Really tired of the spam

[E. S. Lark]

Please tell me I'm not the only one getting PMs from various members of AW asking for votes on their short stories. I've gotten two so far, and I've reported both.

I hate spam, and I honestly don't care if it's a board thing. If I don't know you, or we haven't spoken on the board, I don't want a PM. End of story.

Am I the only one who's bothered by this? And yes, I have reported the issue. I just needed to vent.

[Pyekett]

I direct you here. It's already been addressed on the macro level.


My apologies. I won't contact you again, and I doubt anyone else will, either.

[The Lonely One]

I thought I was getting them because I was a part of the group. There should be a way to PM only group members for contest information, I agree.

[E. S. Lark]

Originally Posted by Pyekett

I direct you here. It's already been addressed on the macro level.

Thanks for the link. I am curious, if it has been address, why are folks still doing it? Just saying.

Off to read the other thread.

[BunnyMaz]

It was only recently addressed. I agree with you, TBH, but fortunately I only received one email. I didn't report it, but I did immediately reply stating my frustration with the situation. And in all fairness the person who PM'd me quickly apologised and confirmed that I wouldn't receive any more.

I don't think it's the PM as such that frustrated me as the mass of threads started, including one with a misleading title to trick people into reading it, when we've already got a sticky in every area. The PM was just one more thing.

[E. S. Lark]

I only stick to a few threads on the board. So while I was not aware of the contest, the spamming PMs didn't make me vote either. I just really hate spam. I understand folks get excited and want support, but then that's what those threads are for, right?

[Pyekett]

MacAllister first posted her request for a cease and desist a few hours ago.

As far as I know, everyone involved with any sort of organized PMing stopped within a half hour. It took some time to get the word out, as it usually does. Change is rarely instantaneous.

I don't think anyone was receiving PMs after that, but they are still being read as new events by people as they first check inboxes. I am still receiving responses ranging from the supportive to the, well, constructive.

And that is fine. It is as it should be. I am not turning off PMs because I do think people with a personal grievance should be heard and taken seriously. This makes the coming few days terribly exciting, but we do as needs must and takes our lumps.

I can tell you that the likelihood of me keeping my inbox open after this blows over is about as likely as Mac turning herself into a large bouquet of petunias, much less the likelihood of me sending out messages. Egads.

Chastisement and contrition are good for the soul, eh? *sigh*

[Pyekett]

Originally Posted by BunnyMaz

It was only recently addressed. I agree with you, TBH, but fortunately I only received one email. I didn't report it, but I did immediately reply stating my frustration with the situation. And in all fairness the person who PM'd me quickly apologised and confirmed that I wouldn't receive any more.

Yep, that was me.

I do confess this is but the latest in a long and sordid life of well-regretted choices. There was that time in Maine with the crab who seemed a lot further away from my nose than he turned out to be, a few dances of the indecorous variety with partners entirely too charming to be true, and ... you get the picture.

Sorry, guys.

[BunnyMaz]

It's cool, to be honest my post above was meant to be more sympathetic to you guys than it possibly came across. I was trying to emphasise that any new emails received might be because of the time it took for news to filter through, and that you guys have been totally understanding about any concerns people have raised.

So yeah, no worries.

[KatieJ]

Yes, me too. While I am not as eloquent as Pyekett, my apologies to those I emailed. I actually ended up having a great conversation with a writer I'd have never met otherwise.

I found the range of responses really interesting on a "human psychology" level, but I apologize for being involved. It won't happen again.

[Pyekett]

Originally Posted by E. S. Lark

Please tell me I'm not the only one getting PMs from various members of AW asking for votes on their short stories.

A note of clarification: I haven't asked anyone to vote on my short story. I don't have an entry in the contest.

If I did, oddly enough, I would have kept my mouth shut.

Moot point now, though.

[Cyia]

People were offended by those? Seriously?

While it's probably more efficient to do a global announcement, I hardly think that a request to vote in a board-sanctioned contest is offensive. Maybe if it happened all the time, but there've been all of 2 contests in the last month, so it's not exactly an avalanche of unwanted messages.

[Cassiopeia]

Originally Posted by Cyia

People were offended by those? Seriously?

While it's probably more efficient to do a global announcement, I hardly think that a request to vote in a board-sanctioned contest is offensive. Maybe if it happened all the time, but there've been all of 2 contests in the last month, so it's not exactly an avalanche of unwanted messages.

While I didn't find it offensive, it was unwanted. I consider my inbox here at AW a private thingy. It's not for others to promote ANYTHING (with the exception of chipping in on bday pressies for long standing members like Uncle Jim who have contributed muchly and Mac sent it).

For me, even 1 unsolicited message for a contest like the two I've been notified of, is 1 too many (though I hardly see the need to report them). Perhaps a board for such announcements would prove better.

[Mharvey]

Yeah, I'm with Cyia - I personally wasn't offended by either this one or the poetry one. Two PMs a month. Not a big deal. I declined to participate in both as short stories and poetry aren't my cup of tea, but I certainly had no issues with folks spreading the word via single PM.

Had it been a query letter or "opening chapter of a novel" type thing, I'd have appreciated the PM/heads up greatly and cast my vote.

[archerjoe]

Originally Posted by Mharvey

Had it been a query letter or "opening chapter of a novel" type thing, I'd have appreciated the PM/heads up greatly and cast my vote.

Full disclosure: I have an entry in the contest in question

I saw "opening chapter of a novel" and immediately thought several of these could just keep going with chapter two. They already have strong characters, interesting story lines, etc.

[HoneyBadger]

#internetpeopleproblems

[Pyekett]

(Ah, the gift that keeps on giving.)

I think I'll delete some messages in order to make room for any incoming messages overnight.

The door remains open, and rest assured I read every one.

[Tepelus]

I only got the PM for this latest contest, and it didn't bother me. I rarely get PMs anyway, so it wasn't like it was clogging up my inbox. But that's just me.

[MacAllister]

Pyekett, while the mea culpas are appreciated, don't consign yourself to the dungeon of endless angry PMs flooding your inbox just yet, okay? I just don't see that one or two unlooked-for PMs are such a terrible burden for other members to bear, and we've already addressed the situation so that it doesn't happen again.

So let's not draw out this metaphorical public flogging of people who -- out of enthusiasm and goodwill -- slightly misjudged the tolerance of some of their fellow board members, and got a little carried away by their passion, m'kay? I should be so lucky, that every AWer cared as much about this community.

If any AWers have complaints, as always, it's entirely appropriate to send your complaints directly to ME -- not to people who've tirelessly volunteered their time, passion, and energy to help make this community the thriving and interesting place that it is, and spent their Sunday afternoon trying to make a contest they're excited about a little more visible.