SVU Requirements

I agree, and a lot of people who are SVU's with no-vouches demand you to go first because they're an SVU even if they joined 2 days ago. I personally think that you should be needed to provide your ID, or whatever details, and also that a Join-Date frame or activity on posts + a quantity of vouches for a user to be completely verified.

 

Until SVU is improved I agree that it should be terminated.

 

I don't support the multi-level SVU system would be good. I think the req should either be 100$+ and require more info, or it should be removed/given as a minirank or something

 

What about a waiting period to buy SVU? Like requirements of 3 months active and 500 posts?

 

This would solve the problem of much of the ban-evaders who scam after $25 donator and SVU. Still in to make SVU stricter.

 

Has there actually been one instance where the release of the users information has aided recuperation of funds etc? I can't think of one at all. Since releasing user information isn't necessarily helpful, surely having a robust mechanism as you have called it would be the route to pursue?

 

I agree with Jack on this one, I highly doubt that someone has ever re-obtained their goods through contacting the scammer/altering local authorities in their area. I'd rather see less people have a more meaningful and difficult rank to acquire than tons of scammers and vaders to use a burner phone/texting app to get svu.

 

Terrible idea


More work for staff. Potential favoritism. How do you deem somebody is "trustworthy and helpful to the community"

 

Agreed. That isn't what the rank is supposed to denote anyways.

OT: In its current form I do feel SVU should be scrapped. Maybe have it as a minirank instead?

 

So it seems from what I've read that a multi-tiered system is not desirable. Certain information may become complicated to retrieve and store, thus something along this ling should be implemented:

ALL of these must be fulfillied in order to achieve the rank

* Minimum on 6 months on Sythe
* Minimum of 500 posts on Sythe
* x amount minimum donor requirement (I personally suggest 100$)
* 50$ one-time nonrefundable fee
* Required Two Factor Authentication on your Sythe account

Potential requirements:

* 2 pictures, one containing a legible upclose photo of your drivers license, in addition to a photo of the license and your face in the photo, to confirm this is indeed you, similar to the system that RWTers use.
* Pay the fee through a credit card or bank transfer, something that can confirm IRL details like that.

Thoughts?

 

I would agree that we need to either take it away completely, re-vamp it with different requirement, or a different title instead of SVU.

 

Whenever an SVU scams, it's a liability to Sythe, because Sythe purports the legitimacy of the user. You can change the title to something less valuable and more objective ("Sythe-Secured Identity" or something) or you can increase the cash requirement to access it to something more than $25+change. Making it a tiered a multi-rank system has its drawbacks but it would do a good job to remind users that there is always trade-risk.

You can marginally improve it by requiring two-factor auth, min post count, join dates, etc., but all of that doesn't do much to fix the underlying problem of scammers using it as "proof" of legitimacy.

It's definitely more of a collateral system for the guy with SVU. It's not going to reverse the scam in any way, but it provides a disincentive to scam when your contact info is given to someone you scammed. Assuming, of course, that the information can be verified as legitimate (probably not).

 

Some good ideas here. Here are some reasonable requirements and changes that can be made to the rank.

3-6 months from joining the site to qualify
Raise $25 requirement to $50
Change the name of the rank to: Sythe Validated User /Sythe Certified License
I agree with 2fa, but it would have to be linked somehow so that the user cannot remove it (this may cause problems)

I'm not sure with post count requirements as that may encourage spamming and shit posting.

Major problems with the rank currently:

It's easily accessible
The name is misleading
There is no verification of any sort

All we need to do is tackles these three, and avoid adding unnecessary stipulations.

 

I don't think the amount of money donated is the issue. New people can always donate a larger amount of money because they're planning on scamming a larger amount of money.

A 10-20 dollar fee could be added, then someone could actually be hired (or freely accept the position) to verify everyone.

Could include verifying a mailing address by sending a letter, then having them hand sign it and send it back from that address. It could even be a reoccurring 1 dollar a month fee or something, that you have to hand mail to someone at Sythe every month in order to keep SVU. Would generate some money for the website aswell.

A photocopy of an ID/Drivers license could be used, ect.

Obviously anything using a SSN would be too far, considering how easily stuff can be hacked.

 

I think as long as 2FA ia enabled during the time you get the rank, it should be fine. And I see your point on the PC requirements, but hm..

Definite agree to a name change of the rank, not sure what to though.

 

Bump, any more opinions?

 

No offense, but I wouldn't ever recommend anyone to submit their personal information here for a verified rank. Nor do I think it makes sense to increase the minimum donation amount to be eligible for the rank.

 

Then the solution should be to change the name or scrap the rank all together. As others have mentioned, right now it sounds too much like Sythe admins have personally inspected the user.

 

Please read my ENTIRE response below before anyone attempts to rebut this.

The way Sythe Verified User is set up at the moment is very misleading. The premise is based around the idea that, for a small minimal fee of 5$ and already being a 25$ donor, you can provide marginal personal details in order to gain a form of trust. In the event that user scams, the victim will be provided with a certain amount of IRL details. So your stance is that the IRL details already provided, albeit usually faked, should be scraped altogether.

In addition, here is why this is an issue. People see the title "Sythe Verified User" and see more trust than there actually is. To many newcomer's eyes, they see that as meaning that that particular person is a trusted trader and is verified by the website to trade. Now certainly you can make the argument that they need to read the rules, but let's he honest, the rules are a form of Terms and Conditions. Who actually reads those? I'd say its a safe bet to say the vast majority of newcomers do NOT read the rules initially. So instead of being reactive and saying they should read them after they get scammed, let's be proactive and refine the rank so that it is not misleading.

Now, onto the suggestions part. I feel that the following changes should be made exactly for the reasons I will list after them:

* Changing the name: As detailed above, this is an extremely misleading title. Now I'm no expert at making titles or anything sound or look good, but it should be changed to something more accurate. The title "verified" should only be kept if they actually are indeed verified, with a good sum of money paid down, a few IRL details provided, etc. Taking the route that this will be too difficult, not desirable, etc., then the rank title should be changed. A couple words I quickly ran across that may potentially fit would be:
- Sythe Supported User
- Sythe Established User
- Sythe Documented User
And there are plenty more, those are just a few to suggest

* Changing the fee: There are numerous reasons to do this. First and foremost, changing the fee will act as a deterrent to potential scammers. While it doesn't have to be anything like 200$, a simple 25$ or 50$ fee will go a long way to preventing scammers.

* Upping the requirements: With a title like this, it is meant to give trust to people. So why are they able to obtain it immediately for so cheap? This is why I propose the 2 following requirements:
- Must be at least a 50$ or 100$ donator (of course up for discussion)
- Must be a member of Sythe for 6 months (could change amount)
The donator requirement is because to donate 100$ and in turn scam is less likely. While it certainly does still happen, this will cut down the numbers of SVU users that do scam. The 6 month requirement is so that they get a feel for the market, and are allowed an opportunity to obtain vouches. Why should they be allowed to get a rank that should be seen with some trust immediately after joining the site? They shouldn't, hence a reasonable waiting period, to again, weed out the scammers who would otherwise purchase it

If anyone can actually read that all, kudos to you. Any inputs?