There is an art to sucking up. Done too blatantly it will backfire. Done too weakly, you won't get what you want. The perfect suck up contains the following elements:

• Credibility. No matter how good your suck up, if you don't meet the requirements for placement, a job, an interview, whatever, it won't matter, so you need to show why you deserve what you're asking for.

A site's signup page is the second most important page on a site (the most important is the home page itself) because this is where you're asking for committment. Everyone worries about the home page (and still don't do a good job), but most companies do a poor job with the signup page. For example, HAMweather's is aesthetically-challenged, and Last.fm's doesn't convey enough information. This article about signup pages by Tim Bednar is a good read. His list of important signup-page elements is:

Have you ever played soccer with a Brazilian?  On the soccer field, there are many styles that you come to recognize if you have played against enough international players.  Germans have a different style than Mexicans.  As most soccer players will tell you, the Brazilian style of soccer is something special.  Their approach is also why they are seen every World Cup as the team to beat and why Brazilian players have such a legendary status beyond players from most other cultures (the biggest stars or your own team biases not withstanding).  What is it that makes the Brazilians stand out?