Not let staff advertise in chatbox

[Andy B.]

Now, I know you may be thinking:
"Staff have every right as a Memeber"
"Staff have business too, they don't solely get paid from MC-Market"
"What is the hurt of Staff advertising in a chatbox anyway"

Before you read the title and disagree with this suggestion, here me out first, please.

Now, recently I've seen some staff members advertising constantly in chat with their new business (not going to say any names). In my opinion, even though yes they should have every right as a Member, at the same time, it's almost unfair if you would say so. Think about it, when a staff member talks in chat (compared to a member talking in chat) which do you notice better? The staff member obviously.
Here is a picture to just point out one of the things that screams "Look at me"

Not only that, but because of this, when they decide to advertise in the chat box every 20 minutes, it almost makes it seem like they're only active in the chat just to advertise their business, and not for the reason they should be active in chat: Which is to moderate the chat and watch for people breaking the rules.
"bUt AnDrEw, StAfF cAn MuLtItAsK!!!1!"
I understand staff can multitask, but there's been a few times where I saw a staff post their ad and then just get off of the chat box (this hasn't happened a lot, but it's happened). To add on to the multitask claim, I know staff get a lot of messages and tags when they're on chat box so it's not really easy to talk to everyone that's trying to ask them questions, let alone advertise their company and then talk to everyone.

Now, what are some solutions we can do to fix this problem of unfair advertising for staff?
1. Not let staff advertise anything that's being constantly copied and pasted every 20 minutes (maybe limit their advertisement of a specific company to a certain number of times per day rather than a cool down on time)
2. Let the staff advertise, but get rid of the huge tag in front of their name. Everyone pretty much knows what a staff member looks like without that tag in front of their name. So just get rid of it so it's not standing out in the chat box. Plus their names are literally in red.
3. Not let staff advertise anything at all in chat box. There's still ways of advertising a business on this site like the following:
* Sticky Threads
* Top Header Banners
* Side Slot Banners
* Users Signatures
* Even paying someone else to advertise their business in chat box (maybe, idk though this is kinda weird and can get complicated)

Overall, instead of bashing this thought, give it a second and just think about it.
This isn't all staff that's doing it, and to the ones that are doing it, I'm not mad at you. It can just come off as a bit annoying and unfair to someone who doesn't have that eye drawing tag in front of their name.

Thank you for taking the time on reading my suggestion, please please please if you agree or disagree with this idea, tell me why in the comments. I love to hear improvements or how to improve my view on things.

- Andrew B.

 

[Choo]

Clueless much?


You are a staff member. Having that "as long as it does not affect me I dont care" additude is a bad look on you.


I agree. We could reach a mutal agreement and remove the giant "CM" tag and only have a special name color ot something.

Alright, you just need to stop talking now.

Not clueless, its common sense. People clicking on an ad for no reason just because the poster has a bright red tag is like shooting yourself in the leg just because your friend did it.

 

[Thunderbelly]

I think that the tag does not have a huge effect, yes people might view the message with higher consideration but they would not click it if it didn't regard to them. That is my views at least.

 

[SheepeyDarkness]

Surely the red name makes them stand out. I don't think I'd take kindly to this change if it were implemented if I were a staff member though. Maybe increase it to 20 to 25 minutes? That way the attention that the blatantly obvious red tag brings is balanced with an increase of 5 minutes to advertise again. What I wouldn't like though is to have a staff member only go into chatbox and post their ad link. If you post an ad link or engage in chatbox you should be there to moderate it as well. Going into chatbox to post an ad and then ditching it isn't cool if it's your job to moderate it. It's like a helper on a minecraft server advertise the items they're selling with a bold tag in an online auction house and then watching youtube whilst the server is being spammed.

 

[User]

They should be able to advertise, as long as it isn't bypassing the 20min limit, but they should be moderating chat at the same time rather than AFK-ing. The advertisements aren't what's causing the problem.[DOUBLEPOST=1547007136][/DOUBLEPOST]Sure, they get a special staff tag, but they worked to get that and there'd be no use for it if it weren't to make them stand out. It makes them more trustworthy, and their services far less likely to be scams.

 

[Lotus]

I guess so, but the red name seems to be a fine indication. But I see why it's helpful, I just don't think it's necessary. : p

You’d be surprised when even now people have asked me “You staff?”. Perhaps with the new tag, that’s decreased, but it serves it’s main function. Bring attention to who actually is a staff member on this site.


As for my general input. The expectation to sacrifice my ability to reach a wider audience to advertise my product or service seems fairly prejudiced.

I pose this comparison here. Gradient name colours vs basic Premium blue. In a shoutbox ad campaign, the gradient colour should get more views because I personally find that more eye catching. Is that unfair competition? Should we restrict members’ advertising rates based on their name colour because Person A has a much larger presence than Person B? Yes, staff members are different, but contributing more to the site in any way gains you varying benefits to exposure in my eyes, and being a staff member is one of those contributions.

I understand that being a staff member is an instant boost to site presence. Larger site presence leads to more influence which let’s you reach more people should you choose to advertise.

Some call this an unfair advantage. I view this as a job perk being a staff member. I work for the site and try to maintain order, but I also want to sell my product and people can’t buy it if they don’t know about it in the first place. I’ve done deals with other members, I shouldn’t be singled out to not partake in the original activities I originally joined this site for.

 

[Dectom]

Gradient name colours vs basic Premium blue

Its not just the Name Colour that we are discussing its the tag next to your names that make you stand out with a massive CM or whatever the role is.

The expectation to sacrifice my ability to reach a wider audience to advertise my product or service seems fairly prejudiced.

When you became staff you gained extra responsibilities and permissions, and i'm sure that when you became staff you changed the way you acted on the forums to become more profesional, Advertising, in general, is fine and not what we are against, there are many ways to advertise a service or product on here that don't involve the Shoutbox.

However, when you throw in the fact that you are announced as staff with one of your services or products in shoutbox then people are more likely to click.

I’ve done deals with other members, I shouldn’t be singled out to not partake in the original activities I originally joined this site for.

Again, becoming staff has privilages such as you getting paid for work you do on the site, and as a consequense advertising things in shoutbox shouldn't be allowed

 

[YourPanda]

Its not just the Name Colour that we are discussing its the tag next to your names that make you stand out with a massive CM or whatever the role is.



When you became staff you gained extra responsibilities and permissions, and i'm sure that when you became staff you changed the way you acted on the forums to become more professional, Advertising, in general, is fine and not what we are against, there are many ways to advertise a service or product on here that don't involve the Shoutbox.

However, when you throw in the fact that you are announced as staff with one of your services or products in shoutbox then people are more likely to click.



Again, becoming staff has privileges such as you getting paid for work you do on the site, and as a consequence advertising things in shoutbox shouldn't be allowed

So, just because we are staff we shouldn't be allowed to do our own side work? That's like telling a member with a gradient name color that they aren't allowed to advertise in the shout box because they stand out more than someone who only has premium.

I could agree with the suggestion of having to remove our "CM/M/A" tag when wanting to make an advertisement, however completely denying the ability to advertise simply wont happen. However, with that being said, we currently are unable to remove the tag that is in front of our names, as to if that is possible to make tog gable is unknown.

 

[Dectom]

So, just because we are staff we shouldn't be allowed to do our own side work? That's like telling a member with a gradient name color that they aren't allowed to advertise in the shout box because they stand out more than someone who only has premium.

Did you even read my post where I said its not about colour but the tag? and where I said you can advertise other places just not shoutbox with the tag?

 

[YourPanda]

Did you even read my post where I said its not about colour but the tag? and where I said you can advertise other places just not shoutbox with the tag?

I certainly did, however did you read my portion where I actually agreed that removing the tag to advertise then put it back would be a possible compromise.

 

[Theo J]

why are y’all never happy

why don’t you just do what a lot of other members do and not care (hint: this tip works! all of a sudden, it won’t annoy you anymore).

 

[Sore]

I understand this but staff do work hard for the website n it'd be unfair taking away one of the privileges that they've earnt so imo staff should be allowed to post ads

 

[Kiri]

Perhaps it would make sense to have the tag on the right side list of the chat? It would solve the issue of attracting attention to the message itself but clearly define who is staff and who isn't.

(Don't mind my paint skills)

 

[Airee]

this thread is dumb and so are you

 

[Ted]

If this is the case, remove the ability to color your messages in chatbox. People see certain colors before others so that's unfair..

 

[Andy B.]

Perhaps it would make sense to have the tag on the right side list of the chat? It would solve the issue of attracting attention to the message itself but clearly define who is staff and who isn't.

(Don't mind my paint skills)

I actually personally like this idea a lot. It keeps the tag, allows staff to advertise, and it doesn't give a huge advantage when drawing someone's eyes and attention.

 

[pace]

They aren’t going to pay no one unless they’re interested in what they offer applies to staff as well they do get chosen first but then people come back to the chatbox and ur thread link will be there which they either choose to click it or not

 

[VanCandy_]

Quite frankly this seems like a better option. This could have the best of both worlds, you get to view who staff are with their tag, however in chat they wont have a big tag that makes their ad look more enticing than someone else. This would keep it so staff are more trustworthy, etc, however peoples eyes aren't drawn to their ad more than others. If someone needs to know who staff are they can still clearly see it.

Perhaps it would make sense to have the tag on the right side list of the chat? It would solve the issue of attracting attention to the message itself but clearly define who is staff and who isn't.

(Don't mind my paint skills)