Congratulations! I hit the big 16 last February. It seems like just yesterday. Bob was just a lad. The Soapbox was still contentious. And C++ articles still dominated the articles list.

John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

She hasn’t used the machine yet, so the true test has yet to be performed.

If she's like my wife, she'll find 10 ways to break it that you never thought possible.

The link in the email reconfirm email is incorrect and won't work as sent. It's missing the dot after codeproject and before com:

Click here: https://www.codeprojectcom/script/Membership/ConfirmEmail.aspx?tg=\[snip\]

I was sent a message for sign-in email address confirmation containing this line: Click here: https://www.codeprojectcom/script/Membership/ConfirmEmail.aspx?tg=[removed by Ed] to confirm that this is your email address. There is no dot between the domain name and com, so the link didn't work.

Promote Builders today announced an online matchmaking service for independent software developers with new products. The service connects them with marketing professionals willing to promote the product in exchange for company equity or a percentage of gross product sales for a fixed period of time. The service is free for both software developers and marketers. After contact is made and the parties agree to terms for working together, Promote Builders recommends they formalize the relationship with a written contract. Examples are provided on the website. Promote Builders accepts professional programmers and hobbyists. Many programmers work on pet projects in their spare time. Often, these software products sit on the shelf because the developer doesn’t want to or doesn’t know how to market the software. Promote Builders was designed to eliminate this obstacle. “Prime Time is my educational math game,” said game designer Ben Shirley. “It help kids in the 3rd through 9th grade have fun as they learn math. Teachers and parents approve of the game. Students would even come to class early to play. Unfortunately, sales failed to materialize. Although I’d programmed since age 8, marketing was still a black box. The frustration of watching a good product die on the vine was the spark needed to create Promote Builders.” Software Developers register for the site in the Builder role, which allows them to post their product in the Active Products list. Marketers register in the Promoter role and after reviewing Active Products, contact the Builder of the product they wish to market. Future enhancements to the site include automating contract creation, providing project management services, and granting access to a Kickstarter-like funding app designed for software product campaigns. For more information or to sign up as a developer or marketer, visit Promote Builders.

Well, somebody did refer you to her....

Why write 'will die soon' when you can double the word count? Writers are often paid by the word, you know.

Is lovely Rita a meter maid?

Thanks for passing on that comment, Richard. It's a shame the comment thread wasn't cc'ed to me. It's hard to learn new things when you're excluded from a discussion. It would've been helpful if I'd gotten some sort of canned message about why my post disappeared and how it could become acceptable. Instead, it just went into a black hole. It seems the key difference between an ad and an acceptable press release is whether it's written in 2nd person or 3rd person. From the press release right below mine: "This product also makes an excellent alternative for those professionals that work in their own home-offices." Changing "their own home-office" to "your own home-office" would make it an advertisement. One of the oddest things is that my post is now a zombie. It says "Message Removed" and I can't delete the entry. Makes me wonder why the entry wasn't simply removed. Ed

No, the user doesn't get a report. They're just left wondering what happened.

You wrote:

Every line of your quoted text is an advert.

Even bad press is press

Yes, that was the point I was making. All of those lines are ads. They are from OTHER posts in the Press Releases forum. But mine, which I did NOT quote in my comment, was singled out for deletion. If ads are not allowed there, then pretty much every single entry in the Press Releases forum should be deleted.

By griping about being treated differently than the other posters to that particular forum? You have an odd definition of "advertising".

What? I did not repost it.

Thanks for your input.

[comment removed by Ed G.]

Thanks for freeing it. I did a 2nd post after the 1st because there was no immediate feedback on what happened. I emailed webmaster and asked them to delete one and they must have done so.

So that's why my c*t posts keep getting rejected!!

Rant On... I just posted a press release to the site and received an automated message that it was queued for review because it might be spam. According to the directions on the press release page

A press release must be written for the purpose of announcing something newsworthy. Advertisements, promotions, or anything smelling even vaguely of spam will be deleted.

Fair enough. Until you remember that the definition of press release is

A public relations announcement issued to the news media and other targeted publications for the purpose of letting the public know of company developments.

Thanks, post-bot. Now you've got me curious about what keywords trigger the flag and how to avoid them in future. :-D ...Rant Off

Building a high-tech product takes dedication and focus and a lot of hard work. Sometimes builders focus so strongly on getting the product built or developed that they forget the other things needed for success. Or they’ve worked so hard completing the product that they're burned out when it comes time to promote it in the marketplace. Meanwhile, there are people who are exceptional at promoting ideas to the world. They live and breathe marketing and sales. They're looking for someone who's built an amazing products that is going nowhere simply because the builder doesn’t have the time, knowledge, or skills to tell the world about the product. Promote Builders[^] is a unique new online matchmaking service that helps people who build things like websites, apps, online services and other high-tech products connect and collaborate with people who promote things, like online marketers, SEO specialists and sales professionals. If you're expert at building, you focus on that while your marketer focuses on promoting and selling your product. If you're expert at marketing, you take a ready-to-sell product and create a successful marketing campaign. Signing up for Promote Builders is free and easy. Just visit the promote.builders website and fill out a simple form. When you find a compatible marketer, you and your new partner create an agreement between yourselves on how to share the financial success of the product. What could be simpler? But what if you need more than just marketing? Plans are underway at Promote Builders to match other needed services and even arrange funding. Need a logo? Hire a graphic designer on the freelance board. Need money to finalize development or run an advertising campaign? Launch a Builderstarter crowd-funding effort and raise some. Through a mix of services-for-equity, barter, percent of sales, or paid services, your amazing products are connected with people who are amazing at telling the world about products and, if needed, people who are amazing at graphics or web design or just about anything else conducive to amazing success. About Promote Builders Promote Builders[^] is owned and operated by Taylor Clark Software LLC of Chicago, IL.

Posted 8/28/2015 by Ed Gadziemski.

Building a high-tech product takes dedication and focus and a lot of hard work. Sometimes builders focus so strongly on getting the product built or developed that they forget the other things needed for success. Or they’ve worked so hard completing the product that they're burned out when it comes time to promote it in the marketplace. Meanwhile, there are people who are exceptional at promoting ideas to the world. They live and breathe marketing and sales. They're looking for someone who's built an amazing products that is going nowhere simply because the builder doesn’t have the time, knowledge, or skills to tell the world about the product. Promote Builders is a unique new online matchmaking service that helps people who build things like websites, apps, online services and other high-tech products connect and collaborate with people who promote things, like online marketers, SEO specialists and sales professionals. If you're expert at building, you focus on that while your marketer focuses on promoting and selling your product. If you're expert at marketing, you take a ready-to-sell product and create a successful marketing campaign. Signing up for Promote Builders is free and easy. Just visit the promote.builders website and fill out a simple form. When you find a compatible marketer, you and your new partner create an agreement between yourselves on how to share the financial success of the product. What could be simpler? But what if you need more than just marketing? Plans are underway at Promote Builders to match other needed services and even arrange funding. Need a logo? Hire a graphic designer on the freelance board. Need money to finalize development or run an advertising campaign? Launch a Builderstarter crowd-funding effort and raise some. Through a mix of services-for-equity, barter, percent of sales, or paid services, your amazing products are connected with people who are amazing at telling the world about products and, if needed, people who are amazing at graphics or web design or just about anything else conducive to amazing success. About Promote Builders Promote Builders is owned and operated by Taylor Clark Software LLC of Chicago, IL. This press release was posted by Code Project member Ed Gadziemski.