BackerClub Forums

So, I have banned from sending messages or making comments for a week, because apparently some creator I sent a message to (very few) reported it to kickstarter. I guess some prefer to muddle through on their own...

Oh wow that stinks. I've added my links to my Kickstarter profile. Hope that doesn't get me in trouble.

All of the projects I've recommended to BackerClub have been rejected so I'm not as likely to recommend directly anymore. Which is why I put links in my profile instead.

The worst is that I have a number of projects ending over the next week, and can't comment or message creators Most of the creators have been very happy to have experienced backers on their project, apparently I picked one wrong.

Ugh on projects ending and not being able to talk to the creators. Look at their profiles & contact them through website emails or on FB?

Yeah most creators have appreciated when I give them advice. A few don't respond or say thanks, don't do anything, and I don't contact them again. A number of creators contact me asking for advice after seeing the number of projects I've backed asking for advice. You just never know how someone is going to react.

I just received this:
numbat1
Feb 27, 21:05

Hi there,

We're writing to let you know that your account is under review for sending a high volume of messages in a short time period. Your account has not been deleted. You can still log in, but until we hear back you won’t be able to do things like back projects, leave comments, or send messages.

Sending a lot of messages very quickly is activity that’s usually associated with spamming which is a violation of our Community Guidelines and the Rule of Conduct in our Terms of Use:

http://www.kickstarter.com/help/community
http://www.kickstarter.com/terms-of-use

We take spam really seriously on Kickstarter and have systems in place to make sure our users are protected from it. If your account was flagged in error please reply to this message letting us know and we will review your account.

I have already responded to them and hopefully will have it cleared up soon however I think it likely that nothing will happen until tomorrow at earliest.

Katrina

Ugh on the message and suspended thing. Guess we need to be careful on sharing the link to become a BackerClub project huh?

What the heck. That doesn't sound cool. They could simply look at your messages and see if you are a spammer. Plus being on BC should mean you have to comment a lot as you back a lot of projects.

Sorry you have to deal with this unfortunate situation.

Isreal

We do have to be careful about how we share BackerClub with creators. I know it's exciting that we can now get backerbucks. But you should build up a bit of a relationship before recommending a creator submit their project and also consider whether their project looks like a good fit - is it like other projects which have been accepted.

Technically dropping a link to BackerClub to a creator without building up some relationship can be considered spam under Kickstarter guidelines as I understand them. If they ask for it then it's no problem but if you drop it to them out of the blue it could be. I'm not saying anyone did this. But I've seen this happen on other groups/social media where their policies were worded similarly.

Hopefully Monday I will have some return communication from Kickstarter. I have my doubts though I will try to ascertain what the magic number of messages is so this doesn't happen again and so others can avoid it. Likely they won't want to share as they won't want that to leak to true spammers.

Note to self: don't message a lot on a Friday or you may be stuck through the weekend!

Perhaps I should just stop backing quite so much. I have messaged with many projects before and would normally continue to do so. My inbox these days is filled with updates and messages from Kickstarter projects so it would help both my time budget and monetary budget if I were to cut down. Unfortunately I just keep finding more great projects I'd like to support.

Katrina

Hi Katrina,

I'm really sorry to hear this happened. What a pain, especially on the weekend! That's kind of sad that a creator got offended when you were trying to help them.

I agree with Tasha that if you don't have a relationship or any previous communication with a creator it might be best not to message them through Kickstarter, but I have to say I'm surprised by Kickstarter's response. When I'm communicating with with creators I often try to develop a relationship with them first on Twitter or somewhere else outside of Kickstarter. I am usually pretty eager to help them promote their campaign on social media regardless of if they have an interest in sharing their project on BackerClub and that seems to go a long way in terms of building good will.

Hope they get things straightened out on Monday!

Mark - Co-Founder