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Does the DC forum condone SPAM?

R

random

Senior member
Hi there,

got this PM today.... Don't get me wrong, I fully support distributed computing and the usage of spare CPU cycles, as well as recruiting new members. I just question whether this is the right way to go about it. It's hard for Anandtechers to miss the forum. I feel it's like spam:
It's unsolicited and not something I wish to read.

Any other thoughts?

- Random

-----------------------------
Hi random,

No private message is to be made public without the senders approval. Flossie's expressed his objection before and just did again.

AnandTech Moderator

I've never heard/seen one of these objections or of that policy; I will remember that in the future.

- Random
 
Dennil has become sort of an ambassador towards people he thinks *might* be interested... he doesn't just send a PM to *everyone* who has PM turned on. I also happen to know he takes care to not send these introductory PMs to the same person more than once, because that would be annoying. 🙂 I hope that helps to shed a little light on it.
 
Its awfully late for me to be responding to this, primarily because I get pretty cranky when I'm tried.
But, none-the-less, here goes...

random
I know dennil does this and I do have reservations about it since a lot of folks will think of it as SPAM. I personally would not be offended to get this message, but I would be annoyed by the long read. Like most I get my share of real SPAM and I very much dislike getting the same sales pitches repeatedly (this is my personal definition for SPAM).
All I can do is to suggest that we ask Dennis to shorten this thing up. I know its hard to write something like this with few words but get real, this is annoyingly long!

dennil
Don't worry, I still love ya man, ...and I don't even drink Bud! 😉

Geoff
 
Random, we wish you a heartfully WELCOME TO THE TEAM ! 😉

So, what will you participate ? RC5, OGR or Seti ? As a Borg drone or on your own ?
Make yourself comfortable, you'll get to love this place 😉 We'll be glad to try and aswer any questions.
 
random & xrayman,

My message is long so that people who know nothing about distributed computing or the rc5 contest or Team AnandTech's current predicament can make an informed decision about whether they wish to help us or not. I am not there to preach to the choir but to bring new volunteers. There is no subliminal constraint in it that deprives recipients from exerting free will and simply not reading it, which takes but a few seconds.

With regards to the thread title, the DC forum has nothing to do with the decision to send those personal invitations. That is my own decision since I think that a one-time personal invitation is less intrusive than having a thread being bumped all the time in one's favourite forum. It takes me far longer to try and check if you have already posted in DC, if you are probably not a DPC member and if I have not invited you before (by checking in the black book where I write the names by hand) than it takes you to read my message. Also, when a candidate gets an invitation from me, it means that I have read their post(s) on the forums a priori. I don't ask people who post that they are having computer or personal problems. The bottom line is that I have permission to contact forum members in that fashion from the Administrator.

I apologize for having bothered you, random. I wish I could avoid such collateral damage in our struggle with the DPC.

Respectfully,

Denis
 
i wouldn't really count this as spam, since it is a one time only thing. if you aren't interested, just ignore it and thats the end of it, you will not keep recieving these day in, day out. dennil got me into this whole DC thing through one of his PM's and i find it quite enjoyable.

sure it is long, but like dennil said, that is to help the user make and informed decision and to understand DC to a greater extent.

 
I don't consider a PM about Distributed Computing to be Spam. If the PM wasn't related or on topic then I would agree but Distributed Computing is related to Anandtech and the forums. I feel if you don't wish to receive Private Messages then you can turn the feature off.

Rob
 
If an AnandTech Forum user has completed their profile and included an e-mail address or enabled the Private Message function, then they have implicitly given other Forum users permission to send an occasional note.
 
random-

Regretfully for some of the members of this forum, you have gotten the answer you were looking for.😱 This topic in particular has been a sore subject for the membership here in the past, the opinions are varied. If you have been inconvenienced, I would like to extend an apology and thank you for presenting your concern in a respectful manner.


<< Flossie's expressed...
AnandTech Moderator >>

It's nice to see the mods respond in such a professional manner.:Q

Osmo.

[Edit]spelling[/Edit]
My Stats:
<--- this space reserved for Gamma Flux
OGR
RC5
Seti


 
&quot;It's nice to see the mods respond in such a professional manner.&quot;

osmo,

The mods are not professionals. They are amateurs in the true sense of the word, doing an unpaid labour of love for the forums. I, for one, do not see anything wrong in being called Flossie. That variation of my username has been employed on numerous occasions by various individuals in many of the forums. Familiarity does not necessarily mean contempt, disrespect or sloppiness.
 
I for one suggest that a man who has assimilated over 400 machines for distributed computing using only personal contact is a hero that should be emulated, and no apologies of any sort are in order.

This subject has been dealt with ad nauseum here. Denis averages about one gripe per 200 successfully assimilated machines. There is no better batting average in all of distributed computing.

If a particular individual chooses not to participate, that is entirely up to the recipient. Denis is successful because he has the guts to ask people to join. He is without a doubt the most adherent to following the rules that there is. With only one or two more like him, TA would be undisputedly #1. Any suggestion that he engages in any activity that is the least bit untoward smacks of pettiness and narrow-minded jealousy regarding his success. This truly makes no sense since a win for Denis is a win for TA.

IMHO, if more of us had the resourcefulness and in particular his ability to sell the benefits of DC in general, we'd be a much stronger group, and much closer to the definition of the &quot;T&quot; word.

It may be the greater part of valor to suggest that some of our membership have differing opinions on recruiting. The bottom line is that Denis has the permission of the administrator to proceed. This should be enough said. I'd submit that for everyone offended by Denis' individual recruiting invitations, there are at least 100 new machines, new participating members, and renewed vitality. Clicking the &quot;done&quot; button pretty well deals with a message you don't want to read or respond to.
 
I must add a bit to this thread.

Denis PMed me
I read the PM
I thought it sounded fun
I added my machine
I added 3 other machines I have at home
I added my laptop at work
I added my Bro-in-laws machine
I added a couple of friends machines at work
I'm still asking people (once) to play



So in closing. It's a game (a contest so to speak). It's not Mid-East negotations. No one should really get upset about one PM (even if you do get a lot of spam). No one should get upset at all. And if you do then there may be other issues that need to be addressed.


And as always this is just MHO
 
I'm with JonB. I have my PM enabled, email address, and other info in my profile. As long as someone isn't selling something off the wall I don't mind.

Dennis-

Would you send me one of those? I might want to join in the fun. 😉

viz
 
Even places that have actually enacted legislation against spam (like the State I am speaking from now) allow the first contact. After first contact the recipient has the responsibility to inform the sender that their messages are not wanted. If messages continue they are in violation of the law.
A first contact message should either be heeded, ignored or replied to with a polite 'no thank you'.
Of course if my fair State would actually put some enforcement behind it's grand legislation then we all might see an end to some of the spammage out there. They won't even get involved when the slimeballs try to hijack my email server and send out their crap 'in my name'. Funny that these things are clearly against the law, yet when you call them on it they can only wring their hands and tell you there's just no funding for enforcement...
Anyway, dennilfloss has done nothing wrong. It seems to me he is being extremely careful about who he contacts and when. Maybe a shorter sweeter introductory message asking for permission to send the full meal deal might get you in the door more gracefully 😉 Just my $.02
 
Dennis's PM's are not SPAM ,they are just an invitiaion to join TA from 1 Anand forum member to another.

It's unsolicited
Aren't nearly all 1st time PM's?

and not something I wish to read
If you didn't want to read it then why didn't you just delete it after reading the 1st line or 2?

Dennis's recruiting efforts for TA RC5 are legendary! ,he's polite &amp; 99.9% of the time only asks once.

I guess its a case of you can only please all of the people some of the time😛😉

 
It occurs to me that if we applied the same rules to dating as some would to this harmless PM, the entire population would have died out many years ago. No first contact, no sex, no propogation of the species.😀

Russ, NCNE
 
Assimilator1,

All the single women anywhere near my age scare the hell out of me. They have only one thing on their mind.:Q

Russ, NCNE
 
LOL ,that's the kinda woman I want! 😉

err ,we are talking about the same 'thing' are we?😱
BTW ,I like your new sig 🙂
 
Random:
Do you feel better getting this reply to your post?


<< untoward smacks of pettiness and narrow-minded jealousy regarding his success >>

 
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