proflightsimulator.com

[durk]

Hi Gijs,

Nice job. Just two comments. Firstly, it takes quite some time before the video shows anything else but the FlightGear logo. If possible, I would recommend moving the explanatory text a little forward (say from 5 seconds onward) and maybe repeat it a couple of times.

Secondly, the URL to our wiki statement appears to be broken (when I clicked it, the link text stops at Fl; the rest is just regular text.

Other than that, I voted posititively.

Incidentally, you can also find a reply to a yahoo question here:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 628AAr6arp

Again, if you're in a position to give my answer a good rating, please do so.

Cheers,
Durk

[Gijs]

Hi Durk,

thansk for voting! For some reason the text was hidden in the video, should be back in now. The links has been fixed (apparently youtube has limited url length).

Cheers,
Gijs

PS: I've contacted Avsim.com.

[curt]

Here is another thought. If you google "pro flight sim" you find a number of domains based on this name that all point to pro flight sim or a "review" that funnels you back to their order site. I think the domain name factors high in google's search algorithm, so we could use the same strategy. We could register domain names like: proflightsimulatorisflightgear.com or pro-flight-sim-is-flightgear.com, and any number of other variants. Then setup a simple (or complex) web site at that domain with a quick explanation and a link that funnels people back to the FlightGear web site.

Then if people google "pro flight sim" (or similar names) hopefully some of the "pro-flight-sim-is-flightgear" sites will pop up ... unless Charlie Taylor monitors our forum and snipes all those domains for himself too.

Any takers?

Curt.

[Quadunit404]

I'll probably do that when I get the $175 I got while in Florida on my PayPal account. I spent $10 on my way back from Florida to Massachusetts ($5 for me and $5 for my sister) and currently have like $17-something in there (just barely enough for my own website )

I already have a domain.com account and a hosting account elsewhere. Since domain.com is having a sale on .net domains ($8.99/year compared to the usual $12.00/year) how does proflightsimulatorisflightgear.net and Drupal as the CMS sound?

[horacio]

Here is another thought. If you google "pro flight sim" you find a number of domains based on this name that all point to pro flight sim or a "review" that funnels you back to their order site. I think the domain name factors high in google's search algorithm, so we could use the same strategy. We could register domain names like: proflightsimulatorisflightgear.com or pro-flight-sim-is-flightgear.com, and any number of other variants. Then setup a simple (or complex) web site at that domain with a quick explanation and a link that funnels people back to the FlightGear web site.

Then if people google "pro flight sim" (or similar names) hopefully some of the "pro-flight-sim-is-flightgear" sites will pop up ... unless Charlie Taylor monitors our forum and snipes all those domains for himself too.

Any takers?

Curt.

Hi, Curt, I work indeed in web design. So, I can offer to do a basic web with the text you give me, and all needed explanations. But the easiest way to go up quickly in ranking searchs in internet, more than the domain name, is doing 3 things:

1.- Adding tags with the text you want to the people find you. This tags are added inside the HTML file, in the first headings of the page, but inside special HTML tags that are not read on the visual web.

2.- Adding the explicit text you like people find you in H1 level titles. HTML priorize titles in levels H1, H2, H3, H4, etc. All searching robots looks for on the webs for all H1 level titles,and add them to their main searches.

3.- As more readed is a web, as more up is on the rankings, so we need the cooperation of the most users of our comunity. And as much more of them access dairly to this site we could create, more quickly it become to first searches. Indeed, this site, may become the first search on the lists.

With this 3 basic steps, we can have a web that in 1 or 2 weeks could be between the first 10 searches. Anyway, nothing is always sure. Robots looks for a lot of other things too. But we can try it. Any help, will be pleased to give, as the same I'm giving in other ways to FG.

Regards.
HORACIO

[Quadunit404]

Okay, that's two takers so far: horacio and I. If we get more takers, I call a vote to see who gets to make the site.

[jack]

I can make a website that exposes the scam. I'm not quite willing to buy a domain for it, but I am willing to make similar domains like flightprosim.co.nr or proflightsimulator.tk.

I can make a site, and give it anyone else that would like to host it, if that'll help reduce the time it takes to get these functional. I'll try and make 5 sites. Hopefully we can flood the google results with these sites.

EDIT: I'll try to hotlink as many things as possible from their site...in hopes I can severely slow down the server.

[Johan G]

Guys, I have to say that i don't like the scam either, but please, let go from it for a week or two and think it over. Before you act while you are in an emotional upset state. I''l bet there are smarter ways to handle this, than, as they do, balancing slightly beyond the edge of what's generally acceptable.

[jack]

let go from it for a week or two and think it over

So they can scam more people? And make more money off of our hours of work? I don't think I'm gonna waste any more time waiting. Actions, speak louder than words.

you act while you are in an emotional upset state.

Didn't know anyone was getting emotional...

balancing slightly beyond the edge of what's generally acceptable.

Informing people of a scam isn't generally acceptable? I'd think I'm doing people a big favor, saving them $140...

[Algernon]

I don't think registering domain names which are just the name of the offending product then directing them to us is quite ethical. However, something like proflightsimisflightgear.com or proflightscam.com might do. I personally think that reworking the main FlightGear website to be a bit more attractive, with a prominent front-page explanation of the PFS/FPS scam linked to the Wiki statement, should also be on the list of things to do - better tags, more attention to SEO, that kind of thing.

Also - sorry for this - I do think the Flightgear logo with the chequered yellow and the P-51 Mustang is looking a bit dated, is it time we looked at a bit of a repaint? A more recognisable brand would also help to distance the real, constantly evolving FG from the V1-based packages on sale by the disreputables...

[horacio]

I don't think registering domain names which are just the name of the offending product then directing them to us is quite ethical.

Indeed this is impossible to do. The domain already exists on their hand, so we couldn't do that. Anyway, jus as you say the point is not copying his domain, if not, someone similar that notice the scam.

I personally think that reworking the main FlightGear website to be a bit more attractive, with a prominent front-page explanation of the PFS/FPS scam linked to the Wiki statement, should also be on the list of things to do - better tags, more attention to SEO, that kind of thing.

Even this is actually an a almost urgent need, it's not the actual point. We are talking how to warn people about the scam. And you need to do this in places were people will search, and people will search for "ProFlightSimulator" and not for "FlightGear". So the idea of a web with similar title is good. We'll be not lying anyone.

Also - sorry for this - I do think the Flightgear logo with the chequered yellow and the P-51 Mustang is looking a bit dated, is it time we looked at a bit of a repaint? A more recognisable brand would also help to distance the real, constantly evolving FG from the V1-based packages on sale by the disreputables...

Completely agree. Our web looks like old 90's, and this plane over this banner striped and those flags make seems the simulator as a 2nd World War one. It's needed an entire new design for the web, and a more accessible and logical distribution of it. The same is needed for the logo, or replace it definitively for that blue one with the world.

[Hooray]

If you already know web programming, this is actually fairly easy to do - it just involves some SEO techniques (whitehat or blackhat) to affect the search engine rankings.
There are lots of communities and forums dedicated to SEO - and you could probably even get some help there: http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/

[jack]

WOOOHOOO!!!!!!

The FPS people got shut down!!!!!!!!

See for yourself! http://www.proflightsimulator.com/cgi-s ... =txflyer20

Drinks all around!

[Quadunit404]

Weird, I can get get on their site just fine

[Hooray]

it is working alright, what jack posted is just related to an affiliate link not working - the actual site is working without problems.
And there is really is not much that could be done to change this. It's perfectly legal what they are doing.