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While most likely not illegal, this feels rather unethical to me. Presumably most of these contests are promoters trying to use the contests as a marketing tool

While most likely not illegal, this feels rather unethical to me. Presumably most of these contests are promoters trying to use the contests as a marketing tool and the prizes as a reward to fans. This bot just aims to take as much as possible.

Mahn 11y ago
I wonder what is Twitter stance on this, as a company. Do they allow it because it's technically speaking not illegal, or do they ban it if they find it because it's questionable at best?
- phlandis 11y ago
  They like bots as long as they aren't too obnoxious as they increase their number of users.
sandworm101 11y ago
I'd rather presume that most of these contests are actually other bots designed to generate buzz to promote events or, more likely, harvest market research data. I have no sympathy for such devices and have no problem watching robots fight over cowboy hats.
- anigbrowl 11y ago
  Wait a minute, your response to other competitors maybe losing out is to critique the operators of the contest? I don't think anyone claimed that the Twitter competitions were operated by true fans who'd be disappointed to have their offerings games, but that true fans might be interested in winning some of the prices, notwithstanding that they are offered as part of a marketing campaign.
  - sandworm101 11y ago
    Yes. I'd stake that the majority of retweets today are in fact bots. See below... "OK. 1 more chance. If no one RTs, replies, or even talks about this tweet, I will donate £15,000 to a charity of your choice. Any questions?" --> 369 retweets, most by suspected bots. https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/324632844829876224 https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/324632844829876224
    - anigbrowl 11y ago
      I'm confused. Did you mean contests (as written) or contestants? I agree that bot vs. bot is nothing to lose sleep over, but I thought we were talking about bots vs. actual human fans who want to win an autographed knick-knack or a pair of tickets to an event or whatever. I'm not big on competitions or surveys, but I occasionally participate in one spontaneously for amusement, and on those occasions where I've won something it's been highly enjoyable. I'm much less inclined to do if I think about mechanized competitor-bots or suchlike, and think that automating such activities is astonishingly selfish.
userbinator 11y ago
On the other hand, his personal information is probably in a ton of marketing databases now, being sold to other companies, and I guess he'll be receiving plenty more "free stuff" in the future due to that.

Mahn 11y ago

I wonder what is Twitter stance on this, as a company. Do they allow it because it's technically speaking not illegal, or do they ban it if they find it because it's questionable at best?

phlandis 11y ago
They like bots as long as they aren't too obnoxious as they increase their number of users.

sandworm101 11y ago

I'd rather presume that most of these contests are actually other bots designed to generate buzz to promote events or, more likely, harvest market research data. I have no sympathy for such devices and have no problem watching robots fight over cowboy hats.

anigbrowl 11y ago
Wait a minute, your response to other competitors maybe losing out is to critique the operators of the contest? I don't think anyone claimed that the Twitter competitions were operated by true fans who'd be disappointed to have their offerings games, but that true fans might be interested in winning some of the prices, notwithstanding that they are offered as part of a marketing campaign.
- sandworm101 11y ago
  Yes. I'd stake that the majority of retweets today are in fact bots. See below... "OK. 1 more chance. If no one RTs, replies, or even talks about this tweet, I will donate £15,000 to a charity of your choice. Any questions?" --> 369 retweets, most by suspected bots. https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/324632844829876224 https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/324632844829876224
  - anigbrowl 11y ago
    I'm confused. Did you mean contests (as written) or contestants? I agree that bot vs. bot is nothing to lose sleep over, but I thought we were talking about bots vs. actual human fans who want to win an autographed knick-knack or a pair of tickets to an event or whatever. I'm not big on competitions or surveys, but I occasionally participate in one spontaneously for amusement, and on those occasions where I've won something it's been highly enjoyable. I'm much less inclined to do if I think about mechanized competitor-bots or suchlike, and think that automating such activities is astonishingly selfish.

userbinator 11y ago

On the other hand, his personal information is probably in a ton of marketing databases now, being sold to other companies, and I guess he'll be receiving plenty more "free stuff" in the future due to that.