BuddyUP Safe Link

There is a big chance that you have landed on this page because you’ve clicked a [here](https://steemit.com/buddyup/@buddyup/you-are-in-the-safe-zone) hyperlink in your comments. This was most likely from somebody who is a member of BuddyUP, letting you know that they found your post on our server.

You are on this post because we want to make sure our members only share the Discord server, in comments, using a link to this page. This is so we can keep the external link symbol away from our comments so that nobody ends up getting their account details phished by someone trying to pose as us.

WE WILL NOT BE USING EXTERNAL LINK SYMBOLS IN OUR COMMENTS.

The external arrow symbol is present when a link is going to take you away from the Steemit platform. The external site could then ask for your key/password information, so they can steal your assets and credentials. Be cautious of phishing comments and if you see somebody posing as BuddyUP in this manner, using the external symbol after the date of this post, send us a direct message in Discord or steemit.chat.

---

Jump in

To make this somewhat short and sweet, those of you who just want to dive over to the server and get involved, here is the link below:

---

https://discordapp.com/invite/3d5H3K8

---

Watch out

For those of you who want to learn how to leave the correct comment to help more people get involved in BuddyUP, I’ll explain the reason and how you can go about doing it.

Whenever we find a really good post in #post-spot or any of the other POST POOL channels, we try to drop by to the content and share what we like about it. We always aim to leave a genuine comment where we express honestly what we like about the post. If the person comes along and joins BuddyUP, we can hopefully help them improve within the Discord community.

---

_{@coachjj & @tamala showing off what they've enjoyed reading}

---

If they drop by to the server we can help to advise and let them know what we thought about the post. This detaches any improvement feedback from being on the blockchain and it reduces the chances of things becoming personal and sour. If you believe you can leave encouraging and positive feedback without causing upset, go ahead. Just be cautious of the writer; they might be younger, or they might take criticisms onboard badly.

I’m going to give some examples of the different comments we have left, as well as showing the external symbol () in them, to highlight why we are changing our approach.

---

---

As you can see, the comments we have sent are engaging, genuine and encouraging for the writer. Hopefully, the creator appreciates it and it helps fuel their fire here on the platform. The only problem is that they all use the external link symbol.

Below is an example of a comment that is attempting to phish your information:

---

---

You can see that there is an external link on the comment highlighted by this symbol. You can avoid clicking on one of these dangerous links by hovering, not clicking, over the link and seeing where it leads in the bottom left corner of the web browser.

This post has the link directly in front of your eyes, so you get the instant feeling of suspicion when you read the comment. Below is a snippet that highlights where to find the real link when you hover over the hyperlinks. The external symbol () will be present if it's leading you away from the site. Sometimes, the green hyperlink can say 'here', 'clickhere' or something along those lines. Use the hover trick to make sure you are not being directed to somewhere malicious.

---

---

You also need to be aware of images with embedded links, warnings that provoke some form of urgency from you (emails, direct messages in discord or anything else seeming fishy) and also miss clicks.

You need to be cautious and responsible for your own account. Always hover over the green hyperlinks and check if it directs you to a funny looking link. You should get a pre-warning if it is going to take you to a site away from Steemit, by looking for the grey arrow symbol beside the hyperlink, but you still need to be cautious.

---

New approach

As you can see below, we show you the way that we used to direct people to our discord server using the ‘www.discordapp’ link:

---

---

Below is how we will be sharing our links from now, keeping all redirection on the Steemit platform, unless it’s in this post.

---

---

We want to keep the link to the server very short and we don't like to cram up peoples comments with logos and banners. If you'd like to add the message to the bottom of the comment, add; '@'username' shared this on the BuddyUP server. You can check out our community here '.

Remember, genuine comments only and any time BuddyUP is mentioned, we get notified with GinaBOT. So we are watching!

---

Be responsible

Use your common sense. This account of yours is a valuable asset and if you are careless with your safety, you will probably do a little cry when you lose it.

Stay safe guys and don’t be careless.

We all grow together

---

This is @calumam, thanks for reading.

---

All images are taken from Unsplash.com

---

Disclaimer: All snippets used by BuddyUP members are not a personal attack. This is my fault that the approach was wrong in the first place and I needed to realize the importance of it all after the fact. Great work from you guys! Continue to spread the word and encourage others but just make sure you use the new approach. Thank you!

Phishing is NOT COOL. We will do whatever we can to prevent our name being dragged into the dirt by people willing to steal other peoples hard work.