I usually do use pics from other sites for the "Eden should carry" threads; BUT many other sites (where else do you get the pictures of new toys? New toys are not all over where you can find pics, unless you go to an other site) have water marks on them, so it will say where the pic of the toy was taken from.

I also noticed that recently I tried to use an image (of a book that isn't even related to Eden, it was a book by Kinsey) from that river named website, and the link refused to work. It wasn't a product Eden carries or will ever carry (unless Eden is going to carry the $450.00 hardback of Human Sexuality and the Human Female) yet the link wouldn't work.

Has something been used to prevent pics from other sites being transferred? Otherwise, how could we show what we would like Eden to carry when it comes to sex toys etc. less

"When investigating EdenPoint abuse, we consider all activity, not just occasional out of place actions. If you are doing nothing wrong, then you have nothing to worry about. If you have any questions, you can always contact us. " - EoC

I feel that this is clear enough for most people to understand. If someone is only creating threads to max out their point, I am sure that they are aware of what they are doing. And of course as a safety measure, the first thing that is going to happen in an instance of point farming is, you receive an email asking you to stop point farming. less

It's unclear to me exactly how this is to be handled. For example, in my recent experience where someone obviously used a secondary account to down vote 20 of my reviews, what would happen under the new EOC? Do you plan to determine the IP address each time? If not, what purpose does it serve to warn or even ban the secondary account when the perpetrator can simply create more? To me, secondary accounts are a huge issue and a way for contributors to retaliate with little consequence. Again in my example, the down votes didn't lower my rank like they hoped for, but they are still present on my reviews which I don't like. In this particular instance, personally I think an IP ban would be appropriate since the action was obviously malicious. I would prefer a zero tolerance for such behavior. less

I understand that EF considers all activity, but the community is not necessarily privy to that information. I agree that a lot of the point farming is fairly obvious, but not all. Some activity, at least to me, falls into a grey zone. That's why I think if the Forum Moderator steps in and posts a response on a thread pointing out the EOC, the entire community will learn what EF considers to be inappropriate. Unless this process is made more public, some people will continue this behavior because they don't understand it is unacceptable. M point is, you reach more contributors with the message when it's displayed publicly versus private messages each time there is a violation. less

I don't think two or more accounts on the same IP should be an instaban offense - there are too many legitimate ways multiple people might share a computer or an internet connection. But each case should be investigated, I believe. If UserA and UserB are using the same computer because they are a couple or flatmates, then their account activity would show different patterns than if UserB is just UserA's sockpuppet. less

Banning IPs just doesn't work when there are multiple users utilizing the same wireless connection. Flatmates and spouses are the least of it; what about college dorms, libraries and other public access spots? Retaliatory downvoting and other antisocial behavior should be addressed — for example, I hope those downvotes will be removed from Kindred's reviews — but I do not think IP banning is the insta-fix everyone hopes it will be.

One issue I had hoped to see addressed in the updated EOC is the policy on linking to competitor sites. I think many people innocently fall afoul of this rule, but what is more bothersome to me is that it doesn't appear to be enforced consistently. I can point out a number of threads — any EF Should Carry thread comes to mind — where it's done left and right with no consequence. Then out of the blue a single thread gets the rule quoted at the OP. It gives the appearance that either some posters are privileged, or that the rules were made to be ignored. less

I have a question about 'links to competitors'. What about when someone says in a review that a product is available cheaper at Amazon or Walmart or some other location, but doesn't link to it? Is that against the rules?

And should stuff that is happening in places on Eden other than the forums be reported to the 'Forum Moderator'? less

I understand that EF considers all activity, but the community is not necessarily privy to that information. I agree that a lot of the point farming is fairly obvious, but not all. Some activity, at least to me, falls into a grey zone. That's why I think if the Forum Moderator steps in and posts a response on a thread pointing out the EOC, the entire community will learn what EF considers to be inappropriate. Unless this process is made more public, some people will continue this behavior because they don't understand it is unacceptable. M point is, you reach more contributors with the message when it's displayed publicly versus private messages each time there is a violation. less

When you sort the forum by "time started," you can easily see the contributors who create 5 new threads sequentially. Not coincidentally, they are almost always 3 discussions, 1 poll, and 1 comparative, the daily limits for receiving points. Do you want us to report these every day? I just sorted and it's pretty obvious that this behavior is still continuing despite the new EOC. less

It is indeed awesome Eden has shifted the rules and their heart is in a good place trying to weed out good NEW topics and NEW questions, but sadly there has been no change.

But has anyone read the forum lately... it's kind of the same as it was...

Has anyone tried this? That? This?
YES, 99.9% of the time SOMEONE HAS, READ THEIR REVIEW.
If you've thought of a crazy new technique for a toy, yes do share this with us, but when there is already reviews, please stop asking on the forums how it was!!

Maybe what needs to happen is the Forum Moderator should drop them a line saying "Hey, read the reviews or send a letter to who wrote the review before posting on the forum."

When I was first on here, I know I did the same thing, asking questions that were already answered in a review some where... That is part of why I have stayed kind of sullen on this, because I know as a noob I was guilty of this.. But if someone would have wrote me and explained, I definitely would have figured out to check out the reviews first.

The only other thing I can think of is simply to post the URL's to the people's posts and tell them hey, read a review first.
Or simply boycott those posts.

I don't want to sound mean to sound mean, and I know Eden is trying.. but come on..
I wouldn't even mind if they were talking about some new interesting and crazy to get their points for each thing(the 1 poll, 1 compare, X many discussions). But the people we are talking about here are using things that have either been reviewed, already talked about, or just stupid things that scream "I am just trying to make my points".

Personally, point farming doesn't effect me, it's sad for Eden because they are trying to do something so freaking nice for us, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the forum. Someone always posts something interesting(Like when "alice" got that IUD without taking the loosen up your vadge pills, I was freaking captivated!, or the girl who posted on my endo & kids post, YAY! there IS hope for me) but it kind of takes the fun out of it when you see 5 consecutive posts(repeatedly by diff people, 5 from person x, 5 from person y, 4 from person z) about random toys(with reviews) repeatedly.

I think the Eden hierarchy should send nice messages to the people doing that explaining why it's wrong.. many may just be newbies..

I know I sound like I'm ranting, but I swear, I'm using my indoor nice as pie voice. Sorry so long... less

It's unclear to me exactly how this is to be handled. For example, in my recent experience where someone obviously used a secondary account to down vote 20 of my reviews, what would happen under the new EOC? Do you plan to determine the IP address each time? If not, what purpose does it serve to warn or even ban the secondary account when the perpetrator can simply create more? To me, secondary accounts are a huge issue and a way for contributors to retaliate with little consequence. Again in my example, the down votes didn't lower my rank like they hoped for, but they are still present on my reviews which I don't like. In this particular instance, personally I think an IP ban would be appropriate since the action was obviously malicious. I would prefer a zero tolerance for such behavior. less

So...I've been staying out of this and staying off of Eden in general since the point farming finally got to me. To be honest, I've not wanted much to do with the community lately because coming onto the forums I once loved just gives me a headache and makes me sad. Reviewing and talking on the forums has been a big part of my life since I joined Eden. Seeing the point farmers take over and the lack of intelligent posts is disheartening.

I decided to sit back and see what would happen when the topics started coming out about "what can be done?" There are changes to the EoC that I really like, but I agree with many posters that more needs to be done.

Like Badass says, I have seen no change in the forum since the new EoC released. The exact same five people who started causing the problem continue to spam/troll/whatever the forums with mindless posts in blocks of five in short span.

I want to message these people and tell them they are ruining everything great about Eden. Alas, it is not my place to do this, as has been made clear from posts in the topics about this issue.

My two cents? I agree with Kindred - some public display of "hey check the reviews" or "hey, this is point farming" NEEDS to happen. Otherwise, it will continue to happen with new members as they come in. If they see posts with mods saying "not acceptable," they will more quickly learn how to properly interact in the forums.

I also think that some new blood into the "Forum Mod" account would be helpful. There are many contributors who would love to restore the forums to their previous glory. As it is now, it seems nothing is being done.

I also agree that there is still some grey area. Is five posts in two minutes point farming if they're obviously attempting to be creative in the topics (but still not really adding anything of value)? Those who want to point farm WILL try to work the system. They will say they think they are adding value or what have you. Unless the rules are crystal clear, they will find a way to get around them.

I have checked the forum every day (even though I have not posted) since this began. It is the SAME people doing it everyday. Not only do they do it, but it happens as discussion is going on about how it harms the community. They know well what they are doing and still continue to do it despite obvious cries from the community for it to cease. I do not see anything good in that type of behavior. A quick stop must be enacted if the forums are to get back to the way they were.

It is incredibly upsetting to me to see Eden in this state. For the time being, I will continue to watch in the wings to see what happens from here. However, I do think it should be noted that by not swiftly pushing the farmers out, the real contributors may leave instead. I understand it's a retail business, but which of the two groups do you think are more likely to spend real money rather than points only purchases? From a business standpoint, it is the hard working, active contributors that should be worried about more than the potential of losing a farmer. Instead, I feel like all the care in the world is being taken so that these people don't leave. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth where I feel that it is more important to keep these "contributors" that add nothing rather than the ones that do.

If any of this sounded overly bitchy, it was not intended as such. It is simply the cry of someone who feels they are losing something that was important to them. And with that, I go back into the shadows to see how this further plays out. less

I agree completely.
I've even thought about posting this thread into their "How was this" posts... maybe they aren't seeing it rather than not caring?

But I don't wanna overstep my bounds, ya dig?

Maybe the moderator should be posting this link(link to this thread I mean) into these (how is this, is this cool) threads. less

I agree, I thought about posting the link on the threads myself, but I don't want to over step my boundaries. So instead I have been commenting, you can read more information about that item or this topic here- link

And giving them a link to the topic in the search of the forums. less

20 of your reviews!!!
That is freaking ridiculous..
I'm glad it didn't lower your rank, but what a jerky move!

And in that situation, I agree, a ban is quite necessary.

It sucks for those who genuinely do have two accounts for separate people in one household or anywhere with wi-fi like dorms or even some apartment buildings my area area offer free wi-fi in their bulidings.

An after thought on this... who in the world has time to go through and down rate 20 reviews! less

So...I've been staying out of this and staying off of Eden in general since the point farming finally got to me. To be honest, I've not wanted much to do with the community lately because coming onto the forums I once loved just gives me a headache and makes me sad. Reviewing and talking on the forums has been a big part of my life since I joined Eden. Seeing the point farmers take over and the lack of intelligent posts is disheartening.

I decided to sit back and see what would happen when the topics started coming out about "what can be done?" There are changes to the EoC that I really like, but I agree with many posters that more needs to be done.

Like Badass says, I have seen no change in the forum since the new EoC released. The exact same five people who started causing the problem continue to spam/troll/whatever the forums with mindless posts in blocks of five in short span.

I want to message these people and tell them they are ruining everything great about Eden. Alas, it is not my place to do this, as has been made clear from posts in the topics about this issue.

My two cents? I agree with Kindred - some public display of "hey check the reviews" or "hey, this is point farming" NEEDS to happen. Otherwise, it will continue to happen with new members as they come in. If they see posts with mods saying "not acceptable," they will more quickly learn how to properly interact in the forums.

I also think that some new blood into the "Forum Mod" account would be helpful. There are many contributors who would love to restore the forums to their previous glory. As it is now, it seems nothing is being done.

I also agree that there is still some grey area. Is five posts in two minutes point farming if they're obviously attempting to be creative in the topics (but still not really adding anything of value)? Those who want to point farm WILL try to work the system. They will say they think they are adding value or what have you. Unless the rules are crystal clear, they will find a way to get around them.

I have checked the forum every day (even though I have not posted) since this began. It is the SAME people doing it everyday. Not only do they do it, but it happens as discussion is going on about how it harms the community. They know well what they are doing and still continue to do it despite obvious cries from the community for it to cease. I do not see anything good in that type of behavior. A quick stop must be enacted if the forums are to get back to the way they were.

It is incredibly upsetting to me to see Eden in this state. For the time being, I will continue to watch in the wings to see what happens from here. However, I do think it should be noted that by not swiftly pushing the farmers out, the real contributors may leave instead. I understand it's a retail business, but which of the two groups do you think are more likely to spend real money rather than points only purchases? From a business standpoint, it is the hard working, active contributors that should be worried about more than the potential of losing a farmer. Instead, I feel like all the care in the world is being taken so that these people don't leave. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth where I feel that it is more important to keep these "contributors" that add nothing rather than the ones that do.

If any of this sounded overly bitchy, it was not intended as such. It is simply the cry of someone who feels they are losing something that was important to them. And with that, I go back into the shadows to see how this further plays out. less

Like Kira, I'm really hoping that this does a lot of good so that I start spending a greater amount of time on the forums again Looking forward!

And as far as JR's little bit below: My very first post to the forums was about butt plugs, but I posted it to the Vibrators category (because that was default, and I didn't know it, nor how to change it). The site was a lot less full back then, and I don't think my question even got a reply. (Then I saw myself that it wasn't in the right category, and made a new one (aw look guys! It's my first ever thread!)

If somebody had come right in and said "newb, you're doing it wrong!" or "oh gawd, read the reviews!" (because I had, and it wasn't mentioned by anybody), or "Check the EOC, you're posting in the wrong category and it looks like point farming," I probably would have been embarrassed and left.

If somebody had said "Hey, looks like you're new to Eden, welcome! One thing you might not have noticed yet is that the default forum category when you're adding a discussion to a product is 'vibrators'--- you're probably going to get a better response if you move it to 'anal toys'. ---then I would have been grateful for the welcome and the helpful advice.

So... I used to do this kind of welcome/guide in the right direction post a lot more often... and it seems like, along with my lessened forum activity in general, I am doing less of that. It just seems like there are such an overwhelming number of new posts, and it often seems like the rampant point farmers kind of overshadow the first-time contributors that would become awesome assets to the community.

So I really look forward to this new EOC both outlining unacceptable behavior, and (as Kindred mentioned) making it clear in a public manner so new forumgoers can see what is and what is not acceptable (not public punishments, but public links to the EOC on offending posts etc from the Forum Moderator account). And as a result, we'll be able to see through a bit of the clutter and have more time and emotional wherewithal to say hi to new contributors. (I don't know if it's just me, but the vapid posts tend to exhaust me and make me not want to post.)

So. Anyway. I think I started this post because I wanted to say "first posts make an impression---I definitely still remember mine! Be gentle to newcomers, and let the Forum Mod dole out justice. If you have the patience and goodwill in you to address new posters, do it kindly, and always assume the best about the poster. The "Most Charitable Interpretation," and then give them an opportunity to live up to it." less

Antipova, you have hit the nail on the head!

"So. Anyway. I think I started this post because I wanted to say "first posts make an impression---I definitely still remember mine! Be gentle to newcomers, and let the Forum Mod dole out justice. If you have the patience and goodwill in you to address new posters, do it kindly, and always assume the best about the poster. The "Most Charitable Interpretation," and then give them an opportunity to live up to it."

Gently guide people who may not understand how Eden works. This is one of the most unique retail sites on the market and don't we all remember how we felt like kids in the candy store when we discovered that contributing meant we would be rewarded? We all had to learn how to do things, properly.

The comments guiding us from the people who were invested in the community helped us understand. less

Like Kira, I'm really hoping that this does a lot of good so that I start spending a greater amount of time on the forums again Looking forward!

And as far as JR's little bit below: My very first post to the forums was about butt plugs, but I posted it to the Vibrators category (because that was default, and I didn't know it, nor how to change it). The site was a lot less full back then, and I don't think my question even got a reply. (Then I saw myself that it wasn't in the right category, and made a new one (aw look guys! It's my first ever thread!)

If somebody had come right in and said "newb, you're doing it wrong!" or "oh gawd, read the reviews!" (because I had, and it wasn't mentioned by anybody), or "Check the EOC, you're posting in the wrong category and it looks like point farming," I probably would have been embarrassed and left.

If somebody had said "Hey, looks like you're new to Eden, welcome! One thing you might not have noticed yet is that the default forum category when you're adding a discussion to a product is 'vibrators'--- you're probably going to get a better response if you move it to 'anal toys'. ---then I would have been grateful for the welcome and the helpful advice.

So... I used to do this kind of welcome/guide in the right direction post a lot more often... and it seems like, along with my lessened forum activity in general, I am doing less of that. It just seems like there are such an overwhelming number of new posts, and it often seems like the rampant point farmers kind of overshadow the first-time contributors that would become awesome assets to the community.

So I really look forward to this new EOC both outlining unacceptable behavior, and (as Kindred mentioned) making it clear in a public manner so new forumgoers can see what is and what is not acceptable (not public punishments, but public links to the EOC on offending posts etc from the Forum Moderator account). And as a result, we'll be able to see through a bit of the clutter and have more time and emotional wherewithal to say hi to new contributors. (I don't know if it's just me, but the vapid posts tend to exhaust me and make me not want to post.)

So. Anyway. I think I started this post because I wanted to say "first posts make an impression---I definitely still remember mine! Be gentle to newcomers, and let the Forum Mod dole out justice. If you have the patience and goodwill in you to address new posters, do it kindly, and always assume the best about the poster. The "Most Charitable Interpretation," and then give them an opportunity to live up to it." less