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My "Leaving CS" protocol - Request for suggestions.
Hi, everyone.
I am about to start removing/replacing my data in CS.
I would like some feedback on the texts I will be posting around. Basically, some more info that I can attach to the text like videos and articles where the new CS management explains their monetizing intentions with the site.
This is the text I plan to send to all my CS friends and (modified) to all the groups I belong.
Comments are welcomed.
###############
Hello, XXX
How are you? I hope everything is alright on your side :-)
After the latest events in CS I have taken the decision to leave this website as much as possible. It won´t be
totally possible since they currently own our data so at least I´ll do all I can.
As a result, I am currently contacting all the people I have met through CS, explaining them the current situation and encouraging them to move away.
It´s not an easy task. We are all, one way or another, emotionally attached to our profiles. It has taken us years
to build them up, to gather references, vouches and whatnot. We also know a lot of people in CS and we had make a habit out of calling ourselves CSers. The thing is... that´s exactly what the new management is expecting us to feel, hence surrending from taking action.
My personal approach will take me time but I won´t stop. I will:
- Make a PDF printout of my current profile (I can later on link that PDF for further reading)
- Contact all the people who ever left a reference in my profile and request it to be replaced with some complain
about the situation. On the same message I will announce them my next step.
- Replace ALL my references with an explanatory text (Having my PDF I will be able to put them back if things
change for the better)
- Contact all my CS friends and send them this message (Providing my contact data for those who don´t have it and requesting to not be replied to CS but to my email)
- Request all my vouches to be removed.
- Remove all vouches I gave.
- Post this message in all the groups I belong to and leave them.
- Fill my profile with as much information as possible about the new management intentions.
- And never ever log in again (Though I expect that to be a gradual step)
I will therefore replace my reference to you by the text that I you can at the end of this message. Please understand it´s a personal complain towards the new CS direction and not against you. My original reference explained perfectly how I our time together was and I do have a heck of a memory ;-)
If you agree with the general discontent about the situation with CS, I encourage you to do the same as I do and take action. You can take the same steps as me or decide your own, that´s up to you.
If you have vouched for me in the past I also request you to remove the vouch. I would also appreciate if you update your reference towards me accordingly.
CS grew up by our mouth-to-mouth recommendations to other fellow travelers. The new CEO of CS speaks out proudly on how they have never invested a cent in advertisement. It would be just as fair to pay them back with the same token: we speak to all the people we know about the changes and encourage them to move on somewhere else.
The alternatives available out there are:
- www.BeWelcome.org
- .....
If you wish to keep in touch with me in the future, please use the following methods:
- Email, FB, Skype: XXXXX@XXXX.com
- WhatsApp: +34 XXX XXX XXX
This will be the message I will place in my "updated references":
--------------
After CS being sold for profit and the subsequent moves from the new management into turning CS into a money
machine where the community is not even listened to, I have removed my original comment on this user.
I am totally against the new direction of CS and I encourage all the users to move on to some other alternatives.
The new policy of CS includes disregarding its members, ignore their requests, make unnecessary changes to the
website (see the new design) and monetize CS as much as possible.
If you want to see examples of what they are trying to get to just check these infos:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkyMW7S9RWg
-OTHERS-
---------------
Take care.
Cheers,
Jean
PS: I do expect CS management to ban my profile and to remove all my pieces of reivindication. Interestingly
enough, that would simply confirm my point and my arguments.
Nice work. Couple of suggestions:
"It won´t be totally possible since they currently own our data so at least I´ll do all I can."
CS claims they own an irrevocable, perpetual license to your content. This is different from owning your content, and many consider these terms abusive and believe they would not hold up in a court of law.
I would therefore reword the sentence something like this:
"It wont be totally possible since they claim that they retain an irrevocable, perpetual license to our data so at least I´ll do all I can."
Why not keep the couch status on "yes" so that your profile comes up in search results, and link to your BeWelcome profile for any requests?
Hello everyone:
As a little update about what happened I can say that after updating all my references someone in CS decided it was a better idea to silently remove them.
+1 for censorship.
Cheers,
Jean
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Hi.
Good advices. Will follow them.
Cheers,
Jean
PS: Messaging system in CS sucks for quite some time now. I get both group and PMs with lots of delay. For instance I just got yours now.
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Hey Jean! I just checked in here and saw your message and remembered that you sent me my welcome message when I joined over 5 years ago.....
I feel bad now that I didn´t reply to that message, I just assumed it was automatically generated rather than written out by an actual volunteer. Very belatedly, thank you for welcoming me to what was once a great community but sadly no longer is.I share your opinion of what has happened to CS, of course.
Hope to maybe see you one day on BW or elsewhere!
Lucky you, Niall! I wonder if my welcome message almost 6 years ago was also written by an actual volunteer:
"POLYGLOT, welcome to the CouchSurfing Project
POLYGLOT, welcome! We would like to be the first to welcome you to the Project.
Please don't hesitate to contact us at any time with questions and/or comments: http://www.couchsurfing.com/contact.html
PLEASE, REFER YOUR FRIENDS!
http://www.couchsurfing.com/refer.html
Also, please take some time to fill in most fields in the Edit Profile area:
http://www.couchsurfing.com/editprofile.html
If you'd like to search for surfers anywhere in the world, check out:
http://www.couchsurfing.com/surf.html
If you are concerned about privacy, please see your options on this page:
http://www.couchsurfing.com/editprofile.html?edit=privacy
EMAIL: xxx@xxx
USERNAME: POLYGLOT
YOUR PROFILE: http://www.couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=xxxxx
Thanks,
The CouchSurfing Collective in New Zealand
amylin, graphical artist
Casey, Project co-founder
Elsa, house coordinator
Joe, tech wizard
Kasper, techy wiki maniac
Leo, co-founder
Steve, networking liaison"
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hey blues,
i like your style, compelling.
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well jean
good idea, my I adopt your protocol? It will be hard, I hope that it will turn better.
Maria
Hi Jean
It's way too long. Most people won't read through all of it.
Second, you are not linking to the reasons why you are doing this. You link a youtube video, but all I got from it was that CS wants to serve me ads of local car rentals and stuff. I can live with that. And I am in the "We are against..." group! How will someone not in this group understand the reason behind your actions?
This member profile has been deactivated
For hosts, why not set our couch status to 'yes' or 'definately' so that we show up high in couchsearch results and then in our profiles show a link to our be-welcome (or other service) pages and say that people are welcome to surf with us through those places.
That should encourage surfers to switch over.
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Or of course you could also take your happy parts wherever they are even happier instead of whining about others protesting in the group created for that purpose...
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Wow Blues. You really don't get it, do you.
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"since you want to cry about it in such forms as you do. "
One of the most puzzling and comic phenomenon is people who spend their time complaining that other people are complaining. Now I add to the absurdity - though not with the same debit rate - by complaining about the complainer complainers.
"Blues" seems to be of the love it or leave it crowd who thinks there is only one way of reacting and acting.
As to who "owns" CS - no one knows who owns the corporation, not even CS employees. But the corporation doesn't own the communities. A company doesn't own its clientele. You are not the property of Levi Straus because you wear 501 jeans.
You know, Blues Blake is a writer; at least that's what he pretends to be.
Is he a good one?
I don't know!
Anyway, it's a little bit like in this famous Serge Gainsbourg's song called "le poinçonneur des Lilas", where a guy is drilling small holes into subway tickets, all day long...
Whatever happens, our friend Blues Blake has to write. Actually, he is writing little lines everyday...
Right now, he is lost in translation in the middle of Fukuoka. But who knows, one day he may become famous; they may even give him "The Politezer Prize" for his CS chronicles...:D
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le poinçonneur de Lila ahahahahha, I got some french friends who introduced me to Gainsburg, rigolo
maria
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Hi, everyone.
Haven´t had time to reply to this thread.
Per turns,
@Blues Blake: Big mouth, little hands.
@Maria: Definitely. Put it in practice if you wish so; the text was published here for everyone to use.
Thx for taking action :-)
Do let me know how CS reacts on it :-)
@David: Yes, the text was too long. I did shorten it on its last version and took the angle of putting more text in my profile.
You might be able to live with ADs, that´s fine by me if you think that´s acceptable. What´s not acceptable is the way it´s happening and the use of all the data and the community that WE ALL have built up through the years on a VOLUNTEER fashion.
Also, my message wasn´t intended to convince people in this group (aren´t we all already?) but to show another way of action for those who could consider it fit.
@Vince & Maja: Great idea, didn´t cross my mind at all.
The funny thing is I did and guess what... I got 2 totally crappy requests of users who didn´t even bother to read my profile. I had little pearls like "Why do I want to surf your couch:" -> "Because after reading your profile you definitely are the kind of people I have to meet"..... My smilling rictus is still there ever since :-D
@STEPHANEFR: Interesting point, really.
Update about the situation:
After updating my references (one by one, 250+) CS decided to flag them all and hide them.
I claimed and they say they decided to flag ALL of them because someone complained.
Now I don´t know when these people left the nursery but I kinda consider issues between members are first to be solved BETWEEN members.
Also, one complain is hardly a reason to flag all the references, specially when I received 30+ messages of support.
Their excuse is that they wanted to avoid "a flood" of similar requests... as if that ever was going to happen.
It´s a bit like
- "Doc, my finger hurts"
- "No worries, we´ll cut the hand. What the heck, let´s cut the whole arm. I never liked it´s looks anyway."
[size= 13px]And no, they never told me who did complain and why.[/size]
I personally doubt that complain ever existed.
Cheers,
Jean
I wanted to tell YOU in front of Everyone else your Reaction Is stupid and stubborn and lack deeply in trust in Humanity. We are thousands. We are the Power of this website. You are doing unvolutarely what the "owers of the world" want you to do : be scared.
Fuck all this off. It's good you did a bad reaction to us learn from it.
We are all one. We are much stronger than a few people who bought this website. We can all leave it to reach another "CouchSurfing n2". We have the power. We are the poeple and they are nuts. We control everything! It's a matter of wish! And they are scared of it! WAKE UP!
Break your lack in trust in Humanity. Let's be stronger and gather. Stop to frame this good energy from CouchSurfing. Let it go!
STAY here dude!!!
And Humanity doesn't exist*. It just starts to be built. CouchSurfing helps for that. Trust what you lived to know what is Now and to be able to look for a future.
Cheers!
Hi all,
I have done a similar thing - sent an email to all 180 or so of my Couchsurfing friends, and told them the reasons that I am moving to BeWelcome. A few people have created BW profiles because of my email, so I would encourage everyone to do it so that we can build up numbers on BW :-)
See you at BeWelcome!
Hi Lisa.
Nice move. What "they" count on is our unwillingness to do such things.
Take care!
Jean
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