A Moral Dileima

Forgive me if you have heard this already, I posted within another's thread and did get much response nor did I want to crash their party.

Here is the story. A competitor of mine (as in, has a site that does the exact same thing, in fact, I got the idea by seeing their site. I thought I could do it better) has some language on their site, which basically asks for support thru the clicking of the adverts. Now I feel that I have a dilemma, because :

1. I feel that it would be kind or sucky of me to report them and have them lose revenue. Plus, they were the inspiration for me to get into this thing.

2. They are cheating, and I am playing fair. Those b@stards.

So, do I drop them and email (which is done thru a proxy, i checked it on whois, not that it matter's I do not think), or do I report their cheating asses and strike a blow to cheaters and my competition in one fell swoop?

(actually, I am not so sure this will 'strike a blow' to them, as they seem to get enough traffic, though they do advertise pretty heavily.)

Please give me some advice!

 

It's not a moral dillema, if their violating TOS then they should be reported. It saves us all money in the long run.

 

I agree ... report the cheatin' b@stards. They are stealing my money as an AdWords advertiser and it pisses me off when websites like those continue to get away with hiway robbery.

 

This is true, I did not even think of that. My ads appear on their site as we are in the same niche!

 

As the others have said, TCR, there is no moral dilemma here, only on their end. Report them. Give out their URL and others will report them as well.

 

When you report a site do you usually give your email address? In any case, Iam going to do it. Their url is as follows:

http://www.madmoneyrecap.com/daily_summary_033006.htm

 

Hmm, I'm not sure if they're asking people to click on the ads, but rather to donate via the Paypal button. Plus, their Adsense placement is horrible! BTW What the hell are three chicks doing watching this crazy guy?? LOL.

 

There's a graphic with "click a banner support our sponsors... support this site" on it. It's next to the text: "Your support of our advertisers makes a huge difference as we struggle to pay for our skyrocketing bandwidth/ hosting charges. Thank you. "

Previously, it was text rather than an image and directly below it was a google ad.

 

Yes I'd report them.

Not only is it cheating the TOS but if Adsense doesn't give the desired results to Adsense advertisers (ie: attract legitimate visitors & or business to the site), then there is the chance that they will find other ways to advertise. In the long run this hurts us all if advertisers pull out of the programme due to click fraud. Nobody wants to waste their hard earned advertising revenue. I really do see it as a symbiotic relationship, and feel a duty to protect advertisers so they will continue to advertise in this way.

 

I reported them the first time TCR mentioned this site (in another thread). Stealing sucks, never mind how it's done.

 

Yeh do it, they are cheating everyone, not just Google. And besides, it is bound to help you even if it's just a little.

 

Push them down! Cheaters deserved to fall down.!

 

I reported them. I truly do feel like it is cheating, or at least entering into an relm that I personally would not be comfortable, if I had read the ToS, which is our responsibility as publishers. Ignorance is bliss, yes?

 

I would contact them first. Maybe they don't know what the TOS are. In that case don't get them banned! I would say....

1. Email wait a week
2. week two submit the google letter
3. Feel Guilty
4. Revenue Increases!
5. Feel Happy.

 

They should have read the TOS in the first place. As TCR pointed it out, "read the ToS, which is our responsibility as publishers".

We need to respect the advertisers as at the end of the day they are who we have to thank for any cash we earn. Google's just the middle-man.

 

I think they ARE sailing a little close to the mark. MAYBE best to report it and then wait see. Google MAY ban them and may NOT.

What is dissapointing, yet again, is to see posters saying things like "report the cheating b@stards" before you had even seen the website.

This forum needs to be a voice of reason - not a platform for people to sound off before they know the facts.

I think TCR DOES have a good point but before he posted the URL he could have been yet another disgruntled sire owner P****d off that a competitor was doing better than him.

For goodness sake guys - look at the facts before making ridiculous statements like the poster I mention above does.

90% of the posters on this site are "professional" and yes I am happy to name them - but all too often we get idiots sounding off before even checking things out. Time after time we see "ban them" or "report them" or "you can't ever get reinstated" - for goodness sake save your drivel until the full facts are known.

I am relativley new here (though joined adsense the day it launched) and respect the views of the majority of the posters who offer SOUND advice, even those who redmarked me for not "searching" when I first joined lol. I also have a vested interest in catching "cheats" as I spend over $8,000 a month on Adwords.

I have learnt so much in a few short days here but if the mindless drivel of the "few" takes over it completely devalues this board.

 

I am not sure I am allowed to contact them, technichly speaking, bc their ads run on my site also. I *believe* there is some language about contacting advertisers etc etc...

In any case, it is not my responsibility to police the program nor offer unsolicited assistance to those who scroll down and click "I Agree" with out ever reading the terms of service (or any agreement for that matter.) My only responsibility lies to my self and my fellow publishers to stay the course and abide by the rules that have been set forth before me.

If someone hits a single and runs straight to second base becuase he didn'y know any better, he is going to be out, regardless. He should have picked up a rule book before he stepped up to bat.

Professional? WTF? someone clue me in to the ways of the world.

Sorry for the long winded post. I need more coffee

 

Sorry to go OT but this was interesting. Do you really want competitors' ads on your site? Of course, it's potential revenue but you want people to read about TCR on your site, right?

By the way, your index page is a lot better. I didn't look at any other pages yet, but it's definitely the right direction. Good luck!

 

You have a point, I have been pondering with that issue in my mind.

Thanks for the compliment Ryan, I keep on trying!!

 

Just so everyone knows what we are talking about or who did not see the page, its message is as follow:

"Your support of our advertisers makes a huge difference as we struggle to
pay for our skyrocketing bandwidth/ hosting charges. Thank you."

And next to that message, their is a small banner that says :
"Click a banner! Support our sponsers, support our site!"