sme suggestions in light of the rip off happening

How can we improve this forum, and the site as a whole?
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az1
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sme suggestions in light of the rip off happening

Post by az1 »

Hi Rob and others

Great site and a really good group of posters. But........

With the spate of fraudulant selling etc that is happening in the catfish arena and also for clarification of who is posting I have the following suggestions.

1. Enforce the 'location' entry so that the info presented can be put into a relevant context. I note that most people do insert a location ino their profile but because it is not enforced the person that you want to provide location has omited it.

2. Not allow posts by guest. I am not sure whether this is still permitted but I have seen posts by guest. Similar reason as number 1.

3. To bar any sales access without a verivied email. The down side is guests can't peruse the sales section but the upside is there is even further security avoiding abuse in regard to sales.

These sort of rules apply on this board http://ace.ipbhost.com/
with a futher rule re browsing for registered members only, which I don't necesarily agree with.

Cheers

Andreas
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Rob
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Post by Rob »

Excellent idea ther Az1.

I can see your point on all of the above issues, and willl get to work on them asap. I am putting together a new site, so will include the above changes.

I will also be having a SCAM Alert forum, just to keep us on our toes!!

Cheers for the input, greatly appreciated.

Rob
The perfect white lie..."Of course I didn't pay that much for the fish honey"
Tom2600
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Post by Tom2600 »

Hi

I wasn't aware that this site was subject to fraudulent activity!?

All I would say Rob is that this site is aimed at a very, very specific audience. Therefore, if someone wants to commit a fraudulent act, as has been witnessed recently, the suggestions mentioned below would not prevent this.

All that the suggestions below would do is put people off joining etc.

I feel very sorry for those who have lost a great deal of money in relation to this recent act of 'catfish' fraud but if you wire money to someone unknown that is the risk. 99 out of a 100 transactions will be honest but no amount of preventative measures will stop the odd keen fraudsters.

Regards

Tom
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Rob
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Post by Rob »

I See you rpoint there Tom.

Although I think the idea of mandatory location is a good one as this also helps out with answereing member questions.

When the new site is uploaded, all posting will be restricted to registered users, this shopuld hopefully reduce the chances of @fraudulent@ sales and wants as we will have a valid e-mail address as traceability.

Finally, the Scam alert forum may be a little over the top, as we can continue to post message warnings in the sales and wants section.

Rob
The perfect white lie..."Of course I didn't pay that much for the fish honey"
Adam
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Post by Adam »

Personally I have no problems with having to provide more personal details such as location, valid email address and having to log in each time in order to post. I do this anyway and so do many other members here. If it decreases the chances, however small, of some undesirable getting on the forum then it's served it's purpose. Of course it would not deter a more resourceful/determined fraudster but then again I don't think much could be done with regards to this.

I can't see that membership numbers would be adversely affected. People with a genuine interest in zebras would join the forum regardless of the new registration procedures.

Adam
Shell231
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Post by Shell231 »

I totally agree on everything said above so i will ot add anymore, but all i say is dont part with any money until you are totally 100% happy with your purchase! i would never ever part with hard earned zebra money lol but i do feel ever so sorry for people who have lost out
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