For the upcoming migration to Discourse we are working on a brand-new feedback system designed specifically for our Marketplace section based on all the inputs received so far. In the first phase we are just looking at migrating to the new system before we start building some additional features that you all suggested.
So go through the following and feel free to thrown in your suggestions. Ignore the AI generated flowery language, have used it to structure the content better.
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This new system aims to be more detailed, transparent, and better integrated into the forum experience, replacing the previous Positive/Negative/Neutral feedback system used on the old platform.
The new system moves away from a simple Positive/Negative/Neutral score to a more detailed
1-to-5 star rating across several key aspects of a transaction. This will help everyone better understand a member's reliability and conduct in the Marketplace.
How Will the New System Work?
- Buyer & Seller Roles:
- Seller: The member who starts a new "For Sale" topic in a designated Marketplace category.
- Buyer: Any member who posts a reply within that Seller's topic.
- Where Does it Work?
- This feedback system will only be active in specific forum categories designated as "Marketplace Categories" (e.g., Market > For Sale). Feedback options won't appear in regular discussion threads.
- Leaving Feedback (The Core Change!):
- Instead of just +/-/0, you'll rate members on a 1-star (Poor) to 5-star (Excellent) scale for specific criteria relevant to the transaction.
- Buyers Rating Sellers:After interacting in a sale thread, Buyers will see a "Rate Seller" button (likely on the Seller's first post). Clicking this will let you rate the Seller on:
- Communication (How responsive and clear were they?)
- Shipping Timeliness (Did they ship promptly?)
- Shipping and Packaging (Was the item packed well? Did it arrive safely?)
- Overall Experience (Your overall satisfaction)
- Sellers Rating Buyers:Sellers (topic starters) will see a "Rate Buyer" button (likely next to a Buyer's post). Clicking this will let you rate the Buyer on:
- Payment Timeliness (Did they pay quickly?)
- Communication (Were they clear and polite?)
- Overall Experience (Your overall satisfaction)
- Comments: You'll also have an optional field to add written comments to elaborate on your star ratings.
- One Feedback Per Transaction: You can only leave feedback for a specific user once per sale topic (e.g., a buyer rates the seller once for that topic, the seller rates that buyer once for that topic).
- Editing Feedback:
- Made a mistake? You'll have a short window (likely 24 hours) after submitting feedback to edit your star ratings or comments. After that, the feedback is locked.
Where Will You See These Ratings?
Transparency is key! Ratings will be visible in several places:
- User Cards: When you hover over or click a username, the small popup card will show a quick summary:
- [Shop Icon] Seller Rating: Average Star Score (Total Seller Ratings) - e.g., 4.5 (10)
- [Wallet Icon] Buyer Rating: Average Star Score (Total Buyer Ratings) - e.g., 4.9 (5)
- (If a user has no ratings yet, it will show 0.0 (0))
- User Profiles (New "Market Rating" Tab!):
- A dedicated "Market Rating" tab will be added to every user's profile page.
- Here you'll find:
- Overall Averages: Their average Seller and Buyer scores (and counts).
- Detailed Averages: Average scores broken down per dimension (e.g., Average Seller Communication: 4.2 stars).
- Full Feedback History: A list of all individual feedback entries received (both as buyer and seller), showing who left it, when, the star ratings given for each dimension, any comments, and a link back to the original sale topic.
- Filtering/Sorting: Options to view feedback received as a seller, as a buyer, or sort by date.
- In Marketplace Topics:
- When viewing a topic in a designated Marketplace Category, the Seller's (topic starter's) current Seller and Buyer ratings (average score and count) will be displayed prominently near the top of the topic.
- Profile Summary Page:
- On the main "Summary" section of a user's profile (where you see Likes Received, Topics Created, etc.), their Seller Rating and Buyer Rating summaries will also be listed.
What About Old Feedback?
Don't worry, your hard-earned feedback history won't be lost! We plan to
migrate the feedback from the old XenForo system. Because the systems are different, we'll convert the old ratings like this (proposed):
- Positive feedback -> Becomes a 5-star rating across the relevant new dimensions.
- Neutral feedback -> Becomes a 3-star rating across the relevant new dimensions.
- Negative feedback -> Becomes a 1-star rating across the relevant new dimensions.
- The original comments will be preserved.
This conversion allows us to bring your history into the new system's format.
We Want Your Feedback on This New System!
This new system is designed for
you, the TechEnclave community. Before we proceed further, we'd love to hear your thoughts:
- Does the 1-5 star system with specific dimensions make sense?
- Are the rating criteria clear for buyers and sellers?
- Does the display of ratings on profiles, user cards, and topics seem useful?
- Do you have any suggestions for improving the usability of leaving or viewing feedback?
- Any concerns about the proposed migration of old feedback?
Please share your feedback, questions, and suggestions. Your input is crucial in making this the best possible system for our Marketplace.