Play Book Tag discussion
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Goodreads has DISABLED ALL OUTSIDE LINKS
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You can still post links but you just have to remove the http://www.washingtonpost.com/
I panicked the other day when I couldn't get the links to our spreadsheets to post and contacted GR who gave me that helpful tip!
I actually haven't tried, but let's see if you can still do the html link as well, with the same caveat of dropping the http://WaPo
Nicole R wrote: "I actually haven't tried, but let's see if you can still do the html link as well, with the same caveat of dropping the http://WaPo"
Apparently not. That part is annoying.
Nicole R wrote: "You can still post links but you just have to remove the http://..."
I just tried to link to a book page on amazon w/o the https opening in another group. It would NOT accept it. I got the read banner of death instead.
ALSO ... when I hit the "reply" and your original link was visible in the italics, I also got the red banner of death. Had to remove it to post this.
Absolutely no notice from GR about this change (or the previous one where they cut off shortened links) or the change to message settings!
Nicole R wrote: "You can still post links but you just have to remove the http://I can't get it to work with or without http - I keep getting the message - For the safety of our members, links to other sites are not allowed in comments. Please edit your comment and try again.
Theoretically, this means in future we couldn't have a link to a site like the mileage one for Fly the Skies!
I have submitted complaints about both issues, but I doubt GR cares.
That happened to me last night when I wanted to post a link to a blog about Armistice Day books. I mentioned it in the Oct. tag comments. GRRRR. spammers and trolls are ruining it!
Dang! I should have come here before FINALLY giving feedback on BETA.$#!%#!@ %@*&( $!^@#^#%^ !
Well, I was still able to post a photo!!!!!! But not a site--I also got the read banner of death.
I've tried signing out and signing back in again ... on both Firefox and Google Chrome.Same result - Red banner of death.
Makes no difference - for me at least - if I use the "htt...." coding before the 3Ws or not. ... Still get the red banner of death.
Hmmm, I wonder why it works for me. I’m not complaining though!
You can post outside html address as is but you can't pretty it up as link (html code no longer works).hope that makes sense...
I cannot post an outside link no matter how I try. The message I got back from the Goodreads team is that "It's to protect the safety of our members."
Totally unresponsive to my query.
I can't post outside links by any method, I even tried to link to Amazon, which you would think they would like. I am a Mod in 2 groups and this is a big problem!I got the following response, no acknowledgment of my explanation as to why we need outside links:
Thanks for writing in. We take the responsibility of protecting our customers’ security seriously, and we have disabled links to external sites from appearing in user comments after detecting a suspicious pattern of comment activity from some accounts. As we only allow links that redirect to Goodreads, we recommend editing your original comment and trying to post it again.
We'll provide updates directly on Goodreads Help on the status of this issue.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to let me know. I can also recommend visiting Goodreads Help, where you can find answers to many commonly asked questions.
I can't post outside links by any method, I even tried to link to Amazon, which you would think they would like. I am a Mod in 2 groups and this is a big problem!Here's the response I got on the user setting issue - again nothing about the underlying issue, like mods needing to send info -
Thanks for writing in! The default setting to receive private messages is automatically set to just my friends. You can change this by hovering over your profile picture in the header and clicking on Account Settings in the drop-down menu. Navigate to your Settings tab and scroll down to Who Can Send Me Private Messages to edit your private message preferences.
I hope this helps. Please feel free to visit Goodreads Help for answers to other commonly asked questions.
I cannot post links at all in any fashion.
aah... interestingly, I can't do it in any form on Chrome but I can paste outside html address in full in IE - maybe check your different platforms?
Did not allow in Chrome for me. Others had problem in Safari. When next on my computer will try the other browser there...Edge? Whatever it is in Windows 10. I don't use it ever because rarely works properly with NYC sites I need to frequent for work related forms, docs, statutes, etc.
I've tried both Google Chrome and Firefox.I find it interesting that the GR team response is that they've disabled the external links, and YET ... many users are still able to use external links.
S*I*G*H
I've just tried it using it Microsoft Edge ... Still get the red banner of death.
Here's the LONG message I sent back to the GR staffer who sent me the same message Robin reported above: (name of staff)
With all due respect I think your team has NO IDEA how the groups work or how moderators use external links. This is a vital and necessary tool in many challenges.
Check out the posts in
Seasonal reading Challenge:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... (where we ask for librarians to correct GR book pages, based on links to other sites for corroborating evidence)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... (where a link to a website listing all the characters of a TV show is vital to the challenge task)
Or
Play Book Tag:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... (where there is a link to our survey, which allows multiple answers, which GR polls do not)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... (again, a link to a google docs site as well as to a "distance calculator" required for the game we are playing this year)
These are just a couple of examples.
In addition, we serious readers frequently point our friends in conversation to other sites for articles in newspapers or journals or blogs or youtube videos or on-line merchandise related to reading and books and art and culture. I was about to alert my friends to the fact that I'll be interviewing author Maria Amparao Escandon for her new book L.A. Weather next week in a virtual author event hosted by my local indie bookseller, Boswell Book Company. (website inserted here, which I could do in an email but cannot do here in the post)
But I can't do that now because I can't include the link.
So, because Goodreads is totally unable to stop spammers you are punishing the millions of legitimate Goodreads users who have relied on these tools to support and encourage one another.
I am beginning to seriously doubt that anyone on the GR team actually reads or uses the site!
Your decisions to implement these measures are NOT keeping me safe. I keep safe by not clicking on dubious sites. I know which people to trust and if my friend wants to link to a particular site I know I can click on it without fear. If I get a random message with a link, from a person I don't know I know to just ignore it. Trust your members to have some intelligence!
As for the decision to automatically change every users privacy preference to "friends only" .... the LEAST you could have done was announce it. I found out about it only because other astute users noticed the anomaly and reported it, and the news has spread through group chats. However, there are still many members who probably use the site less frequently than I do who are completely in the dark about this change. How much better it would have been to send a blanket announcement to all users reminding them of their ability to change their privacy settings to limit the personal message they might receive from random strangers. Rather than treat all of us like children who don't know any better and automatically change our settings without so much as notifying us "for your protection." This completely hamstrings group moderators who rely on being able to send out blast messages to entire groups regarding news of new challenges, activity, polls in their groups, or notify individual members of winning a prize, or counseling potentially troublesome members we do not want to call out in public. Some of these groups have tens of thousands of members, and it's unreasonably to expect that moderators will want to add all of them to our friends list so that we can send out group messages. Has the GR team even considered a two-tiered messaging system? One that allows group moderators to send out a message to all group members regardless of the member's privacy settings ... and by the way, wouldn't require the member to further prove their membership by entering a password again for a "private message" that really isn't all that private.
Totally disgusted,
So I can't figure out what the deal is, because everyone is having a different thing happen.I'm trying again.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0191WS0CM/...
Another one, somebody was talking about this, maybe Nancy Jhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_BqQ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_BqQEZQOJw
The more I think about this, the more I realize that IT security is important for our safety, and we need goodreads to get the job done. I can handle some inconvenience in my communications about books. I can't handle the risk of identity theft or financial loss at the beginning of my retirement. Some spam and links can introduce harmful viruses or intrusions that could be damaging to:
our privacy,
our data,
our credit scores,
our money,
our reputations,
or our physical safety.
I've been thinking about how sudden this seems to be. If we knew that one of our members was harmed we would be SCREAMING for them to do something about it. Maybe something big happened to some of the millions of goodreads members that we don't personally know. Maybe there was a big intrusion, or serious harm, and they're getting screamed at, sued, investigated, etc. Maybe they're being hit with a tsumami of data poring in or out, and they're working like hell to shut down as many openings as they can to figure it all out. Or maybe there is a new leader driving changes that were long needed.
I was outraged a couple years ago when I realized how easy it was for a stranger to get my email address here, and I'm grateful that they fixed it (at least I think they did).
I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they're doing something to protect us. I know this is frustrating but we can find other ways to get stuff done. Goodreads has millions of users and if only 1 % are harmed, that's a lot of people. We would expect them to act to protect us.
Booknblues wrote: "Another one, somebody was talking about this, maybe Nancy J"
Cool! Thanks for this.
The Second link in message 28 worked! (Though when i copied it, I got the red message).
Yellowstone was referenced in Once There Were Wolves, and Joy recommended a non-fiction book that covers a bigger part of the story. Look for her review of Once there were wolves. We need wolves and other predators in the ecosystem to protect forests. (Any imbalance - such as too many deer, or a new invasive species, - can harm an eco system. And our food supply, the environment, etc.
NancyJ wrote: "The more I think about this, the more I realize that IT security is important for our safety, and we need goodreads to get the job done. I can handle some inconvenience in my communications about b..."This is very generous of you and I actually wish some other sites did more to protect us. But in this case, it’s kind of like doing surgery with a sledgehammer. It might make the site safer but fundamentally changes it. I suppose GR could say that the site was never intended for games or links, just for people to track and review books.
I don’t remember If I already posted this here, or in one of my other groups, but I can’t help having the cynical thought that GR doesn’t want us to link to any competing sites that might sell books or talk about books.
Doesn't Amazon own GR? I thought I read that somewhere. And that Amazon acquired GR only in last 2 or 3 years.Given the prominence of Amazon and Kindle links and related advertising, plus the doubling in the size of the advertising banner above all mastheads just in last week, I am pretty sure Amazon has an interest in GR and how it functions to make them money.
Given how dreadful Amazon's site for managing Kindle ebooks is, I suspect the same team has been givrn GR to update and fix and reboot....which to me explains how poorly it is done.
Amazon purchased GR in 2013. I could not post link to any of the articles I found from solid journalistic sources...red message of doom...like the Atlantic. Cost: $150M.
"Goodreads gives Jeff Bezos & Co. a direct line into their thoughts and habits."
Article goes on to discuss how Amazon can mine GR for data and promote to book 'superfans'.
Need to keep all that in mind. I know being a lawyer has made me cynical, but no way does Amazon care how we all use and enjoy GR except to extent it sends money their way.
NOTE: Should you go looking for articles be careful to remember the recent articles mentioning Storygraph as well are PR for Storygraph.
To Nancy's point, on Aug 9th Time Magazine had an article "How Extortion Schemes and Review Bombing Trolls Turned Goodreads Into Many Authors' Worst Nightmare. Could not post link unfortunately, but worth checking. Time gives a certain number of free reads. What was described as happening is bad. But it also mentions how the necessity of strong reviews on Amazon and GR laid a fertile foundation for the blackmail attempts.
We also cannot post a link to the HELP pages where any issue has been discussed / resolved ..... because HELP is no long in-house with Goodreads but an external site!One of my groups tries to track bugs / issues to alert moderators so we can be aware of what's going on, and we used to frequently include a link to the relevant HELP site discussion pages. Can't do that anymore.
Robin's statement that it's like doing surgery with a sledgehammer seems about right.
By the way ... we won't be able to provide the link for any future zoom sessions, either.
@ Nancy ... you raise some good points, and I fully understand your reasoning. The problem is that GR did this with no warning whatsoever. They have been "beta-testing" the new book page for months. And have made some changes in response to feedback.
Could they not have done the same in re group moderators and understanding how we function before implementing this change ... which doesn't seem to be across the board in any case, because some people CAN still post links while other cannot.
And then one GR staffer told Nicole R how to get around the ban, which worked for her but not for others of us.
It's just a huge mess.
And if they care about driving sales to amazon .... pissing off a good number of the loyal frequent users of this site so that they just give up and go elsewhere isn't going to drive business to amazon. I'm even more adamant now about NOT buying from them than I have been before.
For Zoom calls, we will have to have people RSVP and make sure they are set up for messages from us. We don't know if messages can include links? If not, we will have to ask for everyone's personal email, which might put some people off.GR doesn't realize that it is the groups that keep some of us (me!) on this site for hours a day (where I guess we might see ads). I was on the original GR for at least a year before I realized it had some ads. The ads then were for books, movies based on books, etc. so they didn't bother me at all. Now I see adds for beauty products, car products, whatever, I actually don't pay attention to them.
Without the games, challenges, links to interesting articles, etc. I would just get on to add in a new book or mark one read, pretty dull. I don't review books for the general GR public, can't see the point, but I do it for groups.
The trouble is there is no alternate site. I can't stand the idea of trying to do a group like this on Facebook!
You will not be able to add a link to a private message. Anyone who is interested in participating in our zoom calls will have to send me their private email address.
I've updated the PBT Zoom Meeting PART TWO directions post to indicate this.
I suppose we could post a website like this, writing in the word "dot" or other parts of itwww (dot) Amazon (dot) com
What a pain though
Hm, I can. First I tried a group where I am a moderator to see if that was it, but I was able to get the same link to work here. I deleted the other one. I was able to post a Youtube one as well, but not fancy, just with a cut and paste. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G84i... A little Canadian humour.
Actually for Zoom, all you need to do is give everyone the meeting ID and Password -- they can access through the app which most probably have downloaded at this point or through the Zoom website. Even before I had an account, I had the app to join meetings more easily and quickly.
But it really sucks that I have not been able to share a couple of interesting links ....
Book Concierge wrote: "By the way ... we won't be able to provide the link for any future zoom sessions, either...."
Ugh! My Virtual Silent Book Club (that I've mentioned here a few times) used to use Events - which GR recently got rid of. The workaround was to post the links in a message. It's been working.
Hmmm, I wonder if they haven't noticed anything yet, though? They have been posting links this week, but maybe they were posted just early enough?
It seems that this great disabling has been rather piecemeal. Some people can still post links (see Karin's post # 40 above), others get the red banner of death. I reported this inconsistency to the staffer who responded to me yesterday. Her answer today was "Thank you for those examples. I'll pass this along to the team that is working on this issue. In the meantime, feel free to go to GOODREADS HELP (which I can't duplicate the link here because it's an external site!!!)."
So apparently , the person who answered me isn't even a person working on the issue!
AND ... When I clicked on the HELP page she directed me to, it was just the announcement that also appears in the red banner of death. No "help" at all.
For anyone in the Moderator Support Group, there is a thread discussing the settings change for messages here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I agree with Robin, that it should still be easy to share link information, but just don't try to make them true hyperlinks. Inserting a few strategic spaces (but no other changes) will disable the link, but we can do some minor repairs in our browser, or a word file. Here is Amy's link to the voting form.
htt ps://docs.g oogle.com /forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf40nMzDJGgdUkU4ShrIocA3JuVnJKB7c3Owtt1ayQ2z0eZHg/viewform
I inserted 3 spaces, which separated the line. If you put it all together, see if it works.
Theresa wrote: "Amazon purchased GR in 2013. I could not post link to any of the articles I found from solid journalistic sources...red message of doom...like the Atlantic. Cost: $150M.
"Goodreads gives Jeff Be..."
I've long had a love hate attitude towards Amazon. I use it but I hate that it's ruining small businesses, and I hate that between Google and Amazon, I have very little true privacy. (I was somehow able to resist facebook's evil hold, or maybe I just think I did.)
Theresa can you share the link to the atlantic article with a couple of blank spaces to prevent it from trying to create a hyperlink?
NancyJ wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Amazon purchased GR in 2013. I could not post link to any of the articles I found from solid journalistic sources...red message of doom...like the Atlantic. Cost: $150M.
"Goodrea..."
No. Adding spaces or any of the ways that deactivate it as an actual link still got me the Red Banner of Doom.
I have not had time to experiment further.
The inconsistency with which this new policy is implemented is really driving me crazy!
*** It seems to be fixed for now** For example
https://bookriot.com
of course no announcement of this, or response to those who had sent multiple complaints, such as BC. Just found out from Moderator Group.
Hmmmm let's see ... just a couple 3 hours ago, i still could not.https://barnard.edu/magazine/summer-2...
By george it worked!
Now they have ... without any notice ... disabled the ability to add ANY external links.
Please contact Goodreads directly at:
https://www.goodreads.com/about/conta...
to voice your objection / concerns to this change.