Hi everyone, we've recently had an uptick in spam threads and dummy accounts, which have unfortunately made this announcement necessary.
FBR has always been a space where authors are welcome and encouraged to join in on discussion, participate in group reads/Q&As, and promote their work in the designated self-promotion folder. The majority are mindful of the group rules and have a lot to offer our wonderful community of readers, so I don't want this message to put off the authors who approach the group with respect. We love you and appreciate that you fuel our reading addictions. <3
We've recently had a member who, after being reminded to keep self-promotions in the appropriate folder, decided to request a buddy read for their own book, set up multiple dummy accounts, and added a number of comments to the thread to promote their book. After a mod discussion, we felt this was misleading to readers and unfair to the authors who go out of their way to follow the group rules, and we have decided to delete the thread and block all accounts involved.
We don't want to add comment-based restrictions on who can request buddy reads - navigating the group as a new member can be challenging enough as it is. We also don't want to outright ban authors from promoting their work since they have been such an integral part of FBR throughout the years. We simply ask that you be mindful of the guidelines we have set out so everyone can continue to enjoy this space. If you fail to adhere with the group rules regarding promotions, you may be removed from the group without warning.
The same strict removal also applies to accounts setting up buddy reads that instruct members to add them on other social media channels, or posts that include links to online gambling sites, etc. The mods try to keep an eye out on all threads for this type of activity, but as members, please be aware and stay safe out there. <3
And lastly, please consider heading over to the self-promotions folder and checking out some of the books on offer from authors who have gone through the proper channels to put themselves out there. Read, review, comment on the self-promotion threads you have read - whatever you feel you can do to support the authors in our group.
FBR has always been a space where authors are welcome and encouraged to join in on discussion, participate in group reads/Q&As, and promote their work in the designated self-promotion folder. The majority are mindful of the group rules and have a lot to offer our wonderful community of readers, so I don't want this message to put off the authors who approach the group with respect. We love you and appreciate that you fuel our reading addictions. <3
We've recently had a member who, after being reminded to keep self-promotions in the appropriate folder, decided to request a buddy read for their own book, set up multiple dummy accounts, and added a number of comments to the thread to promote their book. After a mod discussion, we felt this was misleading to readers and unfair to the authors who go out of their way to follow the group rules, and we have decided to delete the thread and block all accounts involved.
We don't want to add comment-based restrictions on who can request buddy reads - navigating the group as a new member can be challenging enough as it is. We also don't want to outright ban authors from promoting their work since they have been such an integral part of FBR throughout the years. We simply ask that you be mindful of the guidelines we have set out so everyone can continue to enjoy this space. If you fail to adhere with the group rules regarding promotions, you may be removed from the group without warning.
The same strict removal also applies to accounts setting up buddy reads that instruct members to add them on other social media channels, or posts that include links to online gambling sites, etc. The mods try to keep an eye out on all threads for this type of activity, but as members, please be aware and stay safe out there. <3
And lastly, please consider heading over to the self-promotions folder and checking out some of the books on offer from authors who have gone through the proper channels to put themselves out there. Read, review, comment on the self-promotion threads you have read - whatever you feel you can do to support the authors in our group.