Is Neowin under attack from a Viral Marketing firm?

[Japlabot]

I have noticed that there have been a lot of comments on the Neowin news articles vehemently supporting Windows 8, while in the Forums there seems to be some optimism about the platform, but not to the same degree as the News comments and the arguments seem to be fairly balanced for/against arguments rather than just blind support (eg: "I bet you are wrong."... but no justification for it).

Upon further inspection, I've noticed that most of these users that are doing this, have 1 post or very low post counts, but none of their posts come up in search because they have all been made in News articles, none of their posts were made on the Forums, so it obscures their background (as Neowin's search engine doesn't cover news comments).

I have a strong suspicion that the reason for this pattern is because Neowin is being attacked by a Viral Marketing firm with a pro-Windows 8 agenda.

Could the Neowin admins please investigate this and see if there are any patterns regarding their IP address, browser, comment history etc. to see if this is the case?

[Shane Nokes]

I have noticed that there have been a lot of comments on the Neowin news articles vehemently supporting Windows 8, while in the Forums there seems to be some optimism about the platform, but not to the same degree as the News comments and the arguments seem to be fairly balanced for/against arguments rather than just blind support (eg: "I bet you are wrong."... but no justification for it).

Upon further inspection, I've noticed that most of these users that are doing this, have 1 post or very low post counts, but none of their posts come up in search because they have all been made in News articles, none of their posts were made on the Forums, so it obscures their background (as Neowin's search engine doesn't cover news comments).

I have a strong suspicion that the reason for this pattern is because Neowin is being attacked by a Viral Marketing firm with a pro-Windows 8 agenda.

Could the Neowin admins please investigate this and see if there are any patterns regarding their IP address, browser, comment history etc. to see if this is the case?

Logic would suggest that it is because the news page is the homepage, and comments are more likely to be made there than in the forums.

[zeke009]

I post more in the articles than the forums I'd say. I have an intimidating 0.36 post per day average, if anyone wants to throw some viral money my way just let me know.

[zhangm Supervisor]

Gee, now that you mention it, this all makes sense.

I had this notion that the high-profile and imminent releases of several huge Microsoft products including Surface, Office 2013 (RT), Windows 8, and WP8 has drawn considerable interest and perhaps prompted new users to visit NeoWIN and register. But that seems a bit far-fetched now that I think about it.

[moloko]

Its coming out this week. so yeah there will be a ton of news. Wait a week for apple news to fill the feed.

[Elliot B.]

Its coming out this week. so yeah there will be a ton of news. Wait a week for apple news to fill the feed.

He didn't say news, he said comments...

[simplezz]

Shills / Astroturfers are nothing new. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if many are paid posters. As you say, the ratio of front page opinion is disproportionately in favour of Windows 8 compared to the forums.

Just recently on Reddit, posts criticising the Surface's resolution were downrated.

[Shane Ekanayake]

so if ppl like windows 8 or surface itz becoz they ar paid to do so

wow :D

[Alwaysonacoffebreak]

so if ppl like windows 8 or surface itz becoz they ar paid to do so

wow :D

Thats something new right? I was thinking the same exact thing. :D

[bjoswald]

Nah, just another tinfoil hat conspiracy theory. People probably signed up, had a look around, posted once or twice and bailed. Doubt it's anything you'd need to hire a PI for. :rolleyes:

[Shane Ekanayake]

damn microsoft i want my money that u promised if i liked windows 8 :jump:

[greenwizard88]

Well, it's obvious that they're paid posters. One of the world's largest companies couldn't possibly make something that people might like. The horror! ;)

[Krome]

My own personal conspiracy theory do support this post. I do believe a lot of Microsoft employee is being told to falsify a lot of things to gain market share. And I think they use Neowin as their leverage to their market. Heck, Microsoft might be planning to buy Neowin web site for future investment. :ninja:

[HawkMan]

So what about the people with 1-10 posts who's only posts are recent posts, all in the Win8 and Surface news articles comment sections, all talking about how bad it is in some way.

I guess those are just regular people who just want to express their opinion huh ? :rolleyes:

[Xilo]

There isn't equal moderation between Front Page News and the rest of the forums.

Mods tend to unjustly delete anything negative and issue unfair warnings to posts in Front Page News.

This is why you mostly only see supporting comments. Undue censorship. Good job Neowin!

[jakem1]

Shills / Astroturfers are nothing new. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if many are paid posters. As you say, the ratio of front page opinion is disproportionately in favour of Windows 8 compared to the forums.

I don't know. It seems to me that both the forums and the news articles are filled with trolling from the usual haters such as you, the OP, still1, etc. I know you've got an anti-MS agenda to push but you shouldn't assume that nobody is excited about Windows 8.

[HawkMan]

On the flip side, why my haters troll every win8 topic and turn it into an argument?

[~Johnny]

If you honestly think this, PM a moderator or administrator with the names of people you think this about. But I can tell you looking at the logs that I can't see anything suspicious.

Maybe some people just don't care for the forums? That's not that surprising, there are many sites I go on where I only participate with the home news page, and largely ignore their forums. Or maybe you just want to find something, either way :p

[Shane Nokes]

I can tell you right now from personal experience that MS does not go around going that kind of crap.

Rebuttals are open and vocal, not hidden by fake accounts and shills. If someone at MS wants to state you are full of crap they will do so openly.

[+Raze Subscriber²]

It's Hum's 2nd job.... :D

[+Warwagon MVC]

My money is on Dot Matrix. :shiftyninja:

[Joe User]

I think that this should be investigated properly while using a Microsoft Surface with its hip and cool features, and absolutely not on devices by Apple or Google.

Seriously, it's Neowin, at least half the main page articles involve Microsoft.

[+Raze Subscriber²]

And an Apple Genius must perform the investigation...

[ahhell]

Microsoft getting positive buzz on Neowin??

Only explanation is a viral marketing firm.

:rolleyes:

[Glassed Silver]

FPN comments are way less strictly moderated, so the trollbaiting, flamebaiting, hatery etc from both sides is more intense there.

This applies to all controversial news articles by the way, not mocking W8, its fans or anything particular here...

Glassed Silver:mac