Completed Transactions Only for Ratings?

Hi all,

I guess I have missed Herb saying that the feedback and rating systems are for completed transactions only. And I did not see it in any the "Terms of Service" when I read through real quick just now.

I agree it is Herb's Forum, and can comply with whatever he says.

But, does it not seem that if we had a really bad experience with somebody we kinda should rate that somebody accordingly (not meanly, not vindictively, not nasty, just according to our side of the story as factual as we can make it)?

And we should be able to do this even though we did not go through with the transaction. Otherwise, the rating system is only for successful transactions. And what good is that? How does it let others know about people who are flaky?

And if we can only talk about done deals, why do we get a notice when we respond to an ad (not when the deal is done) that says we may rate the other person?

Alex

http://www.astromart.com/forums/viewpost.asp?forum_post_id=457900&poll_id=&news_id=&page=
Please read this post by Herb and you tell me what he is saying. :S [COLOR="Red"]Is this not clear?[/COLOR]

Hi Alex,

No mention is made in the TOS in regards to ratings. However a detailed explanation can be found at https://www.astromart.com/users/rateabout.asp. Specifically, "Can I rate a user I did not do business with?
Yes, however, since Astromart is not involved in the actual transaction in any way, we cannot tell who actually completed transactions with each other, but we ask that you do not rate a user you did not actually purchase from/sell to. This system is designed to be helpful to Astromart users. Abusing it by "flaming" or otherwise seeking to harm the reputation of another user hurts the Astromart community as a whole and may result in you being banned from using the Astromart system."

The link can be found once you go to rate a person. There are a few bullet points of text explaining the basics of the process. This section begins with a link called “Click Here” that provides details including the text I cut and pasted above.

I agree there are a few nuts out there. All on line communities have them. There are plenty of rating sites/ranting sites on the net that we could collectively use to expose these nuts. I suspect that Herb would not appreciate that behavior either. One that rants on Herb can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/astromart-uncensored/. A lot of flaming goes on there or has in the past. I for one don’t believe a word of it. As such, what did that effort really accomplish? Other than the entertainment factor…

Oh no what have I done.

Kent