I debated whether to even answer you again; however, instead of answering I will add these few points:

Even though in the past I have easily earned $100/hour accepting all the paid work I desired, today I give away most of my time assisting businesses and bloggers.

Andy created CommentLuv which has put many bloggers who would otherwise never be seen online a free, easy way to grow their blogs. CommentLuv is popular and therefore has a lot of overhead yet still free.

Hesham did know that the contest would increase traffic and visibility for all involved and I guarantee he has more than earned that increase in the enormous amount of work involved.

If you want to think we’re all evil and taking advantage of bloggers, suit yourself. We will continue to do what we believe is for the good of all.

P.S. Many blogs including this one have threaded comments turned on. If you click reply under the comment you’re replying to your reply will appear under it.
New from Gail How CommentLuv Grows Businesses and Blogs

You can also go with the “let it slide” philosophy too. However, more comment spam is automated and you’ll find that you get more of it over time. If you have a live person leaving meaningless comments then it isn’t so bad, but the robo-comments are annoying.
New from LoneWolf@MasterIt Setting and Achieving Your Goals eBook

Yes, totally optional, and highly suggestive as well. I never said it was mandatory, only that it was wrong. I said you highly encouraged participants to do it. Yes, you said that anyone can win anyways, however, you also said the first thing YOU would do, is write promotional posts for sponsors. Not only that, but you suggest spreading that promotion around as much as possible. What’s a participant to think? You might as well put a billboard on their backs and give em a smack on the rear to send em down the road.

You, one of the promoters of the contest, say YOU would do it, and repeatedly. You also say they are worth “bonus points”. So, why would anyone think for a minute that it really isn’t important, or necessary? Instead, the implication is that if you want to win, it’d be best to do it. I will admit I am not sure which post contains it, but I am fairly certain you also stated that you would encourage participants to write about every sponsor on the list.

So no, no inaccuracy at all, as shown by your own statement at the top of this post.

“Let’s talk facts here. Any site can ASK for any amount they choose but that is a far cry from them actually being paid what they “charge”.”

This is why I dislike debating online. No matter how many times you support, prove or demonstrate, it is always too easy for the other side to equivocate. And you have done this a great deal. You insist something is wrong, you are shown it is not, you then ignore the original point rather than conceding that you are simply wrong.
You know why they ask that rate. Because they can, because people pay it, because it is worth it. Because although rates are highly variable, there are some accepted pricing methods based on site rank, reach, traffic, etc.

Do I have to provide a list? I pulled those up in seconds with Google. Anyone can. You should keep that in mind. I told you clearly, I myself have run more than one business, my spouse currently co-owns one as well, and we both have done quite a bit of research involving the merits of advertising, it’s costs, and the most effective mediums and methods. I even gave you a direct dollar amount of the minimum it costs for my spouses business, and told you it is a lucrative return. You are not debating with an ignorant Gail. You are arguing with someone who HAS DONE IT.

“Allnurses.com is a PR6 site and might be able to command those rates”

At least you now admit, I was RIGHT, and a WELL RANKED site can ask the rates I said were possible, which you originally stated WERE NOT. You should also note, that those rates are minimums Gail. A PR 3- 4 site can easily ask over $100.00 monthly just for a 125×125 banner in the above fold portion of their sidebar, and get it. Would you like proof of that as well, or are you willing to concede that maybe, JUST maybe, you are wrong?

I have spent a great deal of time researching and learning about the monetization aspect of websites so that when I am ready, I can make a proper job of it myself. I have spent a great deal of time studying rates for advertising and promotion. I can provide a long list of rates and variables. I think however that should not be necessary by now.

“All participants receive links FROM that PR6 site to their blogs which benefits them more than it benefits ComLuv.”

Actually, with the Comluv plugin, that is highly doubtful. First, assuming the links are Do-follow, that juice is spread among ALL outgoing links. Google does not assign a set amount, at least as far as anyone knows and judging by the hard to measure improvements. However, it is generally agreed upon that sites which are selective in their use of do-follow and rank well provide much better benefits for the few do-follow links they allow. Comluv however is getting major exposure and link backs.

“If you are moving in that world – which would not be apparent by anything online related to you”

You’re going to have to stab harder Gail. I have much thicker skin than that. My little unfocused personal blog is not about building up worth with an eventual sale in its future, unlike others. No, it’s just a personal blog that helps establish me and assists in my freelancing endeavors, nothing more. I make my money writing others content for them. I don’t need to sell space, or spend my time amusing sycophants on every social network available, or prove how great I am by showing everyone how many people I can get to follow me on Twitter, or tout my PR like a badge.

Ironic though, you being the Pr 4 Pro Marketer, yet a nobody such as myself has shown just how thin your knowledge really is.
Shooting the messenger never works very well, and it won’t work here either. Insult and insinuate if you must, but it changes nothing.

“We are live and let live kind of people so we’ll let you do your thing and we’ll do ours.”

You have no say in what I do Gail. You “let” me do nothing. And if I think what you are doing is wrong, I will say so. All of this irrelevant focus on the value of advertising is as I said, pointless. The point is, as it has always been, you guys made a mistake and crossed the line. You should never have used the contest participants to produce free advertising for your sponsors.

I seriously doubt there is much to be gained as far as traffic goes by “creating controversy” over the Comluv contest as you put it. People are not going to be that interested.
I also don’t doubt you haven’t the time to sit here and answer comments. After all, you’re busy putting in time elsewhere, answering comments.
New from Paul Novak CommentLuv Suicide

The cost of default links has gone up since you last bought any but IMHO they are still a great deal. There is information about those links and how to use them in the post I’ll use in CommentLuv in this reply.

I would love to invite you into our blog collaboration. Besides Kristi we have 77+ members including several other serious real estate bloggers in it. You could all benefit. You can contact me through my blog for details and an invitation.
New from Gail How CommentLuv Grows Businesses and Blogs

It does appear that KeywordLuv works in WordPress 3.0. I know of a blog that has definitely upgraded and it is still working.

The new CommentLuv default links are even better than using KeywordLuv (although we use both). You can read about how they work and where to get them in the post I’ll put in CommentLuv in this reply.
New from Gail @ CommentLuv How CommentLuv Grows Businesses and Blogs

There are some serious inaccuracies in your latest comment that need to be addressed:

You wrote: “you are asking that contestants write at last 20 promotional posts.”

That is definitely untrue. Contestants MAY write totally OPTIONAL posts about any sponsor if they choose and publish them on their own blogs or at GrowMap or FamousBloggers. NO ONE is required to do so and anyone can win without ever writing a single sponsored post.

Until the deadline had passed, they could have instead submitted multiple entries if they want to increase their chances of winning without doing any sponsored posts and even now they could still win by doing more promoting. Someone could win with only one entry if they commented in a lot of CommentLuv blogs whose owners then returned the favor (which is common but obviously not guaranteed).

The totally optional posts about sponsors were announced in this post at ComLuv.

Let’s talk facts here. Any site can ASK for any amount they choose but that is a far cry from them actually being paid what they “charge”. That a PR3 site like Orbie.com might publish such rates (which we can not confirm because their site will not load at all right now) does NOT mean there are businesses willing to pay their asking price.

Allnurses.com is a PR6 site and might be able to command those rates but the only PR6 site involved in the contest that I am aware of is ComLuv itself. All participants receive links FROM that PR6 site to their blogs which benefits them more than it benefits ComLuv.

There are quality businesses that don’t have $650/mo. minimum to spend on advertising. There are quality blogs that are not PR6 yet. That is another world away from their current reality. If you are moving in that world – which would not be apparent by anything online related to you – congratulations on your success.

You said, “It sounds a bit skewed don’t you think?” No, I do NOT think it is skewed in favor of advertisers. Yes they get a least one link from each participant and that MIGHT move them onto the first page at Google. (Links from unrelated sites are not nearly as valuable as related links.)

IMHO, the bloggers get just as much if not more from participating. Nothing you can say will change my mind about that. Anyone who wants to know more about where I stand and what my ethics are can easily tell by what I write.

I am the first person to admit that the DoFollow CommentLuv KeywordLuv community that Kristi and I belong to has different values than traditional business. We are live and let live kind of people so we’ll let you do your thing and we’ll do ours.

I have much else to do besides answering comments and I’m not into controversy for the sake of increased traffic, so I apologize to you in advance if I do not have the time to answer any future replies.
New from Gail How CommentLuv Grows Businesses and Blogs