Every day i come here to read the posts on the forum(s) – occasionally i choose to reply to threads but only when i feel as though my contribution may have some benefit.
But every day i see unnamed (by me anyway ) people who spam every single thread with replies where their sole objective is to segue into promoting their own agenda's.
Do these people have permission from the forum owners to promote their products on this forum? I have heard that the McKnight business is a small operation (well run but small in terms of manpower), but surely there is a requirement to weed out those individuals who gain some semblance of respectability by posting here?
I would have thought it good business to protect your own reputation by ensuring that other "unknown" businesses were required to be vouched as it were prior to allowing them to promote their goods or services on this site, if only to protect those members who have come here based on Steve's reputation?
I am a new member and I have seen people who contribute frequently with real estate related businesses named as part of their details on the end of their comments. Most of them seem to have fairly sensible advice to offer. My opinion as a family investor is that these people are as knowledgeable (if not more so) as anyone else, and I'd like to think most take part in the forum because they love talking to other like-minded people about a topic they are passionate about. As far as proving their credentials, etc. I don't know where you'd start or stop with that.
It doesn't take most people long to realize that there are different approaches to real estate investing, pro-cash flow, or development, or capital gain etc. and basically it is up to the reader to filter the information and come up with their own approach/views/method. So unless the people in question are really being ridiculously self-promoting or misleading (which I agree would jeopardize the standing of the forum) I am happy for them to give their business details. Its up to us to assess whether we want to use their professional services.
I agree with G, I have been watching the forum for a few months, so still a newbie, but I’m neither swayed or afraid of contributors with business details attached. I have used one of the mortgage brokers who helps people on this forum and found him to be very knowledgeable and helpful.
Occasionally it is obvious the someone is trying to use the site to get business, but others seem to be here to help and be helped.
People are allowed to use signatures at the end of their posts (like mine). But as long as they are using the forum to contribute then most people don’t have any problems with it. My signature is small compared to some, but I use this forum to gather information and form an active part of the community…I’m not here to spam.
In fact I would have to say that there are not a lot of spammers in this forum. Yes there are some, but a lot less that normal forums and people can spot spammers from a mile away.
Pssst Ryan……. I think he was talking about you lol!
I have trouble when people reply to topics they obviously have no idea about and then it is a case of the blind leading the blind!
I think most people just try and ignore the rubbish and take the good out of the forum. It just means that a lot of stuff is not worth reading when you look down the list of active topics and see that one person has replied to everyone. (yes that could be me)
I wouldn't tar SM with the same brush as spammers or dodgy business that spruik on here He has more integrity than to be involved with crooks!
Maybe he was talking about me, but I am not doing anything wrong. I am not a spammer. I am learning so much from being in this forum and I am enjoying the community. I plan on sticking around for a while.
@ Chriscarman – What have I done that is so wrong? I am honestly being involved in this forum and not trying to spam. Please be clear so I can fix what I have done.
I don’t want to stop posting, and don’t want to argue or have people out to get me. So just let me know what needs to be done.
ps. I realise there are some posts of mine that appear to have 2 signatures. This is because early on I didn’t know how it all worked and made some mistakes. Tried to edit these posts but I don’t seem to be able to.
You can use a positive cashflow property finding service like CashflowInvestor.com.au It is getting harder and harder to find positive cashflow properties these days, so to have a team of people working to find them for you is a great idea. I don't like property brokers as usually there is an upfront fee of at least $500 and then you can to pay them about 2% of top of the purchase price, which on a $400,000 property can be like $8,000. The site above isn't a broker, its a subscription finder service. Hope some of you will find it useful.
And from someone who on the same day mentioned that they were buying their first property!
ryan mclean wrote:
Hey, Me and my wife earn a combined income of $40,000/year. We have set up a trust and a company and are currently in final negotiations of buying our first property.
Not a service I would be using in a hurry!
Just jokes McLean…
But in all seriousness there is surprisingly few spammers considering. You would think this would be perfect lurking ground for brokers and agents spruiking their wares.
Fair call Plummer. I have a few bodge posts floating around out there (for which I officially apologise). So how can I delete the ones that are spammy? Because I have found that after posts are like a day old I can’t edit or delete them.
I have been reprimanded and I want to set things straight…but how can I do that without being able to delete or edit previous spammy posts.
ps. Overall, it is not my intention to spam, and I believe the majority of my posts are not spammy at all. I have had people thank me for my contributions in some instances…so they can’t be that bad for the forum.
Don't worry Ryan. many people have their hearts in the right place, they just don't understand that the comments they make can be seen in a negative light too. If you stick to genuine posts (maybe a few LESS posts) then people will see that you are genuine in your intentions.
The idea is to help when you can and not post when you can't, unless you are very fired up! I think everyone is guilty of a lot of posts when they first get here because most of the time they can't talk property to anyone at home. You are also not the first to get ganged up on, so don't feel too bad.
Don't worry Ryan. many people have their hearts in the right place, they just don't understand that the comments they make can be seen in a negative light too. If you stick to genuine posts (maybe a few LESS posts) then people will see that you are genuine in your intentions.
The idea is to help when you can and not post when you can't, unless you are very fired up! I think everyone is guilty of a lot of posts when they first get here because most of the time they can't talk property to anyone at home. You are also not the first to get ganged up on, so don't feel too bad.
D
Haha I have seen the light!
I guess you are right, I have gotten extremely carried away. I contacted the moderator of the forum, so hopefully he also knows my intentions are good and won’t ban me from the forum.
I will take your advice and post a little less (though I don’t know if I can resist posting a lot…but I will try), and I will avoid the threads where I don’t know what I’m talking about, and help out in the threads where I do know what I am talking about.
I also removed my signature for the time being, to show people I am serious, so hopefully the ganging up on will stop
Instead of encouraging forum moderation, perhaps we should be encouraging 'self-moderation'. Take everything with a pinch of salt, take only what you perceive to be the cream of the crop, mix it up well and let simmer to create your own soup of knowledge.
If something sounds too good to be true, get closer to investigate. If it smells a little 'off', run the other way!
I would read all property-related posts at this forum, even those revolving around the promotion of a service, but subsequently not visit the website or check up the service as mentioned if I'm not comfortable with it, or don't require the service.
i arent saying "dont post", but i am saying that when i arrive to check the forum and i see every single thread has a reply from you then i know that it is just spam
of course it didnt help when i noticed you had 42 posts on your first day and in the same first day accused someone with 1 post of spamming
Just wanted to thank you for bringing this up. I have been in contact with the moderator and this has really helped me understand how best to go about using this forum. I have official learned my lesson, so thanks for bringing it into the light.
Hopefully now we can move on and get on with helping each other out.