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.
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?
