Send an Automated Introductory PM to New Users as Soon as They Join

I feel like we can reduce scams by a lot if people are given a small automated introductory PM when they first join. This PM would have a "welcome" note in it and also some basic information on how to trade safely such as information on what vouches are and what middlemen are as well as information on how to avoid impostors.

What I've noticed a lot throughout my years here is that one of the reasons we may be getting lower user retention is because these new users are getting scammed relatively soon after they join. These new users may get scammed by somebody without a lot of vouches (because of lack of knowledge of vouches) or by a simple impostor scam. These scams, in turn, turn new users off to Sythe and make them leave because of the bad experiences they've encountered. The cycle then continues with every new ignorant and oblivious user.

A lot of new members seem to join the website, get scammed, and then never login in ever again. If Sythe's main goal as of the moment is to attract new members to stay with the website, we need to take steps to reduce scams and an introductory, automated PM with simple information such as what vouches are, what middlemen are, and how to avoid impostors would go a long way to keep new users engaged and interested in the market and community.

It's sad to see the community dwindle at times, and I think this is a great first step into combating the problems of user retention. Thoughts?

 

I also know that only Richard or Matthew can implement this, however, I wanted to see how the community felt about it as well.

 

A lot of ad blockers can block these types of pop-ups and also people naturally tend to ignore pop-ups which is why I'm proposing a neatly organized PM.

 

Another alternative to his idea would be a text box that pops up in the bottom right cornerabout the same size as a gold sellers livechat that shows up if the user has joined within x number of days that has links to safe trading guides and forum rules.

 

A personal story:
When I joined Sythe I joined because I wanted to buy a Runescape account. I got scammed when I tried to buy a Runescape account for $300.

Support

 

When I first joined this website around 4 years ago, I wanted to purchase a League of Legends account and got added by tons of impostors. I didn't even know what an impostor was, but luckily, I didn't get scammed as I figured it out fairly quickly. A PM with basic information and trading safety would have gone a long way.

This would be a good idea as well, but harder to implement for Richard and Matthew. The PM idea was made so that it was an easy implementation.

 

Wrong, Although I do agree that we should implement some sort of system that informs new users of how to avoid being scammed. I don't think at the end of the day that it will help deter people from scamming, if you're going to scam then you are going to scam no matter what counter measures are used.

 

This is huge support and doesn't even have to be all that much work in terms of creating the guide. There is already a newcomer's guide found here and an add-on for xen that may work found here.

 

It wouldn't necessarily be a guide, but rather, a short PM with a welcome note and three main topics; how to avoid impostor scams, how to determine trustworthiness through vouches, and how to use middlemen.

 

Mhm yea but was suggesting that since we all know Sythe and Mathew are pretty busy plus that has some extra helpful stuff that may be useful to a newcomer.

 

Or make it mandatory for new users to read the forum rules and this thread.

[NEW MEMBERS: READ ME] Sythe.org Newcomer Introduction/Tutorial!

 

And how do you suggest alerting them to make aware of the fact that its mandatory?

 

Prevent them from reading other threads, I've seen some other forums do this and I would be surprised if Xenforo didn't have this as an option.

 

Support! I'm sure this is easy enough to implement. Even if it just makes a tiny difference with regards to scamming then it's completely worth it in my opinion. Should also include a few helpful links such as the Rules and setting up 2fa.

 

I've also seen some other forums do the automatic PM thing and there is already an add on for it. Your idea could work too, but this one might be easier.

 

been suggested in the past and i think it was shot down as difficult to implement. maybe that's easier now that we're on xen. if you draft something up (can just be a template for now), i'm happy to run it by richard/matthew and see what they think!

 

The guide is already made, in the PM it could maybe be linked and the add on is already available. See quote below

 

Hello and Welcome to Sythe.org (the Craiglist of Virtual Goods),

Please read the following short message to ensure your first trade using Sythe is successful and also to guarantee safe trades whenever using Sythe.

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What are Vouches?

Vouches are our feedback system here at Sythe. We use vouches instead of an integrated feedback system so the feedback our users receive is at many times more personal and also more in depth. Before trading with any user, ask to see his or her vouches in the vouches forum which can be seen here: Vouches Forum.

When looking at a vouch page, there are two main things to look for to determine the trustworthiness of a user; number of vouches and quality of vouches. The more vouches a user has, the more legitimate trades a user has done, and therefore the more trustworthy that user is. However, quality of vouches is also important. Look over the vouches to ensure that the trades are for larger values, and also look for people who went first in the trade to this user. A user with many vouches that are of large value and also have people going first to him or her is a user you can feel safe trading with!

If you find that a user you want to trade with doesn't have adequate or quality vouches, use a middleman!


What are Sythe Official Middlemen?

Sythe Official Middlemen are users who bare this rank under their username:

These users are tested and have shown through their large number of high value trades that they are trustworthy enough to middleman your trade to ensure the trade goes safely without any party getting scammed. You can be assured that any user who bares this rank is one of most trusted on Sythe and can be a great asset to a smooth transaction.

To use find a Sythe Official Middleman, look for users with the rank above here: MiddleMan Forums. In these forums you can find users with the above rank who are willing to middleman your trades or you can find regular users who have many vouches who don't have the rank, but can also middleman your trades if you deem them fit enough. Just add the Skype on their thread or PM them and ask them for instructions on how to initiate a trade.


How to Avoid Impostors

Unfortunately, there are many newcomers on Sythe who fall victim to impostor scams daily, which are scams where a user pretends to be a trustworthy user, usually on Skype, in order to scam his or her victim. However, it's very easy to avoid these impostor scam, and all you have to do as a user is ask for a PM on Sythe before trading with any user. This way, you can ensure that the user you are talking to on a non-Sythe medium like Skype is in fact the same user. Asking for a private message on Sythe from the user you are trading with before initiating the trade is a crucial and simple way to avoid impostor scams here on Sythe.

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If you have any questions please contact Sythe staff by contacting any user in this forum: Individual Staff Feedback. Any of our staff would be glad to help and address any concerns you may have!

Congratulations. By reading the above three rules on how to avoid unsafe trades on Sythe, you've ensured yourself a much higher probability of safe trades. Please enjoy your stay here on Sythe and feel free to check out the community sections after you've done your trading in the market sections. Our community is vibrant and there's a lot to discuss, gaming wise.

Sincerely,

Sythe Staff