Webmaster-Talk will be starting a new forum. It will be called "Referral Mania". The purpose of the forum is to allow members to list their referral links for their favorite programs and allow other members to join. This will be another place that members can help members. There will be some strict rules to maintain orderliness and fairness. Before opening this forum, we will try to answer any questions or suggestions. There will not be a formal, announced date of opening, so you will have to be prepared. First, the procedure.

Procedure: Member A posts their referral link/url for their program. Member B replies that they wish to join that program under Member A. No other member may reply to Member A. Member B then has four hours to reply in the same thread with their referral link/url. After Member B replies with their referral link/url, another member, Member C, can reply to Member B with their intention to join, under Member B (not A). Member C continues on....etc. After Member A gets one in their downline, they may reply to another post or start another thread, but can not start more than one thread in 24 hour period. The rules will be very strictly enforced to provide equality among the members.

Referral Mania Forum Rules: (particular to this forum!)

1. The subject line must only contain the program name. Anything else and it will be deleted. When you start a new thread you must include a link. You must have your referral url in the post. If the referral link/url is not in the post, it will be deleted. If you see someone do this then report it using the Report this post to a moderator link. Do not start a new thread unless you are presently a member of that program.

2. Only one active thread allowed per program. Any other thread started for that program will be deleted. If you see two threads for the same program and you have decided to join, please use the one posted first.

3. When you decide to join a certain program in a thread, reply to the post that you are signing up for that offer (you must sign up under the last referral in that thread, not the first). No other members may reply to that post for 4 hours. This is to allow time for you to finish the sign up process and get your own referral link. You will have 4 hours to reply with your new referral link. If a thread gets too long, it will be locked and a new thread will be started using the last legitimate referral. If there is no return within 4 hours, or a posted reason why, then your reply will be deleted and another can sign up. Please list the member name you are signing up under.

Note: Even if you originate a thread with a program, you can get one referral for that program in that thread. The thread is not yours for all the members to sign up under you. It is a first come, first serve basis. The likelihood of two people posting or replying at the same time is zero. The posting time listed by the forum will determine the first post or reply. If you reply that you are signing up and then hit submit, only to find that someone has just replied previous to you, then edit your post and sign up under the person that is in front of you (after they place their referral link). If you try to get in front of someone else, your reply will be deleted.

4. You may start 1 thread per day in this forum. The start of the new day is at 12:00 AM E.S.T. You may post in other forums as normal. If you start more than one in this forum, ALL of your posts in that section will be deleted. You figure the difference in the time zones, the admin/mod will go by E.S.T.

5. After posting a thread, you may not bump your thread to place it on top. You may only respond to direct questions about your selected program. If you bump your thread, it will be deleted. If someone has a question about the program, please ask and the thread starter may answer the question. Everyone may post opinions, findings, experiences, etc., about the program. Meaningless posts will be deleted. (Examples of meaningless posts: bad program, dumb, no good, I don't like, etc.) Rude remarks, disrespect to other members, etc., will get you removed from this forum.

6. If a thread has not had a response in 5 days time, it will be deleted or closed with the referral links removed, and a brand new thread can be started about the same program. You may not start another post about that same program until that thread has been deleted or closed.

7. Please be sure there is not already an active post about the program you plan to promote. Duplicate threads will be deleted. You can do a search on each page, or review the post titles for the programs. Even if a thread is overdue to be closed or deleted, do not make a duplicate thread since it will be deleted.

8. You may only join one program at a time. This is to keep one person from attempting to get "position" over the other board members. Replying that you are joining in more than one thread (replying in multiple threads at the same time) will get all of your posts deleted.

9. If someone is joining a program that you want to join, you may (and probably should) reply that you want to join also. That will let them know the interest. However, do not reply to more than one post that you are joining. Replying to more than one post will be considered an attempt to get "position" on the other members and your posts will be deleted. It's like standing in line in several different lines at the same time; it doesn't work.

10. Do not jump line! You must use the last referral in the thread in order to reply and join. If you are already a member of that program, then you will have to wait until that thread closes to post your referral link.

11. Please do not place your referral link in your signature. Since no one is doing that now, it will be construed as an attempt to cheat and your posts will be deleted until it is changed.

12. If you see a problem, please report it to the admin/mod. There is a link in every post to report that reply to the admin/mod. We will investigate it as soon as possible. Added 8/19: Also report the problem in the Referral Mania Complaint forum.

13. This forum is for referral links only. The accepted type of programs include traffic generators, pay-to-read, pay-to-surf, etc.

14. Unacceptable links include affiliate programs, gambling, banking, warez, porn, hate, etc. (If it's not allowed elsewhere on Webmaster-Talk, it's not allowed here!) These posts will be deleted along. (This includes posts for C2it, PayPal, FineClicks, etc.)

If everyone follows these rules, this forum will run smoothly. When the forum is open, the most recent rules will be posted. Please not the date of these rules. The date will change if the rules are revised. If you have a problem with the rules after the start of the forum, please PM DMo224. You may also email DMo224 using the Send Email link in the details. Do not use this forum for complaints or your posts will be deleted.

If this forum does not run smoothly, either the trouble maker will be banned, or this forum will be closed.


Examples:

Start of thread: Webmaster Quest

Thread information: (where you normally post)

Refer new members to Webmasterquest.com and build your downline for hundreds of free hits to your site, and a chance to make real money!

Referral link : http://www.webmasterquest.com/join.php?ref=youruserid

Referral traffic on five tiers! 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%, 1%
10% Cash when 1st level referrals win Surf for Cash prizes
10% Commissions from 1st level referrals
My username is DMo224

Reply: I am going to join this program right now. I am joining under DMo224. My username will be (fill in)

Within four hours of reply time, this reply must be edited by the member or be deleted. Here's what the edited reply should look like:

I am going to join this program right now. I am joining under DMo224. My username will be (fill in) I'm back and here is my referral link: http://www.webmasterquest.com/join.php?ref=yournewid

Thank you. This forum can work with all of us trying to work together and trying to help each other.

Great idea, Dave! This should be helpful to everyone. It's a good way to get people to sign up under you that are actually interested in the programs. Some people sign under you out of friendship and aren't really interested, so, they never do anything with it, afterwards. I'll be watching for this to begin.
Jane

Hi Dave,

I second that this is an excellent idea! And it is very beneficial to the members of WebmasterTalk as well! I hope it will run smoothly, but the rules seem a bit complex. I doubt that many newbies will be willing to read through all those rules. In fact, I have this premonition that this forum will welcome spam and more one-time posters. Perhaps you should put a "posting requirement" of 10 posts? I think that would be fair enough, and it's not a limit too hard to achieve.

I have another question. Let's say I'm a regular user. Here is what I do:

- I go to the "Referral Mania" forum
- I go through all the services one by one and sign-up for all of them (without the referral link)
- Now I have a bunch of affiliate programs that I can later post on the board.

I think that this would be a very unfair way to abuse this forum, and I think the odds are that it will happen. And the biggest problem is that there's really no way to prevent this.

I can see what you're saying, conkermaniac. You brought up some very good points. Even if someone tries to cheat another person by not signing up under them, they can't start another thread using their referral link until AFTER the original post is closed. So, seems to me it would be a waste of their time to go to those extremes. The first person to post would probably get a reply, so, it wouldn't actually hurt them. You also would have to wait 24 hours before starting another thread, so, it would be time consuming to sit on a lot of referrals. I don't see what the benefit of that would be, anyway, considering only one person signs up under you, then moves on to the next one.

I definitely agree with the minimum post requirement. Without that, you are probably asking for trouble. Once this gets started, the rules could be modified. You don't know where your trouble spots will be until after it is launched. The rules could be changed then.

I think it's worth a try. You're always going to have someone that will try to abuse a system.

Jane

Originally posted by conkermaniac
I think that this would be a very unfair way to abuse this forum, and I think the odds are that it will happen. And the biggest problem is that there's really no way to prevent this.

Good comments Jane.

There might not be a way to prevent it or make it cheater proof, but we'll be keeping a close eye on it. There are several rules that pertain to trying to cheat. And please, if any member see the rules being broke or bent, report the post. This will work if we all work together, with the intent of helping each other out (not helping just oneself out).

The biggest thing for people to realize, the virtual scissors have been sharpened! For those that want to abuse it, or try to cheat it, they are going to get their posts deleted. I hope that was clear about all the reasons that a post will get deleted.

How does everyone feel about having a minimum posting amount in order to participate in this new forum? What do you suggest for amount (10, 15, more)? Since the rules will be strictly enforced, any posts from people less than the minimum would be deleted, not closed.

If this runs smoothly, it has the potential for opening up more of the same type forums. But, if there's too much problem, either the problem posters will get banned, or the forum closed.

Let's work together for the success of everyone here! A little pep talk there........

Dave

Hmm, I really thought there would be much talk about this one. Maybe I'm the only one that had lots of questions, lol.

Any more comments?

Dave

Hi Dave,

I think that 10 posts would be a fair amount to ask for. It prevents one-time posters, while still allowing some of the more "quiet" members of our board to be able to participate.

this idea sounds pretty cool, although im still a bit confused on how it works, maybe ill read it a couple more times lol

The rules are fairly intensive. The procedure is probably the best explanation so far. The intent of the new forum will be to provide another way of members helping members! It will let us create a chainlink sucession in referral programs with the members that are interested. It will also prevent one person being on the top of every program, thus helping the membership to act together as a team of concerned webmasters (not the I'm out for me and nobody else mentality).

If anyone has any questions or comments, please post your replies. Or send a PM to me or whatever. I hope it's very clear what we will do. If you make a mistake in the new forum, don't worry, it will be deleted.

To the members success!

Dave

Is there any news as to when this is starting up - or are we still looking at the technical issues before we go live with this...

certainly an interesting idea - I've got my referal links at the ready...

Originally posted by Tiggy
Is there any news as to when this is starting up - or are we still looking at the technical issues before we go live with this...

I think most issues are resolved. Most of this was to give members time to get an understanding of how it all will work. So post those questions..........?

It will be starting soon.

Dave

So this new section isn't open yet? Or is there a seperate site for these boards? When will this all be setup?

Good Idea IMHO!

"So this new section isn't open yet?"

No, it is not open yet, but VERY soon

Waiting for it

Originally posted by keithd
So this new section isn't open yet? Or is there a seperate site for these boards? When will this all be setup?

Good Idea IMHO!

This new forum will be under Webmaster-Talk Miscellaneous. And as Chief said, very soon.

Dave

Originally posted by Tiggy
Is there any news as to when this is starting up - or are we still looking at the technical issues before we go live with this...

certainly an interesting idea - I've got my referal links at the ready...

????

Originally posted by unik
????

And the question is ????????? The answer is !!!!!

Really, this will happen soon! Anymore questions?

Dave

Well, I hope all the questions have been answered! If not, there might be a few deletes when the Referral Mania forum opens.

We'll see soon!

Dave

*ding* *ding* new suggestion...

I have seen forums like this on the paid to message boards. I think if you are going to create this forum for downline building there should be another forum in conjunction with it for skips.

That way if someone skips in the chain it can be reported in that forum.

If you want some links to some of the get paid to message boards that use that I can provide

Originally posted by Drachewyn
*ding* *ding* new suggestion...

I have seen forums like this on the paid to message boards. I think if you are going to create this forum for downline building there should be another forum in conjunction with it for skips.

That way if someone skips in the chain it can be reported in that forum.

Drache, thanks for the suggestion and the examples. That's a very good suggestion.

So, we'll have a Referral Mania Forum with two sections:[list=1][*]Referral Mania Links/URLs For posting of programs and sign ups.[*]Referral Mania Reports/Comments/Complaints/Questions For posting of questions, especially dealing with skipped members, deletions, etc. [/list=1]

Dave