Anti-Cheat Mechanisms
It would be a good idea if you could recognize these for what they are: ways to prevent cheaters from dishonestly EARNING the credits they receive.
Here are some obvious methods to discourage cheating.
Match the WORD with the PICTURE to get credit when the timer runs out:
- Animal
- Person
- Food
- World
- Number
- Captcha code
COMMISSIONS UNLEASHED DOES NOT USE THESE METHODS
They are usually reserved for Traffic Exchanges.
Cheating the System
One way of protecting the integrity of the rewards system is to prevent embedded URL’s in Solo Ads and other mailers. How does this protect the integrity? When someone clicks on a credit link from an ad, THEY GET CREDIT, and the Member posting it is debited (if credit mail) with the correct amount of points. The transaction is IN BALANCE.
When someone embeds URL’s in an ad, if the viewer clicks on THAT URL rather than the Credit Link, THE VIEWER DOES NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR VIEWING THAT AD, and the member that posted the ad DOES NOT REGISTER THE CLICK, so in effect, that posting member just STOLE THE ADVERTISEMENT that would otherwise be “Paid for” with the number of clicks that member purchased or traded.
I’m all in for Free Advertisement, if it is obtained LEGITIMATELY. That’s cool if the administrator grants free credit or ads, but when someone posts an ad and is not debited the value of that ad, that’s cheating the system.
I’ve Got the Stump So I’m Gonna Use It.
Every time the industry comes up with a legitimate anti-cheat mechanism, it is generally days, or even hours before those methods are circumvented by hackers, who then sell those “secrets” to gurus who “productize” them and get rich selling these unethical methods, attempting to pass them off as legitimate marketing methods.
Free Isn’t Free
Although the MAJORITY of members of TAE’s and TE’s are “free” members that take everything they can grab for free, that TAE or TE in which they maintain that free membership is NOT FREE! The owner or admin, and PAYING members have to cover many costs:
- Script Software, graphics, software licensing and upgrades
- Hosting and Backup
- Domain Names, Privacy, and other domain-related services
- SEO and Search Engine registration
- Traffic generation: Co-ops, Advertising, Promotions
- Personnel – admin, level 1, 2, and 3 tech support
- Spam prevention and remediation
- Security
- Paypal, Payza, merchant account (credit cards) and bank fees.
Consider that generally all revenue for a site is generated by 10%-15% of the membership (if you are lucky), most times the owners of these sites are barely covering the costs to operate and maintain them. That’s why it is so common for such a high turnover. Those peddling TAE/TE software make it sound like free money, but I assure you that it is anything BUT free for the owners.
A constant battle with “point scrapers” not only substantially reduces the effectiveness of legitimately or otherwise procured advertisements, but it substantially increases email loading and server capacity issues.
Let’s face it, if you are not actually viewing the ads, you are STEALING credits you do not deserve.
If you sign up for a membership and do NOT provide your Paypal, Payza, or other line-of-credit information, that is a clear RED FLAG that you are not willing to PURCHASE the goods and services offered for sale. This is no different than walking into your local Dairy Queen and ordering an ice cream cone with no cash or credit, nor any intention of paying for it.
People place ads to be Opened, Read, Clicked to get more information about a product or service that eventually (hopefully) leads to a sale.
On the Lighter Side
As an administrator, I OPEN, REVIEW, VERIFY, and APPROVE EVERY Message, email, banner, etc. I get to see the WONDERFUL bargains that are available. I get SO many promo codes, discounts, upgrades, and deals that I LEGITIMATELY use to promote MY businesses. There is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t grab at least one great deal. I have over 100 SJV or top-level memberships, many of which are start-ups because I can get the memberships at a reasonable price, then I DRIVE TRAFFIC to these sites, which helps them grow. I bring in referrals, I post ads (even PREMIUM ads if they perform). I do cross-promotions with my own sites, and sites that are performing and making me money that I put BACK INTO MY BUSINESSES. I don’t drive an exotic car or own opulent mansions – every cent goes right back into the business.
Yes, I have multiple businesses, one of which is TAE/TE ownership and administration (I currently have 5 sites with 1-2 more in the planning stages), but I also have businesses that provide Premium Traffic, I develop Training and Tutorials, I maintain approximately 25 blogs, ecommerce, and affiliate sites, over 40 mini-sites, hosting, and (even though I am now retired), I provide free small business consulting.
This is how business should work.
Won’t you join me in cleaning up the Wild West of the Internet – one ethical act at a time.
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As always, please feel free to contact me with questions, if you want a demo, or are curious about other resources I can share with you.
My contact info:
Rich Moyer
.