How I Got Banned From A Motorcycle Forum
Now this is kind of amusing. I periodically surf through some online motorcycle forums, reading posts of interest, responding when I have something to add, and sometimes searching for people asking something along the lines of “We’re coming to Colorado. Anyone got suggestions as to what roads we should ride?” When I find those, of course I make some suggestions and I post links to the appropriate pages on my own website.
Well, recently I logged in to one forum I visit and got a message telling me I was banned until March 29. What in the world? I wasn’t aware of having violated any rules or anything. Being banned I couldn’t get in to check for messages, to see why I was banned. So I clicked on a “Contact us” link and sent the guy an email asking what it was all about. Sometime later, receiving no reply, I sent another query. Still no response.
So March 29 arrived and I logged in and, sure enough, there was a private message waiting for me. Here’s what it said:
You have received an infraction at Motorcycle Rider Info.
Reason: Spam
——-
A signature link is cool. Even mentioning site is nice if done right. But a post full of self serving links is plain old spam.
——-This infraction is worth 50 point(s) and may result in restricted access until it expires. Serious infractions will never expire.
I was a bit annoyed. The message included the text of the so-called spam. Here’s what I had posted:
The intro to this thread is “Recommend places in your area that others would want to see and ride their motorcycles to” so that’s just what I’ll do.
In a word: Colorado.
Make that “Colorado!!!”
OK, I’ll be more specific.
Trail Ridge Road
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/trail_ridge_road.htmMount Evans
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/mount_evans.htmRed Mountain Pass
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/red_mountain_pass.htmGlenwood Canyon
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/glenwood_canyon.htmMonarch Pass
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/monarch_pass.htmThat should get you going.
Now, you’ll notice that, as I said in the post, the theme of the thread was “Recommend places in your area that others would want to see and ride their motorcycles to.” Funny, I thought that was exactly what I did. I guess maybe if I had added a sentence or two about each of those rides he might not have been so offended, but I figured that all you had to do was follow the link and get the full scoop.
Obviously I like to invite people to come to this site. I didn’t do all the work and take all the time I have just to look at it myself and admire my handiwork. I set out to make something really useful for people who are planning trips to Colorado on their bikes. And many of you have thanked me for my efforts, which I truly appreciate.
I’m guessing that the guy running the forum thinks I’m just trying to get people to visit so I can make money. I do, after all, have Google ads on the site. But I’ve got news for anyone who thinks I’m getting rich off Google. In the 2-1/2 half years this site has been up, I have not even made enough off the ads to pay for my web hosting. If I was in this thing to make money I would have moved on to greener pastures long ago.
And it’s not as if this guy isn’t out to make some money. He has all sorts of ads all over his site. He even has a message posted urging people to direct others to his site, although he does take care to ask that they not get carried away and cross the line into spam. The really funny thing is that, without having seen this message previously, I had already posted a link to his site on this blog. Back in February I made this post, pointing out a few forums I like to visit. His is the fourth one on the list.
So when I finally found out what my offense was I wrote him a note saying I was sorry if I offended him but that I disagreed about my post being spam. Again, I’ve heard nothing back from him.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he’s a bad guy. A little overzealous perhaps, may have shot from the hip without really analyzing the situation, who knows. I just thought it was a bit ironic, and I thought you might find it an interesting story.
Biker Quote for Today
Never be ashamed to unlearn an old habit.
Note
The spam bastards are hitting this post so I’m turning comments off here only for awhile.
