Well said, Diane. It may just be time to start calling out names. As I look through some of the other comments on this post it makes me wonder do they even care? Are they scared they might lose a like or two?

When it is so obvious how these members "very few" and the free accounts they have created are abusing the WA blog roll to try and get on the Hot Topics and Top 10 list.

And then some of you continue to like and comment on these posts? By continuing to do so YOU are becoming part of the problem.

Hi Diane,

The honorable mention was earned by you. A small bit of trivia. Maria calls me sting, which derives from her originally calling me stingy. Because I'm stingy with praise, only doling it out when earned. So you earned it fair and square.

You've helped me, both openly here and in private. I watch you as I cruise posts and instead of just posting links that half the time don't even address the question or topic, you DO take time to understand the issue and provide real insights into the problem and corrections.

I can imagine you also do receive criticism as well. It takes a strong person to embrace something they are doing sucks, something many business owners share in common, that ability at taking a step back and analyzing their role in the situation. Most don't want to do that, and sometimes it could just be they aren't suited for the endeavor and something else might work better for them.

These games on the system here have really been ramped up lately, and I also have no doubt that the trolls I've had of late are tied to these same manipulators.

I could have said so much more about things I've noticed that aren't directly tied to this little group, but these are actually just personality quirks of jealousy. I mention it though because I believe it tied to something Kirk has mentioned about how few of the comments are connecting with the topic here.

Folks act goofy on social media, and don masks with certain pretensions they never would in the physical world.

This need to collect likes seeming to override all sense of honor, enough that they actually vote some of the joke posts Kirk mentions to you. The right folks seem to be voting it, I better rush in there with my vote and make some nonsensical comment so I can be part of the cool kids.

Meanwhile in reality many aren't really finding the kids to be very cool at all, likely not even most of the voters. But as Kirk says, they have now become part of the problem they themselves dislike.

Ok, so you surprised me. I was already floored on the folks who come behind hours later, repeat the correct answer and then immediately receive a barrage of upvotes while the original answer still sits at 0 or 1.

How desperate to make little comments to be first so you can go back and edit it later with the correct answer. I'll say this, if they expend a fraction of this energy and planning on their business as they do collecting likes and rankings here, they must make a ton of affiliate commissions.

I agree the platform suffers for it. I wrote a post some time back about finally being convinced WA was worth the money. Part of my disillusionment were these type of games, which I've seen ramped up into overdrive recently. I can only imagine how much more my view would have been swayed seeing what I am now.

This is definitely not good for the overall image of WA, as they taint so many corners with their manipulations.

Where you say this sums it up so well.

"(And immediately "liked" even though it's beyond the realms of science that anybody could possibly have seen it!)"

Especially when it at times is 2-4 likes.

Thanks so much for stopping by and adding your thoughts. This really needs to be discussed, especially by some of you more established members who do so much and are the real ambassadors by the mentor roles you embrace.

Regards,

Jason

Hi Kirk,

I laughed (all one can do at times) as one of the comments betrays only the first sentence was read by the person commenting.

Hello Diane,

That really is an excellent comment, you have summed the situation up very well!

I guess there have always been underhand tactics by a few on the platform, sadly!

I would like to think that the blog posts that we write are related to Internet marketing and growing an online business etc. Unfortunately, I'm seeing a lot of boring drivel on here, (AI content) which is far from a personal experience. And yet, members are commenting and remarking about the wonderful blog post, which only encourages the culprit more.

One of the many things I like about Wealthy Affiliate is the fact that we hear about member's general struggles and wins. In other words, it's being real.

Wishing you a great day.

Roy

yep, I know exactly which one

You said it well, Roy

Thank you, Kirk!

Have a great day.

Roy

Hi Dave.

Thanks for the laugh. :D

It's a shame it comes with the territory. Many years ago I belonged to a paid writers group, and it didn't come with the territory there so much. But then, they didn't have a ranking system, everyone just knew who they wanted to take business advice from because it was self evident. :)

Appreciate the kind words.

Regards,

Jason

You're welcome.

It doesn't take long for those who participate in the "forum" aspect of WA to see who's who.

Writing one blog post to bring attention to some of the sneaky underhanded tactics that are being used is not wasting time. This post was in the top 10 so cheers to you, Jason. Someone needed to do it and now we can move on and just hope something will be done to strive for fairness, integrity, and sportsmanship on our playing field "platform".

Hi Maria,

I agree folks looking to game systems will always be a thing, but when it becomes so obvious it then is a mockery of the system and perhaps a new system that negates as much of that as possible should be figured out.

There are many great folks here for sure, and it is a slap in the face that they so often take a back seat to these manipulations.

But as I just told Roy

"At the end of the day, we all know who it is we want coming across our questions when we have them, or who we look to when new training posts are published. And those are the real ambassadors in my book.

Appreciate as always our interactions. I got out what needed saying and as Brenda recommends, time to roll my sleeves up and get back to learning and putting into action."

I feel like my post said the quiet part out loud and done my part. :)

Thanks for stopping by as always. :)

Regards,

Jason

Thank you Kirk :)

*edited to get the name right. Sorry, it was a long night at work.

You and I never had put forth in our goals to be ambassadors. All I wanted is to learn as much as I can. Apply my learning and eventually make money .

But I know some whose main intention was to be among the ambassadors. Some of them would even PM me and talk about that.

But that’s alright! You said your piece. I’m pretty sure they are aware ~ those trolls 🧌!!! Don’t give them so much importance! You have better things to do with your time Sting!

Cheers,
Maria 🌹

Hi Maria,

You said a mouthful right there. I'm here to learn, and if someone is nice enough and I can somehow be of help I don't mind as we should strive to be for others what it is we desire from others ourselves.

I'm actually shocked that I've somehow been placed into an ambassador role. Like it cheapens the title with me being in it. There are so many folks who contribute to the growth and success of others here. I feel like putting me in that title is like having a kid with training wheels on his bike train another kid with training wheels on their bike how to ride a bike without training wheels, hah hah.

I don't get why folks would make that a goal here, it isn't like we get put on the payroll. And at the end of the day as I mentioned elsewhere, we all know when we have a question who it is we want coming to our rescue, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the numerical ranking we have been assigned.

I know for example if I have a question I ask, if I see in notifications Eric stops by to comment I likely just got my answer, hah hah. And he somehow isn't an ambassador. And if Partha stops by, I just got a full on post on my question that answers the next three questions I didn't even realize was a thing yet, hah hah.

I kind of see it similar to the old Marx saying.

"I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."

Imagine the reverse at play, and demanding to be the weak link in the club.

Regards,

Jason

Good morning Sting!

You are NOT the "weak link" in the ambassadors club! If one thing, you are one of those who contribute more.
Your "thought process" is what placed you there somehow.

As one cannot please everybody ~ make this your working principle! Some few gets jealous over trivial things. We all have reasons why we joined WA! Yours different from mine. Let it be the focus of your presence here in WA.

The main thing is that you are are here and are trying to HELP when you can. You even have smart advise to give. When some of us would give few words, you extended to explain. That in itself marks a "TRUE AMBASSADOR"!

So, don't get sidetracked!!! Some will continue to troll, as that is what they think it serves them. I don't know what purpose , but it is the nature oif the game. You find this everywhere.

If one can directly attack Partha and Diane, who do nothing but GIVE WISE ADVISE, you are not that "special" to be spared from this. I know I can sound harsh sometimes. Sorry Sting! It is what it is! 😊

So don't expect for resolution. It may or may not happen. It's the spice of life ~ deal with it.

May your night be not as horrible! Get some sleep when you get home. You have one more hurdle to do.

Cheers,
Maria🌹

Hi Maria,

I appreciate the thoughtful words, but there are indeed many much more qualified to be ambassadors than myself and some of the others. :)

The one takeaway I have from this is I really need to focus more on my business and less on the community, especially as I've been spread so thin of late taking on even more tasks in learning.

It wasn't a matter of my specialness, more a commentary on some folks distinct "lack" of specialness that drives them to cheapen the place and themselves. :)

Hope your day is well. I should be asleep right now and hopeful maybe can lay down again shortly.

Regards,

Jason

Hello Sting!

Hope you’re getting your required sleep, as you have another work night tonight!

I want to apologize for the harsh way I stated my earlier message ( regarding “specialness “) - as that was really rude of me.

Don’t be bothered by how others perceived you. You are an ambassador as you deserved to be. You didn’t play the game to become one. You are even more qualified than I am. Don’t let those trolls 🧌, affect your role in the WA community. We need your brain - that’s been a huge help!

My WiFi is working intermittently as there’s work that is being done in the house, therefore my editing job is affected.

So, I resigned on having something done for the day, regarding my YouTube editing. So, now I’m doing laundry, and perhaps I can do my editing sometime later.

As I browse on so many job opportunities that AI has been creating, it is mind blowing!
So, Kyle was right when he mentioned that AI will affect people’s work, but will replace more work for them to consider!

Okay Sting, hope your work last night was not as bad, and hope tonight will be the same ( if not better ).

I feel tempted to drive to the hospital, to just use their WiFi.

Take it easy!

Cheers,
Maria 🌹

Hi Maria,

I didn't take any offense. :)

Sorry to hear about the wifi, that's always annoying. Where I used to live the cable company would cut the internet every morning at 3 without fail, but if you called to complain would pretend it was my imagination, or I needed to reset my modem. Reminded me of the aol days when their advice was always to clear your cookies and cache, hah hah.

Yeah, I'm about to really dive deep into AI. I'm hopeful to begin making money from it within a couple of months.

I ended up calling out last night, long story.

It threw my sleep off so need to lay down soon to try getting a nap in before tonight.

Have a nice night,

Jason

Haha! It’s frustrating at times, when the schedule doesn’t fall as planned.

In your case, hope it’s not health-related!

Impatience is getting into me, as I need this project done. I have all the pictures/videos that I need. Grrr! It’s the final phase that I need to get done!

This is the point when I can just go back to just think of nursing, and retire when I wanted to. This is super annoying!!!

But which means I just “gave up”! And no way will I put my hands up! I have never been defeated! NOT YET ANYWAY!!!

Arghh!

So sorry Sting! I’m just getting very frustrated!

I hope you are feeling better, Brenda. You make some really good points and are probably right about just letting it go. Some people have no shame not even a little bit.

I agree! It is what it is. Yes, I am feeling better. I started to write some content today. Anyway, I've learned it is not worth wasting my time over something I cannot control, namely those who game the system here and the trolls that keep showing up. At least I show up for my online business. That is all it matters.

Hi Brenda,

I can imagine it's been going on for a long time. It does seem ramped up a lot lately, and I agree with others who believe this is damaging to the WA brand, as it's so brazen now.

It felt good to say it openly how obvious it is, while recognizing those who may not have the title but are far more of an ambassador and mentor than those pulling this crap will ever be.

I know where you're coming from about ignoring, yet I also know cockroaches scurry when the light is turned on. I know not only myself, but many others have been trolled by this small click, and I wonder at times how many just quietly go away due to the bullying. Most people do that instead of speaking up.

I appreciate the true ambassadors such as yourself, and others who really go that extra mile spending lots of time understanding questions and giving a detailed response tailored to them. That time and expertise is valuable and I want all who are doing this to know we see them amidst all of these games and appreciate everything they (and you) do for all of us.

I imagine it can get discouraging for some of them to see some who game so hard and help so little being edified by the system more than they are.

And, it's annoying to see regardless, hah hah.

Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts on this.

Regards,

Jason

Yes, they are going to do it no matter what. Some people love to be dramatic with others just to be annoying. My late hubby taught me that you can kvetch all you want, but at the end of the day, people do whatever they want regardless of the consequences.

For the most part, people have been good and more generous now than when I first came here.

Sure, it feels good to get it out in the open, but again, the same thing happens. It's not going to stop even if you want them to. This is why I'm rarely in live chat. It's always the same except for some great people there but for what it's worth it brings the trolls there. Some are real people, others were just trollbots. 4 years ago it was much worse.

Now I only see a few which is way better than it was after updating the interfaces.

This platform attracts scammers here and I blame the starter account for that. I feel that the starter should be removed permanently.

One good thing, now it's considered as a test drive rather than a free starter platform indefinitely. I have referrals here who are forever starters, they do not even start or are active just dead accounts. Those should be removed too. No reason to keep them. I don't know why they have been on mine for a long time. Also many who follow me but they never upgrade which is why it's best to pre qualify prospects. It's not a free business ride. There are costs to owning business. Many want a free ride I have no idea where those trolls come from. I just move on from here.

Hi Roy,

Yeah, it's a shame this even is something that needs discussion. I really don't get the obsession. I also look at my contributions here on the site and think to myself if I somehow got it, those who know their stuff and are helpful should slide in without much issue.

Most importantly, the number/title is really meaningless. I notice Partha recently got back in, but for much of my time here he hasn't been in. I think we are all aware of his many contributions that rival the official trainers here. No one needs that number or title to think to themselves he has been one of the top ambassadors here. I'll never come close to offering to this site what he and many others bring in training and donating their time to help others.

I don't often know answers that can help another, and a lot of the time when I do I see someone else already answered and unless I feel they left something out there is no need for me to do anything but upvote the person who helped them and move on.

Thanks for stopping by, and hope your Sunday is great as well.

Regards,

Jason

Good morning Jason,

I hear what you're saying, it is a shame that we have to discuss the subject. The best way and the right way to become an ambassador is to go through the training and share what we are learning and what we don't understand. We can then go on to share our wins, struggles regarding affiliate marketing and more.

In this way, we receive a natural and fair ranking. It is actually surprising how quickly we can climb up the ranks just by participating regularly on the platform. Although it shouldn't be about ranking, it should be about helping!

I think people like Partha, Roope, Diane and many more receive a natural ranking just by doing the necessary. Partha will write a brilliant masterpiece and then get back to doing his own work. He's not here for the ranking, he's here to help people and to work on this online business!

I hear you regarding answering questions, many times, the question has already been answered, amazingly quickly!! Sometimes if I think I can expand on an answer that's already been given, I will.

The great thing is at Wealthy Affiliate, many people like Roope and many more came here with no knowledge whatsoever. However, they went through the training, took massive action and now look! Many of these people are now producing professional classes for Wealthy Affiliate. So who knows, maybe you or me will be doing the same one day!

Have a great day.

Roy

Hi Roy,

I'll be blunt in that I'm not really sure what the criteria is. I look around and see several folks who know and share so much who either aren't an ambassador or ranked below me and it leaves me baffled. Then I see some of these game riggers high on the ranks who also don't do a lot compared to some.

Using Partha as an example (he is a no brainer for examination), I watch him answering questions here with answers that would make a post in itself. How someone like myself, or someone who posts links to things that half the time doesn't even address the question ranks a lot higher baffles me.

But as Brenda says, I'm kvetching again, hah hah.

At the end of the day, we all know who it is we want coming across our questions when we have them, or who we look to when new training posts are published. And those are the real ambassadors in my book.

Appreciate as always our interactions. I got out what needed saying and as Brenda recommends, time to roll my sleeves up and get back to learning and putting into action.

Have a great day,

Jason

Hello Jason,

Thanks for your reply, it's good to be honest and real about things!

I believe that the ranking system works on how much you interact, so for example, by answering a question, writing a blog post, commenting, or even using live chat, and I believe creating training, all adds to the ranking figure.

So someone like Partha, who perhaps writes a brilliant blog post which receives lots of comments. However, he probably doesn't do that much more on the platform regarding commenting etc, so his ranking would not be so high as someone like myself, who normally spends a few minutes on the platform every day! Or maybe more than a few minutes!

My guess is that it is probably difficult to foolproof the system when people are playing the system. I guess the majority of us haven't got time to open another account or to like our own comments!!

Realistically, I probably ought to spend less time on the platform. Most of my time on the platform is spent first thing in the morning when I'm waking up or last thing at night. In other words, when I start to lose my focus!

It's also very interesting and the fact that some members have a very low ranking and yet are highly successful! That suggests something!!

It's always a pleasure to interact with you, Jason. I appreciate the excellent blog post.

Have a great day.

Roy

Hi Roy,

I wanted to touch on something you mentioned here.

After I realized the follow feature doesn't really do much. I deleted many I had been following and revamped it to mostly follow folks who had a lot of tutorials and posts/questions that address real angles in blogging.

I would deep dive on folks older posts, and start looking at profiles of folks who were still here, still paying their memberships but had seemed to fall off activity wise sometimes years ago.

I assume those folks now make enough money to not need any more training nor the time drain of being here, or they do take more training to stay abreast of changes while focusing solely on their business.

And there are a ton of these accounts. It's likely I came to follow your own account through this method I have, since you've been here for about 9 years. I wouldn't be surprised if I scrolled down to your posts years ago and began sifting through folks whose names aren't active anymore to see what they've contributed here.

Just the type of folks we wish were active here because they made it. I know if I don't get to a point where I make money at this, say by year 3 or 4, I wouldn't just keep paying to be a member here, I could use that 499.00 somewhere else.

You reminded me of those I target to follow when you mentioned successful members with low rankings.

Regards,

Jason