Article about guy who automated TW competition entries

Generali

sydroo wrote: »

There is a world of difference between sharing information and using an automated program in order to enter a competition.

This is an open forum, which is searchable on the web, not a clandestine way of gaining an advantage. You don't even have to register to view the content.

The twitter competitions, that are entered by using a bot which is set up to retweet certain phrases, do not require one iota of human interaction with promotors in order to win.

The fact of the board's openness is neither here. You are gaining an advantage by sharing information. This bloke is gaining an advantage by another means.

Python is pretty easy to learn and this method is available to all.

sydroo

And the other means is an automated program which is cheating.

Biker*Chick

sydroo wrote: »

And the other means is an automated program which is cheating.

Agreed sydroo

Being part of a competitions forum (whether mse or otherwise) is not a form of cheating. You don't gain any 'unfair' advantage otherwise EVERY entry to a particular competition would be an 'unfair' advantage over everyone who didn't find/enter that competition. Using a BOT to tweet incessently without the need for further human interaction is cheating because the program does all the work. How can people not distinguish between the two? The vast majority of competitions found on the web or elsewhere state 'no automated entries allowed'. Surely a BOT is the epitomy of an automated entry!

In the past couple of days I've experienced quite a few random, nonsensical retweets of a twitter comment I made - it wasn't even a comp entry! - and can only put this down to the fact that people have started jumping on the cheating bandwagon and installed their own bots. It's a sad fact that people seem to have the attitude 'if you can't beat them, join them' - in which case, let the twitter bots fight it out amongst themselves

tranmereforever

For me the big difference is simple

If you use Roboform you are still going onto the promoters page so you are seeing the prize and the promo material the sponsor has provided

If you are automated you are not doing this

Its a massive difference to someone running a competition as its the promotion aspect that is the reason they are doing it

And it works as well, I use Roboform but there have been plenty of times I have seen a competition and thought " oh that looks good" and either researched further or purchased one myself, you do not get this if automated so that imo is cheating

sammi86

By using a bot to do the tweeting, you are not even seeing the information you are tweeting so the promoters lose out as a fair few are now using this method!

The amount of bots that have retweeted my tweets over the past week or so is stupid! A few of these users have created new accounts so if theyre normal comping on their existing Twitter account then they are using multiple accounts, which is breaking Twitters own rules!

Blueyez

sammi86 wrote: »

By using a bot to do the tweeting, you are not even seeing the information you are tweeting so the promoters lose out as a fair few are now using this method!

The amount of bots that have retweeted my tweets over the past week or so is stupid! A few of these users have created new accounts so if theyre normal comping on their existing Twitter account then they are using multiple accounts, which is breaking Twitters own rules!

It's gone through the roof on mine as well, driving me nuts-Just "retweet, retweet..." and so on.:(

Crystal_Green

Any new account which goes from zero to hundreds of re tweets will probably be vanished from searches by twitter as spam.

mansey

Cheaters never prosper so my Nana used to say and looking at the naff prizes the bots have won I have to agree. :rotfl:

I will continue entering competitions I have chosen to enter for prizes I would like to win, and at least know I am doing it honestly

ikkle87

mansey wrote: »

Cheaters never prosper so my Nana used to say and looking at the naff prizes the bots have won I have to agree. :rotfl:

I will continue entering competitions I have chosen to enter for prizes I would like to win, and at least know I am doing it honestly

i might run a comp on my twitter for one of my sons smelly nappies, after all the bots do seem to enter for any old crap and at least then I'd know who to block as well

mansey

ikkle87 wrote: »

i might run a comp on my twitter for one of my sons smelly nappies, after all the bots do seem to enter for any old crap and at least then I'd know who to block as well

I have no doubt some folks would enter

Sorry I have no interest in a nappy but let me know when you have 1 coaster, 1 pot noodle or 1 tea bag