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Home > Help > Site Info > 11/17/08 - Rating system revert - IMPORTANT INFO

racheljohnson 11/17/2008

Hi Swappers,

Yes, Swap-bot was down for about five hours last night due to some server trouble. We have been producing more traffic than the server company was anticipating... I am sorry for the inconvenience. Things should be back to normal now.

We also made some site changes last night... or more like reversed some site changes. Previously, I wrote about the new system of closing swaps and locking ratings (you can read those posts here and here). We have reversed some of those changes due to the confusion and glitches they caused. This is where the rating system now stands:

  • Ratings no longer lock in at any time. The automatic "lock in" system was too confusing and it was causing problems, so we have reverted back to the original ability to change ratings at any time. We have plans to create a simpler manual "rating lock" system that will be controlled by rating recipients....

  • Swaps still CLOSE after six months, but all that now means is that the address information of all participants is removed from view. You can still see who you are partnered with and contact them for their address info if you need to make up old swaps.

  • Partially suspended members still canNOT leave 1 and 3 ratings. They are only able to leave 5s. Once a person becomes unsuspended, all their rating options become available.

I am very, very sorry for the confusion around ratings. It is a complicated system and we are doing our best to improve it without making it MORE complicated. I am sorry for any bumps along the way.

Navigation: Travis has added another drop-down under the "Profile" link for editing our profiles. We want to continue in the direction of more drop-downs for navigation in the future, but we wanted to see how many people are having trouble viewing the drop-downs. Who canNOT see or use the drop-downs under Profile, Groups, and Forums? Let me know what type of browser you are using if you are having trouble.

Reminder: The Xyron sticker maker giveaway ends on Friday, so make sure you go to the blog and sign up!

Again, I am sorry for any confusion and/or inconvenience caused by any of our changes. Thanks for your help and patience!

Happy swapping,

Rachel Johnson
Swap-bot Admin
kizmet 11/17/2008

I can use them and I especially love the ones for groups! It makes everything easier =) Thanks for your work!
diddldonna 11/17/2008

Thanks your doing a great job :)
ellie1200 11/17/2008

Ditto, kizmet!

As a matter of fact, I'd love to see that profile drop down divided into the different parts of your profile that can be edited too: basic, personal, picture, etc.
ukstash 11/17/2008

I use the drop downs and love them, thanks for a great site. I missed your outage, I was in bed!!
disneyfreaksam 11/17/2008

The drop downs for the groups are fab. I was also asleep so I did not notice the outage

xx
PurpleSheep 11/17/2008

Thanks for adding the date to this announcement! Also, I love the outlined edits to the rating system.

I'm one of those who have trouble with the drop-down menues. I use Firefox (version 2 point something) with the noscript extension (version 1 point 8 something). I have swap-bot.com on the list of "allowed" sites but unless I temporarily allow every site, neither the drop-down menue for the forum nor the hearts option works. I don't mind temporarily enabling javascript for everyone and their mother whenever I rate an "extra special swap" grin but don't use the drop-down menue for the forums because of this. Not a big deal, though. :-) HTH :-)
ProudNana 11/17/2008

I can see and use all the drop downs and I love them!
dulcimer 11/17/2008

Awesome changes as always=o)
dandelion 11/17/2008

I'm in the 'can see and use all drop downs group', too ... and thank you for everything Rachel and Travis!
Tinkergirl 11/17/2008

Looks great and I can see the drop downs. Keep up the great work! Also, as someone else mentioned, thanks for putting the date in the announcement. :)
salfra 11/18/2008

I love the drop downs! Thank you for doing all you do to make a great place even better!!!
TerryF 11/18/2008

Unfortunately, the drop downs only work for me the first time I scroll over them when I log on - after that, they will not drop down anymore unless I log off and on again.
magicjessnrach 11/18/2008

I have the same problem with the drop down menu as TerryF.
racheljohnson 11/18/2008

What type of internet browser and operating system are you two using, @TerryF and @magicjessnrach

RachelB 11/18/2008

I love the drop downs and have no problem with them and thanks for the hard work!
TerryF 11/19/2008

I am on Microsoft Internet Explorer, but they are working today, Rachel! Thx!
magicjessnrach 11/19/2008

Me too and they are working today for me as well.
TerryF 11/20/2008

Darn, now the drop down menus are not working again...
donnadmb 11/21/2008

Thanks for all the hard work you both do!
zanylady 11/21/2008

Thanks for all the hard work. It's a great site!

I am using Firefox and the dropdowns work just fine. Thanks!
racheljohnson 11/21/2008

Travis has been doing some tweaking, which might explain the sporadic drop-down problem. We are going to be doing a lot of work this weekend, so hopefully we will get it figured out for good.

Thanks for all of the feedback!

Rachel Johnson
Swap-bot Admin
TerryF 11/21/2008

Thx R&T!
DestinyDesign 11/22/2008

I used to be able to read the profiles of participants before signing up for a swap, but Swap-Bot doesn't let me click on the link any more. Is this a new change? If so, why? Thanks.
dulcimer 11/22/2008

I didn't know that was available to us ~ I've never been able to do that ~ not before sign up at least ~ unless you were a host.