What is a Hi-Jack?

I'm not here to complain and I think so far i've tried to follow the rules although I have made a few mistakes along the way with rules that I had not read. Obviously, I understand that ignorance is no excuse so I let these go. However, I'm a little bit disturbed by the last infraction I recieved. I'm not a trouble maker, I don't go around trying to bug people and I don't spam these forums just to boost my post count like some others do just so I can sell some signature links.

However, I came across a thread a few minutes ago and I honestly felt like one of the scripts I sell was a solution to their problem. I knew that selling something to someone in a thread such as that is somewhat frowned upon so I even put in there something like "I hope no one thinks I'm trying to hi-jack this thread"... only to find out that 10 minutes later I recieved an infraction for hi-jacking.

That really bothers me. A simple delete and/or a PM would have been sufficient I think. Why can't moderators instead of taking the time out to give infractions, take the time out to PM someone and just explain that that was frowned upon and then delete the post.

Honestly, I do a lot of business through this forum. I've tried to respect peoples feelings and opinions unlike many. I almost feel as though some of the moderators are trying to punish a few "newer" members who don't post frequently about worthless information. Sorry, I had to get this off my chest and I hope no one finds it offensive. I realize it will probably not change the way the moderators handle situations, but I felt the need to voice my opinion on the issue and I hope no moderators find it offensive.

I know how it is, sometimes it can be hectic and those that cause trouble can sometimes be mixed in with those that don't. I've been a moderator on a forum with over 50,000 legitimate members previously. I totally understand. I just hope that this opens some eyes... thats all.

 

A hijack is when someone is talking about topic X and you steer their thread onto topic Y regardless of whether or not you actually intended to. Hijacking is most rigorously enforced in the BST forum and subforums because it can have the negative consequence of depriving the thread starter of sales or damaging the reputation of their product or service.

I've been caught for this in the past too. The interpretation of a hijack appears to vary depending on who you ask, but as a general rule it's safest to avoid making all but the most relevant of comments and questions in a sales thread.

 

It's quite simple, really. The infractions are made for the purpose of not PMing each member who breaks the rules. It takes too much time and effort, which makes it unproductive. It is much easier to warn a member by giving him an infraction for a specific post which happened to break a rule.
You got the warning, you got the idea that hijacking is not allowed, so the job is done.
This infraction actually explained that this is frowned upon and the post was deleted (if).

Learn from mistakes, and move on.

 

PHPGator, I just merged a bunch of your duplicate threads.

Please make an effort (a better one) to follow the forum rules.

 

Crazy Rob, I actually have a question about duplicate threads too. I recieved an infraction for bumping my thread. So instead, I have just been posting the same thread again everyday. Which is considered better and tolerable? To bump my thread daily? Or to post the same service daily?

 

Both would be against the rules.

 

Ouch, didn't know that either. I've looked through the infraction thread, and was unable to find any rules regarding how often you can post your services. I'd imagine it is more than once because I continuouly see the same web hosts putting their services in the web hosting section on a routine basis.

 

Both the methods are intolerable - If people would be interested in your service they would post in your thread, so there would be no need to start a new thread advertising the same service or bumping your thread.

 

Posting the same thing more than once would be considered a duplicate post. If you see a post that violates the guidlines please report it. From the posting guidelines:

 

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Mods, I just did a quick search in the Rules/FAQ section for the term "hijack" it did not return any responses. Assuming this is highly enforced perhaps you want to add a page on it in the rules? I'm actually looking for an exact DP definition on the term. Thanks.

 

source

more rules and guidelines can be found in sticky threads for each forum.