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Admin Announcements

[b]Greetings to all of SW![/b] 🌟
Many new improvements have now been released.

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• [b]Private Messages[/b]
Finally, one of the most requested features is now available on Similar Worlds!
A couple of our new privacy options will help to prevent unwanted contact.
Security measures and limitations are implemented to help prevent abuses and spam.
Uploaded images go to your Private Album.
Auto Blur Images for added protection.
Edit messages for the purpose of fixing errors/typos. Only possible for a short period of time (to prevent security issues).
Additional privacy controls for who can contact you via messages will be implemented in the coming days.

[c=#800000][b][Note]:[/b] There is a default [b]5 minute waiting period[/b] between creating [b]New[/b] Private Message Conversations .
This limit does [b]Not[/b] apply to already [b]Existing[/b] Conversations.

As your reputation increases on this site, the 5 minute waiting period will gradually decrease for you as well.[/c]

• [b]Account Reputation and Adult Rating Levels[/b]
These factors are calculated by various algorithms (Artificial Intelligence) we have developed.

Having a better [b]Account Reputation[/b] reduces limitations on your account, so that you are able to use this site more freely.
Having a bad Account Reputation, oppositely, can restrict your account usage in many ways.
Be a good member on this site, following the rules and not abusing other members, to gain a positive Account Reputation over time.

[b]Adult Rating Levels[/b] helps to protect our community as a whole from predatory behavior and unwanted contact.
Its function is to separate the SW community into large sub-communities, of varying levels of maturity and adult content.

Being an adult on this site does not automatically restrict you from communicating with minors, however, our algorithms play a role in determining which members from different age groups should be able to connect with one another.

You may notice the photos of some members being blurred, or may you not see certain members' posts at all, depending on the discrepancies between perceived maturity levels.

We will be listening closely to member feedback and will observe how these recent changes impact the community.
Adjustment/Improvements will be made over time to maintain good levels of connection between members, while keeping security a priority.

• [b]Text Formatting / Form Tools[/b]
You are now able to add Photos and Videos to your Posts/Messages.
Style them with a variety of colors and other formatting options.
Photo uploads are also a step in preparation for full Public and Friend Only Photo Albums.

• [b]New Privacy Settings[/b]
Our new privacy settings help you to better control who and what you see on this site, as well as who can see you.
Block Friend Requests and Messages from users within the provided age ranges.
Block ALL forms of content and contact from users within the provided age ranges.

• [b]Improvements on Spamming/Trolling Prevention[/b]
We have made great improvements with regards to stopping spam and "trolls" on this site.

Our site now has one of the best spam prevention systems in the world.
It is much more difficult for abusers to cause problems in this community than in almost any other online platform.

Right now we have almost non-existent levels of spam/trolls on Similar Worlds, thanks to our expertise in security and spam control.

• [b]Group Images[/b]
We have migrated group images from Experience Project to Similar Worlds.
We are still the process of cleaning up our group images and finding more appropriate photos for many of them.
Revamped Group pages/lists.

• [b]Server Upgrade[/b]
Similar Worlds is now being run on more powerful servers.
Improved Reliability and Data Protection.
Our community is growing very rapidly, so this was an important improvement to facilitate this growth.
Improvements on infrastructure were also needed as a result, which caused us more work and time (and delays) than previously expected.

• [b]Lots of other fixes and improvements in Functionality, Performance and User Interface.[/b]

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Thanks again for being a part of our Similar Worlds community!
[i][c=#005E2F]- The SW Team[/c][/i]

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

beckyromero · 36-40, F

@Andrew,

Please take my and others' comments about abusive flagging and reputation scores seriously. We are not being [i]critical[/i] of you guys. Or trying to [i]game the system[/i]. We are very [b]concerned[/b] about being effected without doing anything wrong.

I think I can safely speak for many others when I say I believe SW has tremendous potential and both [c=#BF0000][b]love[/b][/c] and [b][c=#BF0000]appreciate[/c][/b] almost everything we've seen thus far. Not to mention the speed in which you guys have got things done and responding to members' comments and questions.

I hope you understand I and many others appreciate all the hard work you guys have done. But many of us were long-time users of EP and saw the problems there from a [i]user's[/i] perspective and how many of us were hurt by abusers and by an overwhelmed EP staff to investigate abuse.

@Andrew
"Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and mostly every major social network out there, uses their own algorithms to help keep their communities safe. They certainly do have their own internal systems, which take into account the number of times you have been reported, blocked, had offensive content removed, etc..."

I've blocked a few people. Though not because of anything they have done wrong. Their few posts were just not things I was interested in, though they were perfectly within the terms of service.

Now I'm told that I've [b]harmed[/b] their reputation by [b]blocking[/b] them? What the heck! That isn't right. Not right at all. That certainly ripens the algorithms for unfairness and abuse.

"However, if someone has been getting blocked 50-100 times in one day, obviously that would raise some red-flags for anyone who is thinking rationally. In such a case, a user could expect to see some negative consequences of our algorithms on their account."

Really? My God! Come on. This is an [b]ELECTION YEAR[/b], Andrew. [b][c=#BF0000]What on earth are you thinking?[/c][/b]

Members being the target of abusive flagging because of their political viewpoints was a [b]HUGE PROBLEM[/b] on EP.

You just wait until Questions are up in full swing. If SW continues to have good traffic (which we [b]all[/b] want), it would be [b]IRRATIONAL[/b] to [b]NOT[/b] assume a poster of a political question getting that number of blocks in a day.

[b]Especially now that everyone will know they can harm someone's reputation by getting their friends to gang up and block someone.[/b]

"There seems to be a lot of preemptive fears over our algorithms, when most of your accounts appear to be working very fine without noticeable limitations."

That's because members' EP content hasn't been imported yet, users can't yet create groups, users can't spotlight their top stories, users can't ask questions that would be segregated into topics for users interested in such topics to easily find and because a number of users may be holding back on writing new stories until their learn more about these reputation points and algorithms.

@MasterLee
"Currently the only way to clean up the feed is to block people. If I didn't, I'd be seeing countless stories about bodily functions and various disgusting behavior. I have no problem with the people I am blocking, I just want to filter my feed. I would like to see a filtering mechanism that doesn't penalize people for just being odd. Further a nice suite of filtering would be great to remove the detritus."

[b]Exactly[/b] my take, too! I've done the same thing you did for similar reasons.

@TheMightyAphrodite
"I was a target like this back a few years ago on EP (circa 2013), I would worry that this could start again..."

That is a concern for me as well. So far SW seems capable of investigating complaints of such abuse. But I fear they will eventually get overwhelmed by abusive flaggers just like EP eventually was.

@Andrew
"Even if malicious members were able to gang up on you and give your account a bad reputation, the matter should draw attention to our staff, we would look into the situation and reverse any false infractions on your account. Subsequently the offenders will receive some penalty in return."

[i]Some penalty[/i]? Abusive flaggers should be [b]banned[/b], plain and simple. And programming should be done to ensure that the content they inappropriately flagged can't be flagged again.

@Andrew
"@naughtybutnice - Just certain over-18s.
If an adult is engaged in a lot of adult content/discussions on this site, then the chances are greater that they will not be able to communicate with you, a minor."

But some of us have already indicated in our account settings to "block ALL content and contact from people under 18."

Why should our [i]reputation[/i] suffer as a result?

@Greenwind
"Account Reputation" -- Is that going to be like EP Jail? Get a gang or "pack" of twits all slap you with a complaint because they disagree with your opinion and your account goes to "jail" or "AR" hold? Just wondering.

EP Jail. I remember that! Because I got targeted for making comments critical of President Obama and ObamaCare on political questions.

@CinnamonBunNy
"Since evidently your team can see people's "account reputations", there ought to be a way for us to see our own, and steps to take if we want to improve them. Same for the "adultness" of our profiles/accounts."

Absolutely! If one is complying with Terms of Service, there shouldn't be any penalty that hides our content, comments or questions from consenting adults. If one is NOT complying with Terms of Service, then it should be pointed out to them what they've done wrong. Serious offenders, such as stalkers and abusive flaggers, should be banned, not wrist-slapped.

@Andrew
"We have said on many occasions: Simply be a good member on this site, not causing problems, and everything should be fine with your account."

The trouble with your statement is that being a [i]good member[/i] apparently involves more than complying with the Terms of Service because abusive flaggers and being blocked for even innocent reasons like I and others have pointed out can harm your reputation, thus implying one is [b]NOT[/b] a [i]good member[/i].