Paid Posters and Other annoying people

[Norma 10]

I too have grown tired of the paid posters who come on here to start crap and promote their paycheck with false advertising and misinformation. I have to commend zsflower for at least being honest about who she is. Shirley doesn't do that and hopefully she will be permanently banned for not following this board's protocol. I am not using her screen name but most of you know who she is. I have recently placed three people on my "ignore List" by going under User CP, settings and options. It is funny to look at threads where they have been deleted because only their name appears but not the spiteful things they say. This makes the ability to read threads here on VST so much more pleasant. Others of you might want to block them as well. It does not appear that Alex wants to force employees of doctors to be honest in their postings as that might decrease his personal paycheck. Hopefully, he will change his mind and care more about the safety of the people researching surgery than the kickbacks he receives for allowing paid posters access to us.

[Tiffykins 672]

The only reason I haven't ignored anyone yet is because they at least give me comic relief, and help me realize that I hope I never become a bitter, vindictive person.

Edited September 13, 2009 by Tiffykins

[Bob_350lbs 105]

How can we know who is getting paid to promote their surgeon? I can only tell one poster, by her signature, the patient coordinator. When I was researching surgeons, the best I knew how, on U-tube there are a bunch of video testimonials for this surgeon, and the patients are still doped up from surgery, they may be in the civilian clothes, but you can tell some are still very much under the influence of pain meds. It does provide comic relief, but it almost seems unethical. I wonder how much they got paid for their video testimonial. It just turned me off. But anyway, I know what you mean about "coordinators". It just seems unethical. And, when I see a bunch of phony looking certificates in the background, I just think they look fake and overdone, like they are over compensating. And, their government is so corrupt. That is why my in-laws moved to the states. They were tired of the corruption and poor health care. Regardless of that, I am sure I would have been fine with Dr. Aceves. But, after my divorce, I didn't have anyone to take me to MX.

[Oregondaisy 2,019]

Hope for me, do you think you could use the little button up on top of where you post to make your font a little larger? I love to read all the posts, but when they are really tiny, it's hard on my eyes which will be 57 years old next month. I do wear glasses, but tiny fonts are still very hard to see. It would be much appreciated.

[Jaffa 5]

I quit coming here as much, and quit going to lapbandtalk, just because of this issue. I post a little now, and read some, but to let some of these people stay and continue to post is sickening at best. It makes the good people go away, but frankly you can figure out anything that doesn't seem to make sense by "following the money trail".

[Phoenixrising 0]

I have no idea who is or isn't paid to do what though I have some very strong suspicions. Folks want to extoll the greatness of their surgeons I get that. What I don't get is the need for these folks to say nasty things about other surgeons that are most often not true and/or based on highly questionable facts.

I have said this from the start and will continue to say it. Some surgeons advertise heavily on this and similar other boards. Their ads work and more folks use them so they are promoted on this board by the patients who had great experiences, thus their names get seen more frequently so more folks tend to use them etc.

This is all well and good HOWEVER there are thousands of surgeries being done in many countries everyday by surgeons who do not advertise on these boards. These are highly qualified, experienced, skilled surgeons who, for whatever, choose not to promote their practices/programs in this venue. Because they do not advertise here they are not as "popular" which many folks translate to to mean they are not experienced or skilled.

I personally do not care who had what procedure with which surgeon. I had a great experience with my surgeon and would recommend him in a heartbeat.

As I have posted before "you can argue with me but you can't argue with my results.

[Malaika 50]

I have a very strong suspicion that this is the reason that WASA and Elisabethsew resigned their positions and no longer post on VST - they are strongly against the paid posters - and so now we have lost 2 of the most knowledgeable people we had on our forum - I miss them ALOT!

[Phoenixrising 0]

I have a very strong suspicion that this is the reason that WASA and Elisabethsew resigned their positions and no longer post on VST - they are strongly against the paid posters - and so now we have lost 2 of the most knowledgeable people we had on our forum - I miss them ALOT!

Funny most people thinks Wasa was/is a paid poster. Her posts were often of questionable veracity unless it was about Dr Aceves

[Oregondaisy 2,019]

I asked Dr. Aceves point blank if she was getting paid to do any kind of promoting for him or paid by him or his staff in any way for anything. He laughed and said she is a happy patient but she receives nothing for telling people how happy she is with her surgeon and the hospital he practices out of. I sincerely do not think he would lie. He told me the people who are paid, who are Monica, Nina, Gabby, and Renee. They are the people you talk to when you call the phone number he advertises on this site and lap band talk.

WasA is just like you, Phoenixrising, she is just happy with her surgeon.

[MacMadame 81]

The only people who think WASa is a paid poster are the real paid posters (who don't actually think that -- it's part of their tactics to throw out that accusation) and a few people who use the docs that she doesn't approve of. Many people have met her in real life or talk to her on the phone and she posts all over about her own experiences both with the band and the VSG. This is not how a typical paid poster works.

For those who don't know how to spot them... a paid poster will generally:

-Not have a very flushed out profile, usually no profile picture. [They may have hundreds of accounts they post from and so they don't bother to make them "real".]

-Only post in threads about the doctors they are paid to support (and sometimes threads spawned from those threads).

-Give very few detail about their own surgery or post-op life (usually because they haven't actually had surgery) and/or gets tripped up by inconsistencies in their (most likely made-up) stories.

-Be very aggressive about attacking anyone who doesn't praise their doctor to the skies even if what they say about the doctor is not particularly bad.

-Be quick to accuse anyone who disagrees with them of having ulterior motives of some sort, such as being a paid poster.

Paid posters are different than patient coordinators. A patient coordinator is someone who gets a fee for every patient she refers to a surgeon. They are running a business and so generally will be upfront about who they are. (You can't get business if you have no contact details, use a made-up name, etc.)

However, there are some PCs who will also run fake accounts to make their doctors seem more popular than they really are or to make it seem like a lot of people agree with them. Sometimes they'll slip up and post from a different account than the one they think they are using and you can catch them that way. Or you notice that those other accounts *only* post in threads that the PC is active in.

I have to admit that I was shocked when I first started looking into WLS to realize that some of this stuff goes on. I think it's a field that attracts con artists or people with that sort of personality. After all, it's mostly women who are desparate to lose weight who are looking into WLS. It's a situation ripe for a scam artist to make a lot of dough and then disappear into the night.

[Phoenixrising 0]

I asked Dr. Aceves point blank if she was getting paid to do any kind of promoting for him or paid by him or his staff in any way for anything. He laughed and said she is a happy patient but she receives nothing for telling people how happy she is with her surgeon and the hospital he practices out of. I sincerely do not think he would lie. He told me the people who are paid, who are Monica, Nina, Gabby, and Renee. They are the people you talk to when you call the phone number he advertises on this site and lap band talk.

WasA is just like you, Phoenixrising, she is just happy with her surgeon.

Please do NOT equate me with Wasa. While it is true that we are both happy with our surgeons there are some major differences

1) I have never told an outright lie about another poster and she has repeatedly done this. I know this to be true because I was the one she lied about.

2) I have never posted anything that I could not back up with verifiable sites or information. Wasa has repeatedly posted info and when asked to provide sites or sources she becomes argumentative and hostile

3) I have NEVER accused her of being a paid poster, and in fact, have repeatedly said that I have no proof that she is. She, on the other hand has accused me of being a paid poster for a surgeon I did not even use.

I just found your post somewhat amusing since Wasa is probably the one that most often is believed to be a paid poster.

[Tiffykins 672]

What annoys me more than anything is that Wasa is NO LONGER A MEMBER HERE. Quit bashing her, if you have that big of an issue with her, take it somewhere else because she doesn't post here anymore. It's done and over with for the love of everything holy.

Daisy was simply saying that Wasa is simply happy with her choice in her surgeon just as you are. No one said you were her twin.

It just seems like a witch hunt. Like I've said before, building an effin bridge and get the heck over it.

[*susan* 1,709]

First off, I am extremely disappointed to see a thread such as this has been started. The bottom line is this, WASaBubbleButt is no longer the admin of this site. She has not been banned from the site, she simply chooses not to participate on this board anymore. The reason behind her and Elisabethsew no longer being admins, or posting here is between them and Alex, no one else. Continually bringing it up is not going to change things. It is best to let what is in the past remain in the past and move ahead. As WASa has not posted here in going on three months, I am not sure why drama over her needs to continue? It makes absolutely no sense to me.

As for the topic of this thread, unless someone can step forward with solid proof that someone is a paid poster, I suggest that accusations not be made. Everyone is allowed to post here on their experiences with their doctors. Just because they may not be the doctor you chose, or I chose, or Jane Doe chose doesn't mean they are not invited to our forums and not invited to join in our mission, which is to offer one another support in regards to being sleeved.

Please people, let the ugliness end. We are a support board. Many of us have made friends here and come here for support, guidance and that friendship. It saddens me when I hear how many people have been scared away from VST out of fear of being bashed if their choice of surgeon is not the "popular" choice or fear that they will have accusations made against them simply because they support their doctor.

Seriously, this just needs to stop.

[Phoenixrising 0]

I apologize I should not have posted what I did. Admittedly when that subject comes up I go to my "ugly place" instead of my "happy place".

[Oregondaisy 2,019]

Very good post Susan. I agree. We come here for support and we should not bash other sleevesters whether they used to post here or still post here.

We should support each other, or go into the lounge and talk about other issues that concern us, because frankly, I get tired of my life revolving around my WLS. I mean, it's a big part of my life, but I do have other things to talk about as well.