simka2 Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 ...or can you help find a bright side to it? I was reading a thread where someone was asking for information about a certain curriculum. All of a sudden there was a very lengthy response from someone who obviously has a vested interest in providing a stellar review. This poster only has one post, so their sole purpose in being here was to provide that review. I love when curriculum writers/distributers are active on here, and provide hands on help with their curriculum. For some reason though this really bugs me. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 It doesn't bug me as long as they state who they are so that we know it is biased and if they give pertenent information. The other day, the author of Pathways of Exploration gave some great info including samples and links. Other than that though, it is really self serving and frustrating! I completely agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Great, now the curiosity is killing me and I'm going to have to find the thread. Unless you PM me... (pretty please?) ETA: Nevermind. Found it. That was easy. Curiosity is satisfied and I can now go about my business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Man. now i gotta know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NineChoirs Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 This kind of thing happens a lot on Amazon, especially with lesser known books and products. It is quite deceptive when they act as if they are just a typical user, rather than someone who works for the publisher/company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 Sorry, it was this one! http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=276112 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meet me in paris Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 "These are the best books ever and so very interesting!" :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Interesting, If it was someone from Apologia, I'd love to see that on the post. BUT, I have to say that when I love a curriculum, I might come off looking like I work for them. (Of course, I would add a disclaimer, knowing that my joy for the product is a bit on the crazy side :)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Sorry, it was this one! http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=276112 I'm mean, and I report the post. I just state that it looks suspiciously like spam to me. Then I let the admin team decide if it's appropriate or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 What's even worse is when the person starting the thread only has a couple of posts, asks about a product, and then lo and behold, several replies of brand new posters who think it is the best thing since sliced bread. :lol: (Not the case in that thread). But I would give the benefit of the doubt unless I see a pattern. It could be that someone is just jumping into the forums and sees something they can contribute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Sorry, it was this one! http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=276112 Wow. That's pretty bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kchara Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Wow. That's pretty bad! What's even worse is that the poster answered one of the questions completely differently than what I've heard the author say of said curriculum. I'm not sure that's someone from the company, just because of that, but it does read like an infomercial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 The review in question doesn't bother me at all. (Then again, you might say that some of my posts/reviews of things like Oak Meadow or Teaching Textbooks sound like an infommercial these days lol). I also don't think it's a big deal if someone joined this board just to post their glowing review of something they've tried and loved. We all joined for some reason. Some people join just to buy or sell something. Some people join just to ask a question about one particular thing. This forum comes up very easily when people do searches online so it wouldn't be all that hard to see someone was asking a question about it and decide they love the product enough to offer their input and join because of that. Maybe after that they would have looked around some, liked what they saw and stayed. But after being called "creepy" because of their first post? (Which I really don't even get, because it was a relevant post, about homeschool curriculum on a homeschool board- I mean, it wasn't like they showed up going "I see you were asking about modest bathing suits, I love those, can I see a picture of your kids using theirs?"). I'd guess they probably wouldn't want to stay now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I got mixed thoughts on it. yes, I'm annoyed when it is clearly a company doing it. and yes, there have been of incidents of that. irks me to no end. especially when they sign up with different names and keep it up and then trash talk. I've also been on the other side of it - the one falsely accused of being a plant from a company. One lady went totally overboard with her conspiracy theory against me. At the same time, it gave me the opportunity to just say "hey, that's my writing style when explaining stuff. get over it. I like the stuff. You don't. But that doesn't mean I work for them." I then got to say that I was actually rejected twice on employment applications from the company whose products I use and love...... wasn't that lovely to have to admit that in public to that level to prove, I'm just a mom using products. so.. if you aren't sure on this newbie, either 1. report it using the button on the post and let the mods take a look. 2. ask out loud with very gentle questions to the person -hey, nice post.... got a quick intro on your homeschool and such? looking forward to getting to know you. Maybe the person just likes the products she is using and has a writing style that sounds it way it does when giving information. on the other hand, it could be someone from company and a touch of disclosure couldn't hurt. The rules of this forum do permit specific questions about product to be answered. right? "No advertising If you are the publisher or author of home schooling (or other) materials, or have a financial interest in a particular program, you may answer direct questions about those materials but don't use a general query ("What science/language arts/history materials should I use?") as a chance to promote your product. When these questions are posed, we hope that parents will hear from other parents not from those who may have a vested interest in the use of a particular program. " but overall, don't let it bother you too much. Nothing creepy on that thread unless it is company person who is using some 'bot thing to find these kinds of posts. well, back to the thunderstorms over here where I live. -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.