Are you tired of this messageboard becoming a developers hype-board ?

[scott99]

No offense to developers of apps, I may become one someday myself. But I remember when I used to come to this messageboard, to read honest comments by actual app users. Now it seems like it's just here for developers to hype their apps. I can't tell you how many times I've clicked on a thread that read something like this "The best Instant Messaging App", and it's the developer hyping his own app. I truly thought it was a thread about the best messaging app a user tried and liked. This is just an example, but I've seen tons of threads just like this, in fact, most threads are the developers introducing their apps, whether an actual introduction, or something sneaky like my example.

What do you ladies and gents think ? Do you miss the good old days like I do ? When it comes to introducing an app, I typically will buy an app if a developer introduces it honestly, and asks users opinions.

 

[GoCubsGo]

No, that is why this board has a section for the app store. You don't like it? Ignore it and you can exclude it from forum spy as well.

 

[MacDawg]

No, that is why this board has a section for the app store. You don't like it? Ignore it and you can exclude it from forum spy as well.

Agreed

I like it that there is a legitimate place on this board for someone to promote their product

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[bad angel]

I don't mind it so much except when I see posts that were clearly made by the developer but they're pretending to just be someone who found the app and really likes it. When I see that, I make it a point to not buy the app – to me it says something when the dev can't even be honest in promoting their app in a forum where it's allowed and okay to do.

 

[angelwatt]

For advertisements in the forums I report them if I just feel they're trying to advertise. A big clue is if it's the user's first and only post at the forums. the mods generally delete these threads when I report them. I don't hang out in the iPhone forum (I think that's where the OP is referring to) so not sure how much legit posting is going on there. Just remember, the report link is there for a reason.

 

[flopticalcube]

For advertisements in the forums I report them if I just feel they're trying to advertise. A big clue is if it's the user's first and only post at the forums. the mods generally delete these threads when I report them. I don't hang out in the iPhone forum (I think that's where the OP is referring to) so not sure how much legit posting is going on there. Just remember, the report link is there for a reason.

From the Rules (see my bold):

Advertising/soliciting. Using the forums for advertising or for commercial business deals and offers. See the MacRumors About page if you want to buy advertising at the site. You may not make posts to promote commercial, personal, or not-for-profit websites. Threads will be deleted if their purpose is to advertise, announce, or promote products, services, or organizations, build traffic at other websites, solicit donations, votes, or participants for surveys, contests, or product testing, carry out business activities including employment requests/offers, or other similar purposes that do not benefit our forum community. Memberships created solely for such purposes will be banned. Exception: Developers of iPhone and iPod touch applications are afforded special privileges, including certain posting of product promotions. See Guidelines for iPhone and iPod touch application developers for details.

App developers are accorded special privileges in the App Store forum. Perhaps we need two forums, one for devs and one for users.

 

[Doctor Q]

There's no foolproof way to distinguish a shill from a real customer, but sometimes it's pretty obvious, in which case it should be reported to the moderators.

Personally, I usually don't trust product recommendations from "strangers" in the forums unless they post about other topics regularly. If a particular product or vendor is all they talk about, their advice carries little or no weight. Certain types of products, like iPod cases and video-conversion software, get shilled more than others. For those I would always ask for recommendations from somebody I already trusted.

If you want to fool me with your product recommendation, it's easy. Just spend a couple of years posting in the forums about Macs, iPods, current events, music, sports, TV shows, and what flavor of snow cone you like best, while also asking and answering lots of technical questions. Then tell me what hardware and software you recommend and I'll be inclined to listen.

 

[rdowns]

This board was better before the iPhone came out. Just saying.

 

[MacNut]

This board was better before the iPhone came out. Just saying.

It was better before all the converts that found Apple appeared.

 

[Doctor Q]

It was better before all the converts that found Apple appeared.

It was better when it was nullrumors.com and had no members, before Apple was incorporated. No useless chatter, no off-topic posts, no nerdy losers, no overzealous pre-pubescents, no fearful luddites, no corporate apologists, no nattering nabobs of negativism. Just good serious discussion about nothing by nobody.

 

[stridemat]

It was better when it was nullrumors.com and had no members, before Apple was incorporated. No useless chatter, no off-topic posts, no nerdy losers, no overzealous pre-pubescents, no fearful luddites, no corporate apologists, no nattering nabobs of negativism. Just good serious discussion about nothing by nobody.

= Heaven

 

[AppleMatt]

It was better when it was nullrumors.com and had no members, before Apple was incorporated. No useless chatter, no off-topic posts, no nerdy losers, no overzealous pre-pubescents, no fearful luddites, no corporate apologists, no nattering nabobs of negativism. Just good serious discussion about nothing by nobody.

Exactly. Everyone completely agreed with all my viewpoints all the time, always posted stuff I was directly interested in and never anything I didn't care about. Although I didn't learn very much, it was bliss.

AppleMatt (I like the blue one)

 

[miles01110]

It was better before all the converts that found Apple appeared.

Here here.

Just ignore the boards/threads/users that bother you. It's all part of the MR Zen.