Burn wrote:
Adding Moderators won't make a difference. How are they going to know whether someone is a bad egg or not?
actually it makes for a whole world of difference.
example, if Ryan draws up a stringent set of rules for a new Carbombya per the ideas and suggestions of the members here, the Mods would have to be most vigilant about enforcing this.
here in the Philippines we have a toy trading forum PinoyToyKolektors.com, whose mods are the most rabid bunch of Nazis i've ever seen. for example, newbies in the forum aren't allowed to PM, strict rules regarding bumping threads, autolock in case somebody breaks a rule or 2. but to their credit, it works to keep out scammers. so far we've yet to experience being scammed - the slight hint of a dirty deal and the mods deal with it ASAP.
another thing: if there is a blacklist of offenders, the mods could do an IP scan of every new member that enters here and if their IP address matches one of the blacklisted IPs, then it's automatic ban for them.
mod squads could also work with the mods of the other forums, sharing info on member statistics and whatnot, and trying to determine potential con artists.
no, i am not trying to push for a Dictatorial Mod style, but all i'm saying is that Mods can make a difference and even act as one of the deterrents against scammers.
ultimately, no system is perfect. ever. but with the good suggestions everyone posted here, it can still happen. Carbombya existed for years and i'm pretty sure there are a LOT of good trades over the bad ones, and lots of good feedback. let's look at this break as another way of pooling our thoughts and ideas into making the old system work better, or maybe even completely overhauling the system.