Verified Seller Feature Request

[Wickedrose Siberial]

A "verified seller" or something similar tag for users on the forum that have clearly communicated and likely sold a pet from here. I think it would help newcomers and people looking for pets be able to determine if buying a puppy from that user would be a good choice. I'm not sure what the threshold for achieving that would be, but I really think it would help people's intimidation to purchase from a forum.

Another thing.. If the max limit of attachments per post was unlimited; Breeders could post pictures of their entire litter in 1 post, instead of 8 seperate post per litter. This wouldn't hurt the forum in any way considering that moderators already have to approve each and every post request. Therefore they could simply deny any undesired content and respond with reason. The main issue I have with this, is when posting several pets in the same thread, it gets very congested and requires that each viewer scrolls all the way to the bottom to view the newest post. I think automatically scrolling to the latest updated post in the thread would significantly benefit new users as well. A lot of buyers are spontaneous and act quickly to find their pets. A view inital post or similar button could be added to jump to the main post in the thread.

I think being able to add color to your name on the forum would be a cool feature. Useless but cool nonetheless. I'd drop some money for it

 

[Admin]

These are excellent ideas. I'll start working on them right away and will get back to you with what I come up with. Thank you for taking the time to make these suggestions.

Jay

 

[Wickedrose Siberial]

These are excellent ideas. I'll start working on them right away and will get back to you with what I come up with. Thank you for taking the time to make these suggestions.

Jay

Thank you for considering them!

 

[Admin]

Hi,

Again, thank you for the suggestions. I've done a number of things since you wrote your initial post. They are:

Username Color

For Pro Members, I've added color to the member username that appears on the thread page as well as in other areas of the website. That new color is reddish, so it stands out from other usernames. You may view the new color here:

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/threads/designer-dog-breed-or-a-rescue-dog.8622/
https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/members/

Note: this particular user may not still be a Pro Member when you click the above. Link. They are as of 6/7/21. If they're not, simply find another upgraded member and take a look at one of their threads. Unfortunately, I don't have the capacity to allow members to choose their own colors. The way it works is, one color per user group. I hope this is what you were referring to. If not, let me know.

User Stats

I've added user stats below each member avatar across the website. I think that adds some interest and credibility to each member's account.

Attachments

Attachments (photos) are no longer limited to four per post. Our old website was set up like that, so the limit of four was carried over. Obviously, there is no limit because any member can upload to as many posts as they want, so this was an oversight on our part. We do reserve the right to moderate abuse though.

Verified Seller

A new user group has been created. Please refer to this post to learn more about it:

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/threads/new-verified-seller-feature.17310/

A new user badge has been created for this group. Take a look at it here:

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/members/jgaulard.2/
https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/threads/chickens-large-coop-for-free-in-pawling-new-york.16176/

Please notice how the upgrade badges are stackable. That gives you tons of street cred.

Please let me know if I've addressed all of your suggestions. I think suggestions like yours are excellent, so don't be shy. If the suggestions make sense and I'm able to make them, I'll do so. Thanks again.

Jay

 

[Wickedrose Siberial]

Hi,

Again, thank you for the suggestions. I've done a number of things since you wrote your initial post. They are:

Username Color

For Pro Members, I've added color to the member username that appears on the thread page as well as in other areas of the website. That new color is reddish, so it stands out from other usernames. You may view the new color here:

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/threads/designer-dog-breed-or-a-rescue-dog.8622/
https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/members/

Note: this particular user may not still be a Pro Member when you click the above. Link. They are as of 6/7/21. If they're not, simply find another upgraded member and take a look at one of their threads. Unfortunately, I don't have the capacity to allow members to choose their own colors. The way it works is, one color per user group. I hope this is what you were referring to. If not, let me know.

User Stats

I've added user stats below each member avatar across the website. I think that adds some interest and credibility to each member's account.

Attachments

Attachments (photos) are no longer limited to four per post. Our old website was set up like that, so the limit of four was carried over. Obviously, there is no limit because any member can upload to as many posts as they want, so this was an oversight on our part. We do reserve the right to moderate abuse though.

Verified Seller

A new user group has been created. Please refer to this post to learn more about it:

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/threads/new-verified-seller-feature.17310/

A new user badge has been created for this group. Take a look at it here:

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/members/jgaulard.2/
https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/threads/chickens-large-coop-for-free-in-pawling-new-york.16176/

Please notice how the upgrade badges are stackable. That gives you tons of street cred.

Please let me know if I've addressed all of your suggestions. I think suggestions like yours are excellent, so don't be shy. If the suggestions make sense and I'm able to make them, I'll do so. Thanks again.

Jay

I love it!

I'm excited to reorganize my puppy thread and add some more photos to the breeder section thread! I love the new tags! Really adds some credibility for sure. It looks amazing and you did that really fast! I'm mindblown how quick you reacted and implemented these features. Thank you so much for taking the time to do it and consider new ideas. I will contribute any ideas forward that I can come up with.

 

[Admin]

I was just approving some ads and noticed that users have been posting many more attachments per post. In one ad, the member uploaded 25 photos. I deleted many of them, but I'm not quite sure this is the best route to take. I'm concerned that members will edit their ads to really load in the photos. I'll see how it goes for the next few days, but I may need to go back to the limit of four attachments per post for a while. I've got a suggestion/ticket in with the software developers to set attachment limits per user group as opposed to globally, so we'll see what they say.

 

[Wickedrose Siberial]

I was just approving some ads and noticed that users have been posting many more attachments per post. In one ad, the member uploaded 25 photos. I deleted many of them, but I'm not quite sure this is the best route to take. I'm concerned that members will edit their ads to really load in the photos. I'll see how it goes for the next few days, but I may need to go back to the limit of four attachments per post for a while. I've got a suggestion/ticket in with the software developers to set attachment limits per user group as opposed to globally, so we'll see what they say.

I think per user group would be a great idea! That should keep spammers and inexperienced people from flooding the forum I believe. Maybe after several post or time on the forum users could be upgraded from member user group to something like "experienced member", "veteran member" or anything like that? Maybe with the verified seller tag, permissions to more attachments could be given?

 

[Admin]

Agreed. Right now, it's set up so member title is based on how many messages have been posted. Everyone starts off as a New Member. After five posts, they're elevated to Member. After 25 posts, they get bumped to Active member and then after 50 posts they get bumped to Well-Known Member. Those titles are different than user groups though. Member titles don't really get anyone anything other than the glory of having a better title than the last one they had. When it comes to user groups, I can set promotions (elevations) based on how many posts, how long registered, how many "likes," etc... Also, with user group elevations, I can offer more privileges, such as the ability to add more photos and things like that. But right now, the photo thing isn't available for user groups - it's just a global setting for all user groups. So we'll need to wait on that. I may create a new user group today and put some conditions behind it, such as those I just mentioned above. I'll have to think of a great name for it because it'll take some effort to get into.

 

[Wickedrose Siberial]

Agreed. Right now, it's set up so member title is based on how many messages have been posted. Everyone starts off as a New Member. After five posts, they're elevated to Member. After 25 posts, they get bumped to Active member and then after 50 posts they get bumped to Well-Known Member. Those titles are different than user groups though. Member titles don't really get anyone anything other than the glory of having a better title than the last one they had. When it comes to user groups, I can set promotions (elevations) based on how many posts, how long registered, how many "likes," etc... Also, with user group elevations, I can offer more privileges, such as the ability to add more photos and things like that. But right now, the photo thing isn't available for user groups - it's just a global setting for all user groups. So we'll need to wait on that. I may create a new user group today and put some conditions behind it, such as those I just mentioned above. I'll have to think of a great name for it because it'll take some effort to get into.

The name would definitely be the stall for me.. Let me know if you come up with anything! I'll think on what I can, but it's more specific to your code-base and how you use your user groups for privileges and such. I love your dedication to the community!

 

[Admin]

Hi - To start off, I want to thank you for helping out with all this. You've stirred the pot and I love it. The more good ideas people like you come up with, the better this community is for all of us. So keep it up.

I've made some changes this afternoon. To start, member names are now based on trophy points as opposed to simple number of messages posted. The reason for this is that we've had some members who have contacted dozens and dozens of people (interested in their pets). I wouldn't want to upgrade their member status just because of making posts (they haven't created new threads, just posts in response to threads). Trophy points are so much more well rounded. Take a look at them here:

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/help/trophies/

Also, I've added a few more names for members. They are now:

New Member - 0 Points
Member - 5 Points
Active Member - 25 Points
Well-Known Member - 50 Points
Elite Member - 100 Points
Ambassador - 250 Points

Also, I've added two more upgrades in additions to the current Pro Member upgrades. The ones I added are Supporting Member upgrades that can be purchased in conjunction with the others. These are basically to show support and to get some banners on member accounts.

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/account/upgrades

They look like this:



And finally, I will be creating a new user group or two as soon as I decide on names for them. I'm thinking something like:

Prominent Member
Trusted Member
Established Member
Power User

New banners will be added alongside these members' posts, so my goal is to show some sort of trust based on participation with the site. These upgrades will be automatically applied once a member reaches a certain number of trophy points, just like their regular account names. The difference with this is that banners are applied, which are much more visible than the regular names. Also, I can add more permissions based on user group level; things like number of attachments allowed (eventually), the ability to start private conversations with other members, upload attachments to those conversations, etc...

Let me know what you think of those user group names or if you have thought of any better ones. Thanks!

 

[Wickedrose Siberial]

Hi - To start off, I want to thank you for helping out with all this. You've stirred the pot and I love it. The more good ideas people like you come up with, the better this community is for all of us. So keep it up.

I've made some changes this afternoon. To start, member names are now based on trophy points as opposed to simple number of messages posted. The reason for this is that we've had some members who have contacted dozens and dozens of people (interested in their pets). I wouldn't want to upgrade their member status just because of making posts (they haven't created new threads, just posts in response to threads). Trophy points are so much more well rounded. Take a look at them here:

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/help/trophies/

Also, I've added a few more names for members. They are now:

New Member - 0 Points
Member - 5 Points
Active Member - 25 Points
Well-Known Member - 50 Points
Elite Member - 100 Points
Ambassador - 250 Points

Also, I've added two more upgrades in additions to the current Pro Member upgrades. The ones I added are Supporting Member upgrades that can be purchased in conjunction with the others. These are basically to show support and to get some banners on member accounts.

https://www.petclassifieds.us/forum/account/upgrades

They look like this:

View attachment 49004

And finally, I will be creating a new user group or two as soon as I decide on names for them. I'm thinking something like:

Prominent Member
Trusted Member
Established Member
Power User

New banners will be added alongside these members' posts, so my goal is to show some sort of trust based on participation with the site. These upgrades will be automatically applied once a member reaches a certain number of trophy points, just like their regular account names. The difference with this is that banners are applied, which are much more visible than the regular names. Also, I can add more permissions based on user group level; things like number of attachments allowed (eventually), the ability to start private conversations with other members, upload attachments to those conversations, etc...

Let me know what you think of those user group names or if you have thought of any better ones. Thanks!

I think all this will make a huge difference! I really love the change to member names being based on trophy points now too. I always like achieving the forum goals and that provides a more meaningful reason to acquire member status to me. The supporter banners are very cool! The member names are great.. I'm not a big fan of the well-known member group; it doesn't sound as rewarding I think. It would also be nice if random users had the ability to initiate a private message with a like prominent/elite member, if possible.

Maybe something like this?

New Member - 0 Points
Member - 5 Points
Active Member - 25 Points
Established Member - 50 Points
Prominent Member - 100 Points
Elite Member - 175 Points
Ambassador - 250 Points

 

[Admin]

That's a great idea about updating the member names. I just finished doing that. Regarding allowing random users to initiate conversations, unfortunately the permission system doesn't allow for that. I have it currently set so random users can receive messages, but not initiate them. The reasoning for this is to halt scammers in their tracks. In order for a scammer/spammer to contact a seller, they've got to reply to a thread. That's where I catch them. I am able to ban 99.9% of dishonest users before anyone ever sees them.

I considered allowing random users to send private messages and only allowing trusted user groups (Pro Members, Verified Sellers, etc...) to receive those messages, essentially reversing what I have right now, but that would stop the trusted groups from sending messages to random users. The permissions wouldn't the untrusted accounts from receiving them. One of the benefits of being in a trusted user group is being able to both initiate and receive private messages.

What I've done is allow all trusted user groups to both initiate and receive private messages. So basically, if you, as a Verified Seller, receive a response to one of your threads, you may initiate a private message to the member who responded, avoiding having everything you write display publicly on the website. That's a great way to hide email addresses, phone numbers, and all that. Let me know if this helps out.

 

[Wickedrose Siberial]

Honestly, that's just as good in my case! I'd like an interested buyer to post in the thread first anyway. I'm sure you deal with a lot of scammers and that is probably the safest method. I'm excited about all the new changes & features that were implemented. Thank you for taking the time to do all this!!