Hi everyone,
We’ve got a big announcement to share with you regarding the Publication Rules for hotukdeals. This is something we’ve been working on for a long time, and we’re excited to finally get it out into the world - and it’s important to us that first, we explain what we’re trying to achieve and the steps we’ve taken to get here.
TL;DR?
We have some new publication rules which we think will lead to more and better deals. While we’d love everyone to read this whole announcement (especially if you post or use a lot of deals), we know not everyone has the time or interest. So you can find them here:
But if you want to know more about the how, what and why, please read on…
What are the Publication Rules?
Our Publication Rules are the guidelines for ensuring our communities’ expectations of deal content and quality are met. The community is the lifeblood of our business so ensuring the right quality standards are in place so that we can all find the best deals, is crucial.
For hotukdeals, the last big publication rules update was in 2019. Since then, world events showed we need more flexibility with what we allow on our websites so that all great deals can be found here.
However, flexibility needs to be balanced with having easily understandable rules, otherwise, confusion can reign. Not just for the community, but also for the community support teams responsible for managing the content you share.
Equally, protecting our communities from threats, be they financial, personal or anything that limits the ability to have worthwhile conversations is of utmost importance to us. This is, of course, a balancing act, but at the core of everything we do.
So we aimed to agree on an updated set of rules we think will most benefit our communities while ensuring our community support teams have clarity on what is allowed, and also that we don’t end up with sub-par deals on the site. Put simply…
The aim of these rules...
We want as many quality deals as possible, whilst defending the community from scams and spam.
What have we done so far?
We’ve actually worked on these rules for eight separate communities run by Pepper simultaneously - which is why we started way back in March!
This is what we did:
After all that, we’re now ready to present the rules to all members of the community, as a soft launch and invite any initial observations and feedback.
What are the Rules?
The new rules can be simplified into 6 statements
We hope these statements give a clear direction on some of the key deal topics. We’ve gone into much more detail on the full Publication Rules page, and we’d encourage everyone who’s interested to take a look at these.
There are some differences between the final rules in different countries, but actually, far fewer than there previously were. We believe the general direction is right for all communities and should result in more and better deals, but we also can see some really valid reasons for some variations, so we’ve allowed them.
Where’s the rule on cashback?
Cashback rules currently differ quite a lot country-to-country. We know it’s something community members care a lot about, so we are taking a bit more time to find the right route. We’ll let you know when this happens.
Summary and what’s next
While we’ve worked hard to get to somewhere we think is a good balance - helping improve the quality and quantity of deals - the proof of the pudding will of course be now, as everyone starts using the rules.
We will have a regular Publication Rules review (likely to be every 3 months) where we will look at all the feedback and the data and make adjustments to improve things.
If we need to make some changes, no problem. Likewise, if we find something is working well, we’ll look at whether we can improve it further.
So we are looking for all of your constructive feedback - we know there will be areas some people like more than others, which is totally fine.
** If you can give us suggestions and examples about why things do or don’t work, it will really help us continue to improve these rules **
We’re really excited about this long-awaited launch, and believe the result will be more high-quality deals for everyone. Let us know what you think!
Personal trading not permitted on hotukdeals - wef 16/11/2022 this will also include the sale of any personal subscription slots offered by members of the Community
No further trades permitted where a payment is required, including in thread comments, & we will be closing any currently active discussions. Please let us know via report if any members cold contact you via PM offering these for sale.
We’ve got a big announcement to share with you regarding the Publication Rules for hotukdeals. This is something we’ve been working on for a long time, and we’re excited to finally get it out into the world - and it’s important to us that first, we explain what we’re trying to achieve and the steps we’ve taken to get here.
TL;DR?
We have some new publication rules which we think will lead to more and better deals. While we’d love everyone to read this whole announcement (especially if you post or use a lot of deals), we know not everyone has the time or interest. So you can find them here:
What are the Publication Rules?
Our Publication Rules are the guidelines for ensuring our communities’ expectations of deal content and quality are met. The community is the lifeblood of our business so ensuring the right quality standards are in place so that we can all find the best deals, is crucial.
For hotukdeals, the last big publication rules update was in 2019. Since then, world events showed we need more flexibility with what we allow on our websites so that all great deals can be found here.
However, flexibility needs to be balanced with having easily understandable rules, otherwise, confusion can reign. Not just for the community, but also for the community support teams responsible for managing the content you share.
Equally, protecting our communities from threats, be they financial, personal or anything that limits the ability to have worthwhile conversations is of utmost importance to us. This is, of course, a balancing act, but at the core of everything we do.
So we aimed to agree on an updated set of rules we think will most benefit our communities while ensuring our community support teams have clarity on what is allowed, and also that we don’t end up with sub-par deals on the site. Put simply…
The aim of these rules...
We want as many quality deals as possible, whilst defending the community from scams and spam.
What have we done so far?
We’ve actually worked on these rules for eight separate communities run by Pepper simultaneously - which is why we started way back in March!
This is what we did:
- Worked with all community leads to review what was working well (or not) across all global communities
- Created a draft, focused on what we wanted to achieve, which was shared at an in-person open discussion session at Pepper HQ, Berlin
- Opened the discussion up to over 100 colleagues (community support, editors and more) to understand how we needed to shape the rules per country.
- Several subsequent fine tuning sessions, where we got into the nitty-gritty of how rules should apply
- Presented them to two separate groups of community members in each country to get their reactions and feedback on how we could improve the rules, then made adjustments
- Final internal reviews, mainly dotting i’s and crossing t’s
After all that, we’re now ready to present the rules to all members of the community, as a soft launch and invite any initial observations and feedback.
What are the Rules?
The new rules can be simplified into 6 statements
- 1. We strive to publish great deals when they benefit the community
- 2. We welcome deals from many sellers and try to check they're legit
- 3. We want deals submitted for the good of the community rather than for personal gain
- 4. We allow 'megathreads' (deals from multiple shops) with some rules to keep things tidy
- 5. We have a clear list of the *DOs and DON'Ts for permanent deals
- 6. We want vibrant conversations to thrive in the deal comments
We hope these statements give a clear direction on some of the key deal topics. We’ve gone into much more detail on the full Publication Rules page, and we’d encourage everyone who’s interested to take a look at these.
There are some differences between the final rules in different countries, but actually, far fewer than there previously were. We believe the general direction is right for all communities and should result in more and better deals, but we also can see some really valid reasons for some variations, so we’ve allowed them.
Where’s the rule on cashback?
Cashback rules currently differ quite a lot country-to-country. We know it’s something community members care a lot about, so we are taking a bit more time to find the right route. We’ll let you know when this happens.
Summary and what’s next
While we’ve worked hard to get to somewhere we think is a good balance - helping improve the quality and quantity of deals - the proof of the pudding will of course be now, as everyone starts using the rules.
We will have a regular Publication Rules review (likely to be every 3 months) where we will look at all the feedback and the data and make adjustments to improve things.
If we need to make some changes, no problem. Likewise, if we find something is working well, we’ll look at whether we can improve it further.
So we are looking for all of your constructive feedback - we know there will be areas some people like more than others, which is totally fine.
** If you can give us suggestions and examples about why things do or don’t work, it will really help us continue to improve these rules **
We’re really excited about this long-awaited launch, and believe the result will be more high-quality deals for everyone. Let us know what you think!
Personal trading not permitted on hotukdeals - wef 16/11/2022 this will also include the sale of any personal subscription slots offered by members of the Community
No further trades permitted where a payment is required, including in thread comments, & we will be closing any currently active discussions. Please let us know via report if any members cold contact you via PM offering these for sale.
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385 Comments
sorted byWhen an offer is always available, but it's something people should not miss, we want to allow it.
Allowed
Not allowed
These lists will change based on user feedback and deal performance, and we're sure they won't be comprehensive or completely correct right from the start. (edited)
We recognise some products can be a deal without being discounted, particularly when there is high demand for a specific product that is in short supply - e.g. a Console or a limited fashion drop. (*We do not allow items sold for more that the normal RRP). We will maintain a list of these items.
Current products that qualify for deals at normal retail selling price:
* Last updated 15/02/23 (edited)
But of course all outgoing links to deals are formatted to include a vested financial interest for HotDealsUK.
What our self promotion rules are aiming to avoid is salespeople posting deals which make them money, but where other users have zero idea that is happening - so the opposite to how our links work in terms of transparency
I stay for the gaming thread and the heads up posts.
Who comes up with this drivel? Theres a section of over 1000 posts now on the changes made to this site that makes statement number 6 so much more difficult and many many people hate the changes to the site and how difficult it has become to view posts. (edited)
Unless it's a moderator or one of their best mates.
Have seen so many lives actually ruined by it and some even end themselves just because it is getting way out of hand.. Horrible addiction
If hud is gaining from it I guess like any other business they will allow it.
Unbelievable stuff, proper embarrassing really.
They really do run it like some mad power trip. the site has gone to the dogs since it first launched with power hungry do whatever they want attitudes.
hotukdeals what a vapid mess of a site it is now
absurd rules that the mods don't even stick to themselves. delete posts on a regular basis too so a mod can steal and repost it at a later date. (edited)
Too often we see deals still getting heat solely based on the headline price even where the deal details show the hoops you might have to jump through to get the deal or where more savvy member comments have already quickly disproved it is a good deal.
For example, I suggested long ago that you have a filter for alcohol related deals and maybe enable it by default, because cheap booze is a problem for people dealing with alcohol related issues. Doesn't seem to have been mentioned or implemented, despite at the time your staff saying it was a good idea.
Similar issue with things like holiday deals to places that have poor human rights records. This is going to be a big issue with the next World Cup, for example. Women, LGBTQ+ people and those who consume alcohol would benefit greatly from at least a prominent link to the Home Office advice on visiting those countries.
It would be nice to see some action on ethical deals too. Deals that don't give money to businesses and individuals who contribute significantly to climate change, or to bigotry and violence.
A filter would be the best option.
Deals/comments will be allowed as and when it suits hukd. It’s been this way for years and remember a leopard doesn’t change its spots
If it makes money it’s staying and that’s a fact. (edited)
1. They include a blacklisted word (and we get a flag)
2. They get reported by users (the specific comment)
3. We stumble across them doing checks
1 and 2 is WAY more common than 3 simply because we rely on our community to flag the content they believe should not be on the platform. Number 3 still happens, just nowhere near as often as 1 and 2.
If a comment is reported then we've got a decision to make. This is a decision made by each individual of the team so a judgment call whether our rules are being stuck to. The outcomes always leads to disappointment because there is two parties involved which will receive a different outcome to the other.
Linking your two points together, there is never an occasion when we take a decision based on financial impact on the company. It is not the job of those moderating the forums to worry about any part of that. At all. You only have to look at the recently suspended merchants (for self promotion) to see that we try to take decision to protect the integrity of our website. We know our users need to trust what we show them. (edited)
Deals from sites like Love Honey usually have a generic/blank image to stop adult images being shown on the site for people browsing at work etc. Yet here
Exactly the same thing here too with another HUKD staff member:
hotukdeals.com/dea…993
Is this really what we want the site to be? (edited)
Yet if it was on aliexpress, then it would meet the 'rules' - "AliExpress - marketplace has been trading for at least a year with 300 feedback and a score of not less than 95%".
Jackery has been around for 10 years and not everyone leaves seller feedback (I don't), the actual product feedback is what I look at. (edited)
hotukdeals.com/vou…com
I hope you live up to this one and don't just shut down reasomable/related debate.
It'd be so easy to implement better scraping of url data to automate deal posting but its as clunky as it's been for years.
It'd be so easy to flag from the URL that a deal's already been posted, but you leave it until a contributor has filled out the entire form manually before telling them (or do you even do that? I've given up submitting deals because it's such an unpleasant experience, but I think last time my submission just disappeared and later I got an automated message saying what the problem was - something about an invalid amazon marketplace seller, IIRC - again, something that could easily be flagged from the URL before I typed out all the details of the deal).
This place has had its charm ripped out and it's clear none of the owners gives a damn.
1) Please stop allowing people to post deals where the item has been on that sale price for over a month (IE Asda Lancashire yoghurt)/Stop allowing reposting of deals after a month.
I do think some people on here take deals far too seriously and become self appointed deal police and just moan constantly. Who really cares? Just scroll by, or filter/search/alert for things you are interested in if it bothers you that much. My take on it is that if someone is trying to be helpful, let them and if a post helps even 1 person or even just not doing any harm and posted with good intents, it's worthwhile and valid.
hotukdeals.com/pro…als
If we do remove a deal, and you are unsure of the reason, or need further clarification, please reply to the PM notification and the team can review and provide an update. And the updated Marketplace seller guidelines are also listed in the new publication rules.
Also, another +1 to needing a dedicated category for e-book freebies, as the number of these that get posted renders the rest of the freebies category very user-unfriendly.
If the price has dropped more than 5% then the deal can be relisted straight away as a new deal.
There has been no change in the relist part of the rule - we have always allowed immediate relists if the price has dropped more than 5%.
The only significant change is the new 2 month relist period, instead of 28 days - if price hasn't dropped, or it has not dropped by not more than 5%.
If the price increases, then the deal is expired (the 5% price drop only applies to price drops, we don't allow any increases on deal prices). (edited)
Thanks. I had a suggestion from the mod team previously that there was going to be a change. Should this not be restored to the guidelines for clarity?
What is the approach if the price gradually drops by <5%, then the combined price drops eventually exceed 5%, e.g., £25 → £24 → £23?
If an item is £25, then £24, then £23 a repost would only be allowed if the price is more than 5% off the £23. Regardless of it being more than 5% off the original deal price
Reason is apparently that I have breach rules,
I either work there =NO I DONT
I know someone there = NO I DONT
I have a vested interest = NO I DONT
They had a Polish name.
They then posted a free E book from Amazon written by a Polish name.
A mod thanked them for posting their first deal lol.
My comment on the post was deleted for questioning it
Any criticism (especially in the new streaming releases thread) is deleted as they don't like it either.
I'm mostly a lurker on this site now, and sometimes post feedback on a 'proper' deal where relevant, but there is so much chuff to scroll through these days
I used to visit this site several times a day - now, its once a week or so, if I decide to have a look.
Due to the "jump thru hoops" rules for posters of deals, lots of people now no longer do so as it simply isnt worth the effort, and Im not the only one.
Yes, websites mostly need to be profitable to survive - I get that, but to have mods acting as gods re comments posted, to clearly ignore their own rules etc.....its hard to swallow.
RIP HotUKdeals - it was nice knowing you.
We've always had a set of guidelines to help our users understand the kind of deals they can post. We've just made more effort since July 2019 to make these guidelines more prominent and easier for our users to understand (they used to be incorporated in the site rules but now they are the Publication Rules).
These new rules are designed to be more flexible with what we allow so in terms of the deal posters, I would expect them to be happier with these rules than when they were last updated in 2019. As a result, hopefully we'll see more quality deals posted on site.
People use this site is many different ways and it is clear that you would rather come here for discussion and to see the deals already shared rather than post them. That is totally fine and you are not alone in that.
As I said earlier, the rules will provide more freedom for the posting of deals so if you want to continue to visit, hopefully you'll find the deals that interest you.
Yet I see that it's the same people posting most of the deals.
Double Standards
Not allowed
- New additions to video or audio streaming services
"Yet, one of the hottest 'deals' of this week is this non-deal, and seemingly rule breaking post about James Bond: hotukdeals.com/dea…323
I commented on the post that it should be in discussions as its not a deal, my comment was removed mods. I reported the post and it was ignored.
justwatch.com/uk/…ond
But Amazon is offering all 25 of the Bond movies to stream as part of its subscription service, and it's a timed offer.
Current deal temp is 4010° and over 90% of votes cast by members are hot vote (in the 1,000s) so overall members agree.
hotukdeals.com/dea…323
hotukdeals.com/dea…605
hotukdeals.com/dea…215
What we wouldn't allow in deals, is in-house content only available on the platform producing the content - so no timed promotion and not available elsewhere on other platforms. Then it could be shared in Discussions. Some examples here :
hotukdeals.com/dis…923
hotukdeals.com/dis…552
hotukdeals.com/dis…058