Nov 24th 2007 05:24:03 pm

We have just released a few site changes. We added total number of completed swaps to everyone’s profiles and we changed it so that the swaps you are currently hosting are not removed from the corresponding profile list until the mail deadline has passed. (Travis also made some changes that should speed up the entire site a bit.) However, the most important change is the addition of an **automatic account suspension system**.

This computerized system will automatically partially suspend questionable swappers if they compile too many **”1″** (did not receive swap items) ratings. Partial suspensions means that the user is dropped from all open swaps (in which partners have not been assigned) and the user is no longer able to sign up for new swaps. They can still complete current swaps and leave ratings, and when/if they reduce their number of “1″ ratings their account will automatically be UN-suspended.

Right now the suspension criteria used by the system is very lenient. Only users who have received **ten** “1″ ratings in the last six months will be automatically suspended. We plan to change this criteria soon, but we wanted to give everyone a heads up that the system is now in place before implementing the actual criteria. In a week, or so, we will change the automatic suspension criteria to just **four** “1″ ratings in the last six months. If your account fits this criteria, I would suggest trying to rectify some of your bad ratings. Contact old swap partners and re-send packages if necessary. I believe that four “1″ ratings is still quite lenient, but we will see how the system plays out before making it more strict.

Also, if you have over a 4.9 rating you will never be considered by the computer for the automatic suspension. However, anyone with under a 4.9 rating and who has had four “1″ ratings in the last six months will be partially suspended. We added this high rating “safety” so that users who participate in many, many swaps have more leniency in the number of “1″s they can have on their account at any given time. (FYI: A user has to have completed almost 200 swaps in order to “beat” the system with a 4.9 rating.)

Thank you all for your feedback on this issue. (Check out the original discussion of this feature here.)Barbie as the Island Princess dvd

Till Death Us Do Part ipod

4 Comments » Categories: New Features

Oct 27th 2007 06:26:44 pm

There is a cute new feature you might want to check out. We now have a selection of pre-made avatars for you to choose from. You can pick one of the avatar options by going to the Profile Edit page and then clicking on “Picture”. We plan to keep adding to the pre-made selection over time. Of course, you can still upload your own avatar from your computer, but we realized that many people were having a bit of trouble re-sizing and/or creating avatars. This makes it quick and easy for new users to pick an avatar for their profile. You can still change your avatar image at any time. Enjoy!Dance of the Dead release

2 Comments » Categories: New Features

Oct 11th 2007 06:55:46 pm

We have created two new swap categories: Kawaii and Handmade.

User request was strong for these two groups, and they seem to make a lot of sense. Are there other important categories that we are overlooking?

2 Comments » Categories: New Features

Oct 6th 2007 02:51:06 pm

In order to improve the safety, fairness, and overall efficiency of Swap-bot, we have implemented a few major policy changes.

Usernames Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms divx

The first thing that you will notice is that we are switching to unique, static usernames to replace the old display names. When you next log into Swap-bot you will be asked to choose a username. Please choose carefully as usernames are unchangeable and will stay with your account forever. After picking your username it will replace your old display name throughout the entire Swap-bot site and you will be able to use it to log into Swap-bot from then on. Usernames may only consist of letters and numbers. Other characters, offensive words, and any HTML or Markdown code are not allowed in usernames. Each person’s username must be unique. We suggest picking a username that is close to your old display name so that other members will be able to easily recognize you.

We know that this change will cause some confusion at first. We are sorry for any inconvenience, but this change is necessary as Swap-bot continues to grow. You might want to list your old display name in your profile somewhere if your username is significantly different. We expect all of our users to pick their new usernames fairly and to not misrepresent their identity in any manner. If you have any problems with the new username feature, please contact us at questions[at]swap-bot.com.

Unique Addresses

From this point on, each individual is only allowed one Swap-bot account. Every new account must have a unique address, as well as a unique username and email address. We have implemented new computerized strategies for assuring the uniqueness of each new user’s identity. We no longer allow (nor did we ever encourage) members to create multiple accounts.

Another major change is that you are no longer able to delete your account. If you wish to leave Swap-bot you can remove all of your address info and terminate Swap-bot communications, but your username and rating history will always be visible. This means that your current Swap-bot account is your only Swap-bot account! You will not be able to scrap it and start a new one if you get bad ratings.

These changes are unfortunately not retroactive. If you currently have multiple accounts you will not be punished. However, if you are observed behaving dishonestly or abusing the system, one, or all, of your accounts may be partially or fully suspended.

If you are a new user who would like to participate in Swap-bot but you have the same address as a current member, you must contact Swap-bot Admins to discuss exceptions to the unique address policy. You can email us at questions[at]swap-bot.com. Family members and roommates currently using Swap-bot with the same address should not be affected by the new policy. However, if you encounter any problems while trying to edit your address please contact us.

Editing Your Profile

You will notice that the links to edit your profile and manage your account have disappeared. You can now edit all of the information related to your account and your visible profile by clicking on the word (edit) next to the Profile link at the top of most Swap-bot pages. The profile editing system has now been divided into a few different categories to make editing a bit simpler. Let us know if you have any questions or encounter any problems.

We know these changes will make Swap-bot more efficient and fair. Thank you for your patience and understanding while they are being implemented.

9 Comments » Categories: New Features

Oct 2nd 2007 11:06:47 am

If you are looking for updated Swap-bot site info there are now a few places to find it! The Frequently Asked Questions page has been updated and lengthened, and we finally put together a more comprehensive Terms of Use policy. The Terms of Use is fairly generic – we won’t share your info, you are responsible for your actions, etc – but you might want to take a look at it anyway. We have also created a new ABOUT page which contains a list of DOs and DON’Ts. I want to continue to add to those lists and I need your help! Please list any suggestions you have for Swap-bot DOs and DON’Ts in the comments. I can’t promise to use all of them, but together we can make sure we cover all the important stuff. Thanks!

No Comments » Categories: New Features

Aug 20th 2007 10:01:53 am

Travis worked hard making a few improvements to the site this weekend. Here is what has been improved:

• There is now a “games” category for swaps. You select up to three swap categories when creating each swap, and you can search by category on the “View all swaps” page.
• The image uploading problem when editing newly created swaps should now be fixed. You should have no problem uploading .jpgs, .gifs, or .pngs to represent your swaps now.
• The account self deletion option should now be working correctly. If you choose to delete your account (permanently) you can now click on the link at the very bottom of the “Edit Profile” page and, if you are not in any open swaps, your account will automatically be deleted. Previously this option had a few bugs.

Please let us know if you notice any problems with these three improvements. Thanks!

No Comments » Categories: New Features

May 19th 2007 07:59:09 pm

We have finally updated the rating system! Here are the two main changes:

The top rating option (5) now becomes available immediately. Meaning that as soon as partners are assigned for each swap, the top rating option is available to be marked. So, now you can give your partners a “5″ (and a heart) as soon as their package arrives. The two lower rating options (3 and 1) do not become available until two weeks after the mail deadline for each swap. This is a bit of a change. All of the rating options used to become available one week after the mail deadline for each swap. We have had many, many requests for immediate rating capabilities. Please check out the new system and let us know how it is working.

The second big change is that we have implemented the Coordinator Star system! This is a slightly complicated system, but it is a nice way to reward hard working coordinators. Now, when you open the rating window for each swap there is a Coordinator Star box. In that box you can mark either that your coordinator deserves a star, or they do NOT deserve a star. Coordinators do not receive a star for every person who marks yes to the star option, instead they must receive stars from 75% of the rating participants in their swap. Meaning that of the people in the swap who give one of the two ratings for the coordinator, 75% must mark the positive option for a star to be received. If a participant does not rate at all they are not included in the equation. Also, coordinators canNOT be hurt by this system. They can only receive stars, not have them deducted.

UPDATE: My previous statement about the stars is somewhat confusing and inaccurate. The number of stars you receive can change as more members from each of the swaps you host rate you. If the percentage of participants who rate you positively for each swap drops below 75% at any time, you will lose the star for that swap. What I meant to say above is that if more than 75% of people in a swap rate you negatively, that does not hurt you. You simply do not receive a star for that swap. (It does not create a negative star.)

I hope that explains things a bit better!

I hope that makes the new rating changes somewhat clear. Try them out and let us know if you have any questions.Motel Hell rip

3 Comments » Categories: New Features

Apr 17th 2007 10:26:20 am

Most of you have probably already figured this out, but we just created a new swap search menu. If you go to the “View all swaps” Fatal Blade the movie page, there are now a bunch of new options at the top of the page that you can use to find swaps. You can still browse the swaps by category, but now you can also sort the list by creation date, sign up date, and mail date. The best part is that you can now use the search box in the top right to type in words to find swaps. Try it out.

We also added a little box on the far right that shows how many swaps meet your search criteria. Right now there are a total of 335 swaps to search! wow!

Have fun. Let us know how the new searching works out.

3 Comments » Categories: New Features

Apr 7th 2007 03:58:02 pm

I am very excited to announce the new layout of the profile pages! We spent quite a while trying to decide how to organize all of the things that we wanted to include on the pages, and we finally settled on an arrangement that we hope you like…

You will now notice that in the upper right corner there is a designated ratings box. Here you will find the user’s average rating, their number of hearts, and soon you will be able to see their number of stars. Stars will be used to indicate exceptional swap coordination (for hosts/hostesses), but that feature is not ready quite yet.

The full list of a user’s ratings is still located at the bottom of the profile information, but there is one exciting addition to the ratings – you can now RESPOND to any rating given to you! Your response will show up in a gray box beneath the rating. Many users have been requesting this feature for a while, and I am very excited to see how it works out.

Another exciting new feature we added to the profiles is a comment section. Here any Swap-bot users can leave comments on your profile. It is separate from the messaging system and we thought it would be a great way for swappers to thank their partners in a semi-public way. It is also an easy way to communicate.

We know that there may be a few bugs to work out on the new profile pages, so please notify us if you see anything weird. Also, the profile pages are now 910 pixels wide, meaning that some of you using lower resolution computer screens may have to scroll horizontally to see the whole thing. We are sorry about that inconvenience, but there was just no way to include so much info in such a small area. All in all we hope you love the new layout and enjoy the new features. We will continually try to improve and update Swap-bot to make it more fun and easy to use. xoxo

UPDATE: I forgot to add an explanation about the lists of “Currently In” and “Currently Hosting” swaps (On the right side of the new profile pages). The “Currently In” list shows all of the swaps you are currently signed up for in which you have NOT yet marked as sent. The “Currently Hosting” list contains all of the swaps you coordinated that have not closed yet. Meaning that other swapper can still sign up for them.

9 Comments » Categories: New Features

Mar 18th 2007 05:54:52 pm

Travis worked hard all weekend to make you a fancy, new present: The Swap-bot Discussion Forums! Now there is a place within Swap-bot where you can ask for help, share ideas, or just chat. So far, we have created five main forum categories: General, Craft Chat, Bad Swappers, Ideas & Suggestions, and Help & Questions. Anyone can view the Swap-bot Forums, but you must be a Swap-bot member and be logged in if you want to reply to any of the topics or create your own topic within any of the categories.

We are going to be continuously updating and improving the Forums, so please lets us know what you would like to see. What other categories should we add?

Go check out the Forums and start your own Swap-bot discussion!Broken Bridges trailer

2 Comments » Categories: New Features