Fix the ban system

The problem:

1. Moderators guess about the situation or make a decision which is based on magic.
2. Sellers with many many vouches get banned for few dollar deals even though no valid proof is given.
3. Many ban requests are granted, even if they seem really fishy and questionable.
4. Sometimes sellers get banned even if there is no valid proof about the deal (no login information provided, no proof about the fact that the exact login information does not work)
5. Sellers can't defend themselves, which means they get see the ban when they wake up, and then they can only go to dispute section... Loose time, loose money, loose prestige.

Conclusion: users, who joined yesterday, have more rights than sellers, who created their business few years ago and collected many vouches.

Suggestion:

1. Create system of "Valid Proof": no more screenshots which can be found anywhere on the internet and does not represent the deal. If user states that his account got disabled/retrieved/exploded/destroyed - he has to prove the fact that it is the one which was given by the seller, not the RANDOM one.
2. If trustworthy sellers get reported for low value deals - he is asked to explain the situation in the scam report thread.
3. If trustworthy seller has at least 2 reports on him at the same time - his thread gets closed, he looses the ability to open new one, he gets the title "User is being investigated". However he still can explain himself in the scam report thread.
4. "Trustworthy" status is given by the moderator team, so they would decide if the user has made enough deals and for the right amount of money in order to get this.
5. Trustworthy seller gets banned only when the evidence is indisputable.
6. Video proof is part of "indisputable". You know those MSN screens, steam account screens and so on... They are so easy to fake. I bet you all know Photoshop, I bet changing few letters is not so hard right? How can you ban people then?


Do anything, but make some place for people who are legit, who try to do serious business. Everybody faces up with some problems, sometimes it can be just a simple misunderstanding. I know that my suggestion would take more time from modes, that it would make all that ban process harder, but, seriously, do you want to BAN, or do you want to do justice? These are two different things... Banhammer is way to easy to overuse, and many are doing this. TOO many.

 

100% agree

 

I completely agree. Pictures of MSN convos are no harder to fake than chat logs, yet one is allowed, while the latter isn't as proof.

 

Actually pictures require specific software and proves to be difficult enough to make a 100% perfect copy, as where chat logs require any text editor and a simple change of text.

 

Actually they don't. MS Paint is about as advanced as you need to be to do it. You don't have to fake the entire convo, all you have to fake is the MSN email address, which can be as easy as copy and pasting the real one over the fake one, and wallah. There is no way to tell it has been edited. It is easily possible to make a 100% perfect copy, and if you'd like me to show how by making a fake of you scamming me, I'd be happy too.

 

Imo video proof should only be necesarry if the seller makes a dispute where he claims he was framed. A "User is being investigated" title won't make them lose less then a temporarily ban. I agree that screenshots can easily be faked and vids should be required in some cases, but it's better to ban someone and let him make a dispute then give a scammer the chance to scam some more people before he gets banned.

 

Thats why I've never looked at scam reports ever.

 

Let me respond to your "it's better to ban someone":

I was personally banned for scaring a person who reversed his payment after he got login information. Why? Because the "victim" showed the "account disabled" screen which all of you can make. I have more than 70 vouches, I am pretty old user, and I get banned? Because of decision based on magic.... Another question: WHY should I be banned if I am not guilty at all and I can easily prove it? To protect poor users? And what about me? Maybe I am a user too?

Take a look at eBay: what if seller with 1000 positive comments gets 1 bad, where any user states that items never arrived? Should eBay BAN the seller instantly? What would happen with the eBay if they did that? This is completely illogical, everybody has a right to defend themselves BEFORE anything is done.

I got unbanned because I tried to contact all mods and get their attention. The mod who banned me NEVER RESPONDED me, and besides, when I opened a scam report on the so called "victim" - THE SAME MOD BANNED HIM TOO. WTF?! He obviously made a mistake with me but... Never apologized.

I agree with instant bans when situation is unquestionable, but photo of my sad face and title "I got scammed" is not enough to ban someone right? I hope so, because some mods think otherwise...

Now the Sythe's system abuse method: register new account, start getting various screens of accounts retrieved or disabled, fake MSN address and get all sellers banned. Because THIS IS HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS NOW!