MeetFighters News

That is what recommendations are all about. Verification is a different mechanism. I have just carefully explained how verification is complementary to recommendations and is not superfluous.

Just want to start by expressing my appreciation for the site and your efforts. I think verification is a good idea and additional personal security. I will use it as the tool it is intended and that is to be able to feel comfortable with newer wrestlers who may not have previous matches.

I think the push back from members with extensive past opponents and recommendations comes from a feeling that they have worked to build complete profiles and now to have this designation they have to jump through an additional hoop. I don't know if there is a way to grandfather people who at the end of 2016 had a certain number of past opponents and or recommendations.

Either way, I'm cool.

Sorry - it is superfluous - of course it is - no one gets a lot of recommendations without being "genuine".... a better solution to this would have been to ENCOURAGE new members - without recommendations to get verified - this would allow them to get the action they wanted....

Again - it is superfluous - doesn't mean it is not worthwhile - but I am verified by the men I have worked with....

Cheers!

I agree on both points

I always thought recommendations were a way of letting guys know who is genuine

Is there a way to not have photos marked as Private show up in Photo Peer Review?

That is already the case. Private photos do not go through peer review.

But they can still be seen (and copied/downloaded) in the Photo Peer Review section...even you can't identify who the person is, it would be nicer if private photos didn't show up at all.

I really don't like this focus on hunting down "fakers".
I think the means you recently introduced were already sufficient enough. The ratio of days on the site vs. past opponents is all I need to look at.
And while I'm on this site to setup "real" matches, I understand people being on the site just because the subject is of interest, but in a more "virtual" way.
I have a really bad feeling about this focus of having to "come out", bad associations come to my mind about the process implemented, especially the initial version of it.
Again, I really think it is going too far, and the means recently put into a prominent place on top of each persons profile, are already enough.

Thank you very much for your statement. Thats exactly what I think about it as well.

I think it's a good system and will get mine done this weekend. However, I do sympathise with those that are real but maybe far more discreet. Ironbull has a good point that might work as long as it not one guy with no meets or recommendations verifying another.
Is there a time limit on those that don't comply or have ever change there profile?

This is covered in the post, but let me repeat: member verification is not mandatory. I would love it if everyone got verified, but it is not required.

I made the process as discreet as I could without compromising its power.

to be honest I'm not sure how you do the validation ive tried twice and failed

I have followed up on your support request. Please read my response and ask any followup questions that you might have.
Thank you.

What if a fake profile verifies a fake profile?
The same way, a fake profile recomends a fake profile?

With the the Admin's idea, we know at least, that both of those profile's are ran by people they show they are.

Prehaps, just for now, it's probably best to test out this beta as it is... To see if users even bother to go ahead.

I guess. Although I am taken aback by how resistant some of the comments are. At worst it can surely do no harm to try

What about issues of hacking and privacy.
Anyone with any form of public profile or particular jobs must hope the site doesn't get hacked, connecting their face with their profile name.

This is also covered both in this news post AND the Member verification page, but I will repeat: the private photo showing your face can be removed after verification.

I beg everyone: please read before you comment.

And I realize that just because something never happened in the past is no guarantee for it not happening ever in the future, but: MeetFighters has never been hacked.

Firstly, I think it's a great idea for genuine members who haven't had matches yet but want to validate themselves.

The only reason I haven't yet verified myself was because i think it requests a shirtless photograph and though I'm comfortable displaying a face photo, personally I'd rather not show a shirtless picture. Is there a way around this or have I misunderstood the criteria?

Yes, we are accepting clothed photos. The requirement for shirtless is superfluous and I am strongly considering dropping it entirely.

Thanks for confirming this. And as always, thanks for the excellent service and support you provide.

It's another piece of information people can review when assessing a profile.....
No verification is not an automatic red flag, verification doesn't completely prove they are genuine, decent people but it can help.....

Just want to say thank you for listening to our constructive criticism on this. I love that this site is always getting better ;)

Generally I think the verification process is a good idea. I subscribe to the view that there should be a faceless PUBLIC pic to protect privacy. Good move!
Now, I need your help: I take my photos using a mirror so the alphanumeric code I'm holding will appear backwards. Don't have anything more sophisticated or webcam & there's nobody around to take the photo for me.
Can I still submit the photo with the backward letters? Can you reverse the image when you get it? Is there another way I can do this?

Our highly trained team of support specialists have all been taking courses in reading backward. Nobody gets on the team without passing that exam. :)

Wow! You guys are truly inspiring!!! OK I'll send you my backwards pic. I live in Arizona, and backward is very chic here ;)
But can they read backwards while standing on their heads??! That's the real test, huh?!!!
Thanks!

Thank you for this info. Appears to solve my concern. Will try to make the characters distinct so they are easy to read backwards.

Verification pics are never shown in public in any site because it can be stolen, modified and used in other sites...

This is also why we generate a code that is tied to account and time.

Sorry but for the first time, I don't like at all this focus. In the past I was ok for all and be grateful for your huge work. And didn't say enough again and again a great thanx
But there, i can't follow u.
I think it's going too far. It's typically a bad idea that u can find on another site.
Sorry again but without me. 😟😟

Can the one-hour window be changed to two hours? Too narrow for me to get it don on this computer. I wonder why the narrow "launch window," unless it's intended to reduce the ability of users to "Photoshop[tm]" changes in one's appearance.

That's exactly the reason. If you have a webcam, phone or similar device, those could be used for verification.

I think the adapted verification process (allowing faceless verification) will be a benefit to the site.

I have another suggestion. How about making verification photos expire after one year? That would inspire serious members to post new, up-to-date profile pics at least once a year.

I applaud your interest and motivation in working so hard to keep this site as legit as possible, but I feel this verification process is a huge wast of time and effort. The current checks/safeguards in place are more than adequate to allow members to make a determination on the validity of a prospective opponent's profile. This enhanced level of verification offers very little in added value to identifying a fake profile. I see two enhancements. First it does allow a new member instant verification of his photo, however it does nothing to assure this member will actually show up and wrestle. I will still rely on past opponents verification, and give a new member who has only been on the site for a few months the benefit of the doubt if he has not yet received any past opponent verification. Second it does make sure members keep their profile pics current, however again, i am more than willing to rely on current recommendations from past opponents to verify a prospective new opponent.

I would also like to point out that i believe there are two types of so called fake profiles. The first are the guys who have no problem posting current photos of themselves, but have no intention of ever meeting someone in person and actually wrestling. They somehow have their wrestling needs satisfied by simply exchanging messages and setting up matches they never intend on showing up for. This verification process actually validates these fakes.
The second group are guys who create totally fake profiles.....with fake photos. This does eliminate this group, but again, the fact they never will have a single past opponent even after years on the site is more than enough verification for me.

I will not be participating in the new process......I will let my past opponent list speak for me.

Thank you for addressing the problem with a creative solution. With that said, I am likely to depend more on the recommendations of past opponents. While verification is simple (five minutes as you say), that also makes it simple enough to fake with decent photoshop skills. Thank you for addressing the privacy concerns.

I think this feature is amazing, and I've gotta publicly compliment the Admin team for their incredibly fast response time!
I was expecting this faceless member verification to take weeks from when I questioned wether it was possible or not, but just a day later it's here...
Once again, very professional. Well done!

Just want to say thanks for being responsive to concerns about privacy - truly impressive how progress can be made when things are approached with a community rather than a company (or a CYA) mindset. Thanks to the admins and all who contributed to this useful feature and its rapid adjustment to meet the needs of all members.

This comment *clapping*

I think the verification process helps you to get that first meet, when you have 0 past opponents, and 0 recommendations. After that, it's more about the recommendations, as you say. However, I don't see why a combination of the two would be negative??

If u have 10 people say u are real I don't see the need for some thing else just seems redundant

For me, the site has hitherto not been a problem and I have not met any time wasters or fake profiles...........Even if I had...........it's not a big issue as every site has some................Personally I don't see any significant benefit for me to verify anything at this stage of my membership considering I have donated year on year for quite a few years.............Would I do that if I was a fake?............I don't think so!

I like the option of verification, and also like seeing the quick responsiveness of the admin. Even more so because it was a suggestion I made on the last thread lol so kinda awesome to see an idea shared by me and others put into usable action, without too much compromise. As I responded to someone on the last thread, you can't please everyone, but I am with the admin when he states it will make the site better, phish out these fake cats, and not have people wasting time (or money in some cases). And it's EXTRA beneficial for the new folks on here to help get their first match. I see it as a win-win, at least for now until something horrendous happens lol. Thanks for all the hard work you put into this site for us man! Truly appreciated!

I'm 100% with you Yngrasslr00!

There are several other, more credible ways to verify a user, email address, "real" person: verification codes through text messages, email verification, etc. Forcing someone to spend time holding up a card, and taking a picture is the first time I've heard of this - unless someone is being admitted into a prison.

Thank you for making this optional. If people don't think I'm "real" then they don't need to contact me.

It's an added feature; free of charge. If it results in my finding a few as one additional guy to wrestle (things have been fallow lately) or weeds out one fake/flake (not so few lately), it will be well worth the effort of giving it a try within a few days.

Appreciate the hard work done by the powers to be here to continue making this a great site

May be we should accept users who don't want to post face pictures due to privacy reasons. In those days, privacy in combination with the principle of data avoidance and minimisation is very important.

To make it short:
This function is complete nonsense.
No photo with face - for no one.

Care to elaborate?

Interesting focus for site.

I can vouch for ya ed

It seems like a lot to go through the site in my opinion all ready has enough protections

The new option means the photo on the site is really the phone of the member. That's nice but the real concern should be whether a member is a scammer or a pervert. With Internet cafes someone could get "verified" without disclosing their name or actual location. Since many people, especially young vulnerable guys, won't read the fine print, I think you shouldn't use the word Verified." A more accurate term would be "photo matches user." Isn't that all being verified means?

Verifying the photo means more than verifying nothing. And at least that part we CAN verify.

hey - minor point compared to a lot of the above, but - I really dislike the pic I took (which however accepted) for the verification thing. Can I replace it with another?

"Sometimes you just need to be a bit generous and look beyond your immediate interest. Maybe the benefit of verifying your profile is not to you directly, but to the site at large. (You know, the very site that helped you find all those past opponents and hosts all your great reviews.) "

Although perhaps not the conscious intent, the above quote from Admin. could be perceived as patronizing, judgmental, and an attempt to manipulate by shaming. Which might be why some react as offended. Everyone is an assumed adult here, we'll all figure it out. Otherwise it will be like herding cats. ;)

A couple of things....if I do this (and I'm not real keen on this), I have to take some fresh pictures. I too, would like to thank the guy who thought of this.....NOT. Sorry, I know know I have to do this to stay on the site, but I'm not in favor of this. I know, I know, just do this and move on....well, I've been on this site for quite a long time and never had a problem (this is why I like this site). Maybe the new comers should have to adhere to this and members who haven't been here so long, but the ones that have been here....they should draw the pass..

As Admin has stated repeatedly: this whole process is optional!
And while Admin sure would like it if many guys would use his newest creation, he himself states repeatedly that all this is optional.

And he even more would like his thirteenthousand-and-some cats to be herded (thanks Biff Kerpow for that image in my head;-) to read how the process works before commenting. And read that is is optional... Do I repeat myself? Well, Admin does so, so I can´t be that wrong be stating repeatedly that it is optional;-), so please read before commenting...

[Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Admin, I don´t even agree 100% with Admin in every detail, but here I just want to save him a couple of keystrokes to repeat himself repeatedly... He will have enough to do to herd all those 13k+ cats;-]

I got it.....optional....I missed it. I apologize for missing this optional thing. Hope you never "miss" anything here.

Oh, I can answer this one. It is because of the dozens of times that a trusted member created a secondary fake account for themselves.

Also, I asked very nicely to not to push agendas repeatedly. Very, very nicely. I'm not sure how to ask any nicer, but I do know how to delete comments. So that is what I will do from now on.

Gosh... I didn´t even think about those when I collected my half-a-dozen possible faker semantics...
I think that´s because from earlier days I remember those as "sock puppets", not as "fakers"... And by the way, that "sock puppet" indicator was just cool designed.

Thanks for shedding some light on what the verification actually is about!

Under these circumstances I can understand how the whole process helps:
As an already established member I can´t use my own photo to verify my sock puppet account because the pictures would be too similar and sooner or later it would become clear that both profiles are the same guy.

I don't object to another layer of protection. It would be especially meaningful to verify that someone's pic isn't faked if they have had no matches. Thank you for making verification optional. But making it optional should include some protection for those who exercise the option to not pose for a new pic. Please consider putting a "What does Verified mean?" link under the Verified icon on profiles. Have the link explain that if a profile is not verified, that doesn't mean it's unreliable, it means a user has exercised his right to not submit a face picture to the site. Explain that most people who post recommendations don't mind if you message them and ask some questions about a former opponent. I know your goal is to reduce the chances of having a bad experience and that's great. Isn't exchanging messages with people who actually know the person you are interested in meeting the best way of learning something about him? This is an opportunity to encourage people to take advantage of that.

I am just wondering whether the Admin will complete the process to acquire a "Faceless Memeber Verification" for his account too ;)

+1 that the terminology is a problem and should be changed. This new feature aims only to prove that a certain pic is accurate and newish, not that a User is more likely to show up. Those without a qualified pic are not less likely to be "verified wrestlers".

I like the verification thing. Every site has its share of flakes and fakes, who post either ancient or stolen pics. Tho it's less of a problem on this site, it still happens Sometime when a guy shows up, I wonder if I had been travelling near light speed for a few days my time between chatting and meeting only to return to Earth and see someone has aged 20 years :) At my age, every thing to help prove I'm real and tougher than ever in my life, is a Godsend. Profile of the day would help a lot; but the sheer random odds of that in a given year is only 365 or 366 out of 16,000 plus members. If it would help reduce the need for a guy my age to be signed in and hunting almost 100 hours per opponent found (not the site's fault that guys can't believe I still thrive at seventy-five), I'd gladly send in a DNA sample and fingerprint, once convinced of security . Great job, guys.