I have faith in MyLot ... do you?
@owlwings (43910)
Cambridge, England
February 12, 2009 10:48am CST
Around the middle and end of January many people will be aware that there was some very strange and malicious activity going on. One or more people were masquerading as other users by opening accounts with very similar names and using those people's avatars. They were also threatening people that their accounts would be closed and, sure enough, shortly after, those accounts were closed.
I was one of those who had my account closed (twice), I believe, by this trollish activity. Many of us had various theories about what was going on and why it appeared that MyLot were closing accounts for no apparent reason. None of the theories that I heard of were, in fact, correct and the MyLot system was never hacked into, to the best of my belief. All that the trolls could do (though that was disturbing enough) was to close accounts in such a way that, to MyLot's database managers, it looked exactly as though those accounts had been closed by the users themselves.
I won't go into details about how I think this was done but I am fairly certain now that it involved some clever software of the kind used by criminals to decode information on a credit card.
Like many other victims of this attack, when I found that my account had been deactivated, I contacted MyLot several times asking why and expressing concern that a number of people, like myself, appeared to have been 'banned' for no apparent reason. Yesterday I found that my account had been restored and I immediately wrote to say thanks and wouldn't it be nice if I could be credited with the amount I had lost because of the deactivation. I also asked that they might give consideration to similar cases.
Well, today, with the earnings updates, I found that I had been credited with exactly the amount that I had lost on this account because of the troll's activities, so I want to publicly thank MyLot for restoring order so that others know that MyLot are entirely honourable and, though they are not big on communication, they do listen to reasonable requests and take action!
What good experiences do you have to relate?
17 people like this
31 responses
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
12 Feb 09
Hi there Owl!
There has been so many negative things being said and going on too recently that I am so pleased to read something positive 
Whatever is/was happening I am confident that myLot will get to the bottom of it and sort it out and the honest members will not suffer for it. You confirm my thoughts.
I too went through a 'storm' and preferred to plod on and put it down to history. I am a great believer in honesty winning above all in the end and I am sure that myLot is honest towards its honest members I hope to that any accounts that went through unjustified problems will all be returned to their previous state in good time. I am sure all will be sorted because, although at times it may not appear to be the case, MyLot puts its honest members first!
Whatever is/was happening I am confident that myLot will get to the bottom of it and sort it out and the honest members will not suffer for it. You confirm my thoughts.
I too went through a 'storm' and preferred to plod on and put it down to history. I am a great believer in honesty winning above all in the end and I am sure that myLot is honest towards its honest members I hope to that any accounts that went through unjustified problems will all be returned to their previous state in good time. I am sure all will be sorted because, although at times it may not appear to be the case, MyLot puts its honest members first!6 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Feb 09
I would like to believe that MyLot is honest and fair with all members. I believe that they try very hard not to exercise favouritism and that they deal with members strictly on their merits.
I think that if a wrong has been done (and they are aware of it) they will try to put it right. They don't (as they say in the Terms and FAQs) enter into disputes between members but they do listen to complaints or problems that users have with the service.
Their policy on 'communication' seems to be that 'actions speak louder than words' and that, where action is seen to be taken, it is not necessary to send a message to say so. That is something that many people find hard to come to terms with, sometimes: we are so used to having automatic responses from 'Customer Services' and sometimes carefully phrased non-committal replies that when a company decides that, because of the time and expense involved in answering queries, a policy of minimal communication makes for an organisation that runs better and more efficiently, we sometimes take it as a snub.
6 people like this
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
12 Feb 09
Less communication would also mean less expense I presume so I can understand that too. No point in paying someone to respond telling you things are being done when cash is short.
My reference concerning honest members was such because I have seen many users start discussions asking why their accounts were closed. I agree that myot is fair to all but I also believe that honest members are dealt with first. Those closed due to violations know why theirs are no longer active and I presume would be dealt with at the end of the day (or week or month depending on the workload).
6 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Feb 09
I think you're right in what you say. Of course, those who start discussions asking why their accounts have been closed are in breach of the rules because we are told not to 'start discussions on individual issues [we] are having with myLot.'
Incidentally, (though it hadn't occurred to me before) that wording would also apply to discussions such as 'How do I ... (change my avatar/put banners in my profile/see who my referrals are/request payout)'. All of those are dealt with somewhere in the documentation, of course. Even though they do become a little tiresome, I usually try to answer politely and have never reported any under that rule!
6 people like this
@dorypanda (1601)
•
12 Feb 09
It's a shame about the "trolls", but it's wonderful that MyLot have responded in such a way.
I'm afraid I can't think of any good experiences just now, but if I remember any, I'll let you know. :)
4 people like this
@dorypanda (1601)
•
12 Feb 09
I've been very busy with my college work, it's getting a bit intense because I finish it in June, so I need to get all my coursework and case studies sorted, so I haven't really had much time to get on here recently. Hopefully after I've finished the course I'll be on a bit more.
As for the Fairy one, she's doing ok, she's not feeling to bad now, her leg's in a lighter plaster, she's happy because it's a blue one, she's so easily pleased. :) Hopefully her leg will be completely healed in a few weeks, but I'm not sure how much longer she needs the plaster on for. She still can't manage to get up stairs so is still living in Mums front room, Mr.Rie is living there too at the moment, so they're not too bad and she's getting a lot of attention, which she seems to enjoy. :) Thank you for asking.
3 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Feb 09
Dory, you are perhaps in P1key's enviable position of lying low amongst the weeds and not darting about like a mad thing and so weren't affected. I hope that if you ever have a problem with MyLot, you'll remember that they can be (and are) a good and fair bunch.
Haven't heard much from you lately (maybe you have just been lurking). How is our Fairy hobbling these days?
5 people like this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
12 Feb 09
That is very good news. Now I hope that myLot takes steps to ensure this type of thing ends.
4 people like this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
12 Feb 09
I'm pleased to see you back on your usual perch hooting away Owlwings. I have no gripes with myLot. They've always been fine with me. I do regret seeing so many folk disappear though. Onwards and upwards. "Can grave and formal pass for wise, When Men the solemn Owl despise?" (Ben Franklin)
4 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Feb 09
I think that you were lucky not to have been involved, Sir Fish. The trolls seemed to like to pick on established members but perhaps, especially, on those that they thought had picked on them/him (it is still not entirely clear whether there was one or more).
I expect that you know that many of those that 'disappeared' returned quite quickly with new names. Sadly, a few thought it not worth the hassle - perhaps some of those thought that they had been wrongly accused and decided that there were better things to do with their time.
Benjamin Franklin has a number of apposite quotations:
"A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats."
"In rivers and bad governments, the lightest things swim at the top" (and we all know where the Pikefish swimmeth)
5 people like this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
12 Feb 09
Kind of restores my faith in mankind. Said somewhat tongue in cheek, but seriously I am glad to hear that myLot took care of it. Wonder who else we will see popping back up!
Good experiences with the Admin here? Well they did have the courtesy to tell me why my "moronchat" discussion was deleted seeing as it wasn't an obvious guideline violation.
4 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Feb 09
I think that MyLot will listen to anyone who makes their case reasonably and with proper evidence. The whole incident has shaken some people's faith (which is why I felt it necessary to post this discussion in the first place).
Those who don't ask, may not get. MyLot are not, I believe, able to tell (from their end) who was deleted illegally and who might have deleted their own accounts legally. It is important for those who may have been deleted by troll action to contact MyLot. If you are in contact with any, Dawn, please let them know.
3 people like this
@nannacroc (4049)
•
12 Feb 09
Welcome back. Well done to the MyLot team for sorting this out.
I'm just having a good year so far, I hope it continues.
Hugs to you.
@34momma (13882)
• United States
13 Feb 09
Let me start by saying hello there stranger! how have you b een doing? good to see you. I can only speak for myself when i say i have never had a problem here on mylot with anyone. of course there are times when some of us don't agree on things, but that's life. I have never came across any issues with trolls or someone being mean or nasty. Mylot has been a great way for me to get advice, meet people, and know that i can always come here for a really good laugh. I wish now that everything is getting it's self straighten out, we can all have the same fun loving time here
@skysuccess (8858)
• Singapore
13 Feb 09
owlings,
It is really interesting that you have brought this subject up and I just have a few questions here which I hope will give me a clearer picture than what I have gathered so far.
Banned Accounts
I believe that accounts which are banned would be deemed that there is a severe infringement and/or default from the member in question. Here is where I do not understand. Do you mean to say that the account was being hacked and accessed by certain devious members? And upon gaining access, purposely posted to incur a ban?
I do not know about you, but I really have my doubts as to why a hacker would really want to take that trouble to do such a insignificant mischief and trouble. Also, whatever happened to being safe with one's passwords and upkeeping of security softwares to protect one's system?
In this case, I do not think the administrators here would ever entertain and consider the reinstatement of the account. Would they?
Account Withdrawal
This is a voluntary action on the part of individual member and reinstatement would be possible. However, I am in doubt if the culprit would ever have the means and intention to be able to gain access to the account. Furthermore, this is a really minor mischief and I just wonder their rationale over this painstaking effort.
No offense, but I just feel or rather do not believe that the accounts had been compromised and illegally accessed. I just felt that there is some manipulations on the reputation system and reporting function. If I am not wrong there is a gang up of certain members that are working together as some mini moderators who will attack certain member's start and response of discussions.
So, in this light of things I would feel that the sudden removal of members to be the more logical explanation here. Hence, I hope that the relevant administrators here will look at this angle in their investigative works to catch these cyber bullies and trolls. At the same time, I am hoping that they will try and upgrade their monitoring software to arrest these culprits.
Just my $0.02 worth.
Cheers.
@sriramraj (86)
• India
19 Jun 10
hi Owlwings. I was really interested with your discussion. My twin brother ksrpaniraj lost account on 15 th of june this month because mylot has mistakenly thought that my name sriramraj and ksrpaniraj are same and that I am using two accounts. I was shocked to see on the day. I received my payment and my brother account had 150$ in his account.
I was shocked when i received warning mail from mylot. I asked mylot regarding this and i could not have any reply from mylot admin. I am asking again and again from their contact us page, but there is no way i can contact mylot admin. There is no phone number or mail through which we can contact mylot. How can we express them that I and my brother are different.
This is ridiculous because many of mylot friends who joined mylot with my brother who are my brothers friends know both of us. I am really expecting my brother account to be reinstated but it is already four days and I nor my brother could receive any response. Can you suggest what to do as there was 150$ in my brother account and his account was just closed on the payment day.
@leenie50 (3992)
• United States
12 Feb 09
Hello OWl,
Thank you for not giving up and making sure you straightened this mess out. We have many wonderful friends here that I would be devastated to lose, including you. I believe that the Mylot powers do the best job possible. The maliciouse behavior that has been sweeping through our Mylot Community is not only hard on us but hard on those trying to prevent and restore. I'm so appreciative just to see my friends again. Welcome back my friend. Hugssssss
leenie
3 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Feb 09
Hi, Leenie. I don't give up easily and nor do many others. People who do these kinds of things are very small minded, even if they are clever and cunning. They will never, in the end, get the better of all the good in the world.
Huggggggggggs back (hehe).
4 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Feb 09
BTW ... *I* didn't straighten the mess out. Lots of people did (and mostly MyLot, of course, since they are the only ones who can do that). I do hope that what I said will mean that others' concerns will be considered ... but if you, or anyone you know, has a problem which is due to this trolling, it's important to let MyLot know because otherwise they really can't tell who deleted their account legally and who was deleted illegally.
4 people like this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
12 Feb 09
I was not aware of most of what you have related. I did miss you though and wondered what had happened to you. I am so sorry that you had to go through this experience but am glad that Mylot was honourable and did the right thing by you. This is reassuring. I am happy that your account was reactivated. Let us hope too that this does not happen again. Blessings
2 people like this
@wonttakelong (3555)
• United States
13 Feb 09
woohoo thats awesome!
I am happy for you
I must admit that my faith in this place was shakey for a bit
but since they seemed to have pulled their heads out of their butts my faith has been restored a little
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
13 Feb 09
My impression is that they found it hard to know what was happening. From their end, the deletion of accounts would very likely have looked legitimate, though the activity was certainly abnormal.
Of course, the trolls achieved their objective by causing a lot of users (including me) to feel angry at and let down by MyLot and to wonder what was going on. That was one reason why I wanted to post this discussion.
I would encourage anyone who felt that their account was unjustifiably removed (and, perhaps, lost earnings), to query the matter with MyLot. I believe that they will do their best to sort it out.
4 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
13 Feb 09
It is probably worth your while shooting off a message to them asking if they would confirm whether your account was closed by them or not and, if so, would they please reopen it.
An account may legitimately be set to 'inactive' either by the user himself or by MyLot. If it was MyLot's decision, then they will know about it, if neither you nor MyLot deactivated the account, then it was done by someone else (as happened in my case and a number of others). Naturally, when my account was closed, I sent them a message to ask why, since I didn't feel that I had offended the Terms or Guidelines (at least, not sufficiently to warrant a ban!)
The problem, I believe, is that, from their end it looked as though users were closing their accounts themselves. Now that they are aware of the situation, I think that they will certainly investigate any request to have an account reopened and will do so if it seems to have been a malicious attack.
4 people like this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
13 Feb 09
Hoorah! owlwings!!! So happy for you mate. I love myLot and the only beef I have with them is their lack of communication. I'm sure they get inundated with idiots messaging them with piffling grievances and queries...just take a look at some of the inane responses to Crash's posts. I have cringed at some of the accusations hurled at them, so I can readily understand in part some of their failure to communicate. There has never been a doubt in my mind that they have always acted ethically and will continue to do so.
@jimbomuso (950)
•
13 Feb 09
welcome back owlwings!
I do miss your avatar of Archemedies from 'Sword in the stone'. I kinda badmouth Mylot, but usually it's about the system itself like stars(not going there). It's good to know that there is someone at the wheel who gives a damn and has a sense of fairness.
t'wit t'woo you're back and its cool!
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
13 Feb 09
I don't know what happened to Archimedes, to be honest. One day a while back I logged in to find he had disappeared. This was, of course, before I lost my account - but there were trolls about. I can't be sure but it is possible that I was reported for using 'copyright material'. Now that I have designed and made my own badge, it is © Owlwings and nobody should be able to complain!
3 people like this
@wonttakelong (3555)
• United States
13 Feb 09
you mean there is someone AWAKE at the wheel? LOL
1 person likes this
@littleowl (7157)
•
12 Feb 09
Hello owlwings, that is brilliant! I have always had faith in Mylot and the team though communication is poor, they have always seemed just and fair to me also honest with their pay I have had no reason to doubt them, but also to thank them myself for the gift of meeting some really lovely mylotters too and having their friendship in real life cos without Mylot that would never of happened either...littleowl
2 people like this
@ddfreedie (690)
• India
13 Feb 09
this site was recommended by my friend...so i never lost faith in mylot...
2 people like this
@malou17 (270)
• Philippines
13 Feb 09
i can only say 'welcome back' again in mylot...i'm just a newbie here but i dont experienced anything bad...the only thing is i cannot post banner on my site here..haha...well as of my earnings i got a pretty good earnings...and for the people here...well there are very welcoming person...i like the environment here and many more..
thumbs up for mylot... we hop for more improvements to come!!!
