New policy change on a directory
by Sapphire (November 29, 2006)
I still maintain a couple of directories. One of them has recently gotten some purchases of “Featured Links”. The way it’s set up, people submit the link as a Featured Link, then they’re directed to pay through PayPal. Some of them never bother to pay, so the link just sits there in my database “pending”.
Of the two who did pay, one was a perfectly decent link. The other was a poker site. My rules - posted on the submission page, very clearly - state “no gambling sites”. Yet this person did it anyway. So I’ve amended my policies on that page to state that if you submit a site for a Featured Link that clearly violates the rules of the directory, not only will I not approve it - I’ll also not refund your money! Yeah, that’s right. I’m sorry, but people who can’t be bothered to read rules do not deserve better. I also clearly state that if your link is rejected for a reason NOT clearly stated on the page, you’ll get a prompt refund.
I have no desire to make money off of spammers or people who don’t follow rules: this isn’t entrapping them. It’s just me realizing I have better things to do with my time than correct mistakes made by these people. My hope is that this will stop people from wasting my time with bogus link submissions - well, the paid ones, anyway. I’m sure nothing will stop spammers from submitting sites for free. 
Posted in The BS Files
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December 4th, 2006 at 9:00 am
Sounds to me like you are trying to make money from legitimate advertisers. Just because a site is about gambling does not mean they spam people. And most likely if they are willing to pay you for the link they are one of the few good people in the gambling industry. Thus you are stealing money from the people who are trying to fight off the other spammers.
You can call it what you want, if you open your self up to accepting money for advertisements then you should conduct your business in a respectable manner where you don’t take money for a service you will not provide. Following that logic, do you believe that any person who does not follow every word, direction, email, sentence, tip, code or hand gesture, is then entitled to no refund?
If you want to make money in the business world dealing with people who waste your time is apart of a legitimate business. Not every sale will go through, not every job will be accepted. You just need to factor it into the price of the sales you do make.
I have nothing to do with your advertisements I just feel a cheat is a cheat and a thief is a thief, even if they tell you they are going to steal your money in the terms and conditions.
Oh and by the way, This blog page does not display properly in IE.
December 4th, 2006 at 10:37 am
I neglected to mention that my new policy includes an email address so you can personally run your site past me to see if I accept it BEFORE you pay. That’s all the protection anyone should need - IF they are reading the policy, as they should be.
And apparently the advertiser I “stole” money from disagrees with you - they’ve bought four more links since this last post, all for sites that meet my criteria (well, one technically did not, but it was a very minor thing so I let it slide).
By the way, the gambling problem is not a spam issue. Gambling sites are illegal in the US now. I have no intention of linking to anything that is illegal, and no one has any right to expect me to.
December 4th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
Actually , There is no law that says you cant gamble on a web site that in located in another country. With the exception of sports betting. And it would be illegal to make such a law because they don’t have jurisdiction to make laws that govern other countries. The only New law is that a banks located in the US may not transfer money to a site that is put on a ‘black list” which they have 260 days to produce.
And you half fixed your blog. Now only the middle column does not display correctly
December 4th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
The site works fine in IE. Must be a problem on your end.