Spam Fan Mail

1. 82

   Mark Ewbieposted 12 years ago

   I always check before accepting fan mail.  Because I want to know that the person had at least read something they liked and meant what they say. Maybe their profile indicates a common interest or attitude.
   
   I delete a lot.
   
   Here's the latest...
   
   "I've been spotting a variety of your comments around the hub. I am very glad to follow and I look forward to reading several of your past and forthcoming hubs and comments. Continued best wishes to you. See ya' around the hub "
   
   Yeah OK.  So that's why exactly the same message was posted on someone else's hub.
   
   I blah blah and I blah blah.  What's the point?
   
   Another one deleted and another pointless follower.

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2. 60

   Bianuposted 12 years ago

   Never realized Fan Mail could be spam. I thought the person had to be a hubber. What on earth could be the benefit of posting spam fan mail!!!

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3. 71

   Cagsilposted 12 years ago

   Fan Mail is only SPAM when people include links. Otherwise it's not.

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4. 60

   Bianuposted 12 years ago

   Thot so. So Mark, where there any links?
   
   Or you just did not like the fact that the fan lacked originality.

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5. 82

   Mark Ewbieposted 12 years ago

   Ah.  Define spam.
   
   Sorry.  Meaningless praise.
   
   Someone says "wow you're really good" and hasn't read anything. Someone follows you without reading anything.  Someone leaves a comment saying "great hub" and didn't read it.
   
   That's my point.
   
   Not very well made but hey... at least I tried.

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6. 60

   Bianuposted 12 years ago

   One more question
   
   How do you know they haven't read anything? I need to check up on that.

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   1. 82

      Mark Ewbieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      How do I know?
      
      On a majority of my pages I have a certain style - sarcasm probably.  It's not something that is to everyone's taste. 
      
      If someone follows me whose English is not their first language or has followed twenty other people the same day - I figure they aren't following me for a reason.
      
      Likewise if they leave a comment like "great whatever" and they have left the same comment on other hubs within a few minutes, or they appear not to have understood or picked out ANY points from my page.
      
      Same with the fan mail.
      
      Now I don't care particularly, it just irritated me this morning.
      
      Because whenever I get fan mail or a comment I check out the person and decide whether to allow it.  Frankly, it's a waste of my time.
      
      Why do I do it?  Because I only want genuine responses and... I don't want to be used as some kind of cheap advert for someone else's ID.

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      1. 95

         wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Mark, I do the same thing - check out a new follower, read something and leave a comment.
         
         But first, check the activity.  If they have a page of "following" I'll look at the hubs but only for something that really catches my eye.  Otherwise I'm gone.  I don't have much use for the follower wanting the social aspect of having lots of followers of their own.  It's also why I don't have a facebook or twitter account and don't do well on redgage or some other sites.

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7. 60

   rocheljposted 12 years ago

   People have different meanings when they use the term "spam".

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8. 76

   Shadesbreathposted 12 years ago

   A great forum post you have here. Very useful and informative. I hope you will come see my forum posts too.

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   1. 82

      Mark Ewbieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Perfect.
      
      I think that useful and informative is a bit of a give away on most of my (our?) output.

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      1. 76

         Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         On very rare occasions, I will put out something grammatical or useful, but I try not to on principle. It's usually some spasm of outrage that causes one (I did one on lighting like that), or else some big bit of research I did for myself that seems silly to waste given how much research hubs pay. But yes, I am with you on that. 98% of my stuff is all tripe, garbage, and pedantic seeming fart jokes (which, delightfully, sometimes people THINK is real because they don't get sarcasm--a guy named Khan thought my anti-SEO hub was serious... best comment of all time).
         
         I typically assume those generic comments are not genuine though. However, I don't delete them either. I let them fall like droplets into the nascent sea of adoration that I keep telling myself I am going to have one day. So what if some of that liquidity is urine. Fish pee all the time but we still say the oceans are filled with water. In fact, I've peed in them myself, although I certainly wouldn't admit that to anyone.

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