Did you think the eHow UK scam couldn’t get any worse? Well it has. And remember that train wreck analogy a few posts back where I said I couldn’t bear to watch? I peeked. And I’ll tell you what: A scam is a scam, and that’s what this train wreck is.
Now, the eHow forums, where members could at least discuss their questions and opinions until they were banned and/or censored, have eHow member-minions helping the scam along. The last couple of days, the suspected “secret forum moderators” (oh, please, tell me I didn’t just use that phrase with a straight face), have been throwing red herrings into the forum like it was Lent.
Oh, wait a minute…what week is this?
And if that’s not bad enough, members posting their valid opinions on the forum, (which is where you would THINK eHow would want them to feel free to post, as opposed to, say Conversation Marketing, Crunchy Data, or ComplaintsBoard.com), have actually had their words twisted and edited in an apparent attempt at humor in quotes by one “secret moderator.”
And you stood by and let them, eHow reps.
eHow, you won’t let me ask you where your so-called “UK” server resides, but you let your minions deliberately misquote and misrepresent other members in your forums?
This is so wrong. First eHow exploits member-owned content for their own financial gain without fair compensation, and now they are letting their senior minions run roughshod over other members with legitimate opinions, in direct opposition to their own stated forum rules.
Don’t think so, eHow. Ya’ll are diggin’ yourselves in deeper, and you’d best take another look at that.
Because when your members cannot discuss their opinions peaceably and reasonably in your forums about YOU victimizing them not once, not twice, but at least three times, without fear of their words being twisted…where do you think that discussion will end up?
Yup. All over the Internet. That place that’s stickier than a 10-year-old boy’s Xbox 360 remote. And harder to clean up after, too.
Okay, but that’s not all. The newest eHow UK scam is over member profiles. Many members want their personal photos and profile text removed from the fake UK site, or to at least have the ability to control the profiles that represent them. But no, eHow’s not having any of that nonsense. Control your own profiles? Pshaw, peeps.
Here’s what eHow’s forum rep, Rich, had to say about that:
In Response to Re: 01/22/2010– UPDATE on eHow UK site and US member articles:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: 01/22/2010– UPDATE on eHow UK site and US member articles : To answer your question, profiles will not be removed from the UK site. eHow.com is growing and as a result, we’re expanding to international markets and audiences. As we expand, we want our community to grow with us– therefore, we’re inviting each member to truly become a part of a “global” community. However, the bug you mentioned has been noted and I’m seeing what can be done to get this fixed. Thanks. -Rich
Posted by Rich – eHow Community Manager[/QUOTE]
And here is one eHow member’s quite understandable response to that invitation-by-force to be part of a global community that exists only on a fake site on a server in the US:
If profiles are not coming off the UK site, at what point will we be able to edit them? My profile on the UK site is no longer accurate and I would like to be able to change it. It is also my face there and I want to be able to change avatars.
See, this issue has to do with moral rights, which cannot be waived in the UK. And eHow wants us to believe their “UK” site is physically located in the UK, so…are they trying to have it both ways here?
And before we wrap this party up for the night, I will give you another taste of how out-of-hand this eHow UK scam has gotten. Please bear in mind, I do try to keep a clean house here. But this member spoke for many of us today (I have personally heard from at least three other people who said so), and I just want to acknowledge that publicly:
The initial post by Rich, eHow “Community Manager”:
In Response to Re: 01/22/2010– UPDATE on eHow UK site and US member articles:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: 01/22/2010– UPDATE on eHow UK site and US member articles : *****member, Please do not harass our members by calling them names. Once again, I would rather not have to penalize people for acting out of order. The forums is a great place to have a productive conversation, but attacking others is not necessary. Thanks. -RichPosted by Rich – eHow Community Manager[/QUOTE]
And the member’s response:
Go F**K yourself buddy.
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I dont’ recall ehow inviting each member to truly become a part of a “global” community.
In fact I didnt’ know it was there until earnings dropped for some on the forums and it was mentioned. One day I woke up and there it was, the choice to be britisth or american.. When i went to explore Britain through the UK flag I was told I couldn’t join and couldn’t post, couldn’t rate articles or comment.
That is not an “INVITATION” that is USERY. Using my profile to help grow a site which in the future I have no confidence will pay me. Perhaps that is why the pay was so low, because next time it happens people will forget it. Its only worth a few dollars.
People really need to figure out exactly how much they lost and if the compensation was worth it.
Yep. And how confusing for the Brits to not be able to join after waiting all this time for the WCP to open up there, too. I was disappointed for them until I realized that they are better off.
So eHow is hereby INVITED to make things right, and quickly.
Wow, I hadn’t been on the forums for several days… looks like I missed a SHOW!!! lol I am pretty naive, but I can even tell there are “secret moderators”. If it wasn’t for the money issue it would be rather high schoolish. lol What’s funny is I have seen the “secret moderators” do their thing on the forums and then in their own blog or somewhere else on the web, completely trash ehow! Things that make you go hmmmm…. ; )
[...] So as it stands, anyone reading this particular forum thread may be led to believe that the UK site is located in the UK. It’s the ehow UK scam in action. [...]
Hey Orbzot, thanks for letting me know I’m not alone! I have been turning my emails, my eHow PMs, and the eHow forums inside out, searching for my invitation — can’t find it.
How can I RSVP “no thanks” if I can’t even find the invite?
eHOW has screwed me over so good it will be weeks before I can stand up straight. DON’T SIGN YOUR SOUL AWAY TO THE DEVIL! Children, this is for your own good, you will work for slave labor, only to have your highest earning articles deleted, only to have them mysteriously reappear weeks later as a DS article. Why? Because eHOW and DS are owned by the same people. So don’t be tempted, my children. Behind every eHOW their is a snake waiting to lure you in.
Children, bear witness to the fate that awaits you. Beyond those glimmering dollar signs are the firey pits of hell itself, better known as the UK site. There your articles will be raped and plundered for every cent they are worth, while eHOW goddesses reward your sweat with the dust off their shoes. In other words, children, to eHOW go the UK riches. And for you, my precious little one’s, eHOW will lay claim to your profiles as if they were your very souls, bleeding whatever live remains in them until a time they see fit. Like a number written in your foreheads, this beast has you in its sights.
Let us break bread and pray for the lost souls who stumble through their gates, and know not what fate awaits. They may be screwing you UK style today, my children, but far worse when they drag your carcass through the global village, laughing like drunkards as they drink the wine of your hard earned sweat.
Feel free to follow my blog EHOW SCAMS AND DIRTY TRICKS and learn about the darker side of ehow.
Seems that eHow history is repeating itself…and what I mean is the UK is back.
A member of ehow posted on the forum this evening that she found one of her articles on Google with a UK URL…and surprise surprise it was ranked higher than the USA article. So she went to investigate what any concerned ehow member would do, especially after last year…and she discovered that the UK article did not have a forward to her profile….Her comment on the forum was that she did not want to raise a stink but assumed that the UK deal was over with. Meanwhile back at ehow, their are members who are not so pleased with their earning, some have bottomed out while others are sky rocketing…again I do believe the UK has come full swing and is now back in the picture again. I am watching this news very carefully. Wondering if the master plan to shut down the WCP was really a diversion to disburse members so that they would not watch articles so closely, they threw them a bone last month with record high earnings and this month the UK transfer of articles URL has begun …for the members sake I hope they jump on the band wagon and settle this.
Thanks for the post, Firefly. I’m forwarding your notes to a UK journalist (with no identifying info, of course).
-Kim