[Closed] Warning - unsolicited video download from STW ads can cost you money!

Slack alive beat me to it.

I think perthmtb did a good thing in raising this as others may be affected and incur costs.

Mark responded very swiftly and in a very pragmatic way, looking after us and the advertisers.

I hadn't noticed the problem as I'm unlimited BB, or I browse on my ipad or phone. But once I heard of this it explained why things slowed down on my laptop as stw is one of my always open tabs. So it annoyed me.

So good on ya both 🙂

We're not Cougar's customers, the mods here make it possible for the site to run, and I suspect they do it for free. So how about don't be a ****. You might always like them but you need them in order to keep on using this free and excellent resource. Customers I'm a customer of the mag and a leech of the forum.

No, we are Cougar's customers. Whether he's paid or not matters not one jot, by being a moderator of the forum, he is associated with the company. Thus, his (in my and several others' opinions) poor attitude on this occasion reflect on that company. Mark has said previously that the forum (or more correctly, its advertising) brings in a large proportion of STW's income, if not the majority. How does it do that? Advertising.

If a moderator (volunteer or otherwise) acting apparently on the behalf of the company antagonises visitors to that forum, viewer numbers may go down, and consequently income from advertising will decrease.

zokes - Member

If a moderator (volunteer or otherwise) acting apparently on the behalf of the company antagonises visitors to that forum, viewer numbers may go down, and consequently income from advertising will decrease.

Yup, and that's something for STW/Gofar to worry about, it still doesn't make you his customer.

it still doesn't make you his customer.

They are providing a service, in the hope that a) I buy something directly from them, b) that I click through one of the adverts, or at the very least c) appear as a usage statistic so that they can negotiate higher rates for those adverts. That makes me their customer. As Cougar is acting on their behalf to run the forum, that makes me his customer also.

User =/ customer. But you go on acting like the forum owes you something, see how you get on. I prefer to acknowledge the debt we owe to the mods, personally.

Well I hope nobody wants to buy anything from him tonight. He's hung up the sign on the door and gone fishin'. 🙁

No, we are Cougar's customers.

Whether he's paid or not matters not one jot, by being a moderator of the forum, he is associated with the company.

Thus, his (in my and several others' opinions) poor attitude on this occasion reflect on that company.

If a moderator (volunteer or otherwise) acting apparently on the behalf of the company antagonises visitors to that forum, viewer numbers may go down, and consequently income from advertising will decrease.

Indeed IF
How on earth could anyone moderator this shower without antagonising someone ..its like herding cats but unhappy moody ones.
For example , I subscribe and have no issue with what he has done and said and think some folk just get off on moaning at the mods whenever they get the opportunity. It made me chuckle tbh.

As Cougar is acting on their behalf to run the forum, that makes me his customer also.

Personally I respect the public mods but reactions like this show why the rest hide anonymously amongst us.

I find it rather amusing that you wish to argue that your use of this site for free gives you the privileges of being a customer and that they will treat you as such.

Good luck with that

Zokes, you are not, by any reasonable definition, a customer of Cougar. Or me for what it's worth.
Being a customer involves the transfer of currency from one party to the other and in your case I gave up on that dream a long time ago.
🙂

Basically you are a user and you are free to take your custom elsewhere 😛

Not read all 6 pages but when did this advert first appear?
Wasn't late December / early Jan by any chance was it?

Zokes, you are not, by any reasonable definition, a customer of Cougar. Or me for what it's worth.
Being a customer involves the transfer of currency from one party to the other and in your case I gave up on that dream a long time ago.

Funny, when I was in the UK I was a subscriber to the magazine for over two years, then despite attempting to renew twice (on both occasions my form had apparently been lost), I continued to buy the mag whenever I saw it in my LBS. I'm actually wearing an STW T-shirt now.

Since then I've obviously moved to Oz, so its prevalence in shops is somewhat limited. I could try and subscribe again I suppose, but seeing as getting the mag all the way from Todmorden to Belmont seemed to be problematic, I don't fancy the chances of it making it all the way to Adelaide 😉

So, by your narrow definition, it seems I have been a customer of your company on several occasions. As Cougar represents your company when he posts as a moderator on your company's web forum, that makes me his customer also.

Pah! I don't see no blue P next yo name beeyatch.

This thread is an encapsulated microcosm of everything I love, hate and feel indifferent about stw.

No Zokes, it really, really doesn't. Honestly, you are not Cougar's customer and neither are you mine. I'm not making this up. Ask him for a refund. See what happens.
🙂

Regardless either way as being obnoxious or abusive is not a right a customer has. Cougar was being honest and up front with the issues, as an IT bod he has a better understanding of how these things should work.

Perthmtb was right to raise the issue, STW has addressed it but people need to be also responsible for their own usage. Many places now use automatic videos or image heavy pages. If you don't monitor your usage on a low bandwidth plan you'll get caught out one day.

No Zokes, it really, really doesn't. Honestly, you are not Cougar's customer and neither are you mine. I'm not making this up. Ask him for a refund. See what happens.

By reading and posting on here, all users consume the product STW provides i.e. the forum. We pay by providing a user-base large enough for you to draw significant advertising revenue. Just like watching ITV or Channel 4 really.

Additionally, as I stated above, unless I dreamt it and all those magazines at the back of my wardrobe are MBUK, I did used to buy the magazine regularly when I lived where it was easily available.

Regardless either way as being obnoxious or abusive is not a right a customer has.

I'm being neither. I'm disagreeing with you - that [i]is[/i] a right I or anyone else has.

I do like a good read with my morning coffee.

I can't see where cougar has gone wrong other than trying to help and then getting a bit pissed off when some posters decided to ride him.

You are only a customer if you actually buy something. Most people on here are just users. There is a fundamental difference. The rest of the bollocks is entirely predictable whining from people with sand in their fannies.

[quote=Mark said]No Zokes, it really, really doesn't. Honestly, you are not Cougar's customer and neither are you mine. I'm not making this up. Ask him for a refund. See what happens.

He doesn't give refunds either ?

The cad.

If a moderator (volunteer or otherwise) acting apparently on the behalf of the company antagonises visitors to that forum, viewer numbers may go down, and consequently income from advertising will decrease.

I'll happily buy a sub if Zokes could be disappeared.
I'll buy another one if TJ could be returned in his place.

You really didn't like the rugby, did you...

No I enjoy rugby and having lived through the 80's and 90's a 11 point loss at twickenham is a walk in the park. Its you I dont like.

@A_A:

Can you edit your post to say 200!

Thanks.

I'm being neither. I'm disagreeing with you - that is a right I or anyone else has.

There's more than you on this forum.

Its you I dont like.

Can't win 'em all, I suppose... 🙁

As Cougar is acting on their behalf to run the forum, that makes me his customer also.

Also, I have to say, if you were antagonised by anything the mods said on this subject, really, you had to go looking for it. There was nothing antagonising there.

He explicitly threatened that if posters didn't like what he was saying, he would really like to say a lot worse.

http://bit.ly/1hlAOL6

zokes, you're beginning to appear like someone who's happy to dish it out (multiple times on the rugby threads with a_a and Piggie (realise it takes ten to tango of course) but getting rather sensitive about a comment from Cougar that wasn't even directed at you (IIRC).

That didn't take long.

[img] [/img]

zokes - not a customer

😀

What's the point in having all this power if you can't have some fun once in a while 🙂

He explicitly threatened that if posters didn't like what he was saying, he would really like to say a lot worse.

I think if he HAD said what he wanted to say, you might have a point.

Not a customer
Brilliant

zokes, you're beginning to appear like someone who's happy to dish it out (multiple times on the rugby threads with a_a and Piggie (realise it takes ten to tango of course) but getting rather sensitive about a comment from Cougar that wasn't even directed at you (IIRC).

zokes is only this objectionable because he lives on the other side of the world to most of us. Easy to get your gob on if there's no chance of meeting people.

I received an official warning at work for 'streaming non work related video content' after logging on to this website.

Thanks for that!!!!

I no longer view at work and only spend a few mins looking at forum now, always pausing the video.

shame as I spent loads of time on here before. 🙁

I fully expect to see Mark honoured by an OBE for single-handedly improving the productivity of Britains office workers.

(Remember to thank Cougar in your acceptance speech 🙂 )

I received an official warning at work for 'streaming non work related video content' after logging on to this website.

FFS people are still giving Cougar grief? 'Poor attitude'? The words pot, kettle and black spring to mind.

Zokes: I used to think you were alright - what happened to you?

I fully expect to see Mark honoured by an OBE for single-handedly improving the productivity of Britains office workers.

😆

A warning for not doing work when at work. Hmmm!

A warning for not doing work when at work. Hmmm!

Quite a few employers allow "reasonable" recreational use provided that it doesn't affect their ability to do their job or compromise the IT systems etc.

Browsing a bike forum occasionally would probably fall under "reasonable" recreational use. Downloading gigabytes of HD video (intentionally, or in this case not) probably significantly less so.

LOL @ Drac

I 'll just add that we are allowed to use the internet for non-work stuff at lunchtime. 🙂 no audio or video streaming though.

Zokes,
What would like to happen next?

I 'll just add that we are allowed to use the internet for non-work stuff at lunchtime. no audio or video streaming though.

Same rules for us but the IT has blocked anything that's not authorised streaming, it's a far better way to do things then trying to control several hundred staff.

Downloading gigabytes of HD video (intentionally, or in this case not) probably significantly less so.

Yes.

And I'll ad that even at it's worst - and at this point I'll apologise again just in case it's not clear that I accept we got it wrong - it would have taken 2 hours of continued browsing of the site to end up streaming 1 gb of the EpicTV video.

I don't say that in order to downplay the issue but just to be clear about the scale of the issue.
The scale was certainly much too big for the OP.

Precisely Pondo.

In the same way Perthmb was naive in his browsing manner STW were maybe naive in not double checking an effect it may have had. Both parties could have perhaps maybe prevented this issue. Perthmb was good enough to raise the issue and was very sensible in not 'demanding satisfaction'. STW brought in a fix as quick as they could without effect they're business and are addressing it further.

Now can we all hold hands and sing happy songs.

Good grief 😯 There are many useful texts and writings of wisdom, insight and affirmations available on 'Letting Go' of our stuff and issue's. The one's I've read have been very beneficial for me.

Just a thought.

As for:

456mocha - Member
I received an official warning at work for 'streaming non work related video content' after logging on to this website.

Thanks for that!!!!

I no longer view at work and only spend a few mins looking at forum now, always pausing the video.

shame as I spent loads of time on here before.

Where is the hope, when taking personal responsibility seems so hard? Blame, blame, blame... And flounce, from an infrequent contributor 😉