Nov 17th 2008 08:38:07 pm

In a previous poll I asked if there should be a swap limit on all users. Eighty-two percent of respondents thought that there should be a limit. Travis and I agree that a limit should be implemented on all users in order to prevent huge amounts of flaking when an emergency comes up… or unfortunately, when a swap-lifter signs up for many swaps and then abandons the site. However, we need your help. How many swaps do you think would be a good limit for all users? We may implement a tiered system in the future, but for now it will be a universal swap limit. Thanks for you help and input!

15 Comments » Categories: Feature Discussion, Polls

Oct 20th 2008 12:15:35 pm

Originally we wanted Swap-bot to be as free as possible with members each being personally responsible for their behavior and swap reputation. However, lately we have been warming up to the idea of a swap limit for all swappers (not just new users). The tricky part is deciding how many active swaps each user should be limited to sign up for. Should the limit be based on a swapper’s experience (the number of swaps they have completed) and rating history? How many swaps do you think is a reasonable limit for established swappers? PLease answer this poll and add your comments. It would be most helpful to know how many swaps you believe is a fair limit.

Thanks for your help!

18 Comments » Categories: Feature Discussion, Polls

Aug 28th 2008 05:24:34 pm

Due to the most recent of many arguing matches in the Swap-bot Forums, many users have questioned our policies of non-censorship and requested that we work toward a more pleasant atmosphere on Swap-bot. There are a few avenues that we can explore in order to make Swap-bot “nicer.” I need your help in determining which new policies we should adopt. Please complete the following polls and leave any comments. Our main objective is to provide a quality website and helpful service to our users. Your opinions are very important!

Profanity filter?

Ban foul-mouthed users?

Ban mean forum people?

Thank you for your help. There is more discussion on this topic going on in the forums. Click here to check it out.

19 Comments » Categories: Feature Discussion

Apr 9th 2006 08:24:52 pm

I got most of the category features finished tonight. All that remains is adding the final categories!

If you have any ideas for categories, please leave them in the comments.

2 Comments » Categories: Feature Discussion

Apr 9th 2006 06:32:44 pm

Work is underway for both swap categories and swap partner rating. Categorization takes on a higher priority because the number of current swaps is getting out of control. Just take a look at the View all swaps page to see what I mean. It is becoming difficult to keep track of the swaps you are interested in.

We are going to come up with a list of about 10 categories and then allow each swap to belong to a maximum of 3 categories. From the swap search page, then, you will be able to search for swaps based on the category. Pretty simple stuff. Should be rolled out to Swap-bot sometime this coming week.

As for partner rating, we are making progress on that as well. It might be in place as early as next weekend. I’m noting making any promises, we’ll see…

No Comments » Categories: Feature Discussion

Mar 20th 2006 07:44:41 pm

Swap-bot needs a rating system. I am thinking of trying something based on Yahoo’s Rating an Object design pattern.

I envision a system that somehow shows you the name of of your swap partner after you receive your item and allows you to rate the swapper. The rating would take the following into account:

• quality of swapped item
• the swappers ability to swap on-time
• what else?

This rating could then be used to allow people into or deny people from entering a swap. The swap creator could specify a rating of at least 3.5 (or any value) to enter the swap. I would think that the rating limit would apply to anyone with at least three swaps under their belt (eg: less than three swaps and the rating does not apply to them, they automatically get into the swap). All ratings would have to be public and some sort of appeals process would need to be in place.

The only question I really have is: at what point can the ratings begin? Since we have to reveal the name of the person you are rating, at which point in the swap process do you want to see the name. We’ve discussed before that you should see this name after 30 days, but is this too long after the swap to start rating?

Ideas and feedback please.

8 Comments » Categories: Feature Discussion

Mar 9th 2006 06:56:56 pm

Two more ideas via email:

• Show the parters that sent (or should have sent) to you after one month (at the same time the “nag” emails stop)
• Once you click “I sent my items”, the swap gets moved to the “Previous Swaps” section

Both great ideas and unless someone tells me otherwise, I am going to get to them sometime soon. Thanks Robyn.

No Comments » Categories: Feature Discussion

Mar 9th 2006 12:30:22 am

Now that I have gotten some of the little things that Swap-bot needed out of the way, I am ready to focus on a bigger Swap-bot project. I have already started working on a swap photo gallery and member pages.

The member pages are going to be a place where swappers can share info about themselves, like their favorite color or favorite type of music, for swap parters to get possible swap ideas. The member pages will have a place for comments from other swappers and all uploaded images by that user. I have heard from some users that they would like to be able to rank fellow swappers. This would probably be the place for that, I am still working out what exactly could be ranked and how other parts of Swap-bot could use that information.

I am most excited about the photo gallery. Each swap will have its own photo gallery that anyone can view. Swappers would, most likely, upload photos of the swaps they receive (technically they could upload pics of the swaps they send, but that detail will be left up to the swap coordinator). This might be a good place to have some voting. Swappers could vote on the best swap package or something.

Any ideas or feedback regarding member pages and photo galleries would be most appreciated. Thanks.

No Comments » Categories: Feature Discussion

Mar 8th 2006 08:52:47 pm

I received some e-mail feedback from a swapper that said she wouldn’t want to know who she was receiving her stuff from. She said she wouldn’t have the guts to email her partner asking where the goods are. I completely agree. I know I wouldn’t email my bad swap partner either. And it makes it more fun to get a package in the mail completely unexpected.

So, that got me thinking. What does everyone think of a link that automatically emails your swap partner telling them you didn’t get your package? A downside that I can think of, is that if the swap has multiple partners, all the partners would get the email, even the ones that might have sent their items. I know I could look at who says they sent their items, but can we really trust that since it is just a link that someone clicks that says they sent their stuff?

I’ve talked with a few swappers and am going to implement some of the emails mentioned in a previous post. One week in advance everyone will get an email reminding them they are in the swap and if they can’t follow through with the commitment of the swap they need to drop out. Everyone will still get the current email the day after signup closes telling them to look at their swap partners. And as soon as the swap deadline sends, anyone that has not clicked the “I sent my items” link will get emails everyday reminding them to send out their stuff.

1 Comment » Categories: Feature Discussion

Mar 8th 2006 08:19:45 am

By far the biggest problem we currently have with swap-bot is how to handle people that don’t send their swap items. This is something I don’t know the answer to.

There are a few ways we can go about identifying bad swappers and I will go over that shortly, but first we have to decide what we are going to actually do to bad swappers. If we ban them from all swaps for the rest of eternity, they will just sign up with a different email address and start swapping again. If we don’t do anything, they’ll keep getting swaps and not sending them. I’m open to suggestions here.

One solution to identify bad swappers would be to provide each person in the swap with a list of people that are sending swap items to them. They could then check off who they got something from and who they didn’t. This option potentially takes away some of the fun of a random swap. By seeing the list you then know who is sending you stuff. So maybe we hold off showing the list for 2 weeks or a month after the close of a swap. Again please leave suggestions.

The solution that I think I am going to attempt first is to send a few more reminder emails to all swappers and inundate the bad swappers with reminder/warning emails. I plan on sending the following emails:

• One week prior to close - A reminder that you are in the swap and you can still drop it if you aren’t going to send your items
• The day after signup for the swap closes - An email letting swappers know they can now view the people they send their swap items to
• Daily (every other day, weekly, I don’t know yet) emails to people that have not clicked the “I sent my items” link for the swap.

The last email will hopefully will make bad senders follow through with their commitment to the swap. Since they will only be able to make the emails stop sending by clicking the link on the swap page, hopefully they will send their items. I am tossing around the idea of having a second way to stop the “late” reminder emails. I am thinking of putting a second link in the email that says something like, “I do not plan on sending my swap items. Please make these emails stop.” If the swapper clicks this link, an email will get sent to everyone in the swap letting everyone know that this swapper let the entire swap down. The email would say who didn’t get their items as a result of this person choosing to not send their items. How’s that for a little public humiliation.

Please share any other ideas on the this subject or any others related to swap-bot.

For starters, a suggestion I received via email this weekend:

The only suggestion I have is that you institute some way of recognizing partners that don’t keep up their end of the bargain. I clicked the “Sent” button, perhaps you could add a “Received” button as well, which would then track against those who reported sending their swap. And, if a person slips up, you would prohibit them from signing up for any other swap until they met their first commitment. Just a thought.

5 Comments » Categories: Feature Discussion