Real life and the hospitalization of our baby boy left me behind with my apology for the falsely accused EntreCard members!
I want to apologizes to everyone who has been accused, who read and commented on the last two posts of this blog!
ALL PICTURES HAVE BEEN NOW DELETED, no matter if real Ghost dropper or not!
Yes, indeed i published it in a hurry!
Yes, i checked afterward some members and compared with Google Analytics. It seems that on one day members didn't get counted but could click and on the other day they got counted. This must be one of the effects of cache browsing as on 9th February a new blog post was visible for everyone and mentioned in EntreCard's Blog and in their E-mail to me!
Like i mentioned in the first post about the Ghost droppers:
Everybody shall judge by themselves if this is true or not.
In my case it seemed to be true as i didn't receive any comments for the duration of the existence of the blog (5 1/2 months) from these accused member. I know for sure that other members get comments from some of these accused members, so they are NOT ALL FAKE droppers or cheater or scamming other members!
Some of the members used just in the period when i made the experiment the quick drop pages, in the past they dropped regularly on my blogs from their blog roll, EntreCard Toolbar or from the Inbox.
I didn't know that EntreCard would pat me on my back for this investigation or that they even would mention my post.
I didn't send them the link, i just wrote them -as i wanted to get the Travel-Blog reinstated- that over 60 members could drop on that blog without a widget.
As they wrote themselves in the blog that NOT ALL mentioned members are Ghost droppers, it seems non-sense for me to link to my post.
I asked EntreCard to remove the link to my post as it's absolutely not necessary - (EntreCard removed now the link from their blog!).
The real Ghost droppers who used the previous quick drop system seemed to be wiped out (or perhaps it's just me who get less of their drops).
Accusations against me who are written in the comment section of Ad Master's post that i have tried to hack in a user's account or that i'm the person who distribute the click trojan are definitely NOT TRUE!
Another accusation which i received in the previous post is related to the disabling of the quick drop pages (the commenter built one of these quick drop pages):
I think there is no one to blame as EntreCard didn't and doesn't allow to do this kind of dropping and now they took action so that EntreCard members get again REAL VISITORS to their blogs.
UPDATE:
You can read in EntreCard's help files about illegal activities which are NOT ALLOWED by EntreCard and can lead to account closing, loss of ECs, ban of user!
It's clearly stated that these actions are not allowed (since September 2008!)
- Use of any automated program/script that drops for you
- Any drop done through any means other than visiting the blog, and dropping through the widget found on that blog
His argumentation that we have to suffer now more often from 100% Bounce rate without this kind of cheating may be correct but i doubt that these members will put much effort in dropping cards when they can't finish it anymore within 15 minutes.
As long as you can attract your visitors to read your content and comment, you may even gain now a new reader instead of letting them just drop on the yellow box!
UPDATE:
Cheating with yellow boxes is also cheating the advertisers who wants to buy an ad as they think you get such a big amount of visitors when they compare the popularity points with other members.
Without cheating the Alexa ranking can improve as the members HAVE to visit you now!
As of now (22nd February) the effect of less ghost droppers shows that the 5 most popular blogs in EntreCard "lost" between 300 and 400 popularity points. This shows that there have been indeed a lot of members who took the shortcut to use quick drop pages.
A small loss of popularity points (up to 75 points) is from active members who left EntreCard in the last week.
Update End
Wishing your son a speedy recovery!
ReplyDeleteHope everything turns out fine and well, online relationships back to normal, and your son Timmy recovers fast.
ReplyDeleteOne good thing that comes out of this controversy is that the sites with ghostdropper script had their drop list of 300 blogs all "invalid" and they could no longer drop in minutes within the comfort of their own blogs and without visiting our blogs. I saw 3 sites recently with such "invalid" drops.
I really hope everything will turn out positive.
This should be a lesson and a learning experience to us all.
ReplyDeleteDigiVickie's Word Art also left. I am sad about this.
I am glad that you were man enough to say you are sorry, Martin.
ReplyDeleteWe must learn from this experience. We all belong to one community. We must be responsible for our acts. No matter how accurate and infallible our experiments are, the accused are innocent until proven guilty.
I hope everyone can move on after this and ruined relationships ironed out. I wish your son Timmy a quick recovery as well.
Martin, you are really right. There are ghostdroppers. Without your post, they could have continued cheating on us, dropping on our sites without actually visiting our sites. Now their script had been busted. That's why Entrecard thank you, you did the right thing.
ReplyDeleteBut of course, I could not pass judgment on the people whom you accused as ghostdroppers. All I'm saying is that ghostdroppers existed.
@Eli,
ReplyDeleteBlogs leaving Entrecard due to this controversy s could hardly be described as "positive".
No, his whole attitude about this could only be described as vindictive and judgmental, imho.
And in this post he admits to being wrong but takes no responsibility.
But, hey, maybe that's just me.
@junezach
ReplyDeleteYou're right. It is a lesson.
Trust No One.
Wishing your son will get well soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see a notice from you about ghost dropping list. I'm sure you have alerted everyone from this network to be more observant. Plus, not all have the guts to apologize publicly like you. Great work!
I hope you little boy recovers quickly.
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't feel bad about people using your post as a reason to leave Entrecard. There are quite a few people out there debating whether to stay or go. They probably would have left within a few months anyway. Even tho I'm not one of the blogs you accused, I'm happy to see an apology.
It's a good lesson to learn. The Bible says to confront the one who wronged you one on one first and try to resolve the problem. It's not until the third step in the process that the wrong should be made public. I hope it works out well for all of you.
"The more I think about it, the more it seems that the capacity to apologize is probably one of the most civilized attributes of being human."- Eda Leshan.
ReplyDeleteBy apologizing, it shows who you are.
Here's hoping your cute little boy Timmy is well now.
Sending healing thoughts for your son.
ReplyDeleteI removed all of my blogs from entrecard almost a year ago. Blogs leaving EC due to controversy has been an ongoing pattern with them so blogs leaving now is nothing new. I know there are some issues with ghost dropping because after almost I year I still get visits showing up in my stats across all 5 blogs that were in the EC system. Now that can't be just a caching problem.
I think you did a good thing to bring awareness to the problem of ghost dropping. I am surprised they haven't canceled your account yet so perhaps they are starting to listen to the members.
Although belated I appreciate the apology, it's a little late now but I can understand why when it concerns your baby. The fact is that I have deleted three blogs from the system but have added two new ones to Entrecard which are http://ratetshirts.com and http://www.arturban.co.uk/blog/ - I will have to think long and hard about returning the others to EC as this infighting hits hard when it comes to the spirit of Entrecard and I and Chris have invested so much time and hard work in EC that it almost hurts to be let down like this. All I would advise is to contact EC first, or better still try and get explanations from those concerned (including ourselves), to clear up matters before posting what can be a very damaging post for EC supporters. I hope this is a lesson to all to look before they leap, I look forward to a more trusting era at Entrecard, we need to stick together, after all the fights of the past, this has to be the last time. If you think people are still using some kind of software, tally them up with your webstats and send the proof to EC. They will remove them and then you have your scoop.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone wants to find me on Entrecard again click the link
@Paul Baines - I'm sorry to see your other blogs go, but I just checked out the 2 new ones you added... very cool. I'll be visiting [all 5] often! Take care! :)
ReplyDeleteI've said more than enough about all this and what's worth saying has been said above.
ReplyDeleteI really hope your son will be ok and recover soon
Please accept my heartfelt concern for your child. Having personally experienced having a child being hospitalized for an extended period of time I full understand the stress that you had and may well still be enduring. I sincerely look forward to your child’s full recovery.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your apology, I want to say thank you for doing the right thing by making a public apology and by removing the cards which publicly indicted as “cheaters” and “scammers” those concerned from your site. It is obvious, even within your apology, that you still feel there are some out there whose sole intent it is to scam Entrecard and its members, I respect your right to hold that opinion.
It is unfortunate though that a certain few of those felt the need to remove their sites from Entrecard as a result of your post. Whether your post was the straw that broke the camels back or the primary reason makes no difference. I hope that they see fit to return to Entrecard once they see your apology and know that Entrecard appreciated your efforts but did not agree with labeling any of its members as cheaters.
We all have concerns or input about how Entrecard, “shoulda, coulda, woulda”. It is for us to convey these thoughts to Entrecard via whatever channels of communication might exist. It is for Entrecard to implement, censure, or further discuss any items they feel will benefit the greater good of its members at which time the members must decide if Entrecard still serves it needs.
With or without Entrecard we all still must remember that it is not the Entrecard Widget that engenders comments or interaction with our sites, it is good content and an aesthetically pleasing site that will get them to stop and take the time to let you know what they think.
Now that this is all behind us, I look forward to moving on and all of us being friends again. ;o) I will post this comment on my site as well as a link to your apology. http://securityforidiots.blogspot.com/
i really hope this isn't true....i mean the "ghost droppers"....this is really bad for the community........
ReplyDeletei have been missing dropping for sometime...not been consistent because of work in office.....but the blogs you mentioned were regular to me and i was to them....though i can understand the "Cache" thing....which can be a potential reason....
It's really good you came clean on the issue with this post.....hope the relationship doesn't get affected.
Thanks for the apology, I didn't know if I was on the list but know that I do not ghost drop. some times I comment and sometimes not. However I physically visit every blog. I hope your son is doing better.
ReplyDeleteHope your son is alright and recovering, do take care !
ReplyDeleteTo err is human and nobody and nothing is perfect, we all make mistakes, in different aspects of our work, life, blogsphere etc etc
Hope you can put this behind and continue blogging :)
Who hasn't made a mistake ever in life? I would have been as pissed and upset as the others had I been on that list, but a sincere apology can definitely help mend fences. I think we've all been in the position of having to apologize at one time or another. The main thing is to man/woman up and just do it.
ReplyDeleteAs for commentors, you just have to work hard to provide content that makes folks want to comment. True, there are people who've been dropping on my blog for a year now who have never commented once EVER, and I try not to hold that against them, but hey, what are you gonna do, force 'em? Just take the bad with the rest and hope for the best!
And as for all those who really are ghost droppers, well, they're gonna have to rethink that whole thing now. Will it be worth it to keep on doing it and get removed from E card or not? That is the question for them.
One thing is for sure, you definitely made for one hell of an interesting week! ;)
Well, you might have come across as a little harsh, but I have seen two blogs now defending their use of the script. I won't be visiting them again. Of course it takes time to drop- the point was supposed to be to see other blogs, not make the ECs. Sites have rules... people who won't play by those rules don't have to belong.
ReplyDeletei have been out of touch from entrecard for a long time because of my busy schedule. now that i found the time again, i got updated with this issue on ghost dropping.
ReplyDeletei hope your son is feeling much better now. thank you for consistently making it to my top 10 list.