[[rule_sockpuppeting]]
Sockpuppeting
Moderators have found you have a link with the deal/company you have posted. And as a result you have been banned.
what have i done wrong?
For the purposes of OzBargain, it's posting a deal, comment or voting while not declaring that you are affiliated with the company.
Some examples:
- A person posts a deal pretending to be a customer when they are actually the business owner.
- A friend, family member, or employee posts a deal without declaring affiliation.
- The OP creates multiple ghost accounts which then vote or comment on the deal.
How long have i been banned for?
The length of your ban (e.g. permanently or 1 month) depends on:
- the severity of the incident
- initiating a dialogue with us through the Talk with Mod forum
- an explanation of the sockpuppeting
- what policies you set to prevent this in the future
- whether the sockpuppeting was intentional
Whilst many users & stores have been permanently banned for sockpuppeting, some have come back. These companies have imposed a strict social media policy and become valuable members of OzBargain.
Are you guilty of sockpuppeting?
Are you….
- working for the company? (all tiers - including management!)
- on the companies payroll?
- designing the companies website?
- working as a marketer for this company?
- designing/making/producing the product being sold?
- related to someone mentioned above?
- a contractor for this company?
have you….
- been asked by someone to post on this site?
- been offered money/prizes/incentives to post this deal?
If yes, its okay! All you need to do is declare your affiliation
If its a direct affiliation - select the store from the 'I am associated with:' drop-down list.
If you are associated with another store that is related to or mentioned in the deal (e.g. third-party blog, price comparison site, brand representative etc), you can select your website. If it doesn't appear as an option, please ask the moderators to set up your association on the system.
If you're unsure, just write it in the body of the deal.
Example: “Disclosure: I worked here over the holidays”
* If you believe this was unpublished for the wrong reason or would like the deal reassessed by a different moderator, please contact the moderators. *
However, lying to moderators will result in ban extensions, including permanent bans