OzBargain 101: Lesson 3: Referral Links

Updated

This guide is now out of date. Use this page


This is an often confusing and provocative subject. It’s also an area that moderators have spent a lot of time seeking feedback, changing the guidelines as well as creating mechanisms to assist the system.

The Basics

What is a referral link or code?

A referral link or code is something a company gives out to enable a customer to invite their friends. The company gains another customer, the existing customer earns a credit, and sometimes the new customer also gains credit. A win for all 3.

Example:

uberpic Uber offers a referral code and link that existing customers can give out to others. Both the referrer and referee will receive a promo ride up to $10 value.

What is an affiliate link and how is it different?

Affiliate links are similar to the above but instead of getting paid in credit, they pay out in real money. One example is Amazon, where they pay a commission from every sale. Affiliate links are what the majority of websites use to monetize their sites are are usually run by affiliate networks such as DGM, Commission Junction, LinkShare, etc.

Referrals on OzBargain

The original simplistic idea was that if a member posted a deal and the store has a referral system, then they are free to mention that link or code in the deal. But like any true bargain hunters, the temptation to push their referral links everywhere meant that the site needed to come up with guidelines which are to this day still evolving.

Do I need to have special permissions to post a referral link/code in a deal?

Due to numerous users signing up to SPAM their referral codes/links, only members who don’t have a P1, P2 or L plate against their name are permitted to put referral links or codes in their deals. You will be off your P plates 6 weeks after posting a deal.

OK, I’m ready to post a deal and would like to include a referral link. How do I do this?

  • Make sure the non-referral link (e.g. a clean link) is posted in the URL field.
  • Add your referral link to the bottom of the post with a note letting others know that it is a referral link. (NOT in the coupon code box, NOT in the title)
  • If you list a code that can’t be used in conjunction with a referral link, it is best NOT to include the link.
  • Please don’t change the price to factor in the referral. The deal should stand on its own.

Referral Deal Etiquette:

  • Do not mention ways to circumvent a sites referral rules - eg multiple sign ups.
  • Do not add your referral link to your deal post if it was posted more than 7 days ago.
  • Do not post referral links from a merchant, retailer or service provider different to the one for the main deal.
  • Either put your referral link at the end of the deal description or don't mention it at all - do not solicit referrals.

I have posted a deal and put the referral link in the description. Now what?

Your deal will now be marked with a R

deal

and the referral link will be made grey.

iherblink

I’d like to post another deal with a referral link. Can I?

Once you post a deal marked as a referral, you will be subject to posting limitations as follows:

  • Users are limited to 1 referral post (deal + forum) every 24 hours or 2 referral posts (deal + forum) every rolling week, however
  • Users that have posted referral deals that have low votes will be further limited. The vote average is calculated by taking the sum of (positive vote - negative vote) for each deal post, divided by the number of recent deals.
    • If the vote average across the recent deals is 0 or below, the user cannot submit referral posts until the vote average is corrected over time.
    • If the vote average across the recent deals is between 0 and 3, the user cannot submit referral posts for 2 weeks from the last post.
    • If the vote average across the recent deals is between 3 and 8, the user's limit is reduced to maximum 1 referral post per week.
    • Users who have posted good deals with referral links are rewarded - if the two most recent referral deals made the front page, the limit is increased to 3 posts per week.
  • Users who have reached their referral posting limit will see a warning on the deal submission page. If they continue to submit posts with referral links despite the warning, their account will be placed in the penalty bin.
  • Users who have exceeded their referral posting limit will not be able submit further posts.
  • Users who have reached or exceeded their referral posting limits will be able to see further information on the vote average/breakdown of posts in their post history page, visible to themselves and moderators only.

These are the same posting limits as a rep has.

Why are there posting limits for deals with referral links/codes?

The top priority of OzBargain is serving members with good deals. If you are posting good deals that have referral links, then you will likely not be affected the the posting limits. However, if you are posting bad deals with referral links, you will be limited. Moderators constantly monitor deals and if we see a store that continually has poor performing deals that have referral links, we may ban users from including referral links for that store.

Has OzBargain banned the posting of referral links for some stores?

Yes. One example: Referral links in Vinomofo deals have been banned. See discussion .

I saw a grey box in some deals mentioning referrals. What is that?

referral

Any user can add their referral link into OzBargain’s automated system. If you are not the deal poster, your link will be among other users in the random link section. This doesn't count as a referral post as this is an automated function.

How do I put my referral link into the system?

Go to My Account - Edit - Referrals.

What stores are in the automated system?

Amino Z Dropbox Naked Wines ShopandMint
Appsumo Etsy nitrous.io StackSocial
ArtsCow Giving Assistant Nova FM (Competition) The Home
Beat The Q GreenManGaming OFX Top Cashback
Belong Groupon OneDrive TransferWise
BitGold iHerb.com OZSALE Travel Pony
Catch Of The Day ING Direct Paula's Choice Uber
Cracka Wines Kleenheat Gas PricePal Vinomofo
Cudo Koding Ratesetter Vitacost
Delivery Hero LastPass Rebtel Wordery
Digital Ocean LivingSocial Australia ReShip.com

I’ve added my link to the referral system and posted a deal but it is not showing in the grey box.

The OP’s referral link only shows after 5 votes (Now 25 votes). This is ensure that only good deals are posted.

Will having my link in the automated system and posting a deal count as a referral post?

No. Since you aren’t mentioning the referral link or code, it doesn’t count as a referral post.

I noticed there are some stores that have wiki pages for referrals. What is that?

Only stores that provide a link can go into our automated referral system. For businesses that only give out codes or require other non-URL information, wiki pages are made. Feel free to add your information to any of the wiki pages.

See Wiki: List of Referral Codes & Links

OK. Deal description, automated system, wiki pages. Anywhere else?

Link In Deal Link In Post Content (Deal or Forum) In Comments Coupon Code Box
Affiliate Links Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed
Referral Links Not allowed Allowed Not allowed Not allowed
Other Links Allowed Allowed Allowed Not allowed

That’s it. Referral links are not permitted in comments. You also shouldn’t link to your deal elsewhere on OzBargain if it is a marked as a referral post.

Can I post a deal that is about a store’s referral system?

  • You may post a deal that is for the retailer's referral system, under the basis the referee also earns credit and it has not been posted previously (unless it is a temporary offer that had previously expired) or is already included in the OzBargain referral system.

  • Referral links or codes are not permitted in deals that are for the retailer's referral system (As of March 2016). Create a Referral Wiki Page and add your link or code there. See the ZenMarket Referral Deal as an example.

  • In the case of long running referral only deals: All subsequent “announcements” about the referral program shouldn't be posted as new deals, including updates to the referral program. This does not include limited time referral only deals where the previous offer was expired/ended and is now being offered again. You may post a forum topic about any updates to a referral program (with a link to the referral wiki or referral system only).

  • Examples: (1) Airbnb update their refer a friend credit from $32 to $34. As this is a long running referral only deal, updates to the referral program should not be posted as a deal. (2) A Bank has a promotion for the month of April, sign up to a new account and both the referee and referrer receive $50. In July they have the same promotion again - this can be posted as a new deal as it is not a long running referral deal and the previous offer had expired/ended.

I've noticed some deals are marked as a referral but don't link to a referral but rather another site.

Third-party price comparison/tracking, cashback sites, blogs and product review website operators need to follow the Third-Party Website Operator deal posting guidelines. The same guidelines as referral links apply and should be mentioned at the bottom of the deal. Referral posting limits will equally apply.

Examples:

Fashionlane is a site that scrapes fashion retailers for price changes. The deal is for Van Heusen while Fashionlane is mentioned in the description.

Tightarse is the rep for Cashrewards however he posted a deal for Lenovo.

OK, but I've noticed a Cashrewards deal posted by Tightarse and he is marked as a rep.

That's right. Cashrewards is a unique situation in that it offers deals and also can be a supplementary bonus (cashback) to deals. So if the deal itself is a cashback, then the deal is linked directly to Cashrewards, and rep posting limits apply. If the deal is for another site, like Lenovo, and there also happens to be a cashback mentioned in the description, then it is marked as a referral.

So a rep for a company, a user who posts a referral link/code in a deal, and 3rd party sites are all restricted to the same posting limits?

Yes, that is correct. We want the focus on posting good deals.
voteup If the deal is popular, then that allows the user to post more deals.
votedown If the deal is not popular, then that restricts the user from posting.

Rep Posting Limits - Referral Posting Limits


So that is a very long summary of referrals. The guidelines always evolve but this is what currently works to ensure good quality deals are posted and users are able to add referral links.

With that said, we are always looking for feedback to improve OzBargain. In a couple of recent threads, there were some different (and very heated!) opinions on referrals. Basically the following camps:

  • People who don’t care either way (most users).
  • People who don’t care if there is a referral link as it doesn’t affect the deal.
  • People who do care if there is a referral link as there is a perception that the user is posting for referral credits (irregardless of whether the deal is voted popular or not).

I hope this summary at least explains the big picture of referrals. Referral deals make up a very small % of overall deals. Feel free to ask for any particular stats and I'll see if I can track them down.

Useful Links:

Deal Posting Guidelines: Referrals
Posting Referral Links
Referral Posting Limits)
List of Referral Codes and Links
User-Submitted Referral Code Updates (Updated March 2016)
OzBargain 101: Lesson 1: Commenting and Deal Formatting
OzBargain 101: Lesson 2: Tagging Deals and Forum Posts

Questions, comments, feedback?

closed Comments

  • +27

    I'd like to express my recurring comments how I think it's time to make referal links purely random. Deals will still get posted. In this bargain hunting world its rare only one person will find or post a deal from a major player such as Groupon or Amaysim. So therefor all deals posted by a single user multiple times on many occasions will still find its way to the front page.

    Users posting deals shouldn't feel the need to be rewarded in any way, it's a community and we all benefit already by savings on products we would buy or want to buy.

    • +10

      I concur.

      Otherwise it encourages people to post low effort 'deals' akin to spam rather than post out of goodwill.

      • +2

        Otherwise it encourages people to post low effort 'deals' akin to spam rather than post out of goodwill.

        To counteract this, the referral posting limits (just like the store posting limits) should limit any posters of poor deals. Do you think the limits aren't working?

        • +8

          I don't. In fact I would say that recurring posts from regular users from the same deal maker takes away the opportunity for new comers and those passionate about those suppliers from being able to post a deal.

        • @clarky:

          Sure but couldn't you say the same thing for some posters who post a high amount of deals (e.g. lyl, TRENT & Tightarse). See Feb Stats

        • +6

          @clarky:
          I think Trent and TA don't at all concentrate on referral deals. They are prolific posters.
          Neil, why not just have static referral limits?
          Why not simply nominate a per-month limit for same-company referral deals posted by the same user? This would do away with users "hogging" the referral system.
          Better still and far simpler; just make all referrals random only. Everyone wins!

        • @King Tightarse:

          I think Trent and TA don't at all concentrate on referral deals. They are prolific posters.

          Yeah, not saying referral deals. Clarky was stated that recurring posts from regular users from the same deal maker takes away the opportunity for new comers.

          why not just have static referral limits?

          What do you mean?

        • +3

          @neil:
          Certain companies with referral schemes have regular and predicable deal promotions.
          Take the case of Amaysim. I once was the poster of a decent deal of the kind we see a few times every month. I didnt know much about referrals and had no idea the amount that a decent deal on Ozbargain would generate. It was hundreds and hundreds of dollars with zero effort! Evey time I checked I had more and more credit. It went on for months. I still have some of that credit. That doesn't matter to me as I don't use Amaysim really (just a spare phone) but it revealed the amount and that would certainly motivate people to "hog" those deals if they could.

          What I am saying is make it fair all round - limit the number of times each user can post the same company per month. I would suggest once per month.

        • @King Tightarse:

          What I am saying is make it fair all round - limit the number of times each user can post the same company per month. I would suggest once per month.

          Wouldn't you run the risk of deals not posted? For example, I follow Doughnut Time on Instagram and have done most of the posting on OzBargain. I try to give the chance for others to post but end up doing myself. If it is limited to once a month, many of the deals (many popular) wouldn't get posted.

        • +1

          @neil:

          So then as I mentioned, use the current posting limits towards the deal OP's name shown on the referral links. If they've exceeded that, then it becomes entirely random, and they're just posting because they believe it's a good deal, with no rewards. Otherwise they can still post up to 3 referral deals per week, which is more than fair.

        • +1

          @neil:
          Well perhaps people would message their friends "hey Jonno, quick post this great Amasim deal, it just popped up and I have already done one this month" .
          If the deal was valid and there were referrals to be had, people would be sure to respond.
          The point is it breaks up single user deal hogging.

          Overall I would vote for random only referrals though.

        • +4

          @neil: if the deal is good enough you wouldn't run the risk of someone else not posting it. When delivery hero was running hot with deals tons of people checked around the advertising time and competitively tried to post it on OzB as a deal. I believe the same with other good deals.

        • +1

          @clarky: And here is one of the biggest fallacies that a bargain may not be posted. A good deal will find its way on this site.

          There is ton's of people who want to post bargains but because of the speed of the biggest contributors its redundant by the time they try.

        • Its fairly obvious to many they are not working where they should, for reasons i have tried to outline below

        • +2

          @neil: Users Like TRENT certainly arent the issue - in fact if TRENT was to start spamming us with referral deals, i dare say he has banked enough goodwill that it will take months before you get the first report about it!

        • +1

          @pointless comment: Yeah not sure why Trent was mentioned he actually posts bargains because he loves to.

          He even told me not to up vote his deals unless I really think its a bargain! How many posters would say that.

        • +2

          @GameChanger: it would be easier to tell you which posters would not say that

        • +1

          @GameChanger:

          the speed of the biggest contributors its redundant by the time they try

          This has made me wonder about issues such as insider knowledge - where say a member of ozbargain gets sent a draft of a 'mass marketing' (aka spam) email with the time it will be sent to the database of names a few hours prior to its release

          Although a somewhat separate issue, but definitely in the same stable, marketing employees reaching out to ozbargain members to push certain products is also something that has crossed my mind

        • +1

          @pointless comment: I have no doubt this behavior is occurring behind the scenes, but I would guess not a on a big scale.

          Just the other day I read Everbuying was paying people to write good reviews, would be naive to think Ozbargain is immune from similar tactics.

        • OK, going to try to reply to all of these at once…

          @GameChanger:

          A good deal will find its way on this site.

          I've lost track of the argument was but yes a good deal will find its way on the site but additionally there are deals that certain users have a knack of finding. Me? The majority of doughnuts deals. IWTF? The majority of flight deals. JoFord? The majority of fashion deals.

          Is it possible that eventually some of the deals would have been found by others? Yeah maybe but not all so I'd be hesitant to put any barriers on a user that would result in ANY missing good deals.

          @pointless comment:
          @GameChanger:

          Yeah not sure why Trent was mentioned he actually posts bargains because he loves to.
          Users Like TRENT certainly arent the issue - in fact if TRENT

          Please re-read my comment. Again, I'm NOT saying that, no issues with Trent. I was just referring to Clarky's statement about recurring posts from regular users.

          @pointless comment:

          Although a somewhat separate issue, but definitely in the same stable, marketing employees reaching out to ozbargain members to push certain products is also something that has crossed my mind

          We had 293 deals removed for sockpuppeting in 2015. It's a constant battle however as good as our system is (analyzing metadata, voting patterns) it still may happen. We are pretty vigilant and have a zero tolerance policy which had lead to sites like Kogan and Shoppingsquare permanently banned from reps on OzBargain.

          @GameChanger:

          Just the other day I read Everbuying was paying people to write good reviews, would be naive to think Ozbargain is immune from similar tactics.

          This store was banned for a similar reason. Our hope is that these companies learn from their mistakes. Most do, some don't.

          So ummm back to referrals…

        • +1

          @King Tightarse: "Overall I would vote for random only referrals though." Plus 1 to that. Posting should be 'Selfless' (as it alreadly mostly is on Ozb.). When I read AFF Forum I often have to wade through pages of 'copy and pasted' info put there purely to promote their own referral link.

    • +1

      I know that's an opinion that's been voiced lately, amid all the discussion. I'd like to go a more 'sitting on the fence' approach, if you will. To reward a poster for posting what they think is a good deal, and keeping it random where possible.

      What I'd like to see, though I'm not sure if the site's framework allows for it, is for the referral link that shows up on 5+ votes to count towards the posting limits.

      So for these:

      • If the vote average across the recent deals is 0 or below, the user cannot submit referral posts until the vote average is corrected over time.
      • If the vote average across the recent deals is between 0 and 3, the user cannot submit referral posts for 2 weeks from the last post.
      • If the vote average across the recent deals is between 3 and 8, the user's limit is reduced to maximum 1 referral post per week.
      • Users who have posted good deals with referral links are rewarded - if the two most recent referral deals made the front page, the limit is increased to 3 posts per week.

      Would still apply, however the person who then keeps posting deals that get 5+ votes couldn't get a 'get out of jail free' card, so to speak. Any further deal they post would be just a random link, unless they'd 'earnt' the right to have their own referral link shown.

      Theoretically, then a member could only post maximum 3 referral deals per week.

      neil: possible?

      • +2

        Firstly, thankyou to Neil to afford this opportuty for open and honest discusssion as was promised.

        Interesting concept Spackbace…i think that in essence, voting thresholds need to be raised across the board to reflect both the increasing popularity of the ozbargain site, and to counteract a 'harem' effect that seems to follow certain voters.

        By this i mean that certain posters have essentially built a brand around their username by their volume of posts and their near constant presence on the front page. Following this, they have a core of voters who will unquestionably upvote the majority of their posts.

        The success of this phenomenon has lead to, i believe, the emergence of referral spamming, whereby any given popular user can use their position to seek monetary gain by pushing referral credits at every single opportunity.

        As such, preventstive measures of 15 votes to get to the front page and single digit thresholds to prevent 'referral spamming' on ozbargain are drastically reduced in their effectivity.

        I think that the current thresholds are fine for new users - and for the majority of users who do not seek financial gain from the ozbargain site - but by having some users who are getting (near) dailly exposure with referral credits and other affiliations open the site up to allegations of favoritism, cronyism and corruption.

        And that, i believe, in tandem with the ozbargain sites fundamentals of community and democracy as its underpinning characteristics is why you have had so many spot fires of late in posts such as these:

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239480

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239188

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239650

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239695

        Many of the 'referral spam' deals are little more than cutting and pasting of emails that are sent to 100s of 1000s of Australians en mass several times per day

        As such, id think that the same deals will make their way to the ozbargain site regardless, so arguments of site content reduction from ozbargains business perspective by imposing stricter voting thresholds are negligible.

        EDIT: in the interests of openness and transparency in this debate, perhaps it would be a good idea to show exactly who is negging? To prevent the harem effect i outlined above, that is if the neggers themselves dont have the conviction to identitfy themselves

        • As such, preventstive measures of 15 votes to get to the front page

          Just as a matter of correction, it is 20 votes.

          By this i mean that certain posters have essentially built a brand around their username

          A separate issue but yes, this is certainly true for some users. It can also be said for certain categories like Airfare deals which are almost always highly voted deals.

          so arguments of site content reduction from ozbargains business perspective by imposing stricter voting thresholds are negligible.

          This is not an argument by us. Strictly a moderation issue with an end result with a more harmonious community + less moderation for referral issues. If it were a business decision, we'd just do what every other bargain site (TopBargains, HotUKDeals) does and have all links point through OzBargain affiliate links. :)

          OK, so you wrote a lot there. In a couple of sentences, what are your suggestions?

        • +3

          @neil:
          Well, firstly i suggest that in this particular forum topic all negs are shown in interest of transparency - i collected 3 negs in about 30 seconds flat…and i reckon i can name exactly who too.

          Secondly, yes i understand its 20 votes to get to the front page as a benchmark but deals can get on the front page with an influx of votes at 10-12 votes in quick succession - we have all seen this before.

          IMO ThE simplest and fairest way to address the issues is to make all referrals random

          If that is considered to be too restrictive to generating new content for the ozbargain site, then voting thresholds need to be raised on referral deals fpr long term members to firstly reach the front page, and secondly to limit the amount of referal deals any particular ozbargain member can post.

        • @pointless comment:

          Well, firstly i suggest that in this particular forum topic all negs are shown in interest of transparency - i collected 3 negs in about 30 seconds flat…and i reckon i can name exactly who too.

          Not technically possible. I think it's better we focus on the issue rather than getting personal.

          Secondly, yes i understand its 20 votes to get to the front page as a benchmark but deals can get on the front page with an influx of votes at 10-12 votes in quick succession - we have all seen this before.

          Yes, but this is due to our formula that predicts that it will hit the front page. It allows those subscribed to front page alerts (email, RSS) to know about the deal at a faster pace as well as those surfing through OzBargain. If the deal doesn't make it to 20 then it won't show (never happened).

          Scotty's Math Formula

          generating new content for the ozbargain site

          Sorry, this is an incorrect assertion. As stated in the beginning, users adding the referral was an innocent way to reward the user for posting the deal. It's not a content generator as referral deals make up a tiny portion of all posted deals.

          voting thresholds need to be raised on referral deals fpr long term members to firstly reach the front page

          Interesting idea. I was thinking the other day about the magic number for showing the referral link in the grey box. A moderator suggested 20 (front page). I was thinking the number would have to exceed the average vote for that store. We could definitely shift the number so may have to think of what that magic number would be.

          secondly to limit the amount of referal deals any particular ozbargain member can post

          That is covered in the Referral posting limits

        • @neil: thanks Neil…heres my thoughts

          20 votes to get on the front page

          The issue here is not with whether it takes 15 or 20 votes to hit front page, its that With some posters the limits are are effectively moot. These posters are getting assistance through upvotes form their 'ozbargain friends' for want of a better term who repeatedly vote unconditionally for them. As you well know once a deal hits the front page, you get a lot of exposure, and there is a snowball effect in upvotes which can in turn give the impression of a deal been greater than it is.

          I think it actually hurts your sites look and credibility - i mean you dont need to go to ozbargain to see 10% off offers from deal aggregator sites or other companies who routinely use mass marketing emails - you just have to look in the spam section of your email account.

          (referrals as an incentive to post is) not a content generator as referral deals make up a tiny portion of all posted deals

          OK thats great… Then why not have a completely random referral system - if you are not concerned with losing the incentive for posters to put up referral deals, it should not be an issue - every site user can put their name in the hat, and get a $10 credit now and then

          Referral Posting Limits

          My point here is that they too need reform for reasons outlined in my first par. Currently if any poster can regulalry get to the front page, and with an average more than 8 votes, then they can virtually just keep cut-and-pasting referral deals whenever an opportune 10% off email, for example is received.

          'ozbargain friends' not only get posters who repeatedly put up referrals on the front page, but also keep them there every second day on average under the current system.

          When a few sure votes in combination with Ozbargain's increasing patronage all these 'magic' numbers are simply too small

        • @neil: perhaps another consideration worth looking at is capping the amount of times you can vote for a single poster.

          Something like 1 vote per member per deal-poster per day could work

          So as not to disincentivise people who want to post several deals per day, each member could change a vote as many times as they Iike each day so that you are effectively voting for the posters best deal, but still you can only vote for each poster once.

          This may work in tandem or as an alternative to increasing the magic numbers to better reflect ozbargains increasing membership and over all traffic.

          hows that grab you?

        • @pointless comment:

          OK thats great…

          Sorry, I don't understand what you are saying. Users have the choice of using the OPs or a random link. For deals where the OP hasn't put in their link, only a random box will show. The choice is the users

          you dont need to go to ozbargain to see 10% off offers from deal aggregator sites or other companies who routinely use mass marketing emails

          The moderators are not the arbitrators of what a good deal is. It's up to the community. I personally like % off Groupon deals as I sometime find some good food deals near me + wife does afternoon tea stuff on a regular basis. I don't like the numerous SSD deals mostly as I don't have anywhere to put SSDs. The point is that everyone is different. If you don't like seeing Groupon deals, then you can block the store or even the poster if you wish. You can also adjust your front page threshold. If you don't want it to be 20 adjust it to 50 or whatever. Go into My Account-Edit-Deals

        • @pointless comment:

          @neil: perhaps another consideration worth looking at is capping the amount of times you can vote for a single poster.

          Interesting but what purpose does it serve? If a user posts a deal for cheap Pepsi Max at Big W and also posts a deal for a free doughnuts, 2 unrelated items and stores, I'd like to vote for both (I like them both). I think we don't want to risk overcomplicating the voting system especially for the majority who don't know/care. I mean imagine if you could only vote for 1 post per user on Reddit, Retweet one post per username on Twitter, or Like one post on Facebook per person.

        • @neil:

          Sorry, I don't understand what you are saying.

          Please reread, perhaps?

          Also, with due respect, rehashing lines on the content of grey boxes and users choice is not the solution to issues that i and others are talking about here sorry, nor is adjusting your personal preferences to block what ever you dont want to see.

          Way i see it, its more about site integrity. Members are invested in this site, and many dont realise that there are contentious issues involving equality and fairness behind a lot of the deals they upvote.

          Such issues lead to unhealthy competition, a defined hierarchy and alterior motives - notions which are directly at odds With democratic ideals that define community

          You opened this thread up to comment and suggestion - telling people what they already know with links to site instructions is not conducive to such an environment sorry to say

        • @neil:

          Interesting but what purpose does (capping upvotes on deal posts) serve?

          It serves to place a greater value on votes, much like you cap the negs in forum posts at 3 per day. - Its exactly the same approach - in reverse

          You cant go around negging everyone all the time - conversely, you wont be able to upvote your 'ozbargain buddies' umpteen times per day, but still allows you to cast as many votes as you like across different deal posters

          Using your example, say scotty posted the doughnuts and the pepsi - two deals from the same member. you voted for the doughnuts first up in the morning, coz you like donuts.

          You go, get your free donut and while you are stuffing your face on the bench outside you check ozbargain on your phone with the other hand. You see the pepsi!

          You have two choices. If the pepsi is a weekly special, you upvote it tomorrow (or the next day). Or you can revoke the vote you Gave scotty for the donuts - and upvote the pepsi.

          For the most part the other sites you listed, the votes dont have a lot of currency.

          When referral credits are involved, ozbargain upvotes do have a certain currency, especially the first 20 votes (as it stands) to get the referral deal both active and highly visible - these votes can yield hundreds of $ - a clear distinction, no?

        • @pointless comment: further food for thought on capping upvotes…given that the most prolific deal posters post, on average in the vicinity of 1-2 posts each day across the month, i think 1 vote per member per deal poster each day is quite fair.

          Using Feb stats as an example, if you remove the top 5 posters for the month from the sample, the average post per day drops well below 1 post per day.

          Another thought is that limiting votes to 1 per day will help to reduce the freebies that many view as 'clutter' - udemy courses, phone apps, ebooks - these things regularly hit the front page amd can make it harder to see deals that can save users money.

          I dont think many people wouod actually pay for these, and if actively looking for them, they will be available via search. Or even in a dedicated 'free digital goods' section

    • 'd like to express my recurring comments

      Sure, understood. I guess the question is it just an annoying thing that there is a user who posts deals with referral links that happen to be popular OR is there an adverse effect on users or deals?

      I can definitely see the former but the stats don't provide evidence of the latter.

      EDIT: Reply to the clarky's first comment.

    • +7

      Agree with clarky 100%.
      Random only for referrals - fair all 'round. This would discourage members monitising their Ozbargain membership. Referrals would be more of a "community bonus" type of deal. A pleasant surpise when your turn comes up. Motivation for posting deals would revert to "for the general good of the community" which in turn, would propagate a more natural friendly and sharing environment.

      • While i like clarkys suggestion in its simplicity, the referral system actually works very well for ozbargain as a motivator for people to generate site content.

        And there is nothing wrong with that - at the end of the day ozbargain is a business and the current referral system is a great model where by its members are rewarded at no expense to ozbargain - everyone wins: referrer and new sign up get a kick back, the company gets a new database entry and a sale and ozbargain gets eyeballs on the Site and a reason for both parties recurring patronage

        Unfortuneately, al lot of people in is world arent motivated by community spirit and altruism so i dont think it makes good business sense for ozbargain to discontinue the referral carrots altogether, which imaking it random effectively does for those sekking personal gain

        I think as Spackbase alluded to above, the solution lies in a rehaul of voting thresholds at some level

        • +5

          Well you still might get a bonus if its random, just not a "sweepstakes" like the current system which encourages hogging and other poor behavior (such as talking down similar deals or posters linking back to their own referral deals etc)

        • +2

          @King Tightarse: totally agree with you, everything you and clarky have said makes perfect sense

    • +1

      Agreed and concurred…good post Clarky

      • +1

        And only a few hours into this post and there is a fresh Groupon deal on the front page from another OP and without a direct referal. This proves the system works.

    • +1

      In this bargain hunting world its rare only one person will find or post a deal from a major player such as Groupon or Amaysim.

      A particular name comes to mind.

      • No points for guessing who is the centre of discussion

        • The issues here are about referral/voting framework reform for the entire site - not about penalising any single member

  • +3

    Will this be in the exam ?

    • +9

      Don't worry, it's open book.

      • It's even hard even though it's open book.
        There is no ctrl + f button

  • +1

    I'm a little confused by this debate. Every time I see the little referral box I have the choice to click the original posters referral link or a random one. It's my choice and others if they want to reward the OP with a referral or not. Isn't it just up to each user if they want to reward the OP for their effort?

    My personal opinion is why not reward the prolific posters here, they put a lot of time and effort into their posts for our benefit, the site would be a lot poorer without them.

    • Many referral deals are simply cutting and pasting spam email - little effort is involved

      Such deals will always be posted by someone else - they are emailed to 100s of 1000s of people everyday.

      Some posters are just doing it purely for monetary gain - being the first to post such deals all the time also may raise issues of insider knowledge with the company they are posting

      Also, these posters are getting a lot of assitance in reaching the front page through upvotes form their 'ozbargain friends' for want of a better term - once a deal hits the front page, you get a lot of exposure - remember, ozbarganis members only make up about 20% of the sites traffic

      hope you can see Its not as simple as 'Ill give XX poster a referral credit coz he works so hard to out up so many deals, and i never would have found out without XXs post'

    • +1

      Because some of the prolific posters are abusing their reputation on here and feeding low quality deals just for referrals.

    • +3

      Further to my points above, ill try to break down some ballpark numbers to give you a greater understanding

      As an example, lets say a post gets 5,000 views, and 1% of those views sign up a new account through the referral link. That equates to 50 sign ups or $500 in potential store credit at $10 per sign up, the going rate for new sign up referrals at many companies

      Now lets say that of the theoretical 50 signups, 50% use the referrers direct link and 50% use the random link.

      That means that the referrer who posted the deal will recieve $250 in store credit.

      If you can jag those numbers a few times per month, it really adds up over time!

      I hope you can now Better understand that 'community spirit' is not always the driving factor in posting deals

    • +2

      I'm disagree with your statement 'posts for our benefit' with certain referal posters, they purely do it for their own financial gain and have stated publicly about it. Most new users or visitors to this site see the OPs referal link first, and in some cases the OP is telling people to use their referal link straight up before the grey referal area. You get enough of a kick posting a good deal as you do finding one IMO.

      • Clarky - Ive tried to explain this even handedly and very simply this in my two posts above - do you think that will be understood by tassieeagle and anyone who cares to read it?

        • +1

          Yeah I'm not sure, let's hope they do. As for me I have read every comment on this forum so far, I find it extremely interesting and positive.

    • +1

      @tassieeagle
      Well you are describing the choice from the point of view of the end user - to reward or not reward the poster with a referral bonus fair enough, but here we are discussing who actually gets to be that rewarded poster and whether it should be the same few people over and over.
      Put it this way: It makes perfect business sense to promote a friendly face and a demeanor of "I'm just here to help because I love helping people with bargains" but if you saw the actual dollar amount of referrals generated each month next to the user names, you would soon see it is a hobby-business. Each successful post of a popular referral deal has a definite dollar value.
      Where there is money up for grabs you get competitive behavior, some of it not so good.

      • +3

        The thing that gets me is the arrogance of some of the posters, who openly admit to milking the Ozbargain community for their monetary gain.

        • +4

          I guess we should be clear about stating the problems with some posters as the system is now. I see it as:

          Hogging milking every referral dollar from certain companies with the most generous plans.
          Running down running down similar deals in the comments with links and advice to use their own referral post.
          Spamming blindly posting dubious repetitive (sometimes daily) mediocre deals with an apparent view more to circulate their referral link rather than the actual deal. Note: some well known posters posting recognizable deals will get near 20 positive votes on reflex and "brand recognition" alone.

        • +3

          @King Tightarse: Spot on.

          I had this discussion before where I have questioned the number of votes to reach the front page.

          Also another problem is that I believe there is possible behind the scenes deals done, with users to post company deals. Of course the difficulty here is proving it, which is near impossible.

        • +3

          @GameChanger:
          I have laughed as some deals (Amaysim) get posted twice a month literally seconds after released IE Ozbargain submission page loaded, ready to go. Quite often there are few others that are soon deleted. Others may try, but there can only be one winnah!!

        • @GameChanger: When you say behind the scenes, who really gives a toss? At the end of the day all I care about is getting the best deal. You should in fact be congratulating these guys for having the time to find the deals for you instead of trying to make yourselves the ozbargain police with your lawyer like talk. Seriously, it's the same crap over and over again from the same few. Move on.

        • +1

          @themob: And therein is the problem; users like yourself place your full trust in well known posters. I can bet once you see the post on front page you assume the deal is a 'bargain' which in reality might not be.

          Now imagine what the general public who visits this site thinks when a deal is on front page? No doubt they're also thinking the deal is a real bargain.

          Why is this a problem? People are being mislead and wasting their money. The whole purpose of this site is to save people money. Also the companies won't provide bigger discounts if they know Ozbargain traffic is loving a mediocre deal.

        • -5

          @GameChanger: At what stage did I say anything about placing my trust in anyone? Don't put words in my mouth. It's obvious these guys research their shit. They wouldn't be where they are if they didn't. If you reckon they don't post the cheapest deals, you're free to hit the minus button. But you won't, coz they do. Right? And as for wasting your money - are you serious? How old are you, 7? This is hilarious.

        • +1

          @King Tightarse: as i said above, the speed at a
          Which such deals are posted undoubtedly raises issues of insider knowledge and collusion betwee the deal poster and the company that the deal is from

        • +3

          @themob:
          This has been a long time coming and emerged recently as an issue.
          A mod (Neil) was part of the discussion and promised a thread would be coming up where these problems and possible solutions could be looked into. I think that open discussion is always valuable don't you? You don't have to agree with everything here but you should know that it goes a bit deeper than:
          "who really gives a toss? At the end of the day all I care about is getting the best deal"
          Ozbargain is for posters of deals as well as users. Try and post an Amaysim or Groupon referral deal sometime and see how you go.
          A vigorous, open discussion is always good.
          Another way to say whats happening here:
          You think certain referral posters are posting to be good blokes? Surprise! They are getting a lot of money!
          We are discussing ways of making it fairer for all.

        • +2

          @themob: Research lol? Many of the site wide discount deals are spam.

          How can I neg a site wide deal when there is possibly 1 out 1000's of products on it that is a bargain. On this technicality my neg vote won't be accepted.

        • -2

          @King Tightarse: So this thread is specifically about groupon and amaysim then is it, and one particular user? Why don't we lynch him and be done with it? Come on mate, get real.

        • +4

          @themob:
          No, they the most commonly seen examples, but good high paying examples.
          Some others include Vitacost, Catch of the Day, iHerb, Living Social, the Home, Uber.
          It makes sense that any users motivated by referral money would post the highest paying and most frequently promoted companies.
          Look, the point of this is to offer solutions to problems.
          Before you offer a solution you need to identify the problem. I don't resent anyone for making a buck and I think people will take what ever they can get. If people are hogging all the resources, well that's different. I posted further up about just how lucrative every successful Amaysim post is (thats my only experience with referrals) let me assure you it really pays off.
          You would be foolish to believe that someone who posts nearly every valuable referral deal is doing it because he or she is "just a good bloke".
          We are looking at ways it could be fairer and might also declutter the site.

        • +1

          @themob:

          At the end of the day all I care about is getting the best deal

          Its true, most ozbargain members dont care who posts what, and as the majority of site traffic is not even a signed member (approx 80%) - they would not even know one poster from another. some people eventhink ozbargain is a shopfront and contact the site asking when the item they bought will be delivered/despatched etc!

          Obviously you are in the dont care camp, and thats fine…which makes me wonder why you are commenting here?

          You should …be congratulating these guys for (their time to find and post deals)

          As an example, lets say a post gets 5,000 views, and 1% of those views sign up a new account through the referral link. That equates to 50 sign ups or $500 in potential store credit at $10 per sign up, the going rate for new sign up referrals at many companies

          Now lets say that of the theoretical 50 signups, 50% use the referrers direct link and 50% use the random link.

          That means that the referrer who posted the deal will recieve $250 in store credit.

          If you can jag those numbers a few times per month, it really adds up over time!

          I hope you can now Better understand that 'community spirit' is not always the driving factor in posting deals….users clocking dollars dont really need our thanks IMO

          Seriously, it's the same crap over and over again from the same few. Move on.

          Thats democracy champ. Do you hate democracy?

        • +1

          @themob: if you care to read propoerly, youll see that no one has mentioned any particular user.

          Are you trying to make this about a single user?

          The general consensus i am gleaning from these comments is that people want site voting reform for all its members across the board.

          No one is calling for action against any single user

        • +1

          @themob: i see EC has just upvoted you indicating he agrees with all points in your comment - EC, what do you have to say for yourself on these issues, if i recall correctly you have referral links set up with several of the companies mentioned?

          Not that there is anything innately wrong with that fact, for the record

        • +1

          @themob: cmon mate, thats a bit low. Do you really think im that stupid? They are two separate comments. I saw an upvote form EC, indicating his presence on this forum and asked of hed like to comment

          Ironically you just made it about EC , friend

          Mods - please don't remove the mobs comment - although highly offensive and well outside the boundaries of what has so far been a civil debate, im happy to leave it as a reflection on him and his frame of mind..Also dont ban him until he addresses the questions i posed to him lol

        • +2

          @pointless comment: Exactly this thread isn't about a single user, its about a site wide change to benefit the community.

        • @King Tightarse:

          comments with links and advice to use their own referral post.

          This is against our referral policy as above:

          Do not link to your referral deal elsewhere on OzBargain (forums, comments in other deals).

          If you see a comment like this, then please report it.

          @GameChanger:

          I had this discussion before where I have questioned the number of votes to reach the front page.

          The basic formula for the front page is to hold around 2 days worth of deals on average. It is generally around there albeit when there is an eBay sale the front page goes nuts.

          Also another problem is that I believe there is possible behind the scenes deals done, with users to post company deals. Of course the difficulty here is proving it, which is near impossible.

          I mentioned this earlier but we are constantly auditing votes, postings and comments. We can't show you the secret sauce but you'd be amazed how much metadata is out there. Won't catch all but it's our top moderation priority.


          Now this is a help guide for referrals but also a feedback thread for how we can improve the system. However, what some users have picked up is that some of the examples & stores mentioned in this thread are aimed at one particular user who has posted referral deals. So for a matter of transparency, there have been a couple of users in this thread who have had "fights"/personal attacks with this particular user in which has resulted in bans on their accounts and/or comments removed. So keep this tidbit in mind. Whether the referral issue has lead to the issues between these users or they are using the referral policy as a way against the user is not clear. Gosh, I feel like I'm in parliament.

  • +3

    I had a lot of replies there so I'll just do a new post. I understand what you guys are saying perfectly, and it's totally not cool for people to be hogging and spamming deals just for the referral credits, and I'm sure most people would agree with that. But, how am I and others supposed to know who is a genuinely nice deal poster and who is in it for themselves? You mention people have admitted to this behavior, then perhaps they should be sanctioned by the mods?

    • +3

      Sanctioning individuals left right and centre is pointless, it's like treating a disease instead of preventing it. By changing the referal guidelines we can prevent this kind of behaviour and future behaviours.

    • tassieeagle, im glad to hear that you are taking some of our points onboard and questioning things.

      In some ways, these posters are good for the site through their constant posting - at the end of the day, ozbargain relies upon the free content generated by its users,which attracts patronage and page clicks which allow for their revenue streams.

      most ozbargain members dont care who posts what, and as the majority of site traffic is not even a signed member (approx 80%) - they would not even know one poster from another.

      some people eventhink ozbargain is a shopfront and contact the site asking when the item they bought will be delivered/despatched etc!

      So the mods, by their own guidelines and righly so, will only react when there is enough people voicing discontent

      And as to your question as to who is nice and who is not, well thats hard to judge in total certainty

      But at the very least, you have to question the motives of any poster who is often posting deals from the same company(s) with referral links and affiliations attached.

      • +1

        To be more clear, search Groupon deals and see frequency N poster.

  • I was looking for a recent referral post and found this one: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239727. I'm only ever seeing 0-2 referral posts hit the main page a day.

    I don't personally see the issue with the post or is there something I'm missing? Seemed like a valuable deal considering the upvotes. And the main link isn't a referral code either. If you wanted to use the OP's referral link you'd have to go to the bottom of the deal and make the conscious choice to support the OP/ a random / or no one.

    Last referral post was 15 hours ago: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239949. I don't even see where the referral link is?

    I don't find it as big of an issue as the others unless someone can shed some more light to this. Is it the smaller spammers that are the issue or the popular posters? If the popular posters get a ton of upvotes then it would be considered a good deal so what would it matter if they make money out of a deal considered valuable by the community? + it doesn't look like the referral links are the default links either so you would have to make the conscious decision to want to support the OP or not.

    • +1

      Last referral post was 15 hours ago: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239949. I don't even see where the referral link is?

      So that refers to this part of the referral guidelines which is fairly recent:

      OK, but I've noticed a Cashrewards deal posted by Tightarse and he is marked as a rep.

      That's right. Cashrewards is a unique situation in that it offers deals and also can be a supplementary bonus (cashback) to deals. So if the deal itself is a cashback, then the deal is linked directly to Cashrewards, and rep posting limits apply. If the deal is for another site, like Lenovo, and there also happens to be a cashback mentioned in the description, then it is marked as a referral.

    • OK well that one you linked was a particularly valid deal it got a lot of votes and certainly would not be the kind of "spammy" deal that has been discussed. However, since you linked it:
      In the 24 hours starting with this deal- https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239695
      That user posted a total of three Groupon referral deals.
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239727
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239873

      and that does seem pretty much like referral farming.
      I have asked Neil via message to clarify regarding posting rules here https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/help:referral_posting_limi…
      "By default, users are limited to 1 referral post (deal + forum) every 24 hours or 2 referral posts (deal + forum) every rolling week"

      • +1

        Oh okay makes sense. So to me, it's not about the OP getting paid or not since it's totally up to you whether you want to support them.
        The issue you guys seem to have is the fact that it leads to crappy subpar deals in the hopes that someone would use the referral?

        I somewhat see the concern then, I don't think it's a gigantic issue at the moment as I feel like the mods do a good job sifting the spammy ones. I feel like if the referrer posted a good deal, then good for them if they can make extra money for it. The issue seems to be the crappy referral deals. Either way though don't you need to knowingly click on the OP's referral link?

        One of the comments suggested making the referrals completely random. I feel like that's a bit extreme. What about making it more likely for the OP's referral link to be generated? Increase the odds by like 10-1. That could discourage crappy referral deals yet still somewhat reward the OP.

        • +1

          Three more Groupon referral posts in the last few hours:
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/240083
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/239873
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/240080
          No limits? This is the kind of spam/referral farming we are discussing.

        • @King Tightarse:
          1st link only shows random referrals while the 2nd link doesn't have a referral? Or am I reading it wrong?

        • +1

          @BlazinPast:
          It needs five positive votes to activate and reveal OP's referral link

        • +1

          @King Tightarse:
          Oh ok. In that case I can see the concern. It seems like a very small minority though? I don't feel like everyone should be punished because of it. I think they should increase the revelation of the OP referrers link to 20 votes. That would deter spammy ones and if it reaches 20 votes then clearly the deal is legit and if they make money off it then so be it. 5 is too low in my opinion.

        • +1

          @BlazinPast:
          Actually, that's a pretty good idea!

        • @BlazinPast: hi BlazinPast - increasing the number of votes is what i have suggested as a possible solution to issues presented in this thread…i like the way you think!

          If you care to have a read through some of the post above youll see what we are talking about.

          Its about some users bending the rules to take advantage of the referral system - its not small money either a successful post can yield hunderds of dollars.

          If you routinely do this, you can make a lot of credit from ozbargain - thousands and thousands

          Most people vote thinking that the posters put in a lot of work, when sometimes, they are simply cutting and pasting emails from companies such as Catch of the Day who send spam emails several times a day!

        • @King Tightarse: Hi. King TA, i think increasing the magic number of votes threshold across the board is a good idea too - ve actually been discussing this directly with neil tonight

          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/3558316/redir

        • @pointless comment:
          Yep, got it. Seems good.

        • @pointless comment:
          I think what we both suggested of increasing the cap needed to reveal the referral link would help cut down the spam. I personally don't have an issue if someone makes a ton of money posting a genuinely good deal whether it's from spam mail or spent time looking for it. In the end if it receives a lot of up votes then it was valuable for the community. You also still need to make the decision to use the OP's referral link so who are we to judge if a user wants to support them or not.

        • +1

          @BlazinPast: yep,i too think increasing vote caps can cut down on om spam

          Its not about judging who people want to support, its more about creaing a fairer framework - which is exactly what you suggested woth the vote cap idea!

        • +1

          @King Tightarse: Hi KTA, just had a look at the links you put up from that particular user.

          He/she has submitted 8 referral deals in the past 7 days

          Although the restrictions current referral posting limits are somewhat complicated, provided your deals get to the front page, the rules state the (referral deal) limit is… 3 posts per week.

          I dont get it, how does this work - im not the sharpest tool in the shed, and i may welll be missing something - but it seems that this is contradictory to the rules

          The referral rules go on to talk of warnings and pentaly box bans etc-

          Heres the Referral Posting Limit Rules - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/help:referral_posting_limi…

          Heres the posters posting history
          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/46868/nodes

        • @pointless comment:

          He/she has submitted 8 referral deals in the past 7 days

          Sorry, that is incorrect. There are only 3 2 posts with referral links posted by the OP.

          From the above:

          Will having my link in the automated system and posting a deal count as a referral post?

          No. Since you aren’t mentioning the referral link or code, it doesn’t count as a referral post.

        • @neil: hi neil, sorry i dont get it, please explain… I see 6 deals with the OPs referral link since 18/3

          4 for groupon, 1 for Zoolz, 1 for Vita cost.

          There is another one for groupon that looks as though, if it gets 5 votes, it will become an active referral

          And there is one from groupon US site that i made a mistake on - no referral there.

        • @pointless comment:

          Posts marked as a Referrer are referral deals. Those deals DO NOT contain referral links or codes thus it isn't a referral deal. See image below of what to look for:

          image

        • @neil: maybe im just plain dumb…but i dont get it. Each of the 6 deals i outlined above contains within the post hasthe grey box with an option to either support the OP or a random user?

        • @pointless comment: This is getting into too technical now. There are two kind of referral posting : Posts which are marked as "Referrer" (this is what neil is talking about) and post which has got referral link of OP(this is what plc is talking about). In second case OP's referral link is visible only when deals gave 5+ votes.

        • @pointless comment:

          Might be easier if I explain via your posts.

          Black & Decker 600W 240V Corded Hammer Drill - $49.99 + Free Delivery With Code @ COTD

          Not a referral deal as you didn't mention your referral link anywhere in your deal. The only place you are seeing your referral link is in the automated grey box.

          noreferral

          As opposed to a deal you posted that you did mention your referral link:

          Phone/Tablet Cases & Protectors + Dunlop Volleys from $11.94 Delivered with Code @ COTD

          referral

        • @pyramid: but the bottom line is that 6 of the deals within the space of a week in this instance have a grey box within each deal showing the OPs referral link

          Imjust trying to better understand the rules - this thread was initiated to celar confusion and invite comment

          Sorry if im not sharp enough to grasp the referral rules….its actually quite complicated lol

        • @neil: oh ok., now i get it.. I did not realise there was a distinction.

          My first thought is that Surely this needs to be addressed too - it seems to be directly at odds with the very limits the rules are imposing - one one hand , there is a framework in place to prevent active self promotion of referrals from any single poster, yet you can have 6+ posts per week with a link to a referral automatically generated by the system

          EDIT: Given both allowances are in place, what is the maximum number of posts per week a user can submit with the grey box that includes the ability to profit from ozbargain through referral credits please - i think that is the very heart of the issue here?

          I forgot anout those old posts…some of my first….i modelled the Dunlop volley one how the pros did it…i got totally shredded….ah the irony

        • @pointless comment:

          Exactly my point before ;)

          But I sorta agree that 20+ votes to show the OP's referral link is probably the way to go. Many of these random Groupon/iHerb posts don't make it past 10+, so it would weed those out and make it random. I advocated for 5+ votes what, a year ago? But it might be time to up that again, keep everything else the same (for now) and put this discussion to bed.

          The problem with referral linking is generally there's no description, just 'here's my referral link if you want to use it'. With Groupon, that only helps the new signups, which isn't many people these days, or is just people signing up another account.

          Also COTD referral links are almost pointless now, since they've capped it at 10 signups from your link (which I don't know if many people are aware of), and that's even if they don't purchase anything.

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