*Ø* Big websites that just don't give a shit
Everypoet.com getting my readers for free
Everypoet.com has a banner exchange that I signed up with two or three years ago and I'm not happy with it. I have the swap banners on about 15 pages, such as here, and each one has its own unique html code so they're quite a hassle to install.
For many months all that has been showing on my site is a blank space, with a live link below it that does work and will take my readers to everypoet.com. The banner itself, which should be a swap with the site of some other poetry shmoe like me, just isn't showing. So my banners aren't showing on other banner exchange members' sites either.
For months and months there has been a notice at the banner exchange that says: "THE EVERYPOET BANNER EXCHANGE IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING AN EXTENSIVE UPGRADE. PLEASE CHECK BACK IN A FEW WEEKS TO APPLY" (in all upper case, just like that, so they're either schizophrenics, Germans or just shouting). Well, I've been doing that all year, and I don't think I'll do it much longer. I've searched everywhere on the site for a Contact link to try and get some answers; I can't find one, can anyone else? If you tell me you can find it, I might eat humble pie (quite happily).
Rule of thumb about web companies
Don't you hate these websites that don't have a contact? Rule of thumb: A website that doesn't have a contact, or which ignores correspondence (such as Yahoo! Groups) is trouble. They don't care. They're like those shopkeepers who smile when you're handing over your money but push you out of the store when you come back with a problem. Another one is AvatarSearch, which has now ignored or bounced at least 15 of my Support queries (using several of their Contact addresses) over a period of two years.
Some of these websites are like the Mary fucking Celeste, ghost ships endlessly sailing the seas of the Internet unmanned. But getting cents-for-clicks channeled into bank accounts.
By contrast, a company like Blogger replies to Support questions very politely and intelligently within hours and continues the correspondence if necessary. Full marks to Blogger.
So I thought I would take everypoet up on their invitation, "join our mailing list", so at least I might get some way to contact these people and find out why they think it's OK for them to have free rent on my WWW real estate for about a year and not reciprocate according to our implied contract. Well here's their mailing list: they have sent out five newsletters since 2000, the last being July 2001. Looks like 1,518 other shmoes are waiting for everypoet.com to do the right thing. I bet that mailing list will get used when they have something to sell, though.
Why am I writing this? Shouldn't I just suffer in silence? No, because it's not just everypoet.com that treats its link partners and banner swappers this way and I think that it's the silence of longsuffering webmasters that allows this sort of thing to continue. I'll give everypoet a few more weeks to come good, and failing that, down come the banners. It will take precious time to remove them, but at least I'll know that this company won't be siphoning off my readers for free any more.
Everypoet.com getting my readers for free
Everypoet.com has a banner exchange that I signed up with two or three years ago and I'm not happy with it. I have the swap banners on about 15 pages, such as here, and each one has its own unique html code so they're quite a hassle to install.
"Join Everypoet Exchange,
the most indescribably fabulous arts and
literature banner exchange program anywhere ever."
For many months all that has been showing on my site is a blank space, with a live link below it that does work and will take my readers to everypoet.com. The banner itself, which should be a swap with the site of some other poetry shmoe like me, just isn't showing. So my banners aren't showing on other banner exchange members' sites either.
For months and months there has been a notice at the banner exchange that says: "THE EVERYPOET BANNER EXCHANGE IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING AN EXTENSIVE UPGRADE. PLEASE CHECK BACK IN A FEW WEEKS TO APPLY" (in all upper case, just like that, so they're either schizophrenics, Germans or just shouting). Well, I've been doing that all year, and I don't think I'll do it much longer. I've searched everywhere on the site for a Contact link to try and get some answers; I can't find one, can anyone else? If you tell me you can find it, I might eat humble pie (quite happily).
Rule of thumb about web companies
Don't you hate these websites that don't have a contact? Rule of thumb: A website that doesn't have a contact, or which ignores correspondence (such as Yahoo! Groups) is trouble. They don't care. They're like those shopkeepers who smile when you're handing over your money but push you out of the store when you come back with a problem. Another one is AvatarSearch, which has now ignored or bounced at least 15 of my Support queries (using several of their Contact addresses) over a period of two years.
Some of these websites are like the Mary fucking Celeste, ghost ships endlessly sailing the seas of the Internet unmanned. But getting cents-for-clicks channeled into bank accounts.
By contrast, a company like Blogger replies to Support questions very politely and intelligently within hours and continues the correspondence if necessary. Full marks to Blogger.
So I thought I would take everypoet up on their invitation, "join our mailing list", so at least I might get some way to contact these people and find out why they think it's OK for them to have free rent on my WWW real estate for about a year and not reciprocate according to our implied contract. Well here's their mailing list: they have sent out five newsletters since 2000, the last being July 2001. Looks like 1,518 other shmoes are waiting for everypoet.com to do the right thing. I bet that mailing list will get used when they have something to sell, though.
Why am I writing this? Shouldn't I just suffer in silence? No, because it's not just everypoet.com that treats its link partners and banner swappers this way and I think that it's the silence of longsuffering webmasters that allows this sort of thing to continue. I'll give everypoet a few more weeks to come good, and failing that, down come the banners. It will take precious time to remove them, but at least I'll know that this company won't be siphoning off my readers for free any more.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 9:40 AM | Permalink
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