The following is the text from the petition which you can find at: Care2 Being Over-Run By Trolls
While we would like to extend our gratitude and praise for the wonderful, activist community you have created with the Care2 website and all the tangential functions it encompasses (like the petitions, C2NN, the Groups etc.), we are also extremely dismayed to find that, of late, it is being over-run by marketing trolls/spammers.
With almost every news post that goes up there is at least one of these marketing spammers who posts, in the comments section, a long list of merchandise for sale. Although we have the option to report these comments as “inappropriate”, (an option which most of us fully utilize), they continue to pop up in an annoying, relentless and incongruous manner. Furthermore, there seem to be frequent technical glitches with this reporting mechanism that prevent the actual filing of the spam/troll report.
We understand the difficulty in keeping such spammers at bay but we are strongly urging you to find a solution to this problem, a problem that is changing the very nature of the Care2 site. Rest assured that our loyalty and appreciation is unwavering but our patience with this situation is being sorely tested.
We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible regarding a resolution to this situation.
Woody & my letter to Obama.
Save Endangered Caribou Petition
Tymlee's Blog 
There must be a certain way to stop such actions , Care 2 threads and posts are not a market and propoganda for selling.
I think a strict law , rules or requlation need to be set in order to stop it e.g any one who use Care 2 threads as propoganda will be blocked or suspended for 3 years and his profile will be closed for the period and a note will be written.
It is one of the suggestions I beleive there might be better ones.
These people are disruptive, They need to go. If they want to promote their business, they need to pay for advertising like every other self respecting business.
This spamming is very annoying, and it must be stopped now!!!
I have reported spam many times with no result!
We, at Care 2 are legitimately trying to use the site for the purpose for which it was intended, but we find so many marketing spammers, blocking the site. We would be very grateful if you could rectify the problem.
For a time, it was terrible, and somehow, these spammers were able to override the “flag as inappropriate” function. (It’s been fixed now. Thanks!) When there were so many spams, I tried to notify Care2 through their help center, but all I got was automated responses, with a case number, but no instructions as to where I should go to follow it up. I love care2, but it felt as if they didn’t care about my concerns. So I wrote them a couple of snail mails, and still they haven’t responded. Then I discovered that I could join a group (Feedback and Discussion) where I could actually bring issues up, but I was refused. I feel that I have contributed some pretty well thought out posts to care2, but maybe I complained too much, I don’t know. I’m not a complainer, but I hate spam. I was discouraged, and tried to find out why my application to the group was declined. Still no response. My feelings are hurt. I think care2 likes the spammers more than it likes me.
When I signed the Care2 Spammers need to go, I ended up on a different petition, Enough Explosions: Tighten Rules on All Oil Rigs, my signature to be sent to Ken Salazar! Wonder if he will understand what I wrote!
I love Care2 but I am not impressd by the people who selfishly use Car2 as a place to market their products. It is extremely irritating to be intensely reading the comments on an activist article and suddenly find someone trying to sell me something, whether I have need of it or not. I give a large time commitment to participating in Care2 and find it offensive to have any of that time wasted. I am sure the good workers of Care2 do not want their work wasted by greedy and selfish people with no sense of ehtical bahaviour either. Please work of finding a soluition to this problem as quickly as possible. At the very least you can delete a spammers membership at the first instance of this behaviour, noting key phrases to be alert for if they sign up with a new false membership.
Spammers must go away from Care2 they sending false information and do contact members on their private mailadress , hacked photos, asked for money and threiten people on their homeadress !!!!!!
This site is for changing things for the better and helping those in need (animal or human). It is not for making a profit or causing problems and confusion.
I fully endorse what is being said here, including DianeB.
Please do what ever you can to stop this SPAM.
We need them to go as soon as possible.
Qais
Yes! Very true! These spammers need to be quickly dealt with –
Yes… we need Care2 to be free of spammers as much as possible…
Spanners here at care2.com must be eliminated from this site, They are unwelcome and unwanted here,
It makes me so sad to see advertisements in the comments.
Oh I so agree, its aggravating. Every time I come across one of the marketing comment/spams I report the abuse as unwarranted advertising, etc.
I wonder now if some emails I have been receiving asking for money could also be related. Please Care2, you know we love you – but upgrade your security for us!
NO MORE SPAM!!
I know that Eric and other Care 2 management are working overtime in attempting to rid this site from spammers. I believe that it will cease when all financial incentive is removed, by deleting the entire “comment”, which includes the vendor’s web address and which can generate sales LONG after the spammer’s page has been removed. Also great care must be taken to make certain that the “flag as inappropriate” option is available. Further, more care must be taken in determining if the new member is a real person who is joining for the right reasons. Names, which are nothing but a string of letters, e.g., GFEKLM, do not constitute actual names. No one should be allowed to join under such an alias.
Further, more and more ARTICLES submitted for comment appear to be little more than ads, wherein the author is primarily or exclusively attempting to sell his/her own goods or services, even including links to his/her commercial site. This is equally unseemly. It is spamming, only in a more calculated way, with the commercial ad masquerading as an informative article. Journalistic integrity requires that NO financial incentive exist for the writer of an article. A few of these articles have been so blatant, that they looked like an ad from Home Depot. (One recently was submitted by Remodelista.) I resent being marketed to when I think I am reading an informative article. If such people desire to sell their merchandise and services, they must be required to puirchase ad space, the same way our other Care 2 sponsors do. The writer could still submit an article on a topic, but without references of any kind to their own commercial site. Any related commercial information should be submitted ONLY in paid-for ad space.
I know many Care 2 members, who have their own business and who could write some sort of related “informative article”, in order to promote their own business. None of them take advantage of the trust of Care 2 or its members. Article writers, who do this, should not be permitted to breach that trust, either. When they do it, they should be barred from submitting any further articles, and their article or the references to their own business in such an article ought to be removed.
I, too, have experienced Care 2 members, who are strangers and who have contacted me through personal introductions in an attempt to sell me their products, after they read a comment I had submitted. Care 2 needs to have a mechanism by which such conduct is immediately curtailed, along with that person’s membership.
There may be spammers but I also encountered a scammer on Care2 by the name of Monica Y ( Yak ), who tried to give me a sob story to get money from me, last time I checked shje still had her Care2 page and I had reported her to Care2.
We don’t need spammers here on care 2 or people who try to sell products that are unrelated to the site.
We really don’t like being distracted by spammers who are living with the delusion that we might actually buy something from them! NOT going to happen!
Spammers Go entertain yourself somewhere else.
Care2 Spammers Need to Go! Big Time!!!
yes! send them away back to wherever in hyberspace where they originated from! Begone evil Spammers! Never to darken the threshold of Care2 again!
do not allow spammers and check out horrible videos.
thank you Michelle.
i am actually getting tired of reporting these spam/troll postings so am delighted to see and sign your petition. come on care2 do this for your users and get rid of all these time wasting postings.
also noted.
Please inform me how to get rid of spam mail. Thank You. Also what is the purpose of spam mail.
No spammers on Care2, please. That is not what we are about.
Get rid of spammers, care2 does not need them.
It’s a wonderful thing further progress
Regards
سعودي كول
سعودي انحراف
Care2 need and must be a spammers free zone!
I was delighted to read this as it’s about time someone brought it right out in the open. It happens throughout all of the topics and completely distracts from what we’re reading – what we were already think about to reply too. In short, they are a real pest!
“Furthermore, there seem to be frequent technical glitches with this reporting mechanism that prevent the actual filing of the spam/troll report.”
The above sentence has also been happening to me, I click on the “inappropriate” button, write all that I feel about it and how wrong it is – then can’t send it off!!
PLEASE help us NOT to have spammers here on Care2!
We are sick of being bombarded by spam! Get rid of it Now!
Not Acceptable and we do not need “Spammers” on care2! Anywhere really!
We need spammers like the senior prom queen needs crabs. And they are every bit as much true parasites!
TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE WANT CARE TOO FREE OF SPAMMERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These spammers are advertising their internet sales in the comments sections. The ones I saw were posted by previous members. How could they enter the info without signing in? Their sign in info would not be valid. Please do not purchase anything from these people. They want to use us as an advertising site for free. I did report 3 or 4 of them last week as inappropriate
I have told these spammer who take advantage of Care 2 to do their free advertising to go away
This is so unfair when Care 2 is doing wonderful things
We don’t need or want cosmetic, clothing lines etc to be advertised here and taking up valuable space
GO AWAY GET LOST spammers, you are not wanted
Spam is very distracting.
PLEASE–NO SPAMMERS ON CARE2!!
lets get rid of these spammers as soon as possible no one wants them.
Aren’t there key words “sale” etc. that could tag these jerks?
Spammers are awful! I will never visit a site that is so underhanded as to use comment sections for free advertising. Most are hacker ploys. I see these losers showing up everywhere on the internet anywhere comments can be posted and I am sick of them.
Think a good computer technician could find a way to ‘block’ these spammers. They are a nuisance and they should realize that advertising on a site such as Care2 is a waste of their time. Also, perhaps a law could be passed by ‘Care2’ in which these spammers could be fined if they are identified. We don’t want them!
Please Care2, stop the spammers if possible. They are negatively distracting & detracting from your (supposed) intent. Would really appreciate you attention to this problem. Lin Penrose
The innapropriate option does not work
No Spammers on Care2!
Get rid of all spammers now
No more spammers!!!
Spammers are the pits – obviously got nothing better to do!
Finally! I thought I was the one and only who felt annoyed.
I despise these parasites and have two standard letters which I put on to the site as soon as I see them. The main thing is that no one should ever respond.
A Care 2 member posted that when she went on to one of these sites she could not get out anymore unless she replied.
I am not an expert but I surely hope that you find a solution. Can we ask Bill Gates to create an Anti-Spam software? I mean – we can fly to the moon but not protect ourselves from such invasions?
By all means, do whatever is necessary to get rid of the spam! It’s annoying to be following posts in a legitimate discussion on an important issue and be urged to buy apparel or some other unrelated crud. How do the spammers get in? Could the words “for sale” or “buy” trigger an instant rejection of their alleged comments? I’m relatively new to computers, so I don’t know if this is possible. I do report all spam as inappropriate.
Peddlers, spammers and trolls should not clutter up comment columns and obstruct people who want to read various opinions about serious topics. There should be a place where they can go to promote respectable products like hand-knit mittens, used books, bicycle parts et al. Some of these people are beginning entrepreurs who need a place for free advertising because they are trying to get started, but others are just chaff, selling bogus merchandise, rip-off schemes, and even themselves. That kind should not only be barred, but also prosecuted!
Care2 spammers need to go. It is very disrupting and takes up to much room in the comments. I get on Care2 to sign petitions and voice conerns, not for spammers.
Stop spam NOW!
No more spam.Sick of spam
Stop spam
No more spammers, go away.
Would definitely like to see and end to this harassment!
I think the best thing to do is just completely ignore them. Breeze over the issue and get on to your reading comments. I say dislike and ignore and move down the comments.
Have a wondrous day things will work out!!..:):)…
I totally agree with the many concerned Care2 members about people who try to sell me something instead of leaving a legitimate post. I have reported the same people over and over again as inappropriate and it angers me to see they are still able to post their “ads”. I have no idea why they think someone reading about health or political issues would welcome a posting about buying “designer” clothing, purses, or shoes unless they are just clueless and trying to find a free way to advertise their business. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest –
I sincerely hope that Care2 and Randy Paynter will listen to our laments. Perhaps we should all leave comments directly with him or other founding members instaed of flagging as “inappropriate, since it seems those aren’t getting through.
Care2 itself spams unsubscribed internet users so I am not surprised it attracts the same.
I have never been associated with them but got a fake security update from them with tracker code instead of the usual noreply.
I was suprised to find they espouse fashionable causes but operate email tactics more common to the underbelly of the web.
Unsubscribing just brings another cascade with the emails sent to and header information cycled to avoid blocking.
This fish definitely stinks from the head regardless of what good works it
members do.