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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 »
Andrew · Admin
[b]@naughtybutnice[/b]
[quote]can andrew pls tell me why i can't see these posts on this admin thread??[/quote]

You are likely able to see most of the posts appearing on this thread.
However, if a particular member has a somewhat "Adult" rating as calculated by our algorithms, we have made the decision at this time not to have their posts appear to young minors (13-15), as well these minor's posts not appearing to those particular adults.

There may often be cases where minors share contact information on this site publicly, and certain predatory adults may take the opportunity to privately contact and build trust with the minor, before trying to take advantage of them.

"Adult" posters may also share contact information on this site, or photos, posts, etc... of adult nature.
We prefer to reduce the chances of young minors ever coming across such content on Similar Worlds.

We feel that members in the "13-15" age group are more vulnerable to predatory behavior, so we prefer to take an extra step to make things safer for these members.

This effect (invisible posts) should not happen to those in the "16-17" age bracket, as teens between these ages are often more aware and cautious about the potential dangers of online communication.

Essentially, we aim to provide a more Family/Teen safe environment for minors on SW, so that you can exist here without having to ever be exposed to the more Adult portions of this site.

There are lots of people you can still communicate with here.
Teens (13 to 17yrs), and Adults who are not detected as being involved in "Mature Content".


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[b]@CinnamonBunNy[/b]
[quote]would you or other admins prefer private messages with these questions/suggestions/critiques?[/quote]

Yes. Sending you questions and concerns via private messages would be more appropriate that posting them in admin announcements.

However ideally, the correct way to submit these questions/feedback would be via email: [b]support@similarworlds.com[/b]

From there, multiple staff can access and respond to your queries.

We understand that we haven't always been quick to respond each question at this point, and this is because we are actively developing the site, with lots of new requests coming in each day, while we have a very small team available for responding questions at the same time.

We don't have someone dedicated for answering questions all day right now.



[quote]Could you please explain what is the effect of setting my profile to "non-adult", "adult", or "mildly adult"? Will my choice of setting limit who I can interact with? Is there a setting that is most likely to let me interact with everybody?[/quote]

I recently gave this answer publicly on another thread:

[quote]We will be releasing very soon options to filter the activity shown on your homepage.

You will be able to see content from: Friends Only, Groups Only, Friends + Groups or All Content (based on your preference levels).

[c=#800000]Changing your content settings do not directly affect who can keep in touch with you; it mostly only affects the content you see on your homepage, profiles and a few other locations.[/c][/quote]



[quote]Looking on the bright side you must be doing better in your competition with Jessa over number of responses now XD[/quote]

I think you may be referring to a different staff member, not myself.


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[quote]How do I complain about my profile being flagged when it should not have been ?[/quote]

Please send us an email with your complaint at: [b]support@similarworlds.com[/b]


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[b]@xal132[/b]
[quote]how can I delete a single message ...not the whole conversation?PM[/quote]

An option to delete a single message in a conversation is not available at this point.
Most websites do not offer such features for private messaging.

We will consider this request, but if we do make this feature, it would only delete the message from your side of the interface, it will not remove the message from the recipient's conversation (at least if some time has already elapsed).