tPF authenticator discussion

[zippie]

Why does someone who's doing a service out of the goodness of her heart have to "come off as professionals?"

There's a huge difference between being rude and being straightforward. What you seem to consider as rude or non-professional isn't necessarily rudeness. It's just not coddling someone who considers that they're "owed" a response to their authentication request.


It's not a matter of "loving it." Every authenticator I've seen does what they do NOT because they love authenticating but because they HATE seeing buyers get ripped off by sellers who peddle fakes and they hate seeing sellers having unwarranted accusations of having sold fakes.


The reason the complaints are ongoing is because the issues are ongoing. Posters who don't follow the required format demand responses to their requests, continually bump their requests when they've been ignored and argue that they deserve certain information.

As long as rude and/or entitled posters post, authenticators will complain. And that's not really something that revamping the AT threads will fix.



++++++++++++

 

[creighbaby]

May I ask why this is a issue? If someone doesn't trust this person because if their business then use a paid service. To be on TPF and give advice to so many people out of their time for free is something I am very grateful for.

I have not figured out multiquoting so I am posting the text.

In response to your question:

In post 161 someone asked: "Is that true that tPF members also work as paid authenticators on the side? This seems like a slippery slope for tPF in terms of liability..."

And vlad replied "this is not true."

I disagreed because there is at least one member who authenticates items here that has her authentication business name in her signature and it is also her forum handle.

I don't expect the owners of the site to know the profession of every member, but the unequivocal no is troubling.

 

[alansgail]

You'd know me. I look just like my avatar.

lol! I doubt that!

 

[BeenBurned]

In post 161 someone asked: "Is that true that tPF members also work as paid authenticators on the side? This seems like a slippery slope for tPF in terms of liability..."

And vlad replied "this is not true."

I disagreed because there is at least one member who authenticates items here that has her authentication business name in her signature and it is also her forum handle.

I don't expect the owners of the site to know the profession of every member, but the unequivocal no is troubling.

I'm not trying to speak for Vlad but with thousands of members here, thousands of signatures in member profiles, thousands of authentications, TPF's understandable policy of not being responsible for the posts of others and lastly, the fact that Vlad is a guy who probably doesn't carry designer handbags probably means that he isn't aware of what authenticators do on the side.

Or perhaps he could have said, "not that I'm aware of" or "not sanctioned by TPF."

 

[ThisVNchick]

I will say in defense of the authenticators however that there are some members who DO act entitled but that's no different than working in any service industry. From the amount of complaints and unhappiness on their parts one wonders why they still do it. When I got burned out on retail I QUIT retail and that was a paying job! I had to be nice to everyone despite not being treated well on many occasions, and of course that was face to face.

I can only speak for myself and those I've gotten to know from the Dior subforum. I do it because there are some really good people out there who do need help, but the ones who are rude do stick out like sore thumbs and do ruin it for everyone. You haven't been here long enough to know of the wonderful people who came before you, who have quit for similar reasons. Hence, I believe MissBanff has started this thread to prevent further ones from leaving.

From the Dior subfourm, I know of 2 authenticators that have quit and have deactivated their accounts. It is a tremedous loss because those two had a lot of knowledge to share about the brand.

I will occassionally take 3-4 weeks off because of the rudeness I encounter (on AT and on regular threads). PF is suppose to a safe and fun place, but I think the site has grown too big, too fast, and certain sections of it are not well-regulated. Just because you don't use the AT option, doesn't mean that you can bluntly suggest "authenticators should quit if it's making them unahppy". Uh...what about the hundreds of other people who do use the service?

If all the main authenticators quit, PF would lose big assets and key players. Because usually the ones who authenticate also have other knowledge that they contribute elsewhere, not just in the AT.

 

[ThisVNchick]

Certainly some of the people requesting authentication may have a sense of entitlement -- "authenticate my bag NOW, or you don't know what you're talking about.." -- but I would go so far to say that authenticators can get very condescending and patronizing -- "how dare someone question my judgement OR when you've been around the forums a bit longer then you'll understand."

Well, I've never heard any authenticator say what I bolded, or anything close to that.

I've heard and seen authenticators say/suggest that if the poster doesn't care for their advice, he/she is more than welcome to use a paid service, if he/she deems that advice to be more official/professional. This is not meant to be snarky, and if ones takes it that way, well, I guess there's really no other nice way to say it.

 

[littlerock]

I have not figured out multiquoting so I am posting the text.

In response to your question:

In post 161 someone asked: "Is that true that tPF members also work as paid authenticators on the side? This seems like a slippery slope for tPF in terms of liability..."

And vlad replied "this is not true."

I disagreed because there is at least one member who authenticates items here that has her authentication business name in her signature and it is also her forum handle.

I don't expect the owners of the site to know the profession of every member, but the unequivocal no is troubling.

I don't want to speak for Vlad, but I wonder if he thought the person was asking if TPF pays authenticators on the side? It is definitely no secret that some members who volunteer here, also gets paid to authenticate elsewhere. I have to imagine this was a missunderstanding. Hopefully he can clarify. I can see how you would question the response.

 

[jmcadon]

Why does someone who's doing a service out of the goodness of her heart have to "come off as professionals?"

There's a huge difference between being rude and being straightforward. What you seem to consider as rude or non-professional isn't necessarily rudeness. It's just not coddling someone who considers that they're "owed" a response to their authentication request.


It's not a matter of "loving it." Every authenticator I've seen does what they do NOT because they love authenticating but because they HATE seeing buyers get ripped off by sellers who peddle fakes and they hate seeing sellers having unwarranted accusations of having sold fakes.


The reason the complaints are ongoing is because the issues are ongoing. Posters who don't follow the required format demand responses to their requests, continually bump their requests when they've been ignored and argue that they deserve certain information.

As long as rude and/or entitled posters post, authenticators will complain. And that's not really something that revamping the AT threads will fix.

This...+1

 

[missbanff]

Well, I've never heard any authenticator say what I bolded, or anything close to that.

I've heard and seen authenticators say/suggest that if the poster doesn't care for their advice, he/she is more than welcome to use a paid service, if he/she deems that advice to be more official/professional. This is not meant to be snarky, and if ones takes it that way, well, I guess there's really no other nice way to say it.

I can't speak for the other AT's, but there is no-one like that in the ATLV. I don't pretend to know things I don't and will always ask for someone else to check my opinion if I'm not 1000% sure. I've always encouraged people to get second opinions if they want them.

Someone stated that they aren't cool with authenticators picking and choosing who to answer, then stated that the authenticators should 'just ignore' those who can't follow the rules and/or are acting entitled. So which is it?

There certainly seems to be some people throwing opinions around who frankly haven't been around long enough to see and know all that us long-timers know. That's not putting anyone down; it's a fact. Those of you in the eBay forum, how many times has someone posted as an OMGVICTIM and that person actually turns out to be the scammer?

People need to realize that not everyone is going to conduct themselves the way they perceive themselves to be acting - 'I'm so nice to all, I would never do that.......' or whatever the case may be.

As for what the authenticators do outside of the forum, I really don't think that's anyone else's business. JMHO.

 

[JustAgUrL]

Thanks for clarifying.......I would imagine that those who choose to make fake bags have many other tricks up their sleeves such as buying the authentic item and going from there.....much simpler than clicking around the internet to find out the "secrets".

yes, BUT, there can be a small detail that they miss, and if it is disclosed here,
that ends up helping them…

While I LOVE basic guides on how to authenticate certain bags,
However, I also absolutely understand why the rules here are such to not disclose
these details.

 

[JustAgUrL]

I can't speak for the other AT's, but there is no-one like that in the ATLV. I don't pretend to know things I don't and will always ask for someone else to check my opinion if I'm not 1000% sure. I've always encouraged people to get second opinions if they want them.

Someone stated that they aren't cool with authenticators picking and choosing who to answer, then stated that the authenticators should 'just ignore' those who can't follow the rules and/or are acting entitled. So which is it?

There certainly seems to be some people throwing opinions around who frankly haven't been around long enough to see and know all that us long-timers know. That's not putting anyone down; it's a fact. Those of you in the eBay forum, how many times has someone posted as an OMGVICTIM and that person actually turns out to be the scammer?

People need to realize that not everyone is going to conduct themselves the way they perceive themselves to be acting - 'I'm so nice to all, I would never do that.......' or whatever the case may be.

As for what the authenticators do outside of the forum, I really don't think that's anyone else's business. JMHO.

Times a MILLION!!!!!


Those of you in the eBay forum, how many times has someone posted as an OMGVICTIM and that person actually turns out to be the scammer?




Ohhhhh YES!!!! I can think of a couple just off the top of my head….

 

[missbanff]

I can't speak for the other AT's, but there is no-one like that in the ATLV. I don't pretend to know things I don't and will always ask for someone else to check my opinion if I'm not 1000% sure. I've always encouraged people to get second opinions if they want them.

Someone stated that they aren't cool with authenticators picking and choosing who to answer, then stated that the authenticators should 'just ignore' those who can't follow the rules and/or are acting entitled. So which is it?

There certainly seems to be some people throwing opinions around who frankly haven't been around long enough to see and know all that us long-timers know. That's not putting anyone down; it's a fact. Those of you in the eBay forum, how many times has someone posted as an OMGVICTIM and that person actually turns out to be the scammer?

People need to realize that not everyone is going to conduct themselves the way they perceive themselves to be acting - 'I'm so nice to all, I would never do that.......' or whatever the case may be.

As for what the authenticators do outside of the forum, I really don't think that's anyone else's business. JMHO.

I realize the part in red is reading kind of jumbled, so I wanted to clarify---

It is my opinion that some people have been talking almost like they expect everyone else to behave according to their own expectations, and that just isn't going to happen - and it does NOT make anyone at fault.

For example - if someone states that they handle a certain situation a certain way, then jam that down other peoples' throats along the lines of "YOU SUCK IF YOU DON'T DO IT THIS WAY" - that just isn't cool. It's not just having a different opinion, it's sanctimonious crap.

It's a 'do as I say, not as I do" type of mentality, and I am NOT the only one who sees it.

 

[JustAgUrL]

I realize the part in red is reading kind of jumbled, so I wanted to clarify---

It is my opinion that some people have been talking almost like they expect everyone else to behave according to their own expectations, and that just isn't going to happen - and it does NOT make anyone at fault.

For example - if someone states that they handle a certain situation a certain way, then jam that down other peoples' throats along the lines of "YOU SUCK IF YOU DON'T DO IT THIS WAY" - that just isn't cool. It's not just having a different opinion, it's sanctimonious crap.

It's a 'do as I say, not as I do" type of mentality, and I am NOT the only one who sees it.

I totally understood what you were saying, and you are 100% correct..

This forum brings so many different personalities, that people need to
learn that they will run into people who are not like them, and who
communicate differently than they themselves do…

 

[poopsie]

I realize the part in red is reading kind of jumbled, so I wanted to clarify---

It is my opinion that some people have been talking almost like they expect everyone else to behave according to their own expectations, and that just isn't going to happen - and it does NOT make anyone at fault.

For example - if someone states that they handle a certain situation a certain way, then jam that down other peoples' throats along the lines of "YOU SUCK IF YOU DON'T DO IT THIS WAY" - that just isn't cool. It's not just having a different opinion, it's sanctimonious crap.

It's a 'do as I say, not as I do" type of mentality, and I am NOT the only one who sees it.

You most certainly aren't.

The nerve of people complaining about a free service! I just can't get past that. If you don't like it, don't trust it ( or don't use it) ffs don't complain about it. Scolding those who provide valuable help at no expense is beyond the pale. It seems like those who contribute the least complain the most.

 

[chicinthecity777]

You most certainly aren't.

The nerve of people complaining about a free service! I just can't get past that. If you don't like it, don't trust it ( or don't use it) ffs don't complain about it. Scolding those who provide valuable help at no expense is beyond the pale. It seems like those who contribute the least complain the most.

This!