never used Syntaxes or anything like it before, lol) less

I think the problem stems from what has happened to us all in our lives. A program is instituted and then someone abuses the system. Business is hurt and the business recinds the program and those of us who actually follow the rules are left penalyzed while the cheaters go on to another company, game, store you name it. The thing is people EF has always, as a whole, done it's damndest to be fair. Case by case the issues have been dealt with and things pretty much only get better.

All of the EF staff benefit from the various programs and don't want to see them gone...OR abused. They will deal with the problem and they will also ask the community if they are stumped for some advice.

Not too long ago the staff were forced to outright ban a member for various issues and they were roasted for it...now they are being roasted for NOT banning a member. We can't have it both ways. I meant what I said, very little productive comes from police actions they should be taken only after all avenues have been exhausted, which Ef is good about.

We don't need any changes to the program that would penalyze legitimate members, we just need to ignore spam! Let them get their $.10 and be happy with it! For crims sake we get so much for a simple review, and even more from a well written and received review. There are enough of us here who care that we can continue to trundle on ignoring troublemakers and welcoming fresh faced new toy users.

I still think we need an EF potluck...food, wine and sex toys! Who's with me? less

"We don't need any changes to the program that would penalyze legitimate members, we just need to ignore spam! Let them get their $.10 and be happy with it! For crims sake we get so much for a simple review, and even more from a well written and received review. There are enough of us here who care that we can continue to trundle on ignoring troublemakers and welcoming fresh faced new toy users."

I am agreeing with this in particular. Also when anyone comments on useless posts that are being complained about it actually helps the persons score who created the mindless post in the first place (I believe 2% of your rank is how many people comment on discussion you start. For example-we are all helping Kristi right now ). Ignore, ignore, ignore. less

I, like everyone else here, appreciate all the hard work the staff at EF does for us! I did have a thought, maybe you guys could have some sort of probation period where points are taken away from a specific person for abusing them?

Not trying to add to complaints, but I did notice someone who "followed" me and then I went to their profile and they had followed and unfollowed tons of people and manufacturers, including myself. I know you guys are super busy and I don't pay any attention to any posts that seem ridiculous. I just hope that isn't why I'm not getting good feedback on my posts less

Hey, guys:

Airen's right--you will always have people who abuse systems, especially ones as generous as EdenPoints. While we do not want to have to ban people as we really hate doing it, we do talk to people who are abusing the system and encourage them to contribute to the community. Sometimes this doesn't work and we have to take more drastic measures.

I think people get so excited over getting the points that they don't realize that the points will add up even without them becoming greedy. Or some don't care. We just try to steer them in the right direction. Although repeated following and unfollowing of contributors and companies is not as serious as, say, bogging down the forums, it's still something we discourage. Like I said, we encourage them to contribute to the community in more meaningful ways.

It can be difficult for the community to be welcoming to members they see taking advantage of EF's generosity, and I understand this. Their behavior goes against what we try to instill in this community. But it's entirely possible that these new members can turn into meaningful contributors.

I appreciate people notifying me of abuses. Sure, it does create more work for me, but it's my job you know? And you all have been really great. Truly. I really appreciate all that you guys do and I'm happy to work with you in keeping this community awesome. And it is, you know? Through all the disagreements, we have a pretty damn awesome community.

For those of you worried about the community getting punished as a whole because of a few who misbehave, do not worry. We have no plans to get rid of EdenPoints. Some adjustments might be made, but you all will still be rewarded for your activities. Like others have said, do your best to ignore frivolous forum threads. But do keep me posted of suspicious behavior (such as the aforementioned following/unfollowing. You guys just keep doing what you're doing and those little issues will eventually get resolved one way or another.

OK, I think that's enough out of me. I hope you all have a great week, and I'll be seeing you all in the threads and elsewhere. So, let's make this week kick ass, shall we?

P.S. - Thank you all for being so great. less

LOL I want to add one more thing to anyone who is worried that you need to spam to make points. I post maybe one discussion every couple of months. I do quite a few reviews BUT since hitting 100 I cashed in my points to a gift card. Just by rating reviews, offering suggestions, working on my wish list, reading and answering forums I am making about 2-300 points every two to three days. It's just plain stupid and a waste of time to cheat the system. You add in the outrageous sales we have and BAM you are on your way to toys in no time. ~end rant less

LOL I want to add one more thing to anyone who is worried that you need to spam to make points. I post maybe one discussion every couple of months. I do quite a few reviews BUT since hitting 100 I cashed in my points to a gift card. Just by rating reviews, offering suggestions, working on my wish list, reading and answering forums I am making about 2-300 points every two to three days. It's just plain stupid and a waste of time to cheat the system. You add in the outrageous sales we have and BAM you are on your way to toys in no time. ~end rant less

Hey, guys:

Airen's right--you will always have people who abuse systems, especially ones as generous as EdenPoints. While we do not want to have to ban people as we really hate doing it, we do talk to people who are abusing the system and encourage them to contribute to the community. Sometimes this doesn't work and we have to take more drastic measures.

I think people get so excited over getting the points that they don't realize that the points will add up even without them becoming greedy. Or some don't care. We just try to steer them in the right direction. Although repeated following and unfollowing of contributors and companies is not as serious as, say, bogging down the forums, it's still something we discourage. Like I said, we encourage them to contribute to the community in more meaningful ways.

It can be difficult for the community to be welcoming to members they see taking advantage of EF's generosity, and I understand this. Their behavior goes against what we try to instill in this community. But it's entirely possible that these new members can turn into meaningful contributors.

I appreciate people notifying me of abuses. Sure, it does create more work for me, but it's my job you know? And you all have been really great. Truly. I really appreciate all that you guys do and I'm happy to work with you in keeping this community awesome. And it is, you know? Through all the disagreements, we have a pretty damn awesome community.

For those of you worried about the community getting punished as a whole because of a few who misbehave, do not worry. We have no plans to get rid of EdenPoints. Some adjustments might be made, but you all will still be rewarded for your activities. Like others have said, do your best to ignore frivolous forum threads. But do keep me posted of suspicious behavior (such as the aforementioned following/unfollowing. You guys just keep doing what you're doing and those little issues will eventually get resolved one way or another.

OK, I think that's enough out of me. I hope you all have a great week, and I'll be seeing you all in the threads and elsewhere. So, let's make this week kick ass, shall we?

P.S. - Thank you all for being so great. less