People trying to game Netscape.
We’re adding some new language to the Netscape FAQ, so that everyone knows where we stand on people gaming the site. Today, we placed a 14 day ban on any stories submitted to Netscape that came from Starpulse.com. The homepage refreshed and there were suddenly about 15 stories from that source, all submitted by the same user and voted on by the same set of users nearly simultaneously and our anti-spamming algorithms notified the Netscape Anchor on duty (yours truly) at about the same exact time that my Anchor “spider-sense” went off. The 14 day ban is a warning shot. If the behavior continues, we’ll add another ban, and if it happens a third time, we’ll permanently ban a site. We want good content. But we want it to happen as naturally as possible.
In case you’re a website owner and you want to know our policy, here’s what will be added to our FAQ soon:
Why was a link on one of my stories changed by a Netscape Anchor?
In order to ensure that there are not multiple duplicates of the same story, it is important that Netscape community members always link to the original source of a story. Whenever the Netscape Anchor team spots a story that is not linked to the original source, we will change the link and leave a note in Anchor Commentary noting the change.
For example, if you have posted an AOL UnCut Video, YouTube or Google Video video to your personal blog and you wish to submit the story to Netscape, unless your blog post presents substantial analysis or discussion of the video, you should link directly to the source video.
This same rule should apply to any stories—regardless of whether they are audio, video, pictures, or text—that you submit to Netscape. We want to avoid cluttering the system with rehashed stories, and we appreciate your help in this matter.
Netscape is not accepting submissions from a specific URL, noting that the site has been banned or is under investigation for spamming when I try to submit a story from that URL. What gives?
In order to prevent duplicates, we permanently ban sites like TinyURL.com or other URL aliasing services online. We also permanently ban URLs from sites that clearly violate our Terms of Use (this includes links to pornography, sites which are abusive, or sites that promote crimes).
If sites are reported by users or our anti-spamming algorithms for spamming the system with stories, we place a 14 day ban on the site while we investigate and as a warning to the possible spammers. If there is a repeat second offense the ban will be reinitiated and extended for 90 days. If the site has been reported and temporarily banned multiple times and shows evidence of actual spamming tactics, Netscape will ban the URL permanently.
What do you mean by spamming?
You’re more likely than not familiar with spam from email. It’s unwanted content that is often trying to sell you something. Besides eliminating actual spam stories in the system when they are reported by Netscape members and our anti-spamming algorithms, the Anchor team watches for spamming behavior.
For example, if a group of individuals (or a single individual registering multiple Netscape member accounts) only post links to sites with which they are affiliated (more likely than not profiting from any traffic coming to that site) and only vote and comment on stories with which they are affiliated and all these actions are clearly a coordinated effort to push the stories to the Netscape Homepage, these individuals would clearly be trying to game the system and spamming Netscape with their stories.
That being said, if you and your friends have similar interests and tend to vote on the same stories or on each other’s stories, but this clearly isn’t done as a concerted effort, then that would qualify as normal social behavior, which we not only approve of, but encourage.
If you want to make sure that you aren’t setting off either community of computer alarms, we recommend that you paricipate fully in our community, submitstories from multiple sources, avoid group voting, and clearly announce when you submit stories with which you are affiliated.
Recommend on Mahalo
August 9th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Frankly, the new version of the Netscape web portal is junk populated by politcal spammers with agendas. Voting on what stories are of interest is stupid. It just encourages the whackos to vote in their favorite blogs. Most of the content is now junk that I don’t care about. It would be much better if we could set up personal preferences (like many sites do) for different topics, keywords, etc. Having the web community vote is driving me away from Netscape. I don’t want wackos setting my content. I’m not interested in a bunch of unintelligent bloggers with political agendas. Sorry, but Netscape now reaks.
August 9th, 2006 at 7:28 pm
I agree 100% with the comments by John Davis!! I’m being driven away as well!
Sam Mendez
Frankly, the new version of the Netscape web portal is junk populated by politcal spammers with agendas. Voting on what stories are of interest is stupid. It just encourages the whackos to vote in their favorite blogs. Most of the content is now junk that I don’t care about. It would be much better if we could set up personal preferences (like many sites do) for different topics, keywords, etc. Having the web community vote is driving me away from Netscape. I don’t want wackos setting my content. I’m not interested in a bunch of unintelligent bloggers with political agendas. Sorry, but Netscape now reaks.
August 9th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
I’m sorry you two aren’t enjoying the site, but the best way to make it less plagued by “whackos” is to get as many non-whackos as you know to participate in the site and vote up “non-whacko” stories.
August 9th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
I don’t like your new version of the Netscape. It’s awful. What is this vote stuff? What happened to the real news? I’m looking around for a new homepage.
August 9th, 2006 at 8:46 pm
I agree with both John Davis, Sam Mendes, and Connie. I don’t want to “vote” on the news stories I want to see, because that requires me to hunt for the news stories, and then vote for them and hope that others do as well. I just want the news…from a reliable source…not some “blog” that’s written by some hermit who wishes they were an actual journalist. I used to have netscape.com set to my homepage because I could just bring it up, and there it was, the news and all the top headlines from the day. Getting the news shouldn’t be a chore, and the new netscape has made it just that. The top stories are cluttered with nothing but useless blog entries on stories that really don’t even matter. I understand that people have the right to express their opinions, and the new netscape promotes that, but if people want to express their opinions, they can go join a politcal forum or blog somewhere.
I’m sorry, but the new netscape is a joke, and if the “whackos” at netscape would listen to the hundreds of people who are telling them there new layout is garbage, they’d switch it back. Sure, they want to make it like digg.com and everything, but if the people that had netscape.com set to their homepage wanted a layout like that, then they’d have digg.com set to their homepage instead. The new layout is unorganized, cluttered, and extremely unefficient. Do yourselves a favor and switch it back. There was nothing wrong with the old netscape. It’s just as the old saying goes…”There’s no need to fix something if it’s not broken.”
August 9th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
I agree with John, Sam & Connie. If AOL is interrested in creating a site similar to “digg.com” then create it. Don’t try to take an existing site, “netscape.com” and capture its clientele by changing the site so dramatically. If this is your best marketing ploy its likely to blow-up your plans and make alot of Internet users less likely to use your other services. Does that make any sense to anyone…
August 9th, 2006 at 10:19 pm
WHY? Your “new and improved” site is the pits. There was nothing wrong with the old Netscape. What is with the here’s what people voted for as far as news is concerned? Mel Gibson being dropped by Disney is not the top story of the day, unless you let the voters decide. Thats BULL…. I have been loyal to Netscape since 1998, however, and as much as I hate to, I am leaning towards Internet Explorer as my homepage which is a browser I have always tried to avoid due to the security issues. Netscape, you have done something Bill Gates couldn’t. You have made the choice for your loyal users to switch to another browser due to your inferiority.
August 9th, 2006 at 10:23 pm
I have failed in my attempt at learning to like the New Netscape. As the weeks have passed I am finding fewer stories that are interesting or newsworthy(in my opinion). Perhaps I am too old or boring to enjoy people trading insults across the wide gulf separating their personal and political viewpoints. It seems that the far right and far left are dominating the list of articles. Even when I agree with some of the viewpoints expressed in articles and the “comments” section I find most of them so one sided that they can stimulate little, if any, thought provolking dialogue. Its not that I never enjoy the “fringe”, I just thing that by definition there should be something substantive in the center. I am guessing that you are targeting a very young crowd now. In high school or undergraduate, I think I might have liked this set up, but after having Netscape as my home page since its inception, I am leaving it.
David
August 9th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
The ONLY thing I like about the new page is being able to comment on a story. The worst part is the layout which has the black area to the left and requires side scrolling to read the stories. News stories are not a popularity contest and voting makes no sense. Voting on the comments is good.
August 9th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
I agree, I have been an avid netscape user for 10 years. Now I am considering the unthinkable MSN or IE. Please Netscape rethink this before its to late.
August 9th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
I remember hearing an earlier Netscape response of “well you can always use our perfectly good AOL as your homepage” and “actually, 90% of our email is favorable to the new format”. I would bet the real truth to the matter is that someone sold the change idea to the people upstairs & now they have too much vested into it (butts on the line). People can’t just leave well enough alone. They feel like they have to justify their jobs with change & now they’ll do anything to prove they were right. Even to the point of riding the thing straight into the ground. All good things must come to an end.
August 9th, 2006 at 11:56 pm
Newsertainment is what Nutscrape has become and it is less relevant than what my cat leaves in his litterbox. I rarely bother to read any of the “news” now unless it has some vague connection to reality. Yep, yep, yep…..popular “news” as voted by the often only semi-literate is a great way yo go folks.
August 10th, 2006 at 12:02 am
Boy! And right when I thought I was the oNLY one who thought Netscape stinks - here comes support by the truckload! Netscape, your people think like the dopy manager of a Wal-Mart store…………..change everything all around and the public will ove you! WRONG!
Your “change-it” people ought to be strung up by the nuts!!!!
August 10th, 2006 at 12:59 am
I really agree with the many of the others who thinks the new Netscape really stinks. I want news, not a number of votes of who likes the article or whether they like the information. News is about facts not opinions. I am using this site in my Web Design class to show my students what a sorry site looks like. I would fail a student for turning such crap for a website.
August 10th, 2006 at 1:12 am
I’m torn. I like the new layout but I hate to agree with some of the other posters because I really like netscape a whole lot. It’s been my home page for awhile. While some of the voted stories catch my interest I find it hard to find the real news. It’s about a 50/50 split but I think cnn or the like may be my source now for the real deal news. Thats kinda sad because I don’t like them. haha. Do something netscape!
August 10th, 2006 at 1:28 am
Let’s hope they change Netscape back to the way it was, or something better. Not what it is now. However, I love the e-mail, which I will continue to use. I just hope they modify the e-mail so I can invoke it from my PDA.
August 10th, 2006 at 2:46 am
Netscape was my homepage for 5 years, but now I get better news from yahoo.com…this new site sucks.
August 10th, 2006 at 3:48 am
I too agree the story votes is a little too much,I’m switching to googles website for news,same layout,”no voting”just news too read, which is what most people want I would think.
August 10th, 2006 at 3:50 am
As I’ve been reading for the past few weeks, there are many of us who hate the new format. Seems that once you’re comfortable with something, someone goes and changes it - and this time for the worse. I still have Netscape as my home page but find that I quickly link out to e-mail, which is the only thing I use Netscape for anymore. I don’t even bother with the BS “news” stories anymore. I used to really enjoy looking over the old format, but this new one really stinks. I’m still holding out hoping that all the comments I’ve seen have enough clout with the powers-that-be and that they listen to us. WE are the customers, the users, and aren’t the customers always right? How many “We love it’s” are there compared to the “We hate it’s”? CHANGE IT BACK !!
August 10th, 2006 at 4:19 am
Netscape, please - improved, not stewed.
Too long my home, but gotta change it now,
for some fact based, not belief based site.
Later.
August 10th, 2006 at 4:23 am
You could not leave well enough alone. PLEASE change Netscape back to its original format. This new format is horrible. Give me the ACTUAL news, not the news some “people” think are popular by vote.
Wake up and smell the coffee…REAL Netscape users hate the new format….go back to the old format PLEASE.
August 10th, 2006 at 5:32 am
I agree that the new Netscape is total rubbish. Take a leaf out of your own book and have a vote to see if it should be kept or not. I can take it if the vote goes the wrong way and the new format stays. However, if the format stays - I wont.
August 10th, 2006 at 5:43 am
GO BACK TO WHAT EVERYONE WENT TO YOUR SITE FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! NEWS. Let the geeks have this page but please give the normal people back their real netscape?
The new format really blow’s. If anyone know’s a site like the old netscape post it so we can go there!
August 10th, 2006 at 6:25 am
Oh! my GOD, look at the comments and you know it that it is from no one but all those Digg fans!
Come out of these small stupid things kids. Don’t you know that having competition is extermely neccessary.
What some time I feel that it may be Mr. Kevin Rose who’s friends must be supporting and doing all negative marketing of Netscape
Keep up the good work Jason Calacanis!
August 10th, 2006 at 8:14 am
I have had a netscape email for 10 years, and have had netscape as my homepage, but now that it has changed, I am unhappy with the content. I had it as my homepage because i could get the daily news everymorning, usually before they had it on news channels. now it is just a big opinion poll.I liked the old format better. why didn’t they do a survey and give people a chance to beta test it or something like that. ?change is not always a good thing….
August 10th, 2006 at 8:28 am
I hate to tell you but I too am in favor of changing back to the old format for Netscape. I have been completely unsuccessful in establishing a working mailbox, I have an AOL mailbox which I use when I want to use AOL’s products, (which is less and less these days). Every time I try to establish my new Netscape mailbox I get a “please try again at a later time” message. I was planning on dropping AOL all together for Netscape before you started this “You choose the news” type of format which is redundant, tedious and boring. I am actively looking for a new homepage, one like the old Netscape, which I really loved. I may be forced to use IE but I really hate their security problems. Perhaps you could make everyone happy by offering a choice of the old or new format. Even hapless AOL offers a choice of formats for taskbars and news set-ups and I hate to see AOL performing anything better than anyone else since their latest security debacle. Please listen to growing wave of distaste you are hearing from your loyal users and consider their needs and desires. The cost of ignoring them might be higher than you realize. Thank you for your time,
Celeste
August 10th, 2006 at 8:45 am
Alas, the day of reckoning is here. the absurdity of the present look of netscape is so obvious, to become the new rallying cry for most of us faithful users of netscape.
AOL’s groupthink has solidified its stranglehold on the netscape…alas, is this now the choking cry of the faithful…
August 10th, 2006 at 9:09 am
I agree with many of the negative comments regarding the bad choice of how the Netscape home page has been changed. I you pay attention to the regular news AOL is in financial trouble. If AOL is actually paying people to sit around and change something that isn’t broken, I can understand why the financial troubles exist. It would also appear that these people have created more work for themselves to police this kind of contantly changing content. Just like the government, It isn’t broke so well fix it to insure job security. I say change it back and fire some people!!
August 10th, 2006 at 9:10 am
Dear everyone,
While I am sorry you are not enjoying the new Netscape, there are plenty of new users who do. All signs point to increased traffic since the switch.
That being said, this post has absolutely *nothing* to do with your complaints. They don’t belong in the comments of this post. They belong in Netscape’s feedback. If they continue, I’ll be forced to close comments on this post; something that I’ve never done before.
August 10th, 2006 at 9:19 am
Netscape has been my homepage since it first became available but I have changed to MSN. This new format is just plain awful. Every once in a while as I did today I check back to see if it has returned to its old format but each time I leave disappointed. This is my first e-mail about it and it will be the last as I doubt that I will be back again.