We [released a few new feature upgrades](http://swap-bot.com/blog/2007/01/20/new-new-new/) yesterday and of all of them, I am most excited about the [new way coordinators assign swap partners](http://www.swap-bot.com/faq.php#question17). I feel like we have taken a positive step forward in eliminating bad swappers from participating in [Swap-bot](http://www.swap-bot.com/).

The idea of making coordinators manually start the partner assignment process is something I have been working on for quite a while. Before this change, the process was automatic. As soon as the deadline to signup passed, partners were instantly assigned. The problem we were running into, however, is that the scammers discovered that they could sign up an hour before the partners were assigned, which wouldn’t leave enough time for the coordinator to ban them. While I feel very strongly that we have a great community of swappers, **the average rating given is a 4.6**, I am aware that even one bad apple will ruin the swap for someone. After many email discussions with helpful members of the Swap-bot community, I came up with the process we released yesterday. The coordinator now has three days manually initiate the partner assignment process. If, after three days, the coordinator hasn’t assigned partners, Swap-bot will automatically assign the partners for the coordinator.

Swap coordinators should already be aware of this change, an email went out to the those that are in charge of swaps that ended yesterday alerting them that it was time to initiate the assignment process. I just checked and 4 of the 20 swaps that closed signup yesterday have already had their partners assigned.

![Assign Partners](http://swap-bot.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/assign_partners.png)

Assigning partners in Swap-bot is very easy. After signup has closed for the swap, the coordinator should return to Swap-bot to view the final list of signed up swap participants. If any of the participants do not meet swap requirements, such as minimum rating, geographical location or any other requirement, the coordinator can ban the participant from the swap and ensure that they will not be assigned a partner. Once the coordinator is happy with the final list of participants, they can simply click on the ‘Assign partners for this swap’ link.

Assigning partners adds a few minutes of work for the coordinator, but I feel it will greatly enhance the swap experience for all participants. I hope you agree. Any feedback on this feature would be greatly appreciated.