Nvidia viral marketing with AEG exposed !!! *UPDATED* *Poll Added*

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Creig
Wow, just when I thought Rollo couldn't say anything more that would surprise me, he lays out this....

Originally posted by: Rollo on HardForum

Originally posted by: Sephiros on HardForum
Hey rollo, off-topic, but are you really leaving AT?

Yes, I am leaving AT due to the lack of moderation there now.

http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1029007151&postcount=15


Now he's blaming the AnandTech Moderators for the situation he's in!! He has absolutely no sense of self-responsibility.

Unreal, man... Just unreal.

Are you daft? Go look at the last thread Rollo made, benching his 7800GTX512. Sickbeast, Morph, and another dude who's name I couldn't care enough to pronounce correctly went into FULL attack mode without provocation. They just don't understand that what they are doing is just as bad, if not worse than what they accuse Rollo of. And you don't either apparently. Daft is an understatement. I'm telling you all right now, the reason the mods are letting things ride right now is they are going to do a major house cleaning. So, I can kiss my account goodbye, so can you Creig, Morph, Sickbeast, Munky, Apoppin, CrazyDingo, Wreckage, Beggerking, 5150Joker, Rollo, and any other adversarial poster in this forum. We can all just say goodbye now. We are done, and frankly, I'm glad of it.

 

[Greenman]

A couple light sabers and a robot would make this a great story....

 

[Stoneburner]

Originally posted by: Zebo

Originally posted by: schtuga

Originally posted by: Creig

Originally posted by: NYHoustonman
Anandtech was quick to ban people who expressed the theory that Rollo was in AEG... and yet they're taking a week to figure out what to do with Rollo himself? What exactly are they discussing that takes this long?

I honestly have no idea. I would have thought that deliberately circumventing the forums Terms Of Service pertaining to advertising would have been enough to get him permanently banned. Even moreso when you consider all the trouble he's caused during his time here.

Possibly the AnandTech lawyers have gotten involved and are currently preparing to send Rollo, AEG and nVidia a bill for the four years worth of advertising that Rollo delivered. I also wouldn't be at all surprised to see ATI file a lawsuit for damages against all three.

Finally,a lawyer.

Which ,state/federal/county laws have been broken?

This is something no one has stated.I am curious about this.

And what exactly would the legal "damages" be?

Just wondering,and how would they put a $ figure on it?

And since this stuff is kinda new going through the courts,are there any similar cases
the courts have refer to,or is this lawsuit going to cost millions while they determine whether laws have been broken and how to put a figure on the damages.

Glad this has been brought up,seeing as it hasn't really been touched upon yet.

As a matter a fact ATI could sue him for "torturous interference"- look it up. Besides you can sue anyone for anything if you want to make an example out of them and hit them where it hurts as it clogs it's way though the court; but torturous interference is where they actually may have a case.

Here is a simple rule of bidness. Try to stay out of the courts as much as possible. The only people who make money are the lawyers. Anandtech going after these guys + nvidia would be a terrible decision.

Just the opposite. These big companies employ top-flight lawyers to go after the competition, protect thier IP, and snuff out the little guy with a zeal that can only be discribed as loving the courts. You're thinking "simple" alright, about mom and pop shops on a relative shoestring who can ill afford to work cases though the courts. Like Anandtech. Think bigger. Like ATi

When was the last successful tortious interference with contract case?

 

[dug777]

:shakes his head sadly;

 

[Creig]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Are you daft? Go look at the last thread Rollo made, benching his 7800GTX512. Sickbeast, Morph, and another dude who's name I couldn't care enough to pronounce correctly went into FULL attack mode without provocation. They just don't understand that what they are doing is just as bad, if not worse than what they accuse Rollo of. And you don't either apparently. Daft is an understatement. I'm telling you all right now, the reason the mods are letting things ride right now is they are going to do a major house cleaning. So, I can kiss my account goodbye, so can you Creig, Morph, Sickbeast, Munky, Apoppin, CrazyDingo, Wreckage, Beggerking, 5150Joker, Rollo, and any other adversarial poster in this forum. We can all just say goodbye now. We are done, and frankly, I'm glad of it.

I like how you lump me in with Wreckage and Beggarking, as if my posting style were just as aggressive as theirs. My posts in this thread (and most others) are usually very restrained. And as to Rollo's 7800GTX512 thread, well, I haven't been in there so am unable to comment about it.

I think the quote from Rollo in my sig pretty much sums up his attitude towards fellow members. So if he's now getting back what he's given out over the past four years, don't expect too much sympathy from me.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Stoneburner

Originally posted by: Zebo

Originally posted by: schtuga

Originally posted by: Creig

Originally posted by: NYHoustonman
Anandtech was quick to ban people who expressed the theory that Rollo was in AEG... and yet they're taking a week to figure out what to do with Rollo himself? What exactly are they discussing that takes this long?

I honestly have no idea. I would have thought that deliberately circumventing the forums Terms Of Service pertaining to advertising would have been enough to get him permanently banned. Even moreso when you consider all the trouble he's caused during his time here.

Possibly the AnandTech lawyers have gotten involved and are currently preparing to send Rollo, AEG and nVidia a bill for the four years worth of advertising that Rollo delivered. I also wouldn't be at all surprised to see ATI file a lawsuit for damages against all three.

Finally,a lawyer.

Which ,state/federal/county laws have been broken?

This is something no one has stated.I am curious about this.

And what exactly would the legal "damages" be?

Just wondering,and how would they put a $ figure on it?

And since this stuff is kinda new going through the courts,are there any similar cases
the courts have refer to,or is this lawsuit going to cost millions while they determine whether laws have been broken and how to put a figure on the damages.

Glad this has been brought up,seeing as it hasn't really been touched upon yet.

As a matter a fact ATI could sue him for "torturous interference"- look it up. Besides you can sue anyone for anything if you want to make an example out of them and hit them where it hurts as it clogs it's way though the court; but torturous interference is where they actually may have a case.

Here is a simple rule of bidness. Try to stay out of the courts as much as possible. The only people who make money are the lawyers. Anandtech going after these guys + nvidia would be a terrible decision.

Just the opposite. These big companies employ top-flight lawyers to go after the competition, protect thier IP, and snuff out the little guy with a zeal that can only be discribed as loving the courts. You're thinking "simple" alright, about mom and pop shops on a relative shoestring who can ill afford to work cases though the courts. Like Anandtech. Think bigger. Like ATi

When was the last successful tortious interference with contract case?

Is this a trick question? Today? Google news is your friend

 

[BFG10K]

This was posted in the locked 7800GTX512 thread but it was so ridiculous I had to respond.

Originally posted by: M0RPH

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Originally posted by: M0RPH
Question for all the Nvidia owners. How do you feel about paying for Rollo's video cards?

I don't pay for Rollo's video cards, I pay for mine.

Who do you think ends up paying for Rollo's free cards? The costs get passed on down to the consumer... that's you and every one else here who buys Nvidia.

This is rather ridiculous reasoning don't you think? You purchase petroleum based products with origins from the Middle East don't you? If so how do you feel about paying for Bin Laden's war effort?

 

[DidlySquat]

the lesson is that what goes around comes around

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
I'm telling you all right now, the reason the mods are letting things ride right now is they are going to do a major house cleaning. So, I can kiss my account goodbye, so can you Creig, Morph, Sickbeast, Munky, Apoppin, CrazyDingo, Wreckage, Beggerking, 5150Joker, Rollo, and any other adversarial poster in this forum. We can all just say goodbye now. We are done, and frankly, I'm glad of it.

i don't think so . . . at least no perma-bans except perhaps for Rollo.

you are absolutely correct in saying that the flaming is way out of hand . . . just don't forget what it is response to. So, i believe the Video posters will be allowed to lose their identities in this "mob collective" and still return to "normal" after the crisis is over.

What we need to do NOW is figure out a way to come together again as a community [we use to be . . . long time back] and state our preferences without flaming each other.

there are two choices:

accepting Rollo back or not is a decision that would have to be made first . . . and i am not sure it is even up to us. Do you think it is realistic that he be allowed to post anymore?

i think the following got glossed over and should be considered:

Originally posted by: jrphoenix

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
Ok now that I have vented on the issue, I thought it would be time to bring a reasonable solution to the forums.

1) Rollo needs to apoligize, publicly to everyone in the forum about his deceit in regards to being a part of AEG.

2) AT should give him a custom title of (AEG Marketer) with a link that explains what it is and who they are affiliated with.

3) He should no longer be giving advice to people. He should stick to the facts and keep his paid opinion out of this.

4) Everyone can forgive Rollo for his trespass if he does apoligize. That does not mean we will trust him, but it means that we can give him a clean slate as a person.

After all, remember Rollo didn't have to admit that he was a part of AEG and could have kept his deceit up. I give him credit for actually admitting it. Though I believe it should have been a seperate post with an explanation and an apoligy addressed to the forum.

I would add a #5. That bullet should be for Rollo to stay he must disclose any AEG members on the AT forums to AT mods so that they can give those users the AEG monicker (and anytime a new one joins, Rollo must divulge).

Can everyone "forgive" Rollo?

for me, it would take all of the above points fulfilled and a very lengthy probation. . . .

i am not sure some of you could stand to be on the same forum with him anymore . . .

could you?

 

[DidlySquat]

^^ I tend to agree if he does all the above then we can allow him to stay

 

[Creig]

I disagree. Go back through the archives and look at how, after being warned by the Moderators about his behavior, he would promise to become the new "polite and contrite" Rollo only to revert back to his usual abusive self once the heat was off.

He's proven himself to be untrustworthy in this respect and it is in the best interests of the forum to simply get rid of him once and for all so that there's no chance of a repeat. Otherwise I guarantee we'll be right back where we are now.

It's happened before, it'll happen again.

 

[DeathReborn]

Originally posted by: apoppin
i don't think so . . . at least no perma-bans except perhaps for Rollo.

you are absolutely correct in saying that the flaming is way out of hand . . . just don't forget what it is response to. So, i believe the Video posters will be allowed to lose their identities in this "mob collective" and still return to "normal" after the crisis is over.

I'm sorry but there is no justification for personal attacks, flames or ignorant trolling by anyone. To think there is just shows how poor peoples judgement is in here. A lot of the flamers/trolls in this thread and hte GTX512 bench thread should be hit with just as severe a punisment as Rollo gets if not more so. AT Mods cannot set a precedent for allowing this kind of behaviour to happen again.



ps: If anyone tells me to remove the support for Rollo from my sig, they can forget it. It's my personal choice and i'm entitled to it.

 

[Kaeishiwaza]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003


Are you daft? Go look at the last thread Rollo made, benching his 7800GTX512. Sickbeast, Morph, and another dude who's name I couldn't care enough to pronounce correctly went into FULL attack mode without provocation.

Kae - ishi - waza. Not so hard. really.

I posted clearly and concisely why I responded to Rollo's thread. I believed (and still do) that him posting NVidia benchmarks is inappropriate without him making the strong caveat that he's on NVidia's payroll. No, I'm not a mod and no it's not my responsibility to police the forums. But in this case, I felt his actions have been so outrageous and deceptive that I had no trouble adding my voice to the chorus.

Agree or disagree, I stated my peace, never said anything personally insulting and left it at that. If you have a problem with me, send me an IM.

And my name is NOT that hard to pronounce. . .

 

[Greenman]

Does anyone here think we have any say in the matter at all? The system is set up to to keep us away from the forum mods, we don't know who they are so we can't ask them questions, or find out whats going on. The only contact we really have is when we see a thread get locked and we wonder why. As far as a method of running a forum goes, it's the second worst way there is imo. But since I don't pay the bills, I wouldn't expect anyone to really care how I think it should be done. It works well enough, but don't kid yourself into thinking we have some say about Rollo, the mods will do as they please and we might or might not get any reason as to why.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: Kaeishiwaza

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003


Are you daft? Go look at the last thread Rollo made, benching his 7800GTX512. Sickbeast, Morph, and another dude who's name I couldn't care enough to pronounce correctly went into FULL attack mode without provocation.

Kae - ishi - waza. Not so hard. really.

I posted clearly and concisely why I responded to Rollo's thread. I believed (and still do) that him posting NVidia benchmarks is inappropriate without him making the strong caveat that he's on NVidia's payroll. No, I'm not a mod and no it's not my responsibility to police the forums. But in this case, I felt his actions have been so outrageous and deceptive that I had no trouble adding my voice to the chorus.

Agree or disagree, I stated my peace, never said anything personally insulting and left it at that. If you have a problem with me, send me an IM.

And my name is NOT that hard to pronounce. . .

Your alter-ego isn't as catchy as mine.

That said, I do agree with you, and I essentially did the same thing as you (with a little more "gusto" perhaps).

If Rollo has finally smelled the roses and realized that his low credibility has reached absolute zero, more power to him.

He will hopefully be able to weed out his selfish and sociopathic tendencies.

He had a blatent and reckless disregard for his fellow forum members all in the name of making money for himself and his favourite company.

As for my lack of "provocation", what would you think of a self-admitted theif wandering into YOUR jewellery store that YOU OWN, keysplayr? Would you treat him with suspiscion? Or would you just turn a blind eye while he robs you to pieces?

For the record I believe Rollo will be back.

He has made statements like this in the past IIRC. It's all a publicity stunt. He's just looking for a good reason to return.

 

[JonnyBlaze]

Why in the world is everyone upset? Rollo got free cards for talking about them on a forum? Is that it?

 

[5150Joker]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
This was posted in the locked 7800GTX512 thread but it was so ridiculous I had to respond.

Originally posted by: M0RPH

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Originally posted by: M0RPH
Question for all the Nvidia owners. How do you feel about paying for Rollo's video cards?

I don't pay for Rollo's video cards, I pay for mine.

Who do you think ends up paying for Rollo's free cards? The costs get passed on down to the consumer... that's you and every one else here who buys Nvidia.

This is rather ridiculous reasoning don't you think? You purchase petroleum based products with origins from the Middle East don't you? If so how do you feel about paying for Bin Laden's war effort?

BFG, you make the most retarded analogies I've ever seen--not that I'm surprised, after all you admitted to not possessing the intelligence to replace a stock HSF on a vid card which even a monkey could do. But I digress, wtf does a terrorist that receives no financing from the mid east have to do with Rollo? Morph was right on the money, by encouraging rich little kids on this and other forums to buy nVidia and then befriending people here to defend him and help spread the nV marketing propaganda, Rollo was rewarded by AEG for doing a good job and given multiple SLI cards + 512 GTX. Before you reply with your usual half-wit antics, read over what I wrote at least five times to fully comprehend what I just told you since I know you're a bit slow.

 

[L00PY]

I'd like to point out that Rollo leaving is neither the solution we wanted nor does it solve the underlying problem. As it stands, AEG and other marketing firms like them are still apparently welcome to secretly join in. They might be providing useful information, they might be lying about the competition, they might be starting flame wars -- we don't know and their actions are apparently still being condoned by the lack of a position by the mods. There's a world of difference between a fanboy who does that out of a misguided love of a company and a shill who's been paid to behave that way. At least with the fanboy, a brief vacation, gentle (or not so gentle) prodding, or even just growing up might cure him of his behavior. With the paid shill, he'll just revert to his actions, hop onto another proxy / spoof his IP, and rejoin -- because that's what he's being paid to do. That's the problem with AEG and their actions.

I for one would rather see Rollo contributing in a positive fashion, but with his "AEG label" in his sig. The would have to be some sort of apology, recompensation, or something from AEG though. They were the ones who chose to break the rules and advertise in the forums.

Rollo behaved poorly. NVidia did a stupid thing hiring AEG. And AEG deserves all the backlash they get due to their attempt at viral marketing here. Rollo voluntarily choosing to stay away only partial addresses the first. Why haven't we heard anything about the mods addressing the other two?

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Creig
Wow, just when I thought Rollo couldn't say anything more that would surprise me, he lays out this....

Originally posted by: Rollo on HardForum

Originally posted by: Sephiros on HardForum
Hey rollo, off-topic, but are you really leaving AT?

Yes, I am leaving AT due to the lack of moderation there now.

http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1029007151&postcount=15


Now he's blaming the AnandTech Moderators for the situation he's in!! He has absolutely no sense of self-responsibility.

Unreal, man... Just unreal.

Are you daft? Go look at the last thread Rollo made, benching his 7800GTX512. Sickbeast, Morph, and another dude who's name I couldn't care enough to pronounce correctly went into FULL attack mode without provocation. They just don't understand that what they are doing is just as bad, if not worse than what they accuse Rollo of. And you don't either apparently. Daft is an understatement. I'm telling you all right now, the reason the mods are letting things ride right now is they are going to do a major house cleaning. So, I can kiss my account goodbye, so can you Creig, Morph, Sickbeast, Munky, Apoppin, CrazyDingo, Wreckage, Beggerking, 5150Joker, Rollo, and any other adversarial poster in this forum. We can all just say goodbye now. We are done, and frankly, I'm glad of it.

Just like you followed Rollo into this forum, then into every thread he ever created only to parrot him, I can't say I'm surprised to see you follow him out.

I guess it takes 3+ years for some people to realize the inevitable. We don't want paid marketing agents here. It's nothing personal.

If I get banned for standing up for what I think is right, then so be it. My conscience is clear. I highly doubt you and Rollo can say the same. I would rather sacrifice myself for the greater good of this forum than to stand idly by as so many are doing. I remember what this place was like 4 years ago and I sincerely hope and believe it will return to that state one day. If it is without me posting here, I hope you all enjoy it and learn as much from it as I did.

I credit this place with the job I landed as an IT guy in a mid-sized office. At the very least the forums here brought me that much. If the mods don't want to give me the chance to give something back, then that's their decision. I will respect whatever decision they arrive at. They have been patient and respectful towards me throughout my time here.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: L00PY
I'd like to point out that Rollo leaving is neither the solution we wanted nor does it solve the underlying problem. As it stands, AEG and other marketing firms like them are still apparently welcome to secretly join in. They might be providing useful information, they might be lying about the competition, they might be starting flame wars -- we don't know and their actions are apparently still being condoned by the lack of a position by the mods. There's a world of difference between a fanboy who does that out of a misguided love of a company and a shill who's been paid to behave that way. At least with the fanboy, a brief vacation, gentle (or not so gentle) prodding, or even just growing up might cure him of his behavior. With the paid shill, he'll just revert to his actions, hop onto another proxy / spoof his IP, and rejoin -- because that's what he's being paid to do. That's the problem with AEG and their actions.

I for one would rather see Rollo contributing in a positive fashion, but with his "AEG label" in his sig. The would have to be some sort of apology, recompensation, or something from AEG though. They were the ones who chose to break the rules and advertise in the forums.

Rollo behaved poorly. NVidia did a stupid thing hiring AEG. And AEG deserves all the backlash they get due to their attempt at viral marketing here. Rollo voluntarily choosing to stay away only partial addresses the first. Why haven't we heard anything about the mods addressing the other two?

Thats not what AEG does... read the posts by the people in the program "coming out". This is all blown way out of proportion, the only reason the backlash is so large here at AT is because Rollo was a target for many to begin with.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: 5150Joker

Originally posted by: BFG10K
This was posted in the locked 7800GTX512 thread but it was so ridiculous I had to respond.

Originally posted by: M0RPH

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Originally posted by: M0RPH
Question for all the Nvidia owners. How do you feel about paying for Rollo's video cards?

I don't pay for Rollo's video cards, I pay for mine.

Who do you think ends up paying for Rollo's free cards? The costs get passed on down to the consumer... that's you and every one else here who buys Nvidia.

This is rather ridiculous reasoning don't you think? You purchase petroleum based products with origins from the Middle East don't you? If so how do you feel about paying for Bin Laden's war effort?

BFG, you make the most retarded analogies I've ever seen--not that I'm surprised, after all you admitted to not possessing the intelligence to replace a stock HSF on a vid card which even a monkey could do. But I digress, wtf does a terrorist that receives no financing from the mid east have to do with Rollo? Morph was right on the money, by encouraging rich little kids on this and other forums to buy nVidia and then befriending people here to defend him and help spread the nV marketing propaganda, Rollo was rewarded by AEG for doing a good job and given multiple SLI cards + 512 GTX. Before you reply with your usual half-wit antics, read over what I wrote at least five times to fully comprehend what I just told you since I know you're a bit slow.

Again, that isnt even close to how the system works.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze
Why in the world is everyone upset? Rollo got free cards for talking about them on a forum? Is that it?

No, that is far from IT. If you read some of the older threads I linked to earlier and how Rollo pushes his own agenda while inciting flamewars, you'd know exactly why people are upset. For example, comments like:

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: Creig
So does Nvidia have any plans to update the NV40/NV45 with the PVP functions of the NV41? Or are they going to continue to produce the defective version until they discontinue the cores?

What do you care? Will that help your 9500non pro? Your Radeon 1? Your GF256? At least I actually own one of the cards in question and have some reason to care about this?

And that's just one example. Some of those threads are full of his BS like this.

 

[SickBeast]

I do have one more thing I would like to add to this thread: An apology to Rollo.

I apologized sincerely to keysplayr in another thread, and I wish to do the same for Rollo here.

Rollo, I'm sorry that things have come to this for you.

I might as well leave it unequivocal. If I hurt your feelings, I hope that you can take this apology as being genuine.

 

[RiDE]

Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze
Why in the world is everyone upset? Rollo got free cards for talking about them on a forum? Is that it?

Hey welcome to the drama club.

 

[L00PY]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
Thats not what AEG does... read the posts by the people in the program "coming out". This is all blown way out of proportion, the only reason the backlash is so large here at AT is because Rollo was a target for many to begin with.

I've read through the posts. It's my understanding that AEG is a marketing firm. To try and create buzz about their clients' products, they have hired people to talk about those products on forums. There have been some rumours about how many user accounts they needed to create or how many frequently they needed to post, but those are just rumours. In any case, the idea is that by having someone "in the community" create a positive spin on a product, other fans will pick up on that and tell other fans. That's the idea behind viral marketing, "iinfect" your target with your message and then get them to spread it among themselves.

If I've gotten that wrong, feel free to correct me.

Paid shills should not be welcome in these forums because: 1) they're being paid to post, and 2) they're shills. Payment, whether it's in goods, services, or cash, is still payment. If I'm not mistaken, there are laws regarding advertising on TV and for product placement to protect the consumer. You've got those Coke cups in front of the judges in American Idol because Coca-cola has paid for their placement and they're listed as a sponsor. AEG coming on board here to hawk NVidia wares is like that streaker paints a website on his back and runs on the field during a major sporting event. Or like the clowns holding up advertising signs from the audience during live shows. They only benefit their client, they're the only ones that get paid, and while some in the audience may get some entertainment out of it, the majority lose out and the people running the show (or website) lose out too.

Now if the mods or Anand were to say come forward and say they were aware of AEG's presence, from the start that'd be a different matter too.

[edit] Since I do like Anandtech and the forums, I feel I should say that I have no reason to believe that last bit is true. And while I have no information one way or the other, I believe and hope it's not. And I don't think silence helps the issue any. I was just using it as a more general example. Substitute in the Pabster and THG if you like (though there's really no comparison of course). [/edit]