Using clickbait to con votes out of people
TappedOut forum
Posted on Dec. 20, 2015, 1:42 p.m. by scholar
@yeaGO,
TappedOut player Loyalty and his deck COUNTER ALL THE THINGS! is using disguised clickbait in order to con people and obtain a number of illegitimate votes on his behalf. Clicking on certain pictures and "buttons" he has is actually a circumventing and disguised link to upvote his deck when there was no intention of the user to do so. It is not fair to use this type of trickery and it is a disgrace to this site. Please remove his deck or have him amend the clickbait out. Thanks!
Femme_Fatale says... #3
Generally this sort of thing is best to just mention to the admin on their wall. Yeago is generally quite busy, but Epochalyptik takes more action among the community. I'm unsure if ChiefBell has any privs regarding to editing decks.
There just isn't really a need to create a hefty deal out of this, so keeping it on the low ball is nice as to not bring about conflict or negativity.
December 20, 2015 1:47 p.m. Edited.
@Bovine073 and his deck The Finest Flavor Text Comedy (Top 60 of MTG) is another with disguised clickbait also in the top decks.
December 20, 2015 1:48 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #5
And please don't tag the users here. It solves nothing but create problems and conflicts. We can see who the users are by looking at the decks if we so desire.
December 20, 2015 1:50 p.m.
@Femme_Fatale, thanks, but how will anyone know what the decks are if I don't tag them?
December 20, 2015 1:53 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #7
As femme said, please go to epochs wall directly. Don't use the tag feature. Just say who they are and it'll be dealt with.
Edit: not locking yet. Not my place.
December 20, 2015 1:55 p.m. Edited.
scholar, I had no idea that this was against the rules, I didn't mean for anyone to click on my green button, it was just there to notify them about the extra spoiler I added. I am sorry to anyone who did not wish to upvote my deck that did press on it. I was simply using it as a kind of (Hey Look At Me) type of thing. I will remove it if that is the wish of both the admins and you.
Sorry for any inconveinences caused.
December 20, 2015 2 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #9
The thing is, this isn't technically against the rules. A lot of people don't appreciate it, but as long as it's clearly demonstrated, some people don't see any problem. Or at least, that was the impression I was given, so correct me if I'm wrong.
December 20, 2015 2:04 p.m. Edited.
@FAMOUSWATERMELON, it must be against the rules, because everytime it's brought up, it's addressed and taken care of. And it's not clearly demonstrated, it's disguised and deceptive clickbait.
December 20, 2015 2:06 p.m.
scholar I get that this is important to you, and that's fine. But you have to realize that a lot of us on the site couldn't care less about accidentally up-voting a deck.
Honestly, after reading some of the comments you've left on these decks, i've got two assumptions. The first is that you're envious that these guys got a lot of votes, while your decks don't. The second is that you're either a young child, or a mentally unstable adult. It is unreasonable to get so upset about something so inconsequential. Just drop it, unsub from their deck lists, close the page out, and go about your life. Literally no one else cares about this.
The last thing I want to mention is that these "clickbait" things are the same exact color as the "Upvote" button. You should have been able to make the connection before clicking it.
December 20, 2015 2:06 p.m. Edited.
Fair point, I saw nothing of it in the tutorial thingy to say 'I agree to the rules of tappedout'. It may be frowned upon, but it only should be when it is used with malicious intent.
December 20, 2015 2:06 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #13
It's not that it's against the rules, but it's misleading and very, very frowned upon by the community.
And we're very community driven.
December 20, 2015 2:07 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #14
It's not allowed if it's a link in the deck itself, which automatically makes you upvote. But the buttons are a more complex matter (as this thread proves).
December 20, 2015 2:07 p.m. Edited.
@Bovine073, you say "it was just there to notify them about the extra spoiler I added", why not just write in about the spoiler, why involve the extra process of also clicking a button that is disguised to deceptively steal an upvote? I appreciate you removing it, but it's clear what your intentions were.
December 20, 2015 2:08 p.m.
It has been previously discussed. Any +1 button or picture must be very clearly labelled as such. Even designing your own is frowned upon but not technically against any rules. Purposefully disguising one is not ok. If you make it so that clicking a card link, for example, upvotes, or clicking a paragraph button, or picture, or anything else that isn't obvious, that's not ok.
December 20, 2015 2:10 p.m.
vampirelazarus my point is, that I was NOT attempting to scam people's upvotes, I was simply trying to say "Hey Look At This", because I spent a fair amount of my time creating something in the spoiler which I thought was quite comical and people would like it.
The reason both myself and other people make Theme/Gimmick decks in the first place is simply to make the community laugh a bit, not to get upvotes. I don't really understand the point of upvotes myself, and I do not strive every second of my day attempting to get people to upvote my deck.
Thanks
December 20, 2015 2:10 p.m.
@kyuuri117, I'm not a child and I'm not jealous. As aformentioned, I've come across these things before and I find them disgusting and cheap cons that shouldn't be part of the community at tappedout. So everytime I see them, I will report them. Call it what you want, I don't care I don't know you and you don't know me, so hey, whatever makes you feel like you're right or the best.
December 20, 2015 2:11 p.m.
scholar I was NOT trying to scam people out of upvotes! I didn't care much about the upvotes in the first place, I was just trying to give myself and the community some comedy, comedy by the people, for the people! There was no malicious intent whatsoever.
As for the point about not just 'writing' it normally instead of making a button is because the green button stands out more, thus more people will take the 5 seconds to read it. (NOT to upvote it).
Thank you.
December 20, 2015 2:13 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #20
Saltblast incoming.
But seriously, Chief is a mod and just explained very clearly what the situation is. I don't think it will change unless it gets sorely overused or whatnot, so can we perhaps not start another argument? There have been way to many pile-ons in recent days.
December 20, 2015 2:13 p.m.
I just don't understand your thought process. "Oh no, I was tricked into giving this guy one imaginary internet point. What a crime against humanity! Burn the witch!"
Like what?
December 20, 2015 2:14 p.m.
If you make a spoiler picture or button or something and it says "+1" or "this will +1" or "I'd like to +1" etc then that's completely defensible. If it doesn't even mention +1'ng then that's kind of deceptive and not ok.
Frankly I have no sympathy at all for people that design the buttons but make no mention of +1'ing on the button text. I consider that deceptive regardless of what they say.
December 20, 2015 2:14 p.m.
decks with misleading text as an Upvote are clearly illegal. I'm not sure what further there is to say about that.
deleted.
December 20, 2015 2:15 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #25
They're just points people. Get a grip and move on.
December 20, 2015 2:15 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #26
Oh dear ... where does it say that they are illegal yeaGO? None of us have heard of any changes to the terms of use for this site.
December 20, 2015 2:16 p.m.
ChiefBell where do I stand right now? I have resolved matters best I can and have explained why it does not say +1 Upvote on it.
I have made amends with scholar, and we have both adressed the misunderstanding.
December 20, 2015 2:17 p.m.
@kyuuri117, that's a little extreme, but yes, it's deplorable to use cheap cons trick people out of things without their explicit intention. I don't like being conned out of things, do you? While yes, it's only a virtual vote online we're talking about here, but it's the principle that matters. The practice is clearly frowned upon, if it doesn't bother you that's all fine and well, but such disgusting practices don't and shouldn't belong here within the community here at TappedOut, period.
December 20, 2015 2:17 p.m.
Bovine073 - Both yeaGO and I have explained clearly.
"decks with misleading text as an Upvote are clearly illegal"
"If it doesn't even mention +1'ng then that's kind of deceptive and not ok."
Thus you must make the button refer to +1ing, or remove it.
December 20, 2015 2:18 p.m.
yeaGO is there a way to remove x amount of upvotes from a deck instead of deleting it? I had worked hard on it and feel the deletion of it is a bit unjustified due to the circumstances.
Also, could making a playtest button with a blue background with words not saying 'playtest' be against the rules?
December 20, 2015 2:19 p.m.
ChiefBell, there was no malintent, and I simply don't care about how many upvotes my deck has. Also, I have not seen this rule anywhere until now, I have just known it has been frowned upon.
December 20, 2015 2:21 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #32
We shouldn't have to spell out in site policy all of the obviously disingenuous or reprehensible things you're prohibited from doing. That's on you as a (presumably) decent and discerning individual to figure out, and we've made it very clear in the past that hidden upvote buttons are against our philosophy here.
If you're conning or tricking people into doing something without informing them first, expect the mods/admins to care. End of story.
December 20, 2015 2:21 p.m.
I was feeling nice and gave you a new copy of the deck before it was nuked, bovine
December 20, 2015 2:21 p.m.
You are intentionally using extreme words such as "deplorable", "explicit", "disgusting", etc., in order to stir up the hornets nest. That, in and of itself, shows you as manipulative as well. Think on that.
December 20, 2015 2:22 p.m. Edited.
Epochalyptik says... #35
I should also make it clear that, as kyuuri117 is saying, this isn't some community-ending issue. It surfaces every once and a while, it's a minor inconvenience in most cases, and the solution is very simple. Leave the evaluation to us.
December 20, 2015 2:24 p.m.
kyuuri117, don't try to start any fights, but you do have a point about how it is essencially impossible to tell if there is malintent behind an upvote button or not.
yeaGO, I thank you for your mercy and thank you for not giving me the full Wrath of God.
I am sorry that any of this happened in the first place, is there a way to inform everyone about this (seemingly unclear) rule?
December 20, 2015 2:26 p.m.
yeaGO, Epochalyptik, the guy's been a member of the site for eight months. He may never have even seen a discussion about this not being allowed. Dog-piling onto this is over-reacting. Seriously, take a step back, and remember that both sides have a story and you can't just take the side of the complainant just because his side sounds appealing.
Yea, you have rules against this, and yea he should have read the rules on the forum. But don't let the power that you guys have go to your head. He's just another using trying to have fun on the site. Blowing up his deck was a dick move.
December 20, 2015 2:26 p.m.
I'm not starting a fight. I am just trying to point out how big of an over reaction this all is.
December 20, 2015 2:27 p.m.
Ok, I thank you for your support for both myself and the site.
December 20, 2015 2:28 p.m.
VampireArmy says... #40
Suggestion time.
Community: politely self police. If you see this happening, approach the individual. Ask them kindly to remove the button. If they refuse, take it to gos or epochs wall where it's at least slightly more private and will help not stir the pot. That sound good?
December 20, 2015 2:32 p.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #41
I honestly didn't realize that we had OFFICIAL rules saying anything against this, so like, people need to calm down and stop punishing someone so hard for something they didn't know. Unless it is stated somewhere, and I have not found anything, I think you two, yeaGO/ Epochalyptik, are being unreasonably harsh to this user.
December 20, 2015 2:33 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #42
I WANNA STIR THE POT IF ITS A POT OF CHILI.
Also, yes. That's a fantastic idea. Less salt being sowed that way. Probably.
December 20, 2015 2:34 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #43
He/she gets the deck back sans upvotes.
And there's not exactly a whole lot of investigation to do here. Does the deck have hidden upvote buttons? If yes, are users being tricked into clicking them? If yes, remediate.
That's the solution we've used in the past, and it's the one we will continue to use unless there's a better solution we haven't seen. Again, this is very simple.
December 20, 2015 2:34 p.m.
I wish this would of happened in the first place. I like it more than the "Let's nuke it from orbit just to be sure" meantality. Civilized policing is far more effective, but may be harder to control in the early stages than said mentality.
December 20, 2015 2:35 p.m.
Now on to the "getting the deck back sans upvotes"... I hope for everyone's sake this doesn't take too much time.
Thank you to everyone voicing their opinion, and I hope something good can be taken from this by everyone.
December 20, 2015 2:37 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #46
To be fair, in the past, people have gotten warnings for upvote buttons before having their deck nuked. The only decks that have gotten deleted on-the-spot have been decks that have an upvote link in the deck itself, meaning that just opening the deck page caused you to upvote, and you had no control over it. The buttons require manual action to work. Not that that makes it much better, but I do think it needs to be taken into consideration.
December 20, 2015 2:39 p.m. Edited.
FAMOUSWATERMELON I appreciate the support, but I am completely fine getting the deck back sans upvotes. I do agree however, that punishment juridstiction should be more consistent from user to user, and that warnings and more clear rule labels should be present.
December 20, 2015 2:40 p.m.
sorry my vocabulary choices make you feel as if I'm being manipulative. In all my words, I honestly have no idea what to say to that one...
December 20, 2015 2:41 p.m. Edited.
Femme_Fatale says... #49
Regardless, it still needs to be written on our site that this sort of thing is not allowed. It is not fair to punish people for something that they are never going to know is not accepted by the community. If it is, please point me to it so that I can use it to educate the users.
December 20, 2015 2:41 p.m.
I'll put a note on the description page about misleading clicks
scholar says... #2
It seems other players that are in the top decks are using this same disguised method. While it may not bother others, I find it disgusting. I remember this went on a while ago and @yeaGO addressed it and made users amend it out. It seems like it's commonplace now...
December 20, 2015 1:46 p.m.