Folks, we need to discuss Digg abuse

[OferNave]

We've had about a hundred Digg posts make it to the front page in the last few weeks, including a few dozen that have been in the Top 10 for the day. That's a commendable achievement.

However, we've really, really pissed off a lot of people there. Every Ron Paul related thread there is now half filled with RP supporters yelling "Go Ron Paul!", and half filled with people yelling at and insulting us, and begging us to stop, and calling us spammers. And they're not completely wrong - in our enthusiasm, we tend to go a little nuts, pumping up non-stories and poorly written blog posts, and voting comments up or down on pure agenda.

We've had an average of 2-3 RP articles on the front page at any given time for the last week. Almost everyone on Digg is now as familiar with RP as they're willing to be. All we are accomplishing now is magnifying the hate and frustration.

So, I propose two things:

1) A Digg blackout until the Tea Party. We don't post anything RP related, and if someone does (because not everyone will see this thread), we all bury it. Let's give them a rest.
2) After the Tea Party, lift the blackout, but behave more sensibly. Only post articles that are truly new and important. Only post articles that are well written and factually sound. Don't submit random blog posts, stick to respected and/or mainstream sites and news sources. Be mindful of our behaviour in the comments section. Don't Digg someone down just for disagreeing, if they're trying to make a sincere point.

I don't think this is a big sacrifice. Frankly, we've outgrown Digg. Two weeks from now, we will have had:
a) Blimp Launch
b) Project Tea Bag
c) Tea Party / New Fundraising Record
d) $20M quarter
e) pre- and post-Tea Party local activity blitz (like Operation Front Door)
f) finally be polling in the double digits many places
g) be solidly cemented as a top-tier, unignorable candidate, even in the MSM - permanently on the center stage

So it's not like we need Digg anymore, even if there was anything left to squeeze out of it.

For the sake of simplicity, I'm including a poll in this thread. It's a simple yes/no question. Do you agree with this proposal? I don't want to spend the next few days debating details, we have better things to do with our time. Just want to gauge your feedback.

[OferNave]

Damn, forgot to add the poll. :)

Fine, screw the poll, reply with your thoughts.

[Midnight77]

I wish I could agree, but I can't. MSM has done everything they can to shove other candidates down our throats, and we don't have a say in the matter. If this is what we have to do to fight the system and get the message out, then we need to do it.

[literatim]

Give them a rest? There isn't a 'them'. Digg is a democratic news service where you vote for the news you want. It isn't like we just migrated there, most of us have been there for over a year, long before Ron Paul ever announced his candidacy. So please, keep your opinion to yourself.

[rhexis]

Give them a rest? There isn't a 'them'. Digg is a democratic news service where you vote for the news you want. It isn't like we just migrated there, most of us have been there for over a year, long before Ron Paul ever announced his candidacy. So please, keep your opinion to yourself.


Telling someone to 'keep their opinion' to themselves is not cool. This is a public forum. If someone has an idea that they think may help RP get elected they should be able to express it. I support RP because I am tired of people telling me what to do. Any idea should be discussed on it's merits and if it resonates people will act on it. No one should be told to shutup. It's inappropriate especially on a libertarian minded forum such as this.

Anyhow, there seems to be a certain amount of Digg fatigue but then again... Digg people dont HAVE to click on RP stories in the first place.

[OferNave]

Telling someone to 'keep their opinion' to themselves is not cool. This is a public forum. If someone has an idea that they think may help RP get elected they should be able to express it. I support RP because I am tired of people telling me what to do. Any idea should be discussed on it's merits and if it resonates people will act on it. No one should be told to shutup. It's inappropriate especially on a libertarian minded forum such as this.

Thanks. Defending yourself is never as effective as having someone else defend you, and I didn't want to start a massive argument about it.


Anyhow, there seems to be a certain amount of Digg fatigue but then again... Digg people dont HAVE to click on RP stories in the first place.

I know, buy my point was, regardless of whether or not they're right to complain, they are pissed off, and we've gotten just about all we can out of that strategy. So why not take the path that most benefits us, regardless of who's right and wrong? Wouldn't an "oops, my bad" and some respect have more positive results than beating a dead horse?

[ProfNo]

We just need to be reasonable when it comes to digg. Only digg stories that you have read, do not digg multiple copies of stories and do not submit multiple copies.

If we all follow these simple rules, other diggers will me much more positive.

[rhexis]

I know, buy my point was, regardless of whether or not they're right to complain, they are pissed off, and we've gotten just about all we can out of that strategy. So why not take the path that most benefits us, regardless of who's right and wrong? Wouldn't an "oops, my bad" and some respect have more positive results than beating a dead horse?

I would say that it would be impossible to stop the Digg stories from being dug. I would also question whether we are losing more people than we are gaining from these stories. There are lots of passive readers out there, myself for one. The complainers are most likely not friendly to the message itself otherwise they wouldn't be complaining. Their complaints, it seems like therefore, are probably mostly a sidewise counterattack by partisans of other stripes or from the politically ignorant who are gonna vote for Giuliani or Clinton regardless. I can't really see any meaningful benefit of a short term blackout.

However, I DO see the benefit of not posting every little bit of RP flotsam and jetsam!

[rfbz]

It probably does get a little out of hand, but those people bitching in the comments are probably the same people every time and they're anti-Ron Paul whatever you do. It's hard to measure the effectiveness of Digg, but I don't really like the idea of avoiding it.

[thoughtbombing]

and if someone does (because not everyone will see this thread), we all bury it.

You're a witch... time for burning.

[Thunderbolt]

I think the poster has a point. I was involved in a Myspace email campaign. In the beginning we did it all by hand and so very few folks joined in, and as a result the Myspace folks got the first emails they had ever had and sent back tons of grateful emails and pledged immediately. We made thousands and thousands of dollars for the campaign in a few days with a few dedicated folks.

Then someone figured out how to make our jobs easier and sent out the emails by computer. Tons of accounts were set up and now that it was easier a lot more people joined in.

I just sent out a few emails the other day after having stayed away for a while. I was shocked at the difference. Instead of blessings and gratitude for getting the info, I was getting hate mail and every person called me an evil rotten spammer. It seems they now get tons and tons of Ron Paul emails. They are sick of it. Now some of these folks will probably still donate, but WOW what a difference.

People are sick of us shoving Ron Paul in their faces every second of every day. I don't think we should ignore Digg, but I don't see what taking a few days off can hurt. And, folks, it might help! If it could help isn't it worth the try.

But I disagree about when to stop. I think we go back on the day before and the day of the tea party just in case people forget when the 16th is. Not everyone checks their calendar twice a day.

Sometimes being goal oriented means giving up a battle here and there for the bigger picture.

I don't think ofer was suggesting we stay away from Digg forever. But don't you think they might be grateful for a 5 day rest? If they are grateful, they may be willing to give more. Hatred really doesn't help us.

Remember what Ron Paul said, they don't hate us for our (love of) freedoms they hate us because we are over there (at digg). So, let's pull back for 5 days.

I think it is a great idea. Well done.

[LBT]

Considering that this is the biggest political revolution since 1776 and that it is propogating from the internet, I would think having an article on Digg front page is far from flooding it.

In fact, Digg could be doing better at disseminating and sorting articles about Ron Paul. It is the new age in social media and the Ron Paul phenom is something it should be knee deep in.

I'm all for being polite and respectful and for not digging multiple stories with the same content. Some of this has been done because of campaigns to block out Ron Paul. I'm a long time digg user.

Hopefully we can sort out a system where we drive Digging strategies to avoid some of the annoying flooding. e.g. A central news area for Ron Paul where users recommend articles to be dugg.

Anyway, I don't think Digg is anywhere near flooded. I tend to think that the ones who complain are usually doing so for an agenda. They want Ron Paul not to be important....but by God, a people's candidate, non-establishment and incorruptible....that is miraculous. This is the future of how societies organize and empower through the internet.

This ain't just some trendy internet meme.

[ronpaulblogsdotcom]

We really should not bury stories about Ron Paul or from any RP supporters. It harms their account if their stories get buried. It makes the account seem less worthy. This is in the Digg algorythm for who is the most important people and what value their diggs have. Not all diggs are the same.

I have had stories buried from other people like Glenn Beck, Huckabee, etc. We certainly dont need to do it to ourselves, nor should we.

If you dont like a story dont d1gg it. I think that is simple.

And I agree we should not submit a blog post if there is a main post about something. But sometimes the main story has been buried or has no room for comment that a story needs.

[j6p]

dont know why some one had to bring this up. When the mainstream media doesnt like us i think we should do anything to get his message out. I think the people making comments dont like Ron and are igorant. Digg away:)

[jpinkerton]

So it's not like we need Digg anymore, even if there was anything left to squeeze out of it.

You made me think of a Penny-Arcade comic from years ago, about Tribes...took me almost 45 minutes to find the damn thing, but here it is in all it's glory!

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2002/20021213l.gif

I think the comic describes what we've done with Digg...

[boondoggle]

Why don't you guys make an apology "come look at our perspective" digg article and rate it to the point that it becomes a front pager?

. . . Is that not so great of an idea?

[ronpaulyourmom]

I plan on digging only the things that are really worth it.

[rasheedwallace]

eh, i say keep it up.

[speciallyblend]

can you please digg the story;) can you please shut that guy up paul revere? he is waking people up in their homes as he is screaming the british are coming , to now:) read below


Can you please shut those people up,they keep screaming/aka typing Ron Paul,by posting storys and comments, that means something to them. The big intrusive government officials are coming and people are pissed because of a computer screen with Ron Paul on it,OOHHH THE HORROR

I'm A RON PAUL REPUBLICAN

[UCFGavin]

i agree with you. unfortunately this thread will go overall unheard.

[walt]

I wish I could agree, but I can't. MSM has done everything they can to shove other candidates down our throats, and we don't have a say in the matter. If this is what we have to do to fight the system and get the message out, then we need to do it.

HOW DO WE CONVERT BABY BOOMERS? Digg is NOT the answer. The thread starter is right we risk winning battles but losing the war. Besides 12 year olds can't vote anyway.

[szczebrzeszyn]

We really should not bury stories about Ron Paul or from any RP supporters. It harms their account if their stories get buried. It makes the account seem less worthy.
Spamming hurts, doesn't it? I bury the no-stories whether it's about RP or about WII or yet another css-based menu. Digg good articles, bury the crap and spam. That's how it works!

[MozoVote]

Here is another way to think about it. If the Moonies or the Scientologists were constantly bumping articles to the top on Digg, wouldn't you view that as spam and an annoyance?

I only Digg the Paul stories that are truly news worthy. And because of all the duplicates of news worthy articles, even that takes some decision making.

[familydog]

As far as being ignored by the MSM, I'd say our money bombs and the blimp will do more to get attention than some random blog post on Digg. It's been proven already.

[ronpaulblogsdotcom]

Spamming hurts, doesn't it? I bury the no-stories whether it's about RP or about WII or yet another css-based menu. Digg good articles, bury the crap and spam. That's how it works!

That might be fine but I am telling you that you are harming their account and their ability to get future stories to the front page as easily. If they d1gg your story it means less, if they submit a story it is viewed as suspicious more easily.

I really am not sure how this helps Ron Paul.

[Mortikhi]

My opinion is that this is a bone-headed idea.

[szczebrzeszyn]

That might be fine but I am telling you that you are harming their account and their ability to get future stories to the front page as easily. If they d1gg your story it means less, if they submit a story it is viewed as suspicious more easily.
No, I'm not harming their accounts. They are harming them themselves :)

[hawkeyenick]

This is actuallly funny because digg actively works against us most of the time

It's user generated media...most of what ends up there is pro-paul and anti-bush, we aren't about to abandon our medium. Just be friendly to the digg users

[OferNave]

I respect the other opinions in this thread. What I don't respect is people trashing me for making a well-intended suggestion.

[hawkeyenick]

it's user driven...we can't "abuse" it when it's a democracy the way it is

[evadmurd]

So please, keep your opinion to yourself.

I'll never get over the complete contradiction of statements we come up with considering the cause we fight for together.

[UtahApocalypse]

Seems this topic comes up more or less monthly. I totally agree with the OP on this one. I have been a avid digg user for quite awhile. It is a great concept and has led me to many things I never would have found before. As answers to these qoutes I will add some comments that very much are what digg should be....


Give them a rest? There isn't a 'them'. Digg is a democratic news service where you vote for the news you want. It isn't like we just migrated there, most of us have been there for over a year, long before Ron Paul ever announced his candidacy. So please, keep your opinion to yourself.

Many people have set up accounts JUST to digg ron paul stories. That is actually against the terms of service and those accounts should be deleted and removed.


We really should not bury stories about Ron Paul or from any RP supporters. It harms their account if their stories get buried. It makes the account seem less worthy. This is in the Digg algorythm for who is the most important people and what value their diggs have. Not all diggs are the same.

I have had stories buried from other people like Glenn Beck, Huckabee, etc. We certainly dont need to do it to ourselves, nor should we.

If you dont like a story dont d1gg it. I think that is simple.

And I agree we should not submit a blog post if there is a main post about something. But sometimes the main story has been buried or has no room for comment that a story needs.

You are contradicting yourself... first you say we should never bury a RP story, then you say that people should not post blogspam. Well when blogspam is posted it MUST be buried. The big problem is not so much in the digging of articles but the careless, redundent, and sometime worthless postings that get dugg up from fanboyism.



Why don't you guys make an apology "come look at our perspective" digg article and rate it to the point that it becomes a front pager?

. . . Is that not so great of an idea?

There have been a few of these all ready.


it's user driven...we can't "abuse" it when it's a democracy the way it is

You can "Abuse" the terms of service which many supporters have. I personally bury about 50% of Ron Paul stories because the are dupes, or just direct copies of a news story placed in a blog.

In closing I will say that I think EVERY digg user knows who Ron Paul is. By overwhelming digg with pointless articles with no real use we will only push them more and more away. Our goal should be to GAIN votes and supporters not to alienate them.