Quote:
Originally Posted by heiko0o
The question then is, why did they even implement a UID? I mean it must be there for something. It seems to be fairly new as well, because i remember i didn't see the UID a couple of months ago.
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If not shown in the stats it would have always been there in the backend. As a convention, relational databases use an integer to uniquely identify an entity.
One reason why they'd show ID instead of USERNAME in the stats is because they don't want affiliates (webmasters or broadcasters) to know usernames, they just want you to see anonymous transactions. It makes sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by heiko0o
Can't edit my last post anymore - Do you also think its possible to specifically ask for information about a UID from the CB Support?
Like, if i email them with some UID's and ask them if they can check if they have registered under a different cookie, do you think they will provide information like this?
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I can't say for sure but my guess is they won't give you that information.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bill_musk
Where did u get this information from?
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I am a computer professional and I use common sense to demonstrate the point:
if they were oblivious to that information you could create new usernames by the hundreds and make money using their PPL program ($1 per signup). But you can't do that, they will spot you because like any serious business they have mechanisms in place. And that's even before you enter any credit card details.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bill_musk
As far as I know, clearing cache and making a new account will change the UID. Impossible to bind it to multiple username.
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Let's be precise with the definition so we're sure to talk about the same thing. You must be talking about the ID (User ID - column 2), which is different for each username/account. UID (User Unique ID - column 8) however is unique per user/person.
Clearing cookies and making a new account will change the ID, but it is my assessment that the UID will remain the same.
If you think about it, their fraud and abuse department must need this information. They don't want fraudsters or abusive customers to re-spawn by just creating a new username.
This is also useful for their marketing department so they can see the flow.
Let's see a few scenarios for illustration purposes:
#1 user first account
(ID:123456;UID:abcdef;USERNAME:bob;AFFILIATE_ID:xx x)
#2 user clears cookies, and creates a new account
(ID: 333427;UID:abcdef;USERNAME:cc_bob;AFFILIATE_ID:yyy )
=> user abcdef was originally referred by xxx but now yyy makes the $$
=> only ID and UID are shown to the affiliate, the other records are obviously in the db but not displayed in our dashboard.