Shill posting on the STR forum

[Michael Baum]

Hey all, so I don't know about all of you but I have noticed a serious increase in shill posts. Those are posts that advocate for a product or service while they are employed at the company they are advocating for. That in and of itself isn't a problem if they identify that they work for the company.

The problem is that there are more than a few people who have joined recently advocating for various services and products and don't tell us they work there.

Things to look out for would be someone who just joined the forum and is posting in threads that are 10+ days old. They would have most likely searched for topics that they could present themselves as someone offering an opinion that focuses on their product.

People like myself, @John Underwood, etc work for ourselves and don't offer services or products so when we say we had good luck with something, you can trust that opinion. When someone who works for the company they are promoting without saying they work there, you have to wonder.

People like @January Johnson, @Avery Carl or @Luke Carl also give advice and offer themselves up for their services and expertise, but state it clearly in their signatures who they are and where they work.

There are also area experts like lenders, real estate agents etc that post with their opinions and options and that isn't a problem either. You know if a lender comes to a thread and says they can help with a loan of some kind you know what you are getting. I often call out those professionals for their expertise in a specific area. Like @Shawn McCormick for Orlando and @Mike Lambert for Mexico. 

I am not disparaging the products as I most likely don't know much about them, but I wanted to make sure anyone who is new who posts needs to make sure that the replies you are getting are on the up and up.

Anyways, it has been on my mind for a few weeks and they keep popping up. I just wanted to see how everyone else felt and to lay it all out for new members.

[Nathan Gesner]

If you aren't sure, aren't happy, or aren't willing to confront them, just tag me or another moderator and we'll take a look.

I understand you don't want to "attack" someone, particularly when it may be an innocent mistake. But every time we let someone promote themselves or a product, it encourages others to do the same and it will destroy the integrity and value of the forums.