[b]Hello SW members! :) Thank you for the feedback thus far regarding our new [u]User Verification feature[/u], and thank you also to those who have tried out this feature![/b]
We understand completely why some users may not feel completely happy with this feature, specifically [b]those who prefer not to have a public image of themselves on SW, yet would like to have the "Verified" icon appearing next to their username[/b].
This feature [i](the ☑ badge)[/i] was originally/mostly intended mostly to combat the ever growing issue of users being tricked and "catfished" on SW, by those claiming to be someone who they are not (sharing fake/stolen photos).
Those who post (or share privately) images of themselves (or images claiming to be them) can use this feature to help verify that they are indeed the person in those images.
This portion of our verification feature [i](the badge)[/i] was intended for users who are more public about themselves (photos), and not really aimed at those who enjoy using SW anonymously.
(The other half of this feature, the initial verification photo, is mainly for security/account recovery purposes).
We do understand that it still can seem unfair to many other loyal users, as they too cannot have such a badge without being public about their appearance.
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The SW Staff has not yet come to a conclusion regarding if and how we can improve this issue, however, we would like to put forward a potential idea.
[b][u]Would you prefer if SW offered different modes of the Verification Status (Badge)?[/u][/b]
[b]• [u]Publicly Verified[/u][/b] - Verification Photo visible to all SW Members
[b]• [u]Visible to other Verified Users[/u][/b] - Verification Photo only visible to other users who have also verified up to this level.
[b]• [u]Visible to SW Staff Only[/u][/b] - Verification Photo only visible to SW Staff.
[c=#BF0000][b]Please note that with each decreasing level, users will have less ability to verify whether or not a user is the person being claimed in their shared images.[/b][/c]
[i]For example:[/i] [quote]You, a SW member, may be chatting with another user who has the Verified Grey Badge [i](Visible to SW Staff Only)[/i].
We the SW Staff will not be able to always monitor whether or not this user is sharing true images of themselves (nor do we monitor what users share privately), after having already been verified. Neither would you or the rest of SW members have access to their "Staff Only" verification photo, to be able to cross-check their identity.
In this case, members would need to use more discretion when it comes to trusting who the user claims to be in their shared photos (since you are unable to see the already approved verification photos).
This is a concern to us, especially for new users who may join the site, and could be misled regarding the authenticity of certain other SW users.[/quote]
[b]We would like to hear your thoughts and feedback!
What do you think about this idea regarding the various Verification Badge modes?[/b]
Do you fully understand how and why the other more private modes of the verification photo (while having a badge) can be potentially used to mislead members?
Please share your opinions, suggestions, thoughts on this new Verification feature and how we may be able to improve it.
Thank you, [i][c=#005E2F]-The SW Team[/c][/i]
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[c=#004A59][big]Updates:[/big][/c]
[u]Regarding the option of having [b]"Friends Only see your Verification Photo"[/b].[/u]
This defeats a lot of the purpose of this verification feature, and is about equivalent of using the "Staff Only" option, while posting the image also to your "Friends Only" album.
The issue with this idea is that someone can easily have:
[b]• 0 Friends. • All Friends are alternate accounts of their own.[/b]
It is not a useful way of adding trust to someone's verification.
The reason why we opt to have other Verified users be able to see the photo (as the 2nd option), is that there is more validity in this method, as other users who are not directly connected to you, and are verified/trusted themselves, can also verify your own photo identity for the rest of the site.
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[b][u]Regarding Not having other options of Account Recovery or Verification[/u][/b]
We [b][u]will[/u][/b] be looking into having other options for recovering your SW account in case of loss, such as: [b]Recovery Questions, Secondary Email Address, Phone Number[/b], etc...
Please keep in mind that we cannot develop everything at once. :)
Now that we have more feedback and new concerns from users, we can address such issues.
[c=#800000][Note: This was never a major concern to users before we released this new photo verification feature today, so we are a bit surprised that some are very upset for us not yet having other recovery options][/c] :)
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Hey Andrew I personally enjoy the anominity of the site I don’t like to show my face in my pics for privacy reasons and I think that asking for a pic is a sort of direct attack on our right to have our privacy , I know there are other options available for verification and I understand SW’s reason for the verification process but can’t you just make both the pics private and let other users know that they’ve been verified using the same badge system , I don’t know I mean will there be some sort of benefit for verification and or some sort penalty for not verifying or something. I know you want to put a stop to the cat fishing and trolling stuff and I respect that but please allow me my right to privacy , I hide my face for a reason and the way I see it having my face posted out ther like that for all to see makes it seem like a wanted poster or something and kind of defeats the purpose of privacy, like I said I get why you want to do it and I actually started the process with the first pic since it would be kept private which I’m fine with but when I found out the other pic would be made public I decided not to continue the process , sorry I just don’t want my face out there for all to see , I don’t like feeling like I have something to hide but we do should also have a right to have our privacy in whatever way we choose.
@Highonheels Thanks for your feedback. I believe what you are suggesting is what we have posted as consideration in this topic, having different Badge levels.
[b][u]• Visible to SW Staff Only - Verification Photo only visible to SW Staff.[/u][/b]
This will help distinguish the level of verification a user has, without omitting all users who wish to be more private about their appearance on SW.
@Andrew yes I did notice that thanks for reverifying that for me so my question can I just do step one the first pic of the current verification process and still receive a verification badge or do I have to do the whole process
@Highonheels You're welcome. At the moment, I'm finalizing with staff the development of the other Badge Tires, which I believe shouldn't take too long.
Once (if) approved, you can then do the verification process, but will have the option to keep your 2nd image as "Staff Only". At that point, once your 2nd image is accepted, you will gain a Verification Badge.
@Highonheels [quote]defeats the purpose of privacy[/quote]
[quote]I don’t like feeling like I have something to hide but we do should also have a right to have our privacy in whatever way we choose.[/quote]
I agree and that's the reason why I took the verification mark off it's not worth it to expose your privacy and not only that but a lot of people are very mean spirited when it comes to having a different mind set or opinion and with your picture up for display like that on your profile users could probably use it against you or black mail you, then there's the thing about people stalking you or your employer tracking down the social media accounts you're on. I don't have nothing to really hide but I don't want to be put out there.
@Andrew ok then that sounds good I guess but I have another question let’s say you do the process and set the pic as private or SW staff only and a user questions the validity of that badge what will happen then
@Chickie thank you for agreeing with me , yea if my pic gets out there , there are people that can and will use it to find other accounts like FB , Twitter etc... I completely agree with that you hit it right on the head
