Emfuser

(This post has excerpts from a PM conversation I had with a mod and admins have likely seen, but I wanted to post a public thread as well.)

In my short time here I've noticed that this forum lacks something that that many car communities offer: A feedback forum where users can post positive and negative feedback about their transactions with other users and, more importantly, the vendors. It just seems odd to me that a member or vendor has to become a serious problem before the user base at large can read/hear about it easily (when the admin staff starts posting site-wide notices).

I've done some searching and noticed that people have brought up an automatic rating system that was already shot down by the administration here. I'm fine with that and understand the reasoning, but I don't understand why there's not even a forum dedicated to this function. The idea that one should have to search through 12 individual sale forums (plus searching for sales that wouldn't necessarily be in those 12 forums for non-generation-specific stuff) for potential feedback on a user or vendor is not particularly effective or reasonable, in my opinion. The most glaring problem with the current guidelines is that doing such research across so many forums leads to having to search through quite a bit of noise. Instead, feedback for all sorts of transactions conducted here could easily be consolidated into one forum that's relatively easy to manage and dedicated to feedback. That way one doesn't have to sift through vendor sale postings and non-related discussions (which happen to contain the right keywords) that come up when using the current suggested method for feedback and feedback research. Considering that there is a fairly high percentage of people here who are not particularly skilled with the internet in general or forums, this would also assist them greatly.

I (and I suspect many others) think giving some room for polite, truthful negative and positive feedback is necessary and worth consideration by the site owners. Good businesspeople & vendors can use that to improve. Crappy ones who don't want to improve will stand out like sore thumbs, which will rightfully make it harder for them to sell to members until they make improvements. For all the various rules you have here at corvetteforums.com that people seem to follow well, I don't think it would cause a problem. This place is nowhere near the free-for-all of the open forums I mod. People here are pretty well behaved. I know that you guys are big on stringent content control in posts here, but the idea that such a forum would become an out-of-control mess that causes serious problems just doesn't seem to mesh up well at all with the general behavior of the population of posters one sees here.

I would love to hear from the site owners and admins what has been considered in this arena, since I doubt this is the first time it has been suggested.

pewter99

My $0.02 on this is....we already have a dispute process whereby users can post their disputes with members and vendors in an open forum as long as they stick to the facts and it doesn't turn into a bash fest or he said/ he said etc. The moderating staff already monitors these threads in an attempt to keep them on track and hopefully get a positive resolution for all parties involved. Usually that happens.

The problem I see with another forum is it would just be another place for us to monitor what we already have unless you are suggesting that all disputes be posted there in which case I could see the benefit.

In some sections of the forum we have sticky threads where members can post good dealings and that seems to be working well.

I don't think we are going to allow a bunch of "I had a crappy experience with XYZ member/vendor" threads where everyone can just pile on and bash them. I know you said "polite criticism" but really when is the last time people behind a keyboard were "polite" when they are upset

Emfuser

Right, I get that.

I definitely wasn't suggesting a forum with free-for-all type rules. You would apply the same standards you do now. It would not be any more work than you are doing now (in this regard) and could conceivably be less, since suddenly there would be only ONE place to look for such errant behavior.

That forum would definitely be the place to post disputes. It would be the place for all feedback; good and bad. Right now the information is very scattered and like I said, there's a good bit of noise when you're trying to do research.

The way I see this is as a win for the users (substantially easier access to feedback information), the mod staff (consolidated location of feedback), and all of the vendors and sellers who are good business (more opportunities for customers to post kudos without crowding another forum). The only losers would be vendors with sub-par customer service and bad sellers. Such a forum also offers a place to post mixed reviews that don't fit well in the current forums as dedicated threads and can't be posted in vendor threads.

I really hope this gets some serious consideration.

savewave

Emfuser:

Thanks for your suggestions. Yes, this topic comes up with some regularity and has been addressed, I think, each time it has come up.

1. We have learned from the administrators of other sites that seller rating systems cause more problems than they resolve and become labor intensive to manage because of the complaints that ensue about the accuracy and fairness of ratings.

2. Instead, the site's moderators try to work with buyers and sellers when a conflict arises to resolve their issues offline. When that fails, we encourage the posting of a factual account of the dispute and allow both sides to present their side of the dispute. Site users trying to make a purchasing decision, then, can search for the product and seller/vendor and decide for themselves whether to pursue the matter based on the record of such unresolved disputes.

3. Since the unresolved conflict process does not address good experiences with sellers/vendors, and at the suggestion of site users, we have set up "sticky" threads in each generation's sales section for reports of that nature. Further, there is a thread where site users have noted if they are available and willing to inspect products offered in their vicinity before other users make a purchase.

It's worth considering that we set up a section for such positive and negative feedback, although it would be difficult at this point to comprehensively consolidate all such feedback over the past 12 years into one section.

It also would be difficult to "train" site users to use one such section, rather than the separate generational sections they are used to using. If we tried to run a dual system, it might create more of the "clutter" you referenced in your post.

Nevertheless, I'll ask the moderators to take a look at the suggestion and see if and how they think it could be implemented.

Emfuser

Savewave,

Thanks for your reply.

Please note that I was not asking for an automated system. I'm suggesting/requesting a forum, just like any of the rest of the forums, where we can post threads about individual (regular poster) sellers (and buyers) and also post about vendor experiences.

I also don't see a real need to try and consolidate past history into that forum, though it might be nice to selectively do so when something relevant comes up. Maybe move over some of the more important threads from over the years that come to the mods staff's minds.

I think if you keep your current standards barring baseless (unprovable) trash talk and the high expectations placed on the posters here, that it should pose no problem as far ask extra work is concerned.

pewter99

The discussion has been started so I am sure after we kick this can down the road and back savewave will come back with some follow up. In the meantime if anyone else has some thoughts on this topic now is the time to jump in.

Emfuser

Thank you

Emfuser

Well I've had another post wiped out because of the rather restrictive feedback restrictions in place in the forums. This time it was a review of a product that spoke entirely about product quality and said nothing of the vendor. This is a problem the vendor can't correct and I just wanted to speak to the product, but apparently that got quashed.

This is part of why I put in a request for a feedback forum. This place gives FAR too much protection and power to vendors. Apparently we can't even comment on the products themselves, even if we say naught about the vendor. It isn't fair to the posters here that perfectly legitimate, truthful feedback (especially when it's not even about the vendor) is all quashed to the degree that a vendor or product line has to become a serious problem before the site staff announces it. This information should be allowed to be made public in a forum like I suggest.

r0bd

Digging up the dead here, but I tried to follow proper forum etiquette and search first. Wanted to provide positive feedback for a seller I just bought something from, but wanted to see what the recommended way was. From reading this, there doesn't seem to be an obvious way for positive feedback.

I guess I'll just write a visitor message on their profile.

J T

There is an entire section for just that:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-feedback-153/

r0bd

Ha. Got it. I saw the section and half assumed it could be used for positive feedback, but I somehow managed to skim past the 'New "Transactions and Feedback" Section' sticky (what I was looking for) and only saw negative feedback in that section.

Thanks for catching my miss.