Do Not Beg/Ask for Promo Codes

[brewstermax]

Originally Posted by Renare

I think having limited access when you are brand new may not be a bad idea.. However, 200 posts (or really any post count) is unnecessary IMO. I have been a member of the site for a while now, and I don't post nearly as often as I just search around. I think that would be unfair to those like me who are active, just not posting in every thread. I believe having to be a member for a certain time period would be more effective (not sure how all that works). This way we know the members are here for the long term. Otherwise you will get people posting a lot more spam to get to that higher post count... Quality posts, not quantity

Agreed. I would need to wait for another day if it took affect today, but still, I agree completely to giving Seniors with a certain number of posts a special forum url

[Thorero]

I know I'm still a junior member, but I lurk around these forums quite a lot. I wholly support the move to stop the beggars. I also would support the move to create a seperate section for more senior members.

[wastedyuthe]

Originally Posted by Thorero

I also would support the move to create a seperate section for more senior members.

There has been a new thread started on this subject here.

[le'deuche123]

I've noticed the worst offenders have yet to post on this....but they know who they are!!

[larrybeo]

Originally Posted by Renare

I think having limited access when you are brand new may not be a bad idea.. However, 200 posts (or really any post count) is unnecessary IMO. I have been a member of the site for a while now, and I don't post nearly as often as I just search around. I think that would be unfair to those like me who are active, just not posting in every thread. I believe having to be a member for a certain time period would be more effective (not sure how all that works). This way we know the members are here for the long term. Otherwise you will get people posting a lot more spam to get to that higher post count... Quality posts, not quantity

Forgive me if I misread your post Renare, but to me it almost sounds if you are entitled to asking these devs for promo codes. That makes no sense. Arn is trying to give the devs some participation on his site by allowing them to post this kind of stuff. Being able to "talk" with a developer is such a privelidge! Abusing it by asking for promo codes is going to devalue toucharcade.com and needs to stop! It's going to scare the devs away, and honestly, it's a waste of everyone's time. If I were a dev and you asked me for an unsolicited promo code, I would find a way to *raise* the price - just for you! HaHa. Then again, I don't make iPhone games LOL

[RedStaR]

ARN:

While I agree with the new policy, a question I have to is that I do reviews for a reputable site and test for may devs.

So if I happen to PM a dev inquiring or informing them that I'd like to or will be doing a piece on their game with a hands on review. If I include the phrase

"any promotional content such as vid, specific screen shots, pre release versions and or promotional versions are greatly appreciated."

Is that considered unsolicited asking or begging?

I really like the networking capabilities of this site and don't want to step on anyone toes or get banned for honest "networking". most of it is common sense and I am always tactful when inquiring about such possible promo content be it codes or just a vid. I just want to clear the air. So any furthur input on my question would be great.
Thanks Arn
Q

[arn]

Originally Posted by RedStaR

I really like the networking capabilities of this site and don't want to step on anyone toes or get banned for honest "networking". most of it is common sense and I am always tactful when inquiring about such possible promo content be it codes or just a vid. I just want to clear the air. So any furthur input on my question would be great.

The ultimate reason for the rule is we want this to be a place developers feel comfortable visiting and participating in.

While this "no begging" rule generally includes both forum threads and private messages, we obviously don't police everyone's private messages. For private messages, I'm sure most developer just ignore requests they don't want to fulfill, but if we get complaints about a particular user, we'll take action.

arn

[PointOfLight]

Originally Posted by arn

The ultimate reason for the rule is we want this to be a place developers feel comfortable visiting and participating in.

I completely agree with this, and I could understand the frustrations of getting a ton of unsolicited "gimmies", but I would be highly suspect of a developer that felt uncomfortable getting a request from a legitimate reviewer asking for a promotional code. Since I've started reviewing I've written almost 180 reviews, and if I would have had to pay for every one of those games I'd probably have been kicked out of the house by now. The way I look at it, if a developer gives me a promotional code and I write them a good review (not saying the two are synonymous, mind you), then they've basically "paid" somewhere between 99 cents and 20 bucks for some good advertising because they didn't get my sale. Last I checked, that's an incredible deal. On the other hand, if the review is bad, they've merely lost the ability to go out to McDonald's once during the week. And to be honest I really try hard to pick games that I think I'll like so I don't have to write a bad review.

Now I'm not saying that I'm going to go around your policy and start PM'ing every developer asking for codes, because I like this site and don't want to get banned. However, a site like this should be as much for the patrons as the developers, and while this policy certainly will solve some issues, it could also unfairly dampen the experience for others.

[arn]

Originally Posted by PointOfLight

I completely agree with this, and I could understand the frustrations of getting a ton of unsolicited "gimmies", but I would be highly suspect of a developer that felt uncomfortable getting a request from a legitimate reviewer asking for a promotional code.

Yeah, but who's to say who a legitimate reviewer is? Anyone with an iTunes account seems to call themselves a reviewer.

I guess the bottom line is I don't think any developers are going to complain about getting contacted by a legitimate reviewer, so I don't think this will stifle the community. Just don't annoy the devs.

arn

[PointOfLight]

Originally Posted by arn

Yeah, but who's to say who a legitimate reviewer is? Anyone with an iTunes account seems to call themselves a reviewer.

I guess the bottom line is I don't think any developers are going to complain about getting contacted by a legitimate reviewer, so I don't think this will stifle the community. Just don't annoy the devs.

arn

That's right, and that's exactly why I don't leave reviews in the App Store for the most part (unless a dev asks me too). Too much garbage to be useful, and their 'rating' system is a joke. And trust me, if I annoy the devs it's not going to be because I'm asking for promo codes

Just to be perfectly clear to everyone, I am on your side about not annoying the devs. So please, no hate-PMs from anyone