that remind me of a quote

"Do not hire a man that does your work purely for money, but him who does it for the love of it." -- Henry David Thoreau

Slaven you are perfectly right in that wonderful post!! I also feel exactly the same way. Carry yourself with dignity and represent the best person you can be in an often frustrating and yes, even repetitive forum. But it is a pleasure to repeat ourselves if it helps the newcomers. There is no way to avoid repetition. And there is merit to it. It also serves to reinforce the advise to ourselves

It is indeed an honour to be a super sponsor, and one I hold very near and dear to my heart !! I too, have yet to accomplish the financial freedom, but I am certain, that if it will happen for me; it will be in this business as I have the utmost faith in ACME.......Tissa, and Gary. I also have the utmost faith that all my forum brothers and sisters will always be there to help me.

I am a Super Sponsor and very grateful for being retained all these months. But I do not take my role lightly. I feel that only here can I truly grow, and I know that even as a SS , I can ask the most naive and newbie questions, and not a soul will chuckle but I will receive an onslaught of help via posts and pms. 

Considering that we are over 6,700 members in this forum, being a Super Sponsor holds a great responsibility in providing friendship, camaraderie , courtesy and above all guidelines and all the help that is being asked for.  To encourage members, support them, help them make the right decisions, and to be there for them when the going gets rough; even on a personal level.

Yes, I do see that this post was made at 2 a.m. But last night even I was up and very active, even with you Ob1...and it truly was 3 a.m. EST. Slaven and I ususally miss each others posts, as he is on the west coast. But we are both proud Canadians and even prouder ACME Super Sponsors. We will always have three things in common, lol.

As a woman and a Super Sponsor I found yesterday particularly difficult, Ob1.....it was like trying to talk a dear friend down off the ledge.......at times I felt so powerless to help him. Even in the pm's I sent.  I got to know him personally, as most of us APS forum members and SS due make bonafide friendships here.....that extend to outside this forum. I know I do. I am still at a loss and deeply dismayed that everything escalated as rapidly as it did.

Allan chose to exhibit a perfect example of what a Super Sponsor is NOT, sadly, but of his own perpetuation. However, today is another day, and Slaven , definately I gave you a +1 because your post could not have better expressed the true essence of "the Super Sponsor" and I thank you for posting it
This is a new day.........and a new week starting. Let's make sure it stays on the right footing........after all, it is before the holidays (whether you are celebrating or not , lol) I believe it's time to raise the bar with this thread, and it is a great start. Now , let us get to work, being as helpful as we can, and loving it   I know I personally derive a lot of rewards and pleasure out of helping others.....and it just rocks my world when I feel appreciated and respected.

I aim to keep Rocking my world by being the best me I know how

To OUR continued Success
Nadine

Last edited by Bianca70 (2009-12-13 12:18:57)

I think you made a very good post Slaven and given a description of what a true super sponsor should be like.
I have been a member of this forum from the start and visited it daily. I have seen it grow to become maybe the best educational marketing forum today.

There are about 80 super sponsor today and l wish l should say that l think all of them fits your description Slaven, but l believe many of them do not. In my opinion, l think there are to many super sponsors today and a lot of them seem to be it for the money.

Tissa  is all for total transparency, but my question to the super sponsors is: Are you really able to ask the difficult questions, or are you afraid to because you think that you may lose your super sponsor title? I believe many are and not only super sponsors but future Super Sponsors too. Tissa is fair and honest and if you only behave appropriate and polite l am sure he would welcome any questions about the program.

I believe it would be in Tissa`s interest and the affiliate program that “difficult” questions are raised and discussed, because that is what will make this program progress and better.
For instance all the new changes the Acme program have in my opinion not only been good.
We have to subscribe to step 3, in order to get paid now. This means is that  an affiliate have to refer 50-60 people just to cover the subscription fees(if he is not using Trialpay). l have no problem understanding that we have to pay a monthly fee, but in my opinion it is to high for "normal" people to make a profit.
I think it is weird that this issue has not been discussed, or maybe l missed it? This new requirement will not be a problem for super sponsors because you get your fees covered. Maybe this is why you have not thought about it?
But there has to be room for difficult questions also in this forum and super sponsors also have to be able to raise them publicly. (l am not referring to the posts made in the last few days by a former Super Sponsor, this is just a general observation)

So to my main point; l do not believe having 80 paid forum members is in the best interest of this forum. Even if Tissa wants everything to be transparent and openly discussed, many people will feel restrained from doing so. And many members do not understand that it is the quality and not the quantity of posts that matters.
If people like the acme people search program as much as l do, then those who are all about helping other forum members succeed, will still continue to do so.
Maybe limit the super sponsors down to about 20-30 true super sponsors that fits Slavens description would make this forum even better.

I have thought about these issues l have written in this post for a long time now and l am happy to get it off my chest. I hope that you will look at the big picture and not only your own situation and maybe some of you will understand where l am coming from.

Last edited by KirElis (2009-12-13 16:35:03)

Slaven, this post was awesome and also Bianca has a lot of awesome things too, as I read through the forum today I get SAD.
SAD to see that a member of the APS Family that had so many great qualities, just lost his head and actually in my opinion should be just checked out from the forum 4 ever!

I'm so greatful that I have been given this opportunity from Tissa and I will do my best to stay as a Super Sponsor forever, not for the sake of getting my expenses covered, but it's truly an honor to work together with all of you and with Tissa as The Mentor of all times(Non-Guru:rolleyes:).

But recently I have also noticed that it's getting harder to be the first to post a helpful replies as we are starting to be many with the Super Sponsor title. We are getting so many that people start actual posting 3 answers to the same questions when a new one pops up

I will strave to hold on to the noble title and i will cherish is it as much as I enjoy being a part of this Awesome community.

APS rock and may the moderators get rid of the bad eggs.

Last edited by MarketingRoyalties (2009-12-13 15:41:41)

Terje brings up another point that I had meant to address but forgot to.

I notice many people who 'sit around' and wait for new posts to appear, just so they can be the "first" to reply. Again, take a step back and think about it for a second. Is that really what helping others is about? If we are all racing to answer new posts, then the rest of the questions that get asked will get overlooked, and the questioners will be deprived of receiving a proper answer because nobody is really trying to help them. What good does having 100+ Super Sponsors do when two thirds of them are all racing to answer the same question?

What should be happening is that each Super Sponsor should be looking to help people with things that they truly can help with, meaning aspects of the business that they are either knowledgeable in or have had experience with. The beauty of a support forum vs. just support tickets is the human interaction and exchange of experience and expertise that so many people can provide. However, if we narrowly focus on just competing with each other, instead of supplementing existing answers with our own angle and viewpoint, we will completely defeat the whole purpose of having this forum in the first place.

What we all need to do is to make sure that we are paying attention to any negative trends that could be detracting from the good we are accomplishing in here already, and to speak up when we notice any of them creeping in. There is no reason to feel that being a Super Sponsor should prevent one from stating their opinion, as long as it is done in a tactful, respectful and courteous manner, and personal attacks are left out of the equation. The best example of how to state one's opinion in such a manner is the posts made by the original Super Sponsor, Chris Losenno. If you take a look at some of the threads he has created, many of them deal with issues that could be viewed as 'negative', but he addresses them in a way that doesn't demean anyone but simply states his observations and possible suggestions to correct the issues. This is why most people like Chris, and it's also why we can create the 'blame Chris' jokes without having to worry about him taking them personally.

I have looked at these issues as common sense up till now, but now I realize that they have to be addressed, as they are obviously completely overlooked. If everyone followed some sort of universal 'etiquette', we wouldn't have to face issues of the kind that we have faced in the last few days. Of course, we are all individuals with unique personalities, so to ask everyone to behave the same way would be quite unreasonable. However, it should be made clear that holding the title of Super Sponsor will bring about a certain measure of responsibility, and people will look to us as 'examples' in one way or another, whether we like it or not.

Again, friends; this is a privilege, not a right. And with any privilege comes responsibility. Let us reflect this in our future interactions.

*Slaven

P.S. These things needed to be said. I appreciate the kind words, especially because it took a great amount of effort and thought for me to formulate this thread in a way that would benefit everyone and offend as few as possible. Not everyone is going to be happy with the changes that Tissa will eventually have to implement regarding Super Sponsors, and I think it will be beneficial for all of us to evaluate where we stand personally when it comes to displaying the Super Sponsor "spirit", and whether we even understand what this spirit is.

great post Slaven,

Hope everyone reads this before going on a posting spree which turns into bickerings and fights.

+1 for you.

Srinath

Hi Slaven, Nadine and everyone,

I totally and heartily agree! the 'spirit of a Super Sponsor"! I like that! In fact, had I known about this post, I would have posted here earlier, but I don't want to spam the forum ( ) so I'll just post a link to my opinions here:
http://acme-people-search-forum.com/post/81060/#p81060
http://acme-people-search-forum.com/post/80220/#p80220
http://acme-people-search-forum.com/top … nsibility/

And thanks to all my fellow SS! You guys do an awesome job! Hats off!

Somesh.

KirElis, replies are in red.

Next time you should ask this in a new topic.  Hope this helps.

Milton

Hi  slaven,

I could not agree more, many super sponsors rush to be the first to answer a post, but are they doing it to truely help that person or is it that they are only concerned in keeping their SS title.

I am not able to get to the forum as often as I would like for personal reasons but when I do, most of the posts are already answered by others, so I'll browse through them and If I can add any more valuable info for that person, I will.

there are other ways to add value this forum without even answering someones post and that is by starting informative topics that others can join in and add their thoughts to the subject, like the thread below.

http://acme-people-search-forum.com/post/81582/#p81582

Well put Slaven, you're a model citizen yourself

The same should apply to all people in their everyday lives and routines aswell.  The world could use
more Super Sponsor's for sure... and more Tissa's.

This forum and it's global reach could well become the heart of world improvement.
Glad to be a part of it.

Justin.

Hi Slaven,
Great post again. If people start following these guidelines, I think Tissa is going to have a much harder time next time around for AS East - he might have to charter a whole  plane!
Somesh.

No I am not.

The money I, and all the other Super Sponsors, currently receive is reimbursement of my operating costs, NOT payment of any kind.

You will notice that the date I created this thread is much before I had any idea that Tissa was actually going to pay us for providing value. I take offense at your statement, Gary. I know that you are disappointed right now, and I can't say that I wouldn't be so myself if I were in your shoes. However, I would advise you to take a break from the forum for a few hours to give yourself a chance to think things through before making any more posts laced with anger.

*Slaven

I am not here to dis you.

I think I am too enlightened to do that.

Plus it is my business too as I am in this for the long haul.

But I would consider whether there are more of us that feel the same or WORSE then I do right about now.

Maybe I approached this badly. I should have just left it to a webinar or something.

For that I am sorry.

But there has to be a better way to manage the SS thing so everybody has a best time with it as possible.

I know your doing your best. I respect you for that.

But I have a vested interest in this to.

I hope you listen to your customers on this.

Peace and love.

I will go for a nice walk.

Cool man. Apology accepted.

Like I said, I don't blame you for feeling disappointed and frustrated right now, as I would probably feel the same way in your shoes. I've always thought of you as being a reasonable, balanced person, and I still feel that way. I just know that, when you are angry about something, you are much more likely to say something you will later regret.

The fact that you understand and acknowledge this speaks a lot about your character. I look forward to 'working' with you in the future.

*Slaven