No More Whitelist

[thepokerkeep]

In an effort to streamline the GAU and focus my attention where it matters most, I have dropped the "white list" and "program endorsement" programs from the GAU website. My reason for doing so is simple. The GAU should not be endorsing affiliate programs since we are not equipped to continually monitor the programs and their terms and conditions.

Read the full story here

As always, I welcome your feedback / comments.

[ironman2000]

Hello Terry,

By dropping the whitelist and endorsement programs from GAU does this mean that the programs that have the GAU logo of a sign of trust etc should remove this icon ?

You should still have a whitelist of affiliate programs on GAU and periodically do a ramdom check from time to time to keep the affiliate programs in check etc!!!!!

To take on the task of going over all the affiliate T&C's I understand is a very time consuming operation............but you must still be there and give your thumbs up to affiliates & webmasters about affiliate programs out there.

What happened to Chalkie...................he has just dropped of the face of the earth?

Keith

[thepokerkeep]

Hi Keith,

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate your point of view and do want to hear from our members since it is their feedback that will drive the GAU in the direction they think it should go. I understand the value that having the GAU logo on your website can provide and I assure you that I did not make this decision without weighing the pros and cons.

I would appreciate it if all previously white listed programs would remove the logo, or exchange it for one of the other logos that are presently in the image library on the GAU website.

As for my reasons for dropping the endorsement and white list program, it is simply the only option I have at the moment. If the GAU is going to endorse programs or offer a white list, then we must have a mechanism in place to constantly monitor those programs we feel are worthy of inclusion. Since we don't have that ability at this time, we really have no business offering these services. I don't think it's fair to our members to be offering a service we can't possibly monitor effectively. It gives the wrong impression and may actually encourage affiliates to join programs that are not currently affiliate friendly just because we failed to notice the terms had been changed.

To be perfectly honest, when Paul decided to include endorsements and a white list program, I objected strenuously. My vision of the GAU did not include duplicating services that were already available through other organizations such as Affiliate Guard Dog and Casinomeister. Especially when these sites are much better equipped to monitor the programs they endorse.

Rather than go down the endorsement or white list road, I will periodically conduct random audits on various affiliate programs and report my findings on the GAU. If a program passes my audit, they will receive a thumbs up, if they fail, I'll give them a thumbs down.

Additionally, I am happy to go through any program's terms and conditions in an effort to help them make sure their terms are affiliate friendly. Any program that takes me up on my offer and revises their terms as required to receive a passing grade will get a positive write up on the GAU.

Each audit will be dated and a disclaimer will be included stating that the terms are subject to change and the reader should carefully read the current terms before joining any affiliate program. I feel this is a much safer and more affiliate friendly way to proceed.

Re; your question about chalkie, I posted about Paul and why he was turning the GAU over to me in this thread:
https://www.gpwa.org/forum/very-impo...nt-190837.html

I hope I answered all your concerns,

[Betpartners]

It is far better for any organisation to concentrate on what it believes it will be most effective at, no point doing anything unless you can fully follow through on the services you offer.

What Terry is doing makes sense to me, he knows what he can and cannot offer and by eliminating the services he feels he cannot monitor satisfactorily and keeping those that he can, then he is doing right by affiliates in my opinion.

Concentrating on Arbitration and the other core components of the GAU is good for affiliates as a whole and i for one support Terry in this decision.

As one of the very first members of the GAU i am pleased that Terry is prepared to make these sorts of decisions, i would rather see the GAU be effective in just a few areas than ineffective across many areas.

[TrafficBoyz]

Hi Terry,

Wow this comes as a suprise to me. But i respect this decision. I am not sure if you are aware, but Paul wrote our terms and conditions and would you mind if we kept your logo to ensure that our affiliates are comfortable in trusting our terms and conditions, since it is the handy work of the GAU.

This is probably not the right place, but i wanna thank you for assisting in the other matter, no matter the outcome. I can say this with pride, that you really do add a lot of value to our network.

Kind Regards

Trafficboyz
http://www.trafficboyz.com

[thepokerkeep]

Hi Jason,

I really have no objections to programs using the logo although for the sake of transparency, I would really prefer they use one of the currently offered logos so there is no reference to the white list.

I also have no issue with you making a claim on your website about the fact that the GAU was involved in the creation of your original terms. If the terms change (or have already changed) then I would no longer want the GAU's name attached to them unless we approve of the changes.

Hope that all makes sense, just crawled out of bed....

And as for the other issue, I'm thrilled with the way Marc has reacted so far and am keeping my fingers crossed that we will get things resolved some time next week.