Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

What are they being flagged FOR?

The one thing that will get you consistently flagged is offering to trade reviews - because it's against the terms of service for Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and amazon (conflict of interest).

Other than that - inappropriate language for the group you're posting in? Some groups are going to be more sensitive than others.

Without more details, it's impossible to say what the problem is.

Spamming every group by mentioning the same author/book is also not allowed. Most groups have rules about when and where members are allowed to post such info.

I'm sorry you're being flagged, Crystal. It's tough being new and then inadvertently step on forum toes. Hang in there.

I would think they'd explain why you're being flagged.

Being rather technologically challenged, I had never participated in social media until I published my first novel; then I was advised to join Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and did so. At first I was all excited about my literary baby and talked about it maybe more than I should have; I also did some things that were interpreted as “usingâ€� Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ for my professional ends. This was not intentional, and it was very embarrassing to be seen in that light!

I learned that Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ is more tolerant of talking about one’s own work in a group if one has already joined that group and participated as a reader before bringing it up. Some groups, as far as I can tell, seem to have a minimum requirement of posts per year in order to allow any talking about one’s own work, or even to be considered an active member of the group.

Let’s bear in mind that Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ has minimal paid staff and most of the work is done by volunteers, folks like the rest of us who have made a commitment to spend a chunk of their discretionary time serving this community. It would be great if there were some message explaining why posts are flagged, but perhaps there simply aren’t sufficient staff hours to make it happen.

Crystal wrote: "Alicia wrote: "What are they being flagged FOR?

The one thing that will get you consistently flagged is offering to trade reviews - because it's against the terms of service for Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and amaz..."

Then you may have been the victim of a troll, and I'm sorry if you were. If you're a beginner, it would be polite for someone to tell you why they flagged you.

Seems you've considered all the obvious possibilities.

The only other suggestion I have is to run your posts past some of your friends here before posting them - and listen to what the friends say. Tread lightly for a while, in other words. Plus keep copies of your posts, so you know what you said.

Sorry you're being frustrated like this.

Alicia, I think I know what it is, and I hope I won't go through that, but explain Troll. Is it when someone is flagging you just to be nasty? Is there anything you can do about it?

Abigail wrote "I learned that Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ is more tolerant of talking about one’s own work in a group if one has already joined that group and participated as a reader before bringing it up. Some groups, as far as I can tell, seem to have a minimum requirement of posts per year in order to allow any talking about one’s own work, or even to be considered an active member of the group."

Excellent points, Abigail! :D

Unfortunately as Amazon came to see, there are many hit and run authors[or author supporters] who post in threads or join groups, or friend people..... for the sole purpose of "pimping" a book, and they have no desire nor intention of interacting with members. They were just inserting their book info anywhere in discussion threads. That is why Amazon created the "Meet Our Authors" forum and banned authors from self-promoting books in any other threads/Forums.

Group creators here at Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ have had to implement the same rules in their own groups, yet still some continue to ignore the group rules and post book info regardless if the book is even in the same genre as the group focus ,or even how long they have been a member of the group, or if they have ever interacted with the group!

Guidelines for Authors
/author/guid...


Those are all important points to consider in being a member at Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.

I also have to say that I encourage members to flag any posts that they see that are violating the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ TOS, so that they have notice/record if a particular member is a repeat offender.

I'm sorry, but surely anyone being flagged has been told the reason why, such as not following a group's guidelines/rules, or whatever.

Groovy wrote: "Alicia, I think I know what it is, and I hope I won't go through that, but explain Troll. Is it when someone is flagging you just to be nasty? Is there anything you can do about it?"

Troll is usually nasty - sort of like vigilante. You break a rule and they come down on you like a load of bricks AND get all their friends to do it, too.

There is usually some provocation - new authors oscillate between too modest and too brash. GR is a place for readers that has made authors a little space. It is fine - once the book is published, it belongs to the readers, anyway.

But if the author tries to respond, sometimes it escalates.

Me, I try always to de-escalate - I'm a peaceful sort. Quiet little introvert who likes people to be nice to each other.

Just wondering, it really wouldn't be possible to harass someone with malicious flagging here, would it, because Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ would have the record of who was doing the flagging, and could easily see any pattern of harassment.

I have no idea. I am sorry that you girls can't get along. I'm sure everyone is a quality person. All I do is write, and then look for someone who may like what I like.

I'm like you, Alicia. A peaceful introvert who wants people to get along and be nice. But sadly, that's not always the case on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.

I just hope, like C. stated, that Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ would see any pattern of harassment. And I hope Crystal finds out why she's being flagged, and IF she's being trolled.

Crystal, this is the first time I've heard of someone being banned.
Do you know which forum is flagging you?

I unintentionally put a post on a forum in the wrong place. A moderator, who lives up to their name, messaged me and let me know. I corrected it right away. That's what should be done first before flagging someone. I understand if someone continues to
break the rules, but at least give the member a chance to be heard to correct the mistakes, or state they think this is a case of being harassed.

I noticed that you have posted about this in several groups. Have you been flagged in all those groups?

I do know one thing that will get a person banned from probably every forum on the internet, and that is creating a "sockpuppet".

Question from me who's obviously clueless:

C., what is sockpuppet?

Groovy wrote: "Question from me who's obviously clueless:

C., what is sockpuppet?"

Sockpuppet (Internet) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia





A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term, a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet made from a sock, originally....

There was a scandal about authors creating sockpuppets to create fake[glowing] reviews of their own books!

The “sock puppet� scandal: How to stop fake book reviews ...


...

“Sock puppet� accounts, in the context of online book reviews, are fake forum, customer review or Twitter accounts that an author creates to promote his or her

Crystal wrote:"And i did not create a "sockpuppet" this is my only account on goodreads."

Aren't you also the author? ~Dai Alanye

Crystal wrote: "C. wrote: "Crystal wrote:"And i did not create a "sockpuppet" this is my only account on goodreads."

Aren't you also the author? ~Dai Alanye"

Seriously!?
No, i'm not the author. You can find out ..."

Strange that yours seem to be the only reviews for all those books by this 'Dai Alanye' that you post all over Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.

I certainly did when you disregarded my own group's rules about self-promotion in my group, and tried to argue when I sent you a PM! [I'm sure that I am not the only group creator who has flagged you].

Because when you claim "i always make sure that i'm not violating any rule, post at the right section" I know from personal experience.....that is absolutely not true!

Just as I do not believe THIS post belongs in a folder that is for discussions that are "Group Concerns"! Read the other thread titles, do you not see the difference?

I still believe that you are a "sockpuppet" and are either the author Dai Alanye, or a relative/friend, or groupie, of the author.... and are joining groups only to post about those books!

As far as my sharing with others about a book/movie that I loved, of course I do, but I do it in my reviews, or in personal messages to those that I think enjoy the same genre. I do not violate group rules about book promotion[these are meant to include~ whether the book is by yourself or someone else] to splatter my praise throughout threads in every group that I am a member of.

My group rules on self promotion are in the very first discussion thread under "Introductions" Self-Promotions Rules! Your books & blogs: Please read before posting! And that includes books by an author other than yourself! I state that you must be involved in the community first, which you were not, since you posted a Dai Alanye book your very fist time at my group!

I am not the creator of this Clean Romances group and have no say so about your leaving or staying with this group.

You are blocked from my group.

In the interests of fairness, can I say that since I have no published books I would not have read that thread C. and I might well have endorsed a book I liked if it seemed appropriate... possibly not as a first post in a group but this isn't the easiest site to navigate and if you're new to it it's very easy to say or do the wrong thing.

Lots of misunderstandings happen, it's a shame and it seems that Crystal's first posts have come over the wrong way, that is, it must have seemed to others as well that book promotion was your only reason for joining the group. Now that you've said that's not the case, hopefully you can join in some discussions and enjoy the site.

Louise Sparrow wrote: "In the interests of fairness, can I say that since I have no published books I would not have read that thread C. and I might well have endorsed a book I liked if it seemed appropriate... possibly ..."

Hi, I just want to make clear that I am not talking about 'this' group~ 'Clean Romances', but my own group, where this happened. :]

I did get what you said about possibly not reading that thread since you have no published books, however, please remember that according to the definition of a "sockpuppet" the rules against "self-promotion" on forums, also apply to promoting work by others, so the group creator and/or website owner has every right to ban someone that they feel has created a sockpuppet account, just for the reason to promote books, products, ect. and/or has violated the rules about the conditions under which they may be permitted to post such promotions. Which of course would make it appear to be a sockpuppet account, especially if you notice that same person posting the same in many other groups on the website, yet not even interacting in discussions!

Usually groups do require that you first be an active participant of the group for a certain time period or number of posts, and then must post in the appropriate folder.

Now I clearly understand this whole ordeal. At first, I didn't get why it seemed someone was being flagged for what seemed to be no good reason, or if they were being trolled, but it is really clear now.

Thanks to C. and all the good input here:)

Signed (clueless:)

I agree that's important, and it's perfectly reasonable for a group to want genuine active members.

I'm just thinking that it would be very easy to look like a sockpuppet without even knowing they exist, it's the first time I've heard the term so I've missed it completely and I've been on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ for years! But I'm very familiar with wanting to share books I like, and I can see how easy it would be to be over enthusiastic about promoting one.

You are most welcome Groovy, I just hope it helps newbies to understand why there are rules governing self-promotion...to hopefully limit fake reviews by authors/their family/friends or groupies, lol!

Fortunately, most of our wonderful authors nor their supporters would not resort to this, but there are those who certainly have.

Re: Louise Sparrow,
I do see your point, and admit that I belong to other forums and had seen the term sockpuppet for years before I ever looked it up to see what it meant, lol!

It is not mentioned here as often as at forums where members get banned more often, like ones that have more diverse topics like politics, ect. I believe the Amazon forums may even be where I first saw it used when a member said they knew a certain banned user was now using a sockpuppet account.

I too, enjoy sharing info about books, movies, recipes, but I do read the rules of the groups I join, and I do scan the discussion threads before I join.

Louise Sparrow wrote: "I agree that's important, and it's perfectly reasonable for a group to want genuine active members.

I'm just thinking that it would be very easy to look like a sockpuppet without even knowing they..."

Louise, years before there were such a thing as these types of forums (I'm talking years) I was SHAMEFULLY guilty of that. I had just published my first book and was so excited about it, I joined everything that talked about the love of reading and talked 99% about my book. So, I know how easily one can fall into that. But now that I've matured respecting the literature world, I now know how irritating and unprofessional that is.

It's one thing to be enthusiastic, but quite another to be grandiose.

That is bologna and you know it! I most certainly did explain to you by PM how you had violated my group's rules on self promotion. Besides that, my rules are quite clear and self explanatory, you just chose to disregard them, and my PM. And I am sure that I am not the only one who has flagged you, or you would not have a ban hanging over you.

As I am a member of this group I just happened upon your thread here.

Anyone, including Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ staff can look at any of the books here on this site by Dai Alanye and see your review and scroll down and under Discuss This Book/topics see how many posts in how many groups you have made for each book! Such as the 7 here~

/book/show/2...

You are a dishonest person, and I am not going to argue further with you.

Glad you got your answer, Crystal. Now you can move forward.

Crystal wrote: "I started joining groups in January, so making mistakes is very likely to happen.

The the only message i got from C said "read the threads in the Introduction section regarding requirements before..."


What a lying nut case you are! Anyone knows that a member is not able to delete another member's posts from someone else's group, and since you are BLOCKED from my group you have not been able to post there again! So how would I be able to delete your posts from other people's groups, hmmm, where I am neither the group creator or a MOD!

You better watch your lying Slander!

I also would not bother to follow you around. I have better things to do on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ! All I did was enter your[I suspect phony] author name into the search bar and noticed you are the only reviewer and then on each book page when I scrolled down I saw how many groups threads you entered your book into. I am not even a member at many of those groups.

As I said before regardless whether or not you are in fact Dai Alanye, you are still SPAMMING Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ with your inserting those books everywhere and that is also what makes your Crystal account to be considered a "sockpuppet" account for the express reason of pushing those books.

Since you have no other interest in the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ website or discussion groups and do not interact with other members, you really think you are welcome in other groups, just to SPAM them, and that I am the only one who has flagged you? Get real, you know better than that!

Now any more lying Slander in this thread and I will flag you here!

@Crystal, it is pretty obvious that C. does not like you and you don't like her! - i.e. it seems personal as opposed to just professional or voluntary modding problem - maybe it's the obvious escalation in war of words - so it's good that you are not part of her group anymore. Why be around someone who is disrespecting you or vice versa?

And if C. told you via email about spam posts then you either should have removed the post or got off that group way sooner. Why stay in a toxic situation?

I usually post in publicity / promotion folder of some of the groups I'm member of when the book is free (and yes, in the beginning even I was told that I was posting in too many forums, so I stopped) - but for the most part have kept an account on GR just for the love of books, and my fave group is 'All About Books' - they only read and discuss fiction and non-fiction books by established authors - one gets to learn through discussions.

And for non-reciprocal ethical reviews, the best one is 'Review Group'. 'Indie Review Initiative' is another one.

There's got to be a better way to spend time than fighting it out with complete strangers on public platforms!

Crystal wrote: "I'm not a liar, every word i said here is completely honest. And there are other books and authors on my bookshelf.
I copied and pasted C message here, which was her answer to my question "I notic..."

Another lie, you most certainly did not copy & paste any such message from me!
However, since I think there is something wrong with you, I don't even care anymore, and am no longer going to respond to you. I am just glad that you are blocked from my group!

Yes, I will freely admit that I am guessing[ based on very strong circumstantial evidence] that your Crystal account is a sockpuppet account or Dai Alanye is just your author Psuedonym.

What books have YOU written that can be compared to Dai Alanye's since there is no mention of any books by YOU on this website?
And your profile lists your website as ~

Re: Noorilhuda,
Totally agree with your post! I would not blame the creator of this group, if she deleted this thread.

I think she should. In harmony with Noorilhuda, the forums should not be a place for arguing and being nasty with one another.

C. has made her point. And Crystal got her answers as to why she's being flagged. Continuing to argue about it is non-productive. So, instead of airing it out in public, do it privately--pm one another.

My apologies for being so very far behind the curve on the issue being discussed on this thread. I have been dealing with some longterm health issues that still are not resolved, but before I delete this thread, I feel a need to say a word here.

Because all of Crystal's comments were apparently flagged, I am only able to see one side of this conversation, which isn't quite fair to Crystal or to my ability to understand what has been going on. And please, I don't want anyone to give me a long, detailed explanation here. (I've read through the posts that remain.) Crystal has contacted me and confessed to making mistakes in posting when she first joined this group. She desires to participate with us again, now that she better understands how our group works. So I'm asking everyone to give her another chance (even though I don't know what her original "sin" apparently was).

PLEASE DO NOT FLAG ANY MORE OF HER OR ANYONE ELSE'S POSTS WITHOUT DIRECT MESSAGING ME FIRST AND EXPLAINING TO ME WHY YOU FEEL HER POSTS NEED TO BE FLAGGED. I will read the comments and make the decision, okay? (You can copy and paste anything you object to into a direct message to me, but please don't flag it without running it by me first.)

Remember that different groups have different rules. Unless a member is violating a rule of THIS group, her comments should not be flagged before checking with one of the moderators.

Now let's go back to being the civil, helpful group we have always been to one another. Thank you, as always, for your support of Clean Romances!

Joyce DiPastena, Clean Romances Group Creator

Thank you, Joyce, for your decision. And I hope you get better.

Groovy wrote: "Thank you, Joyce, for your decision. And I hope you get better."

I agree, and BTW, I am pretty sure that I never flagged her in this group.

C. wrote: "Groovy wrote: "Thank you, Joyce, for your decision. And I hope you get better."

I agree, and BTW, I am pretty sure that I never flagged her in this group."

I'm not pointing fingers. As I said, I can only see one side of the discussion here since Crystal's posts were removed by Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. I don't even need to know who flagged them. Just let's all not flag anyone here anymore without running the problem by me first, okay? Thank you, everyone!

I don't flag anybody. I don't even understand what that means.

Verna wrote: "I don't flag anybody. I don't even understand what that means."

Verna, if you look just below this message to the right, you'll see the words -- reply, delete, flag. If you click on reply, Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ will add a bit from the prior message at the top of the post, like it added your comment to this post (because I hit reply). If you hit delete, it will delete the message, but no one other than the group moderators should ever delete a post, unless it's your own post and you want to delete something you typed for whatever reason. Apparently if you click on Flag, Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ will delete the post and if too many of one person's posts get flagged, Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ can kick them completely off of Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. So we don't want to flag anybody before any problems are at least first run past one of the moderators so we can first try to solve the problem amicably. Is that all as clear as mud? LOL!