Moderator Inconsistency and Duplicity

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

Also as a note, we go as far as to say the following on every forums page (See the bottom):

Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.

[meauxna 15]

From the TOS:

No Solicitation. You shall not distribute on or through the Service

or to any persons or entities identified via Visajourney.com any Content

or material containing solicitations or advertising of any kind without

the express prior written permission of Visajourney.com. Lawyers, law

firms, immigration related businesses or their proxies are prohibited from soliciting employment from prospective clients

through the Forums or any of its interactive features. In the discussion

forums you may discuss or recommend third-party Web sites, goods or services,

so long as you have no financial interest in and receive no direct or indirect

benefit from such Web sites, products or services, or the recommendation

of such.

Oh cool. Does that mean you are going to reinstate the link in my signature that is still blacklisted?

(I don't get any benefit from it, financial or otherwise)

heh.. bet you wish you'd coded in membership auto-locking/deleting after X # years like happens with old threads.

Actually.. that would solve a lot of problems here, wouldn't it?! (you'll have to pay me for that ideer if you use it, though. Since I'm note getting paid for the website referrals n' all.)

Yeah, but seriously. About that link?

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

From the TOS:

No Solicitation. You shall not distribute on or through the Service

or to any persons or entities identified via Visajourney.com any Content

or material containing solicitations or advertising of any kind without

the express prior written permission of Visajourney.com. Lawyers, law

firms, immigration related businesses or their proxies are prohibited from soliciting employment from prospective clients

through the Forums or any of its interactive features. In the discussion

forums you may discuss or recommend third-party Web sites, goods or services,

so long as you have no financial interest in and receive no direct or indirect

benefit from such Web sites, products or services, or the recommendation

of such.

Oh cool. Does that mean you are going to reinstate the link in my signature that is still blacklisted?

(I don't get any benefit from it, financial or otherwise)

heh.. bet you wish you'd coded in membership auto-locking/deleting after X # years like happens with old threads.

Actually.. that would solve a lot of problems here, wouldn't it?! (you'll have to pay me for that ideer if you use it, though. Since I'm note getting paid for the website referrals n' all.)

Yeah, but seriously. About that link?

I considered the locking of old threads at one point. It is not done now since it is occasionally useful to bring back an old thread. That said, there may be benefits. I am open to discussing the pro's and con's.

[meauxna 15]

Let me set the record straight.

I don't get it .. is this some sort of language/culture problem here? The problem isn't the *advertising* because he's promoting a business, it's holding himself out to be something he is not. This is the sort of ####### that got the whole site in hot water when it *wasn't* profitable.

It's a breach of the public's trust IMO, and I can understand why the dreaded U could get his panties in a wad.

It's all ready bad enough that you run off any genuine help from people who do know.

If you think someone here is charging users for help with their cases, it should be 'off with their heads'.

I agree totally with you. Totally. If a member ever tries this they will get a warning and if they continue after that warning they may get the boot -- period. Please see the TOS. This is covered in there. I did not read every section of the TOS but that should be in there too. If it is not -- I will add it. Again, I agree with you. Trying to charge members here for anything is not what VJ is about regardless of your qualifications. If you want to advertise on VJ we have avenues for that but they do not include unsolicited methods nor by soliciting business on the forums.

A link was just sent to me that is current from the past two months. Are you seriously OK with members doing this now?

If you tell me you have no idea what I'm talking about, it will be hard for me to believe.

Jeez.. I can NOT believe what I'm seeing.

'May' get the boot? omg.

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

Let me set the record straight.

I don't get it .. is this some sort of language/culture problem here? The problem isn't the *advertising* because he's promoting a business, it's holding himself out to be something he is not. This is the sort of ####### that got the whole site in hot water when it *wasn't* profitable.

It's a breach of the public's trust IMO, and I can understand why the dreaded U could get his panties in a wad.

It's all ready bad enough that you run off any genuine help from people who do know.

If you think someone here is charging users for help with their cases, it should be 'off with their heads'.

I agree totally with you. Totally. If a member ever tries this they will get a warning and if they continue after that warning they may get the boot -- period. Please see the TOS. This is covered in there. I did not read every section of the TOS but that should be in there too. If it is not -- I will add it. Again, I agree with you. Trying to charge members here for anything is not what VJ is about regardless of your qualifications. If you want to advertise on VJ we have avenues for that but they do not include unsolicited methods nor by soliciting business on the forums.

A link was just sent to me that is current from the past two months. Are you seriously OK with members doing this now?

If you tell me you have no idea what I'm talking about, it will be hard for me to believe.

Jeez.. I can NOT believe what I'm seeing.

'May' get the boot? omg.

RJ can confirm this: pushbrk did violate the TOS regarding this. I talked at length with both people about this. I specifically asked them about this. I confirmed this. I told pushbrk that they may NOT advertise on VJ period. This is not something I have hidden. You can post your link and I will check my dates. If it is after the cut off date where I talked to pushbrk then I am very interested to see it. It means they ignored me if so. If it was the occasion where I warned them then yes I was aware and I did talk to them and gave them notice that they can not do this or they will be suspended or banned. I will go track down the exact date and second I gave the first warning and "can never happen again" statement.

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

Let me set the record straight.

I don't get it .. is this some sort of language/culture problem here? The problem isn't the *advertising* because he's promoting a business, it's holding himself out to be something he is not. This is the sort of ####### that got the whole site in hot water when it *wasn't* profitable.

It's a breach of the public's trust IMO, and I can understand why the dreaded U could get his panties in a wad.

It's all ready bad enough that you run off any genuine help from people who do know.

If you think someone here is charging users for help with their cases, it should be 'off with their heads'.

I agree totally with you. Totally. If a member ever tries this they will get a warning and if they continue after that warning they may get the boot -- period. Please see the TOS. This is covered in there. I did not read every section of the TOS but that should be in there too. If it is not -- I will add it. Again, I agree with you. Trying to charge members here for anything is not what VJ is about regardless of your qualifications. If you want to advertise on VJ we have avenues for that but they do not include unsolicited methods nor by soliciting business on the forums.

A link was just sent to me that is current from the past two months. Are you seriously OK with members doing this now?

If you tell me you have no idea what I'm talking about, it will be hard for me to believe.

Jeez.. I can NOT believe what I'm seeing.

'May' get the boot? omg.

RJ can confirm this: pushbrk did violate the TOS regarding this. I talked at length with both people about this. I specifically asked them about this. I confirmed this. I told pushbrk that they may NOT advertise on VJ period. This is not something I have hidden. You can post your link and I will check my dates. If it is after the cut off date where I talked to pushbrk then I am very interested to see it. It means they ignored me if so. If it was the occasion where I warned them then yes I was aware and I did talk to them and gave them notice that they can not do this or they will be suspended or banned. I will go track down the exact date and second I gave the first warning and "can never happen again" statement.

Nov 3 2009, 11:xx (several PMs) PM

At this point there was an agreement that this would never happen again (advertising for a for profit site with affiliation).

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

I also want to note. I am not going to detail the words that were said, etc.. There is a degree of privacy that I will respect. Needless to say that I was aware of these items despite it being implied that I might now have been. It was reported to me by a respected member and I followed up promptly. I told the reporting member if they EVER saw it again to feel free and message me. They have not found anything since then but if you have then please PM me.

[meauxna 15]

RJ can confirm this: pushbrk did violate the TOS regarding this. I talked at length with both people about this. I specifically asked them about this. I confirmed this. I told pushbrk that they may NOT advertise on VJ period. This is not something I have hidden. You can post your link and I will check my dates. If it is after the cut off date where I talked to pushbrk then I am very interested to see it. It means they ignored me if so. If it was the occasion where I warned them then yes I was aware and I did talk to them and gave them notice that they can not do this or they will be suspended or banned. I will go track down the exact date and second I gave the first warning and "can never happen again" statement.

You banned Lorelle for the same thing even though her site was nothing like as blatant as this.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=3435819

That is just over a month ago.

It's just hard to believe that with the history here you would be OK with a non-attorney member here doing 'consulting' with a guarantee if 'we are unable to obtain a visa for your fiance(e) or spouse after filing all possible appeals'.

Now to be fair, I haven't researched who owns that domain or whether or not they have an attorney on staff but I'm sure someone has. Haven't they???

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

RJ can confirm this: pushbrk did violate the TOS regarding this. I talked at length with both people about this. I specifically asked them about this. I confirmed this. I told pushbrk that they may NOT advertise on VJ period. This is not something I have hidden. You can post your link and I will check my dates. If it is after the cut off date where I talked to pushbrk then I am very interested to see it. It means they ignored me if so. If it was the occasion where I warned them then yes I was aware and I did talk to them and gave them notice that they can not do this or they will be suspended or banned. I will go track down the exact date and second I gave the first warning and "can never happen again" statement.

You banned Lorelle for the same thing even though her site was nothing like as blatant as this.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=3435819

That is just over a month ago.

It's just hard to believe that with the history here you would be OK with a non-attorney member here doing 'consulting' with a guarantee if 'we are unable to obtain a visa for your fiance(e) or spouse after filing all possible appeals'.

Now to be fair, I haven't researched who owns that domain or whether or not they have an attorney on staff but I'm sure someone has. Haven't they???

Yes this was the event that led up to the report to me about them posting against the TOS. As I said many posts ago. First I give a warning to them (see above date stamp of Nov 3rd). Next I told them another case of advertising like that would result in a ban. Since then there has been no violation that I am aware of. I do not research outside of VJ their business. I have no method or ability. There is no affiliation with them or special insight I have. Anyhow, again your post above was from before they were warned (a direct result of the post) and no violations have happened since. I will remove that link from that post (I should have already and clearly missed it) right now.

[meauxna 15]

RJ can confirm this: pushbrk did violate the TOS regarding this. I talked at length with both people about this. I specifically asked them about this. I confirmed this. I told pushbrk that they may NOT advertise on VJ period. This is not something I have hidden. You can post your link and I will check my dates. If it is after the cut off date where I talked to pushbrk then I am very interested to see it. It means they ignored me if so. If it was the occasion where I warned them then yes I was aware and I did talk to them and gave them notice that they can not do this or they will be suspended or banned. I will go track down the exact date and second I gave the first warning and "can never happen again" statement.

You banned Lorelle for the same thing even though her site was nothing like as blatant as this.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=3435819

That is just over a month ago.

It's just hard to believe that with the history here you would be OK with a non-attorney member here doing 'consulting' with a guarantee if 'we are unable to obtain a visa for your fiance(e) or spouse after filing all possible appeals'.

Now to be fair, I haven't researched who owns that domain or whether or not they have an attorney on staff but I'm sure someone has. Haven't they???

Yes this was the event that led up to the report to me about them posting against the TOS. As I said many posts ago. First I give a warning to them (see above date stamp of Nov 3rd). Next I told them another case of advertising like that would result in a ban. Since then there has been no violation that I am aware of. I do not research outside of VJ their business. I have no method or ability. There is no affiliation with them or special insight I have. Anyhow, again your post above was from before they were warned (a direct result of the post) and no violations have happened since. I will remove that link from that post (I should have already and clearly missed it) right now.

November 23, 2009

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=3513446

If you think that is not advertising his site, I disagree.

Researching these things is not difficult.. 'no method or ability'. Google 'whois' and take your choice. Find the links with google + your search term (the link) + site:visajourney.com

ETA: or just ban the domain, like you did for ...

Edited November 29, 2009 by Captain Ewok
edited to remove link. please do not bypass filters for the sake of bypassing filters. your point was made.

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

It is an anonymous domain registration thank you. I also inspected the html code on their site. I do know a little. Ultimately simply asking the person resulted in the best answer. Also I have banned the domain. Thanks.

[mox 298]

A graph shows moderation is actually better than it used to be. Yes, mistakes have been made by people who are conceptually human beings except in a much vaguer and nebulous sense, but moderating is hard work goshdarnit. The management wants you to know that all of your concerns are taken seriously and we value your input. And management will continue to value your input each and every time this topic comes up. Which is, let's say, Thursdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays.

Seriously, what's the problem here people?

[Captain Ewok 1,891]

RJ can confirm this: pushbrk did violate the TOS regarding this. I talked at length with both people about this. I specifically asked them about this. I confirmed this. I told pushbrk that they may NOT advertise on VJ period. This is not something I have hidden. You can post your link and I will check my dates. If it is after the cut off date where I talked to pushbrk then I am very interested to see it. It means they ignored me if so. If it was the occasion where I warned them then yes I was aware and I did talk to them and gave them notice that they can not do this or they will be suspended or banned. I will go track down the exact date and second I gave the first warning and "can never happen again" statement.

You banned Lorelle for the same thing even though her site was nothing like as blatant as this.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=3435819

That is just over a month ago.

It's just hard to believe that with the history here you would be OK with a non-attorney member here doing 'consulting' with a guarantee if 'we are unable to obtain a visa for your fiance(e) or spouse after filing all possible appeals'.

Now to be fair, I haven't researched who owns that domain or whether or not they have an attorney on staff but I'm sure someone has. Haven't they???

Yes this was the event that led up to the report to me about them posting against the TOS. As I said many posts ago. First I give a warning to them (see above date stamp of Nov 3rd). Next I told them another case of advertising like that would result in a ban. Since then there has been no violation that I am aware of. I do not research outside of VJ their business. I have no method or ability. There is no affiliation with them or special insight I have. Anyhow, again your post above was from before they were warned (a direct result of the post) and no violations have happened since. I will remove that link from that post (I should have already and clearly missed it) right now.

November 23, 2009

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=3513446

If you think that is not advertising his site, I disagree.

Researching these things is not difficult.. 'no method or ability'. Google 'whois' and take your choice. Find the links with google + your search term (the link) + site:visajourney.com

ETA: or just ban the domain, like you did for ...

Thank you for linking to this. This does violate the warning as given prior. Action will be taken per the prior warning. I am not going to make a hoop-la over this but your point is valid.

[rebeccajo 14]

Captain -

While you are at it, it might not hurt to check for Alt ID's.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Captain -

While you are at it, it might not hurt to check for Alt ID's.

You think?