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That's a stupid idea,I've won 2 sweeps from facebook

Originally Posted by dickj In addition to NO BLOGS, how about Also NO TWITTER and NO FACEBOOK!

Originally Posted by Jlefkovenj That's a stupid idea,I've won 2 sweeps from facebook

I agree twitter and facebook are dangerous site for privacy. They fit into "giveaways" (not following any laws), the same as blogs. Some people win on blog too. But they still have no place in sweepstakes, they are "giveaways".

I remember when you could only enter sweeps by mail, and any internet sweep was just junk.

I think this site is doing a good job of keeping up with what the current fad for sweeps is.

Blogs are Big, and so are Facebook and twitter sweeps. Blogs already have their own category on this site, and you can sort with no blogs.

I think it's insane the amount of complaing that goes into this subject. You really don't have to enter sweeps at all. You could always watch TV, and just switch the channel every time you see something you don't like. Cable only costs $75 a month.

Originally Posted by yadgirl I remember when you could only enter sweeps by mail, and any internet sweep was just junk. I think this site is doing a good job of keeping up with what the current fad for sweeps is. Blogs are Big, and so are Facebook and twitter sweeps. Blogs already have their own category on this site, and you can sort with no blogs. I think it's insane the amount of complaing that goes into this subject. You really don't have to enter sweeps at all. You could always watch TV, and just switch the channel every time you see something you don't like. Cable only costs $75 a month.

lol

agree theres nothing wrong with twitter/fb sweeps. i see what some people are saying though if want an option to not see them. i agree its easy to skip over that stuff, its not really flooding up the place like blogs, though i like blogsweeps too

Originally Posted by HistoryMystery For the 950th time in this thread, you can set the listings so that there are "NO BLOGS" included.

And for about the 949th time, many of us who set "no blogs" for the listings are finding blogs, anyway. Lots of them. Some are very obviously blogs and don't belong in a listing with "no blogs." I've found as many as 23 of them in the list of new sweepstakes for one day set for "Premium, no blogs." And those were only the ones I noticed -- there may have been more.

I thought at first that it might be because I do my sweeps so early in the morning and the mods haven't had a chance to check all of the sweeps, and that if I waited and checked them later the blogs would be gone. The only time I have for sweeps these days is early morning so I waited to check the new sweeps for 24 hours -- until after the new sweeps for the next day had been posted. In other words, I was a full day behind in checking them. Of the 23 blog sweeps in that particular list, only 9 had been removed. There were still 14 of them in the list. Several of them were very obviously blogs, with "blogspot" or "blogger" or another giveaway in the URL. It didn't even require any further checking to find that they were blogs and shouldn't have been in that list.

It must be because they're relying on the people who submit the sweeps to mark them as blogs -- and the submitters don't do it. The people who find the blog sweeps and submit them are the ones who like them and it seems that they can't understand why those who dislike wasting their time slogging through them should be catered to in any way, so they don't bother to mark them.

It's almost as though it's become a war and those who submit the blog sweeps have all the weapons. Anyway, I suspect that as long as all of the sweeps are considered to be premium until after the mods check them, and as long as they're released before they've been checked, there are always going to be blog sweeps in with the premium sweeps and blog sweeps in with the "no blogs." And that some will remain even after the sweeps have been checked and verified.

So even though I dislike blog sweeps, I'm moving over to the side of not even having a "no blogs" setting. As all the blog lovers say, those of us who don't like blogs can always skip over them. And it looks as though that's what we'll always have to do, even though it adds a lot of time to our sweeping chores.

How many of those sweeps were validated? My bet is none.

Unless a moderator has validated a sweep, it will be premium. It won't be categorized. And it may be a blog that the blogger didn't mark as blog.


Most blog sweeps are freebies once they are validated.

Originally Posted by yadgirl How many of those sweeps were validated? My bet is none. Unless a moderator has validated a sweep, it will be premium. It won't be categorized. And it may be a blog that the blogger didn't mark as blog. Most blog sweeps are freebies once they are validated.

You're right -- they weren't validated. But I'd already waited 24 hours after the sweeps were posted and if I'd waited any longer I'd have been so late in looking at them that I'd have missed out on the chance to enter two of the early closing ones. So I had to either slog my way through the blogs that were still there or not see some of the sweeps I considered to be good ones and wanted to enter.

The things you noted -- that until a sweeps has been validated it will be premium and not categorized and that it won't show up as a blog unless it's marked as such by the person submitting it -- are right. I understand that, and that's why I said I'm no longer a booster of the "no blogs" designator on the home page. I doubt that it will ever work, so why bother separating blogs out at all? Why not just consider it a failed experiment -- a good idea that didn't work out -- and go on to the other improvements. I'm sure, from what I've seen, that most of them will be really spectacular.

Originally Posted by theladyluck You're right -- they weren't validated. But I'd already waited 24 hours after the sweeps were posted and if I'd waited any longer I'd have been so late in looking at them that I'd have missed out on the chance to enter two of the early closing ones. So I had to either slog my way through the blogs that were still there or not see some of the sweeps I considered to be good ones and wanted to enter. The things you noted -- that until a sweeps has been validated it will be premium and not categorized and that it won't show up as a blog unless it's marked as such by the person submitting it -- are right. I understand that, and that's why I said I'm no longer a booster of the "no blogs" designator on the home page. I doubt that it will ever work, so why bother separating blogs out at all? Why not just consider it a failed experiment -- a good idea that didn't work out -- and go on to the other improvements. I'm sure, from what I've seen, that most of them will be really spectacular.

But MANY of us appreciate the "no blogs" option even if it's not perfect!!!

Originally Posted by theladyluck You're right -- they weren't validated. But I'd already waited 24 hours after the sweeps were posted and if I'd waited any longer I'd have been so late in looking at them that I'd have missed out on the chance to enter two of the early closing ones. So I had to either slog my way through the blogs that were still there or not see some of the sweeps I considered to be good ones and wanted to enter. The things you noted -- that until a sweeps has been validated it will be premium and not categorized and that it won't show up as a blog unless it's marked as such by the person submitting it -- are right. I understand that, and that's why I said I'm no longer a booster of the "no blogs" designator on the home page. I doubt that it will ever work, so why bother separating blogs out at all? Why not just consider it a failed experiment -- a good idea that didn't work out -- and go on to the other improvements. I'm sure, from what I've seen, that most of them will be really spectacular.

It's not a failed experiment, but just as you dislike slogging your way through all the unvalidated blogs, it's even harder for the editors to do this. If you see BLOG in front of a sweep, it has not been validated. We really HAVE to give precedence to sweeps that are not blogs.

Remember what it was like before you discovered OLS? Remember trying to find Sweeps that were really sweepstakes and not some way to get your e mail. Remember trying to find out the answers when you had to do it by yourself, without the help you find here.
Remember sorting thru the online contests,spam email and just plain bull that you find when you google. Remember being alone, without any one to vent to.
I do and Thank you Brent!!!!.Can't imagine sweeping without you and everyone here.!!!

Originally Posted by bobbyeocean Remember what it was like before you discovered OLS? Remember trying to find Sweeps that were really sweepstakes and not some way to get your e mail. Remember trying to find out the answers when you had to do it by yourself, without the help you find here. Remember sorting thru the online contests,spam email and just plain bull that you find when you google. Remember being alone, without any one to vent to. I do and Thank you Brent!!!!.Can't imagine sweeping without you and everyone here.!!!

Well said!! I so agree

Originally Posted by retrobruce I am a software developer, by trade. I have had no complaints about how this website works. I like it. I'm a paid member and have been for a while. I will continue to be exactly that. New version of the site or not. I'm not freaking out or upset that there is not yet a new version of this website. That being said, the one rule I hold to heart about software development is to never promise something and not deliver. Under promise and over deliver. That makes customers happy. Over promising and under delivering drives customers away. We have seen several promised deadlines come and go. At times we have waited long after a promised date to receive any news regarding the update. Brent, please. Take your time. Test properly. Wait until everything is fully tested and works properly before releasing any new versions.... But for God's sake, please take down any promised delivery dates. Believe me when I say that I understand working under deadlines and issues not under your control. That is my life. Stop promising things that you might not be able to deliver. Many of us (I'm guessing that part) would be fine with whatever time line it takes, but the broken promises sting. Just do what you need to do and surprise us when it's ready.

Well said. I could not have said it better myself.

Originally Posted by yadgirl It's not a failed experiment, but just as you dislike slogging your way through all the unvalidated blogs, it's even harder for the editors to do this. If you see BLOG in front of a sweep, it has not been validated. We really HAVE to give precedence to sweeps that are not blogs.

I personally don't like and don't enter blog related sweeps & do know what my fellow OLS member theladyluck is talking about. That said, I do have to speak up here for our editors.

If you come across a new sweep that was submitted over a day ago & still has not been validated it's usually because the editors are behind....please be patient & just give them time to catch up. We have so very many more members submitting sweeps than editors validating them. And most of you know as well as I do that a large percentage of sweeps that are submitted are very poorly done which greatly increases the amount of time an editor has to spend on each one.

I personally would like to see members take a little more time and do a more thorough job of submitting a sweep in the first place. That one act would make it easier for everyone. And please don't flame me for this because I do submit sweeps & I when I do I try to leave little for the editors to have to fix or add.

Looks like I know what we will have for a Christmas gift since we missed the Nov deadline. Can you guess?

(giggle)

Originally Posted by retrobruce I am a software developer, by trade. I have had no complaints about how this website works. I like it. I'm a paid member and have been for a while. I will continue to be exactly that. New version of the site or not. I'm not freaking out or upset that there is not yet a new version of this website. That being said, the one rule I hold to heart about software development is to never promise something and not deliver. Under promise and over deliver. That makes customers happy. Over promising and under delivering drives customers away. We have seen several promised deadlines come and go. At times we have waited long after a promised date to receive any news regarding the update. Brent, please. Take your time. Test properly. Wait until everything is fully tested and works properly before releasing any new versions.... But for God's sake, please take down any promised delivery dates. Believe me when I say that I understand working under deadlines and issues not under your control. That is my life. Stop promising things that you might not be able to deliver. Many of us (I'm guessing that part) would be fine with whatever time line it takes, but the broken promises sting. Just do what you need to do and surprise us when it's ready.

Here Here
Take your time to get it right.
How about a new deadline of February if you must post one. That way if it is earlier, we will be happily surprised.

I believe in you.