[Cooligan]

This thread was written perfectly for a newer member and also us older members Omni.

I've been saying it for years, and over the past few it's only gotten easier to say, but HF is 100% without a doubt hands down the BEST forum on the internet. Why? Because of literally everything you listed in the OP and so much more. Not one other forum has Contracts, all the "Scan" features came after HF's Trust Scan feature. Many other forums have stolen our graphics as well such as awards, userbars, and more. Also many like to argue that Staff should get involved in Deal Disputes; this is a terrible idea. On other forums I'm on, Staff do get involved, and the ONE thing it's caused isn't a "better and safer marketplace", no, it's only caused corruption and so much controversy throughout the community. And the thing is, there's no way to prove or disprove any of it as only Staff would know at the end of the day, and that's something we don't worry about here on HF. In fact, most online marketplaces do NOT have an onsite marketplace team, they don't get involved in DD's, etc.., and that is all a good thing in my personal opinion. I've seen what happens when Staff doesn't get involved, and I've seen what happens when they do, and I'd much rather see them stay out of it and keep the forums reputation alive rather than do get involved and then raise a million and one arguments on "why this Staff did this", or "why this Staff is corrupt", etc..

It's incredibly easy to safely deal on HF's marketplace with the systems in place and our Contracts system. The BIGGEST tip I could give to a newer member using Contracts and the marketplace in general would be; A. always use a middleman if you're worried / B. if your deal goes wrong and you feel you were scammed and/or didn't get what you paid for, dispute the contract and do NOT close the disputed contract until you are 100% happy, as once it's closed there's nothing you can do about it. I honestly love that system. It's beyond easy to understand, and when used right, works like a charm.

I've seen this place truly evolve over the years from back when we only had our old school theme, no trust scan, no Contracts, none of that, but only Reputation to know whether someone is trustworthy or not, and now we have all of this. Not one person can say HF doesn't have the communities best interest at heart, not a single soul. If you do say that, you just haven't been here long enough to see the change that all the features you guys have implemented have caused, and it's been wonderful to see unfold.

Not one other forum have I donated hundreds of dollars to, not one other forum do I have over 10,000 posts on, and not one other forum do I care as much about it as I do HF. HF has and always will hold a very special place in my heart and one of the main reasons is because of the ongoing efforts that you guys have shown over the years to not only keep HF going, but to make it goddamn flourish. For instance, I'm on vacation right now. Yes, VACATION. And yet, HF is still something I wanted to make sure I'd be able to get on once I arrived to my vacation spot (hours and hours away from where I live). I was worried I might not be able to get my 2FA working to be able to sign on where I'm at now, and HF is the only place I was worried about it. And this isn't all because I use HF's marketplace on a daily basis and need to keep up with my sales threads, no, not at all. In fact I was worried I wouldn't be able to get on because of the Hack Game I play EVERYDAY, the daily check-in thread and my progress on it (which teaches patience and reward), the Sportsbook and all the bets I make on a daily basis (which has taught me how to properly bet on games, how to truly know the odds, and because of it, I now have so much knowledge on Sports that I never had before the Sportsbook), the Crypto Game that I check stats on a daily basis (another thing that has only taught me something), and HF's RANF section that I review on a daily basis to see what might be new or important at that time on HF. These are all things that do not effect my real life in anyway, but still are things I wouldn't want to go without even while on vacation. HF has accomplished its goal of becoming more than just a forum, and I think everyone here knows that, and all the reasons I stated right above on why I wanted to be able to use HF on vacation are just more reasons why it's more than a forum. HF for me is like Facebook. I come on, check my newsfeed (forum in general), play my games (hack game), and then on top of it use the Sportsbook daily and CG, etc.. There's a reason why I'm so loyal to this place and this place only, and it's because of everything I've said above. (not sure if I rambled a bit here, I just woke up though so if I did that's why lol, still have morning brain)

I'm not sure the reason for this thread Omni, whether it was just a general announcement thread or something specific you wanted to say to the community, which ever reason doesn't matter. All that matters is I truly hope you guys (especially you Omni) realize just how impact-full HF is to the community and especially to members like myself who've been here for a long time now. We truly notice all the hard work you put in, all the changes you make, and while we might not like every change implemented; we understand that there's most likely a very good reason why it's happening as you guys will always have the communities best interest at heart, which basically comes back to the point of this thread. With all of that, I can safely say Mission Accomplished, and we can only go up from here. I love this place so damn much. :)

At the top of my lungs; LONG LIVE HF! <3

---

edit: LOL omg I love you so much Omniscient . Just laughed my ass off for 3 minutes straight 🤣
"No award is a bad award to an award whore." - Cooligan 2019 lmao :P - still got a cheesy smile on my face lol, wicked happy, made my day.

[Pyro]

My only issue is with the fact that staff never closes proactively, the only way for scammer to get closed is through multiple open disputes.

U dont know what staff do beyond closed doors

[defame]

U dont know what staff do beyond closed doors

I don't but I do know what they usually say when confronted with evidence that someone is scamming, and I'm not just talking about my thread.
Contracts and everything they've done is defenetly huge, but letting someone stay on the forum because they screwed over a member out of the contract (just an example) thus the dispute is invalid, in all honesty isn't the right course of action, and if you disagree which you absolutely have the right to, please elaborate, as I legitametly want to understand your point of view.

[Unexplained]

Omniscient well said.

I'm curious what active measures you take to shut down accounts that are actively scamming, multiple red flags, disputed contracts? Is there a regular manual or automatic review process that is used?

I think contracts were the best thing for the marketplace here on HF. THANK YOU!

[Omniscient]

My only issue is with the fact that staff never closes proactively

You are very wrong about that. We don't really discuss it. I can assure you that I personally spend a lot of time everyday closing scammer accounts long before they can scam. You just don't see what's going on behind the scenes.

Not one other forum has Contracts, all the "Scan" features came after HF's Trust Scan feature

Yeah, another original feature of HF that's being cloned.

On other forums I'm on, Staff do get involved, and the ONE thing it's caused isn't a "better and safer marketplace", no, it's only caused corruption and so much controversy throughout the community.

I was part of dozens of Marketplace forums way before HF even existed. There are reasons for the policies grounded in that experience.

I don't but I do know what they usually say when confronted with evidence that someone is scamming

Off-site evidence is never considered and in most cases a member has interactions with a scammer off-site that we can't prove is legitimate.

because they screwed over a member out of the contract (just an example) thus the dispute is invalid, in all honesty isn't the right course of action

Yeah, that's right. If you didn't use the Contracts system, any accusations of a scammer is harassment on HF. If the deal was done somewhere else then that's where the person should complain. We have a system in place and policies regarding members actions during Disputes. We must enforce policy and push for usage of the Contract system. And it is the right course of action, you don't have to agree.

[Kavalli †]

Omni, correct me If I'm wrong but I heard you can't start more than 1 contract with 1 person (You have to finish one contract before starting another). Is that right? Also you don't think that pushes people to do more deals off-site?

This is specially difficult for users who're selling products that have upsell/down-sells.

[defame]

You are very wrong about that.  We don't really discuss it.  I can assure you that I personally spend a lot of time everyday closing scammer accounts long before they can scam.  You just don't see what's going on behind the scenes.


Yeah, another original feature of HF that's being cloned.  


I was part of dozens of Marketplace forums way before HF even existed.  There are reasons for the policies grounded in that experience.  


Off-site evidence is never considered and in most cases a member has interactions with a scammer off-site that we can't prove is legitimate.  


Yeah, that's right. If you didn't use the Contracts system, any accusations of a scammer is harassment on HF.  If the deal was done somewhere else then that's where the person should complain.  We have a system in place and policies regarding members actions during Disputes. We must enforce policy and push for usage of the Contract system.  And it is the right course of action, you don't have to agree.

Have you considered having a special group of active and trusted members who'd be on the hunt for the scammers, I can see this working with the current website policies.

[Biggy]

Have you considered having  a special group of active and trusted members who'd be on the hunt for the scammers, I can see this working with the current website policies.

IMHO that would go down badly. I think he does just fine taking care of scammers by himself, it’s up to the user to do their due diligence to avoid being scammed. There are so many measures he has in place to avoid you being scammed. From 2fa, to trust scan, to an entire contract system and proper deal dispute section. Sometimes there is only so much you can do to completely avoid a scam. It’s inevitable, scams are going to happen, but what we have in place works, and very well in my opinion.

[Omniscient]

I'm curious what active measures you take to shut down accounts that are actively scamming, multiple red flags, disputed contracts? Is there a regular manual or automatic review process that is used?

Providing that information would only help scammers.

Omni, correct me If I'm wrong but I heard you can't start more than 1 contract with 1 person (You have to finish one contract before starting another). Is that right? Also you don't think that pushes people to do more deals off-site?

Currently that's how the system works.

This is specially difficult for users who're selling products that have upsell/down-sells.

If we create exceptions it might be for Vendors. But realize someone could abuse this an open 100 Contracts with you.

Have you considered having a special group of active and trusted members who'd be on the hunt for the scammers, I can see this working with the current website policies.

Wow, that's a great idea. Why hasn't someone thought of that after 12 years of HF? You must be the smartest guy on HF. Gonna send you a PM about this concept.

[defame]

Wow, that's a great idea.  Why hasn't someone thought of that after 12 years of HF?  You must be the smartest guy on HF.  Gonna send you a PM about this concept.

Don't tell me you couldn't find a way to efficiently implement the idea, after 12 years then.
Layered approach is the best approach no doubt.

[Astonished]

Have you considered having  a special group of active and trusted members who'd be on the hunt for the scammers, I can see this working with the current website policies.

How do you consider hunting scammers without putting people in the risk of being scammed. The only way to do this is to close accounts that look like they could be used to scam someone. Which either ends up in closing an account that someone genuinely want to use for its intended purpose, or doing what Omni already does. If I was a "Scam hunter" and didn't like someone, I can abuse the fact that I am trusted and say, yes this guy is a scammer > Banned

From omni = "I can assure you that I personally spend a lot of time everyday closing scammer accounts long before they can scam"

Well okay Omni, guess he aint get a chance to explain it to me 🤐

[spiral]

Don't tell me you couldn't  find a way to efficiently implement the idea, after 12 years then.
Layered approach is the best approach no doubt.

You couldn't trust said person to not abuse the situation and allow certain members to scam other users. Putting trust in someone online about something as important as this is not a smart move.

[lulzytrash]

Good job dumb shit, keep wondering why hackforums is the known as the scammers hive everywhere else, even though you tried so hard.
Pull that head out of your ass, once in a while you might be able to see the right approach.

[Omniscient]

Good job dumb Clay Davis, keep wondering why  hackforums is the known as the scammers hive everywhere else, even though you tried so hard.  
Pull that head out of your ass, once in a while you might be able to see  the right approach.

It's known as a scammers hive by the competition and those with closed accounts. That's not really something I care about. And what you see as the "right approach" is your opinion which is complete garbage, naive, and ignorant.

I made this thread with a ton of information about how we deal with scammers. It's as if you completely ignored it. What a prick you must be in real life.

[no-avast!]

Its not your fault. You have done a great job to protect this forum's community.