Fakes, Begging & Cheating

These are just my thoughts and observation on the subject. We've lost some good friends because of these things and it's not the first time.
There has to be a solution to the problem. The fake profiles may not be so obvious if you don't look at the profile close. There are some that have stock type pictures like those released by manufactures and magazines or I've seen pages where all the pictures seem to be from the same show or event. I don't assume that they are all fake, but I have to consider that they are. If they have multiple pictures taken at different locations or pictures of the vehicle in different stages of upgrades it's a pretty safe bet they're real profiles. My advice if you think it's a fake delete them from your friends list. Once the fake profiles are found they should be deleted by THEautolog and if they know which member made the fake profile boot them too. The cheating to win profile of the month, year or regular challenges should not be a problem once the fakes are gone. I have, myself, added a couple of pages on THEautolog of cars I do not own, BUT I was asked to set them up for friends who have less computer knowledge than me (if that's possible). The pages were turned over to my friends who do own the cars and are now under their control and not mine. One Way to cut down is to have members use email addresses from their INTERNET providers only and stop accepting member requests from people who use email only providers. It's possible to have hundreds of email addresses for fake profiles, but you are limited to a lesser number from your service provider. This isn't a fix all, but it could help some.
I personally don't have or see a problem with members having cars on their page that they used to own or that are owned by family or boy/girlfriend as long as they note it on all pictures of that car or truck. I do think that accepting challenges for a vehicle you don't own or that you no longer have shouldn't be allowed.
The posting by members begging for votes for anything on THEautolog should be banned. If you need to beg for votes, maybe you don't deserve to win. Also remember a lot of people don't even read what the challenge is for, they just vote for the vehicle they like. My opinion is read any challenge you get and if you don't think it's fair, turn it down. The challenges are supposed to be fun and not a major competition. I know everyone wants to win all the challenges they enter, but that is not to likely to happen.
I don't think all problems are going to be fixed overnight and that there needs to be changes made to help stamp out fakes and to stop cheaters. We all have ideas and I hope THEautolog will look into some of the serious ones that have been posted in the bulletin section.

Dan Smokegray89

Hope you don't mind my commenting on this post, but I don't have a internet provider e-mail address. I use the internet at my boyfriend's house and at the basement apartment I rent. I don't buy the internet and therefore don't get an e-mail address from either place. It would make it hard for some people to gain access. I'm not saying some kind of verification is a bad thing (though for myself, I was really happy with how easy it was for me to add my car), but.... *shrug* Just my two cents. Hope you don't mind (if you do, you can delete it, right?).

I don't mind at all. I can see how it could effect some people. It's always good to have input to see if something would work or not. There is really no way to verify if a profile is fake or not. There are pictures all over the net that would make any fake hard to spot. It all comes down to nothing more than a guess on each profile unless you know the owner of the vehicle personally. It's a little easier if you have pictures from multiple places and if you've done upgrades, before and after pictures.

I guess it really comes down to the whole trust thing. And I'm grateful for all the people who trusted me to be honest. It was nice to not be sitting in the corner. I'm one of those people who doesn't usually just jump right in, so I wait and watch, but having those people make the first move made this place seem a lot more inviting. And what I really like about it is the way people are willing to work together. It's kind of sad that there are people who are managing to screw that up.

The more members the more drama. There is no way to fix everything, but you try to make everything as fair and fun as possible. I tend to give everyone the benefit of doubt. I usually send a friend request, but when they come in too fast I know I miss some.