Stop the less than subtle competitor hinting.
- Thread starter Orifice
- Start date
dirtydog said:
As this thread is about indirect mentions (eg not directly naming the competitor, but stating it in a roundabout but clear way) I would maintain this is not an issue.
In order for people to deliberately try to circumvent the rules, they have to know the rules in the first place, and that's exactly what's happening.
This thread is not so much about direct mentions, but the deliberate attempts to try and indirectly mention places people are perfectly aware are competitors.
Because people are trying to be deliberately obstinant and stubborn?
I just deleted a post that consisted of "rearrange these letters to make the name of the shop
" followed by the name with two letters transposed. Likewise those people using a location instead of the store name (although it's clear exactly who they mean).In order to make posts like this, you HAVE to be aware of the rules, otherwise you'd just post normally anyway.
That is what is getting annoying, especially when it's then followed by "You need to tell us exactly where we can and can't mention" as if that would solve the problem, when it's perfectly clear that those doing this know exactly what they are doing.
-Dolph
I would say that some of those 'hinting' are not sure whether the shop is allowed or not, so they say 'rainforest' instead of Amazon. I have done that myself, because I thought it would be better to do that then say Amazon. If you're saying you'd prefer people to say the shop's proper name unless they are certain it isn't allowed, then fine. The only game retailer I know for certain isn't allowed is the 4-letter Jersey one.
I'm siding with the mods on this one. Call me a brown nose if you wish, I couldn't give a ****.
The competitor rule has been very clear for quite some time now. If they sell competing products to OcUK, they are a competitor. Admittedly a clarification on EBay would be good due to the fact that they are mentioned everywhere else on the forum, yet sell almost everything OcUK do. Apart from that, I have no issue understanding the rules.
Some people here need to quit making a fuss for the sake of it and use some common sense.
The competitor rule has been very clear for quite some time now. If they sell competing products to OcUK, they are a competitor. Admittedly a clarification on EBay would be good due to the fact that they are mentioned everywhere else on the forum, yet sell almost everything OcUK do. Apart from that, I have no issue understanding the rules.
Some people here need to quit making a fuss for the sake of it and use some common sense.
And it's the 4 letter one causing most of the problems in all fairness. The number of people doing that in recent weeks has got insane.
Edit: Linking to single items on ebay from areas that don't compete is considered ok.
For example linking to a funny car ad is fine, linking to something in the computing section isn't.
-Dolph
Edit: Linking to single items on ebay from areas that don't compete is considered ok.
For example linking to a funny car ad is fine, linking to something in the computing section isn't.
-Dolph
Dolph said:
Dolph, you're on the right track. Now just extend this list with more sites and people will get an idea of what is or isnt allowed. Make it a sticky and you're done. Hardly rocket science, is it?
Otherwise, this thread will dissappear into the depths of the forum and in 2 months you'll be explaining yourself again.
What a surprise that dirtydog is making a fuss too? Do you ever give up?
It was stated a frigging long time ago that Game and Gameplay's PC stock was never going to compete with OcUK. Game are normally at least 3 or 4 generations behind the latest technology and Gameplay only sell peripherals such as joysticks and gaming mice. Hardly going to take away from OcUK's business is it? The problem with the the main competitor is that they sell a darn site more PC kit than any other, and at a semi-competitive price.
Not that hard is it? Or are you just a bit dim?
My understanding is very clear and I personally do not find it confusing what so ever.
It was stated a frigging long time ago that Game and Gameplay's PC stock was never going to compete with OcUK. Game are normally at least 3 or 4 generations behind the latest technology and Gameplay only sell peripherals such as joysticks and gaming mice. Hardly going to take away from OcUK's business is it? The problem with the the main competitor is that they sell a darn site more PC kit than any other, and at a semi-competitive price.
Not that hard is it? Or are you just a bit dim?
My understanding is very clear and I personally do not find it confusing what so ever.
dirtydog said:
Yes they are, as were the other site until they started majorly expanding their range to include a lot more things that crossed over with OcUK's product lines (such as digital cameras, memory cards, media etc etc) in large volumes.
If Game sold more hardware than 2 keyboards and a Geforce 2 Ultra stickered at £300, then they would be a competitor.
We have tried to be reasonable with regards to competitors. If we went uber-harsh, we could ban talking about just about anywhere. Instead we're trying to use a bit of common sense while still protecting the interests of OcUK as a company.
-Dolph
Caporegime
Duradrum said:
Yes so is Argos, and everyone knows they sell everything these guys do, only things they dont sell are CPU's, GFX cards, but they do everything else, but then ppl could say "yeah but its not their main thing", so what another place's main thing is DVDs/Books/Games yet we can't mention those at all, but Argos can be mentioned, go to their website have a look at there huge PC range lol, surely i can't get wrong for saying that as Argos is allowed so not a competitor, even though they are lol
I think Argos can only be mentioned as someone might ask "where can i get a decent chair/desk etc..." but i suppoe the same could be said for "when can get so and so on DVD", but i dont make the rules, i just find that odd that Argos can be mentioned when they have a huge PC range, yet another place can't.
Last edited:
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Dolph said:
Hehe, it's just like being at school!
Soldato
I wasn't even aware until recently that a certain competitor sold computer bits. I understand that this thread is about people disguising competitor names (which obviously means they know it's not allowed) but there might be quite a few people that don't even realise that place is a competitor as they never go into that section on the site.
Is it allowed for people to say that there is a good deal on a game but not mention where it is? If someone says a game is going cheap somewhere they can't mention, it's pretty obvious where they're talking about even though the only hint they've given is that they're not allowed to mention it.
Is it allowed for people to say that there is a good deal on a game but not mention where it is? If someone says a game is going cheap somewhere they can't mention, it's pretty obvious where they're talking about even though the only hint they've given is that they're not allowed to mention it.
Soldato
I think a list would be best really, just a temporary sticky would be something.
Iam guessing its ok to mention comet for example since they just sell dishwashers and hoovers mostly but they also sell consoles so I guess not ? Not sure if they sell pc or parts for pc as well now, they definetly didnt used to
Iam guessing its ok to mention comet for example since they just sell dishwashers and hoovers mostly but they also sell consoles so I guess not ? Not sure if they sell pc or parts for pc as well now, they definetly didnt used to
Had fun readin through this, as they say at my workplace if your not sure ask
If you want to post a link is it that difficult to ask a mod first to clear up a grey area? Also if they printed a list of banned sites, people would just say "its sold at item 4 on the banned substance list"
If you want to post a link is it that difficult to ask a mod first to clear up a grey area? Also if they printed a list of banned sites, people would just say "its sold at item 4 on the banned substance list"
Soldato
I just honestly dont understand why the Dons are spending sooo much time argueing in this post and not the 5 - 10 mins it would take one of them to make a list.
and i love the way its a blanket 'you all whined' i for one didnt, because i dont think i was here at the time and tbh i am offended by the generalisation.
and are we allowed to say Jersey to reference to the 4 letter place (2 methods dons have used in this post to mention the place we are not allowed to mention)
and TBH i would be surprised at how much business ocuk would lose to the mention of the above competitor to the likes of cameras and MP3 players etc, as ocuk arent particularly cheap when it comes to those items and wouldnt take too much looking to get a better deal, and ocuk wouldnt be first on my hit list to find one.
and dont forget we are not looking for a list of banned sites we are looking for a list of allowed sites
and i love the way its a blanket 'you all whined' i for one didnt, because i dont think i was here at the time and tbh i am offended by the generalisation.
and are we allowed to say Jersey to reference to the 4 letter place (2 methods dons have used in this post to mention the place we are not allowed to mention)
and TBH i would be surprised at how much business ocuk would lose to the mention of the above competitor to the likes of cameras and MP3 players etc, as ocuk arent particularly cheap when it comes to those items and wouldnt take too much looking to get a better deal, and ocuk wouldnt be first on my hit list to find one.
and dont forget we are not looking for a list of banned sites we are looking for a list of allowed sites
Commissario
1: A list is never going to be comprehensive - there are litterally thousands of games retailers, or retailers who sell games and some computer hardware (be it just a couple of headsets).
A list of banned retailers defeats the whole reason for the ban.
2: People are deliberately trying to get round the rules in regards to shops they know are not allowed.
If people insist on keep hinting at retailers who are not allowed (and it's pretty obvious that most of people who are doing it know they are flouting the rules), we'll start handing out long suspensions until the message gets through.
It's a hell of a lot quicker to hit the "suspend" button, and send a form email off than to keep trying to get the message across by asking people to follow the rules and use some common sense.
As has been said any number of times
Retailers who primarily sell games and only have a small selection that OCUK do sell are generally ok, as long as you're not linking or it's not being mentioned in regards to something OCUK do sell.
That makes retailers like Gameplay, Game, Tesco's etc fine 99% of the time.
Retailers who sell a lot of stuff that OCUK sells are not ok - if in doubt contact a don, any don and check (it takes maybe 30 seconds to find a moderators email address, and another minute to ask "is X ok to mention on the forums in regards to games").