Cheating

mansey

There is a thread on here (I can't remember who it is by and don't want to name names anyway) about using a script to open C2Ws and then entering them......

Is that not cheating?

If a Twitter bot comes along and enters 10K comps a day we all name and shame and shout cheat!!

Is that not doing exactly the same thing as the person who is using a Twitter bot to retweet our tweets or retweet every tweet with a certain word in it is doing?

Is he/she not just using a script too?

Or is it just a case of "bugga it" everyone else cheats, so why shouldn't I?

We all want to enter as many comps as possible, as quickly as possible to have a better chance of winning, but by using anything that "helps" must mean we are cheating as much as the bots?

As I have said many times I ain't at all techy so please KISS

Biker*Chick

:rotfl:

I had a look at it Mansey, and tried out the 'autohotkey' option suggested - it basically replicates exactly what I do manually and at about the same pace but it just saves my 'finger' and helps prevent RSI!! :rotfl:

Nah - tbh, it doesn't work for me anyway because it relies on the 'entry box' being in exactly the same place across each tab/site the prize is on - for me they jump around so the process didn't work :cool: I was genuinely quicker doing it manually!

The other suggestion was a multi-tab opening app/add-on to the browser - that was quite useful, but again tbh, it only does what I was doing by manually opening up 'multiple tabs' via highlighting the ones saved in my bookmarks! Not really a time saver for me either

So - is it cheating? Hardly, for the reasons I've given above :rotfl::rotfl:

Bots on the other hand, are set up to work without any human interaction whatsoever and by making tens of thousands of 'hits' will, by law of averages, reap some benefits - although I'm sure many of the prizes' won were probably at the 'tat' level and not massive £££ wins :doh:

mansey wrote: »

There is a thread on here (I can't remember who it is by and don't want to name names anyway) about using a script to open C2Ws and then entering them......

ETA - No it wasn't a script to 'open' the C2Ws - you have to still manually get all the tabs ready, and the mouse 'poised' over the entry box before you start the auto entry process As I say above, didn't work for me anyway, because the entry boxes were not all lined up in the same spot (except for the radio station ones, but I CBA to pick out all those from the list!)

mansey wrote: »

We all want to enter as many comps as possible, as quickly as possible to have a better chance of winning, but by using anything that "helps" must mean we are cheating as much as the bots?

As I have said many times I ain't at all techy so please KISS

More hindrance than help for me! LOL

Biker*Chick

I'm all for hints and tips in CCC if it helps each other out :beer:

If you don't know much about the finer examples of computer trickery (like me ) then anything to make life easier is welcome!

If it hadn't been for our lovely forum, I'd have never known about lastpass or roboform! I think that the 'suggestions' put in the thread you referenced, mansey, are on par with these; suggestions to make our lives easier that's all!

It would be just as relevant to say that those of us who have newer, faster working computers or tablers have an unfair advantage over people reliant on older/slower machines!

I'd worry less about this sort of helpful 'chat' and more about this (courtesy of the lovely mjm )

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/70117124#Comment_70117124

mjm3346 wrote: »

One entry still gives you a chance just even less chance than before.

Say an automated site has 20,000 users, for a comp running 2 months on 50 of the c2w sites that's 60,000,000 extra entries.

mansey

Thanks B*C pet
See I couldn't even get it right about what the script did :rotfl:

I wasn't getting at anyone it was just a question.

My main point was that we can't scream cheat at @MrTBot20kcompsaday when all of us have some kind of help

There can't be one rule for one and another rule for another!!

I don't even use Roboform, I wasn't kidding when I said I was not at all techy

Biker*Chick

mansey wrote: »

Thanks B*C pet
See I couldn't even get it right about what the script did :rotfl:

I wasn't getting at anyone it was just a question.

My main point was that we can't scream cheat at @MrTBot20kcompsaday when all of us have some kind of help

There can't be one rule for one and another rule for another!!

I don't even use Roboform, I wasn't kidding when I said I was not at all techy

:rotfl::rotfl:

I get your point :cool:

The point is, if someone can find a way to cheat the system or find a loophole they will Whether it is twitter bots or those 'programs' that people create/use to enter comps where 'top of the leaderboard' wins.

I do think twitter bots take all the fun out of our hobby though :cool: We might as well all have our little 'robots' happily trying to out tweet each other while we all head down the Arms for a few! :beer::beer: Seriously though, I don't have the techy know-how to create a bot nor the inclination I don't mind a few hints and tips to help me along the way though - so by all means call me a 'low-level cheater' :eek: but I'm of pickpocket status to the Mr/Mrs Big league who populate the comping world with their canny autobots and win everything! :eek: :eek:

mansey

Biker*Chick wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl:

I get your point :cool:

The point is, if someone can find a way to cheat the system or find a loophole they will Whether it is twitter bots or those 'programs' that people create/use to enter comps where 'top of the leaderboard' wins.

I do think twitter bots take all the fun out of our hobby though :cool: We might as well all have our little 'robots' happily trying to out tweet each other while we all head down the Arms for a few! :beer::beer: Seriously though, I don't have the techy know-how to create a bot nor the inclination I don't mind a few hints and tips to help me along the way though - so by all means call me a 'low-level cheater' :eek: but I'm of pickpocket status to the Mr/Mrs Big league who populate the comping world with their canny autobots and win everything! :eek: :eek:

I agree totally, there will always be folks who cheat/spoil it for others.

I am certain the fun of entering for what I would actually like to win, the community spirit and the craic in this forum would win for me every time over running a bot that wins total rubbish with no human interaction.

I have a thing on Chrome (I don't even know what it is called :eek:) that sometimes fills in my address, so I will join you as a pickpocket :rotfl:

SpaceyKevin

mansey wrote: »

There is a thread on here (I can't remember who it is by and don't want to name names anyway) about using a script to open C2Ws and then entering them......

Is that not cheating?

The use of AutoHotKey for entering competition is mentioned (even recommended) in the Comping Guide on this forum ( https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1014121 ). I already had some experience with AHK before I started entering competitions online so I figured I should combine the two though I may have gone a bit over the top. I have several scripts just for the C2Ws (opening the bookmark folders, removing expired C2Ws from my bookmarks, finding and sorting the new C2Ws, etc.) These are all tasks that I could do by hand though I'd probably have to give up a few more hours of the day. When I started entering these competitions, I didn't rely on AHK for them. Even then, I could feel some discomfort in my hands after a short while of comping; this was one of the reasons why I took to writing the scripts.

Biker*Chick wrote: »

Nah - tbh, it doesn't work for me anyway because it relies on the 'entry box' being in exactly the same place across each tab/site the prize is on - for me they jump around so the process didn't work :cool: I was genuinely quicker doing it manually!

I mentioned in an earlier post that you shouldn't move the mouse while the script was running. This "rule" is only a precaution against having the user/macro "clicking" something other than the entry box inadvertently. You are free to move the mouse while the script is running so you could, if you're quick enough (though you can increase the delay), "chase" the entry box as it jumps around from tab to tab with your cursor.

ikkle87

See for me Twitter bots are cheating autohotkey and Roboform aren't. To use ahk and Roboform you still have to open the competitions and thus have control over what you enter. A Twitter bot enters anything and everything without you opening the comps or having any real input. Ahk and Roboform are tools to be used alongside your Comping. Twitter bots do it all for you b

Biker*Chick

SpaceyKevin wrote: »

The use of AutoHotKey for entering competition is mentioned (even recommended) in the Comping Guide on this forum ( https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1014121 ). I already had some experience with AHK before I started entering competitions online so I figured I should combine the two though I may have gone a bit over the top. I have several scripts just for the C2Ws (opening the bookmark folders, removing expired C2Ws from my bookmarks, finding and sorting the new C2Ws, etc.) These are all tasks that I could do by hand though I'd probably have to give up a few more hours of the day. When I started entering these competitions, I didn't rely on AHK for them. Even then, I could feel some discomfort in my hands after a short while of comping; this was one of the reasons why I took to writing the scripts.




I mentioned in an earlier post that you shouldn't move the mouse while the script was running. This "rule" is only a precaution against having the user/macro "clicking" something other than the entry box inadvertently. You are free to move the mouse while the script is running so you could, if you're quick enough (though you can increase the delay), "chase" the entry box as it jumps around from tab to tab with your cursor.

:doh: Hence why I class myself as a novice with such things, SpaceyKevin! :T I just saw the 'don't move the mouse bit'!! :rotfl: I'm such a numpty

It was very generous of you to take the time to explain it all in the first place :beer::beer: and all power to you to have worked out how to make your comping routine a bit easier! :T

RAP_2

In my opinion, the hotkey thing is not "cheating" as you have to open all the tabs, run it, and watch it go. It may shave a few seconds off entering all of the comps on the likes of Bella and TV Choice for example, but I personally think it's main use is preventing the cramp I get in my mouse arm. Some may be able to open the pages automatically etc but that is beyond me.

As for bots, that scour the internet and automatically enter comps whilst you are making the dinner or doing the hoovering, I personally think that is a different thing all together.

Some may even say simply using MSE to find comps is cheating as it is rumoued that some firms delete MSE referrer links, so we all use ABP to hide referrer links or use private windows.

These are just my opinions though and each is entitled to theirs. I do use hot keys to open multiple tabs and close them again etc and think these save a bit of time, but not a lot to be honest as my laptop is just a standard bit of kit and it takes a while to open 20 tabs at a time, again it just saves me clicks.

monsieur_epargnant

Looks like the thread in question is referring to a browser plugin to automate link opening? This is not what is referred to within the industry as a robot. A robot (such as one from Google) scrapes the text (and sometimes media) from a website, usually compares against a database. Often they'll then do some update/delete activity on the local version to id what has changed. They've been around as long as the web itself and are completely legal.

A website owner (industry standard practice) has a file within their homepage root folder called 'robots.txt' containing what the website owner deems appropriate use for the robot activity. For example they may wish certain pages of their site not listed on a search engine.

These same tools CAN also be used for more nefarious activity. Bulk spamming, scraping of entire sites, duplication (fake bank sign in pages etc etc). As the tools are often Open Source they are free to be used by anyone, but t&c's do very much often state they should not be used for illegal activities. 'Cheating' is by comparison a vastly grey area.

A web browser plugin, such as that suggested, is a little like an automation tool. More in the vein of Excel Macros. Some people think even the mere existence of comp forums like here at MSE are in themselves a 'cheat'. Depends on a personal level of ethics I guess.

In this particular case, I see the example as no more cheating than the creation of filters in your email account or sites like 'if this then that'.