We loose clients in the Services Requests section...

[Logician]

I believe it is all about how one see that forum. IMO it should be seen as a communication tool that is provided to vb.org members (coder or service requester), it is not a vb.org "service" we offer to "clients".

It is just like our help support forums: If you are stuck with a hack code, you ask help in our support forums and you get help from many members with different experience or background. You can even get a reply there that will wipe your board off if applied due to the inexperience of the poster but it is your responsibility to maintain safety. We don't close our other forums although there are incorrect or dangerous replies or hacks posted there because we are not providing any support service here but we are just providing a platform where vbulletin owners communicate with eachother.

I agree that trade ratings might cure such problems a bitbut it should always be considered that if someone gets a bad rating, it is not that hard for him to register a new username with a clean rating record. We had such members in the past who registered different usernames when they had a bad reputation here. As you know even we can not easily say who a new user was before if he prefers to remain hidden.

Service requests forum's traffic constantly increases so obviously it is useful to our members hence IMO it is not a good idea to close that forum. I also fail to see how your suggestion about a new forum will help the problem you mentioned here. Let alone curing it, it will just increase the complaints as people will start complaining about the hacks and services posted there as well.

[Dean C]

I was going to make a similar reply today Sinan. You took the words right out of my mouth

[Ravish]

How about using escrow?

[Natch]

Escrow - too much of a system to set up, nd who would fund it?

This place is BUYER BEWARE, like anywhere else, and if anything that should be emphasised at the TOP of the service requests forum...

I agree that a Trader RAting system would be useful - even if it's just a Stars system - this could even be slightly complicated by only allowing tw3o members to sumbit ratings if they have both enabled it - and members could be advised not to do business with another member if they have not yet enabled Ratings?

I usually work 1/2 on retainer, 1/2 on delivery and I follow up my work with optimisations if needed/required. This system creates a good client/coder relationship and has made me some good revenue as well as some ongoing clients.

Just a few thoughts... good thread

[MickDoneDee]

I like the idea of leaving a reference in the user notes but I doubt it will be done unless coders ask for it. That is what usually happens with eBay. You get asked by the seller to leave a comment about them regarding the goods and delivery.

When my job is finished I'll add a post to my service request with a reference about the work done including the name of the coder. I feel the coder's name should be made public in the service request thread so new requesters can get references from other requesters who have had jobs done for them.

I've looked at past requests and no-one bothers to add a reference to their request thread when the job is done. This simple task would protect all requesters.

[Colin F]

What MickDoneDee says is true, threads should (also according to forum rules) be updated once the request is filled. If I take a job I also usually write a note to the client asking him to update the thread with a post saying the job is done and a comment on how satisfied he is with my work.
Unfortunatelly, some just never come back, so even if it were a rule to include the name of the coder, it would be rather hard to enforce.

oh, and btw... i read comments about "hey, a guy can register a new user and come back after if he is banned..."

i faced that situation sooner this year, when i was forced to create a new username because of my company changes... when i offered my help for a service request, some clients were asking me why i was doing so, with 3 or 4 posts made and a new name (2 or 3 days old) ...

you have to prove your points when you are new and offer your talents... if your Trader Rating is empty, that mean you never had clients... and even one single negative comment may help all other clients that search for the right coder...

i see today that another client was thieft by misterX... he posted his comment in the thread related to his service request, but this doesn't mean everybody will read that thread... most of the time, these threads are read by the coders, not the clients...

[Logician]

Originally Posted by nexialys

i see today that another client was thieft by misterX...

If you claim that one of our members are commiting fraud constantly and deliberately by using our service request forum, please PM his name to me.

As I mentioned before, we don't like to get involved into the relationship between requester and the coder so we do NOT promise to solve every complaints about such issues but if we get different complaints from different people about a certain individual and has a strong belief that he is constantly and deliberately doing this, we'll seriously consider banning. So please pm me about what your case. Thanks!