Cheating on Product Hunt, should we upvote such products?

Question

Let's be honest: the problem of cheating during the launch exists. As far as I can see, the Product Hunt team is now actively fighting bots and cheating. Thanks!

My friends also said that they lost their first place at the launch after their competitors "unexpectedly" received hundreds of votes at the last moment.

Should the community support such products, or should we not vote for teams that use bots? What do you think?

Andrey Bozhjev · Accepted Answer

I'm sorry your friends are facing this situation. I hope they have written to support and the PH team is helping to sort out the situation.

I would be upset if I found out that the team of a project I supported was promoting their launch in bad faith. I would also be upset if my project was bypassed by unscrupulous teams during the launch.

I hope that PH and the community will work out some solution to this situation.

Answer

As an active member of the Product Hunt community, I completely understand your concern about cheating during the launch. It's unfortunate that some teams resort to using bots to gain an unfair advantage.

In my opinion, the Product Hunt community should not support such products. Upvoting a product that has used bots goes against the principles of fairness and authenticity that Product Hunt stands for. Instead, we should focus on supporting genuine, high-quality products that have been developed with integrity.

To further address this issue, I recommend that Product Hunt continues to actively fight against cheating by implementing stricter measures to identify and penalize those who engage in such practices. Additionally, it would be helpful if there were clear guidelines and policies in place that explicitly state the consequences for cheating.

I would love to hear from others in the community on this topic. Have you encountered any instances of cheating on Product Hunt? How do you think we can collectively discourage such behavior and maintain a level playing field for everyone?

Olena Bomko · Answer

I know people who do this. They published a list of their customers on LinkedIn 🤯

Nick Anisimov · Answer

@olenabomko I think you should send this information to technical support as soon as possible. These results must be annulled.

Nick Anisimov · Answer

@andrey_bozhjev Technical support helped my friends, thanks to them. But how many teams didn't know what to do about it? I also really expect that the fight against cheating will be intensified.

Andrey Bozhjev · Answer

@nickanisimov Fair question. I hope teams are reading our discussions here and can learn about scams, opportunities to counter them.

Answer

The issue of cheating on Product Hunt is definitely a concern, and it's great to see that the Product Hunt team is taking steps to combat it. It's unfortunate to hear that your friends lost their first place due to competitors using bots.

Personally, I believe that the community should not support products that use bots or engage in cheating tactics. Voting for these products would not only undermine the integrity of the platform but also discourage genuine makers who have worked hard to create something valuable.

Instead, I think we should encourage fair play and support products that are genuinely innovative and deserving of recognition. It would be great to hear from others in the community about their thoughts on this issue and if anyone has experienced similar situations.

Do you have any suggestions on how the Product Hunt team can further strengthen their measures against cheating? and see how we can collectively tackle this challenge together!

Answer

I support fair use, there shouldn't be any power for bots for voting on products!

Nick Anisimov · Answer

@jimmy_roger Thank you for your comment. I completely agree. Moreover, there are free public tools on which obvious cheating is visible. I hope that the toughest measures will be taken against such teams, and not just take away some of the votes.

Nick Anisimov · Answer

@mary_wellz I think that the community should definitely not support cheating and not vote for such products, this is the first step.

Nermin Zejnilovic · Answer

@olenabomko @nickanisimov So, they are transparent about this?

I will check Fiverr now for this service, if its real.

Nermin Zejnilovic · Answer

@candi_forbes @nickanisimov Agreed!

Nick Anisimov · Answer

@candi_forbes fully agree!

Cheating on Product Hunt, should we upvote such products?

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