tPF authenticator discussion
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:wonderingImo, a form/format for at requests is an excellent idea. Forces production of reqd.elements for authentication, if done correctly. A programming issue...
But back to the bigger picture!
If this forum is fueled by advertising dollars;
And growth in member numbers is vital in sustaining the flow of said dollars, then;
The owners have a real approach/avoidance problem.
Do the know what % of first time posters post in the at threads? And what -% of those at users go on to become participating members?
And then what % of those who begin in the less costly brands ( am not saying lesser quality, just lower cost ) --gradually move into the higher end brands ? (more potential advertising $$$)
In other words, how do they welcome newbies in the secondary market without vetting authenticators ( in a way that would incur liability)?? And what % of their active members are, ( based on posting ) and remain apparently only in the secondary market?
And do they know what % of users never use the at threads because they only buy new? And how do they grow that market share?
While trying to keep the vocal minority-(authenticators and a small number of others) feeling valued? Particularly critical for authenticators.
Without credible authenticators, forum growth diminishes/ forum cred diminishes, potentially. And, again, at threads are used primarily by those in the secondary/resale market.
And btw: is that secondary market the more viable future for the forum, not only in growth, but in reputation? It appears that the blog's focus is high end...aka big ad $$. But how sustainable is that?
So, basically, this looks like the seven blindfolded men and the elephant to me, at this point.
But back to the bigger picture!
If this forum is fueled by advertising dollars;
And growth in member numbers is vital in sustaining the flow of said dollars, then;
The owners have a real approach/avoidance problem.
Do the know what % of first time posters post in the at threads? And what -% of those at users go on to become participating members?
And then what % of those who begin in the less costly brands ( am not saying lesser quality, just lower cost ) --gradually move into the higher end brands ? (more potential advertising $$$)
In other words, how do they welcome newbies in the secondary market without vetting authenticators ( in a way that would incur liability)?? And what % of their active members are, ( based on posting ) and remain apparently only in the secondary market?
And do they know what % of users never use the at threads because they only buy new? And how do they grow that market share?
While trying to keep the vocal minority-(authenticators and a small number of others) feeling valued? Particularly critical for authenticators.
Without credible authenticators, forum growth diminishes/ forum cred diminishes, potentially. And, again, at threads are used primarily by those in the secondary/resale market.
And btw: is that secondary market the more viable future for the forum, not only in growth, but in reputation? It appears that the blog's focus is high end...aka big ad $$. But how sustainable is that?
So, basically, this looks like the seven blindfolded men and the elephant to me, at this point.
May I ask about this part of your reply Megs? Is this true across the board? What about if the moderator rules conflict with this (on the first page?) Also, I am unclear as to why some threads don't allow you to use an auction that has ended. We don't do that in LV. Sometimes a bag feels off once you receive it, or the auction was found in the last minutes etc. Is this up to the authenticator as well?
Also just to mention again, I can't believe how many times I have to refer people to page one, please keep in the back of your mind if there could be some suggestion or revision (if a form feature isn't used) that would put a few small key points on the top of every page in the thread, that would be great. I know it varies by thread (and maybe, if I'm understanding you correctly, by authenticator too) so that gets tricky maybe even impossible, but it is a frustration. I'm not even sure if it would help in this age of smart phones and rushed buyers
but sometimes if people find us through online search it brings them to the body of the thread not page one. Or maybe this is where our signatures need to come in..? I'll think about that too. 
Thanks so much!
May I ask about this part of your reply Megs? Is this true across the board? What about if the moderator rules conflict with this (on the first page?) Also, I am unclear as to why some threads don't allow you to use an auction that has ended. We don't do that in LV. Sometimes a bag feels off once you receive it, or the auction was found in the last minutes etc. Is this up to the authenticator as well?
Also just to mention again, I can't believe how many times I have to refer people to page one, please keep in the back of your mind if there could be some suggestion or revision (if a form feature isn't used) that would put a few small key points on the top of every page in the thread, that would be great. I know it varies by thread (and maybe, if I'm understanding you correctly, by authenticator too) so that gets tricky maybe even impossible, but it is a frustration. I'm not even sure if it would help in this age of smart phones and rushed buyers
Thanks so much!
Technically, yes. Although in each subforum you will find that most authenticators stick to the same rules. But each authenticator can decide what they are/ or aren't comfortable with. I have no problem authenticating an ended auction. Some people, and this usually has to do with brand specific issues, do not do that. Each forum really has it's different guidlines but they are not hard and fast forum rules, kwim?
Right, every authenticator here is supported by us to choose which posts they'd like to authenticate and which they would not.
I personally never been supportive of a rule against ended auctions,not having links to auctions, etc... because some authenticators are happy to help with those, which is fine.
Those who prefer not to authenticate those inquiries are free not to.
I personally never been supportive of a rule against ended auctions,not having links to auctions, etc... because some authenticators are happy to help with those, which is fine.
Those who prefer not to authenticate those inquiries are free not to.
Right, every authenticator here is supported by us to choose which posts they'd like to authenticate and which they would not.
I personally never been supportive of a rule against ended auctions,not having links to auctions, etc... because some authenticators are happy to help with those, which is fine.
Those who prefer not to authenticate those inquiries are free not to.
We often have members post authentication requests on the ATMK after an auction has closed but the bag hasn't arrived yet. Sometimes they get a little worried that they didn't get it evaluated before they bought it. We will request a link to the ended auction & if the pictures offered are not enough of what we need, we request clear pictures of the necessary parts of the bag be taken & posted. It helps them with the chance the bag is fake & they have to return it. We have had a number of members post after the auction ended & the bag turned out to be fake. This is most prevalent when something is being shipped from China or Malaysia where the seller insists they sell only "authentic"....just like the fake online outlet stores.
I honestly don't think I fully understand your point nor your analogy. However, from my experience, the main factors that matter for online advertising revenue are: number of members, number of page views, and Google ranking/number of reputable links to your site. I'm sure some of the ad campaigns, like the pop ups from various brand names, care about the affluency of individual members but in general, the most important thing is to have eyes on your site. Whether those eyes are spending $50 per bag or $5000 per bag isn't all that significant, especially to generic googleAds. Furthermore, even those spending $50 per bag would probably have some interest in the higher end brands even if it's just window shopping so I don't think focusing of those items in the blog is doing a disservice to anyone. In the end, even the person that creates an account just to have an item authenticated and then never comes back to the site, still has some positive financial impact vs never signing up to begin with. I don't really see this as an advertising/monetary issue outside of the fact that the site would want to maintain the AT threads good reputation to continue to increase membership and page views.
I agree. It is a good step to have the 500 post requirement. It would help VERY much, because it is usually only the newbies that 'don't get it' if you know what I mean, so yes, it is a good fix in many ways. I just hope they don't think they are authenticators after 500 posts! lol! No worries, I am bit 'fuzzy' all the time! lol!Honestly, I don't think that would be an issue.
It is just a way for them to deal with the issue of people
who are new trying to authenticate.
This way, they can at least have a minimum criteria set as a starting point.
Then when somebody just decides that they are going to step in and authenticate
when they only have 50 posts,
somebody can point to the 500 Post rule to nip that in the bud.
I assume that other ideas will also be tossed around as far as vetting possible authenticators.
(sorry if my reply is a bit disjointed, I just woke up and I'm still a bit fuzzy.)
It seems quite unaminous here, that we all really like the idea of the 500 post requirement before offering authenticity opinions. Let's do it!
One other concern I have that I have written letters about already, and tell me if anyone else is puzzled by this and finds it to be a hindrance for authenticators is "How come new members can't attach jpeg files until they have more posts and are able to use the advance features??" .
What makes this such a privieledge that you can only attach jpegs after so many posts?? This is such a simple feature and I don't understand why it is such a gift that can't be had until you are allowed to have advanced features?? Is to deliberately stop new members from getting authentications?? Why would we want to do this?? We have seen many of them get frustrated and go to another forum! Is this really what we want?
I would like to ask that when you make these new changes, you please allow new members to attach jpegs of bags they just bought, so we can help them! I feel foolish having to tell them over and over again, that they have to go around the forum saying "ooh, aahh and nice color", to acquire enough posts to be able to upload a jpeg file?? I can see stopping newbies from doing authentications, but why would we want to stop them from getting one?? I seriously hope you will change this and allow new members to attach jpeg files. it is so much easier than trying to find the link to the photo, as that is presently the only way they can do so.
I have noticed how different all of the authenticity threads are. We are not near as strict as many others over on the Michael Kors thread. We do understand many of their reasons as we have encountered some difficulties, but we really want to help folks to not get ripped off with a fake. Allowing newbies to upload jpegs would really help us, to help them. I hope you will change this with your updates. Thank you.
One other concern I have that I have written letters about already, and tell me if anyone else is puzzled by this and finds it to be a hindrance for authenticators is "How come new members can't attach jpeg files until they have more posts and are able to use the advance features??" .
What makes this such a privieledge that you can only attach jpegs after so many posts?? This is such a simple feature and I don't understand why it is such a gift that can't be had until you are allowed to have advanced features?? Is to deliberately stop new members from getting authentications?? Why would we want to do this?? We have seen many of them get frustrated and go to another forum! Is this really what we want?
I would like to ask that when you make these new changes, you please allow new members to attach jpegs of bags they just bought, so we can help them! I feel foolish having to tell them over and over again, that they have to go around the forum saying "ooh, aahh and nice color", to acquire enough posts to be able to upload a jpeg file?? I can see stopping newbies from doing authentications, but why would we want to stop them from getting one?? I seriously hope you will change this and allow new members to attach jpeg files. it is so much easier than trying to find the link to the photo, as that is presently the only way they can do so.
I have noticed how different all of the authenticity threads are. We are not near as strict as many others over on the Michael Kors thread. We do understand many of their reasons as we have encountered some difficulties, but we really want to help folks to not get ripped off with a fake. Allowing newbies to upload jpegs would really help us, to help them. I hope you will change this with your updates. Thank you.
These comments reveal confusion about the purpose and impact of TPF authentication threads. There is no vested interest here in moving any member toward or away from any purchase, except with regard to the authenticity of the item in question. There is no mission to "value" members on the AT threads aside from competently reviewing the authenticity of their contemplated purchases.
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I think the jpeg thing may be to stop spammers (and trouble makers) from joining and posting pictures of nefarious things. We've had issues in the past. But newbies can still link to a sale or use a photo hosting site, no?
Often times what happens, is a person will buy their very first Michael Kors and are scared that they just bought a fake! They find this forum in their researchs. Often times the photos we need are not in the listing they purchased it from, so we need to see the pics of the bag that they received. These newbies are not allowed to attach jpegs of their photos. They are only allowed to provide LINKS to those photos and many / most of them, do not know how to get a LINK to a photo, but do know how to attach a jpeg file. If a spammer wants to post inappropriate materials on our our forum, not being able to upload jpegs, isn't going to stop much.
At present, it is mostly stopping us from helping new members, that get frustrated and go somewhere else to get help, where they can upload a simple jpeg file.
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