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Recently a subject came up in the Contributors forum that generated a lively discussion about the concept of a system whereby people can give feedback on members so as to let the rest of the community know who others trust and who they do not. The case that generated the discussion was a case where a customer bought a product, removed the author's copyright, and then would not put it back after the author asked. The author wanted a way where he could tell other authors to watch out for this customer.
This got me thinking about a project I'd started at one point that sort of worked in reverse: it was a mod where customers could rate authors so as to let other potential customers know who gives a good experience. I was wondering, should I pick that up again and make it work not only for the way I'd planned, but also as a way for authors to rate customers?
There would be a lot of things to consider to make something like this workable. First off, I wouldn't have any way to validate any of the feedback given. For example, someone could leave a review of a customer they dealt with, but I wouldn't know whether that experience really happened or if they just want to bash a personal enemy of theirs. I'd also have to watch for people mass-attacking/praising people just to lower or raise someone's score. Safeguards can be put in place for making sure all new ratings are queued and have to be approved, but it's a risk that the system could be influenced if not managed carefully. In addition, if this was ever live, it wouldn't be here at IPS, it'd likely be at my own site, so it'd be something people would have to go elsewhere in order to see what kind of feedback someone has received.
That being said, is this something to consider? If enough people think this might be a worthwhile addition to the resources community, I can start making plans and getting into more detailed discussions about requirements. So let me know what you think.
This got me thinking about a project I'd started at one point that sort of worked in reverse: it was a mod where customers could rate authors so as to let other potential customers know who gives a good experience. I was wondering, should I pick that up again and make it work not only for the way I'd planned, but also as a way for authors to rate customers?
There would be a lot of things to consider to make something like this workable. First off, I wouldn't have any way to validate any of the feedback given. For example, someone could leave a review of a customer they dealt with, but I wouldn't know whether that experience really happened or if they just want to bash a personal enemy of theirs. I'd also have to watch for people mass-attacking/praising people just to lower or raise someone's score. Safeguards can be put in place for making sure all new ratings are queued and have to be approved, but it's a risk that the system could be influenced if not managed carefully. In addition, if this was ever live, it wouldn't be here at IPS, it'd likely be at my own site, so it'd be something people would have to go elsewhere in order to see what kind of feedback someone has received.
That being said, is this something to consider? If enough people think this might be a worthwhile addition to the resources community, I can start making plans and getting into more detailed discussions about requirements. So let me know what you think.
It wouldn't do much good for authors who only sell through IPS as we can't limit who we sell to, but those still on their own site that'd be a great addition.