How can we protect Newbies from getting scammed?

[WhyFhy]

A good proactive approach would be better moderation.(seems these guys hearts aren't with it anymore) It has nothing to do with censorship either, (if you post a project relevant to a mods project it will magically vanish) They delete real sweat equity, while leaving lazy scammer plot shit up.

 We rarely ever hear from the mods or admin, right now there's a pin request going around for marketplace (hardware/collectible/digitalgoods) the request is being ignored and unpinned even though its pretty pertinent information that could save a lot of users a headache.
my 2 sats fwiw.

[LoyceV]

A good proactive approach would be better moderation.

I doubt that would happen. The forum's mission is to be "as free as possible", and scamming is allowed. Part of it is because Mods don't want to decide what is or what isn't a scam (apart from the obvious cases there are many gray areas), and part of it is because having Mods delete scams will create a fake sense of security (Mods can't stop all scams).
So, unfortunately, we'll be stuck with scams.

[Smartvirus]

Part of it is because Mods don't want to decide what is or what isn't a scam (apart from the obvious cases there are many gray areas), and part of it is because having Mods delete scams will create a fake sense of security (Mods can't stop all scams).
So, unfortunately, we'll be stuck with scams.

Yeah! A mean, how could mods be so certain of what project is a scam and which is not! There is only so much as the forum could do. The forum has done well to input a trust system and even the red flags on suspicious projects for obvious reasons of a scam possibility. What else do users need...?

When I saw this thread, I was eager to see the impossible reasons as to how scamming can be halt and I wasn't disappointed to have seen non because, it isn't possible.
Just as LoyceV stated  having mods decide would create a sense of fake security as people will be more open than ever and scammers would be sure to make use of this unalertness.

Its very unfortunate but, scamming is part of the system.

[WhyFhy]

My point was mods get an obvious "pin request" that shoulda been pinned as its extremely pertinent to current operations, Yet its ignored. Acknowledging the request would be a start, or telling us why it wouldn't be pinned is a good start. All 3 mods have seen the pile of shit but instead of cleaning it up they just walked around it so it gets stuck on the next guys shoe. They dont have to delete post or anything they think is a scam but ignore that kind of pin request is blatant negligence a "dilligaf" situation.

[nutildah]

part of it is because having Mods delete scams will create a fake sense of security (Mods can't stop all scams).

I've never really agreed with or understood this line of reasoning. The mods delete links containing malware, yet that doesn't give me a sense of security that all links posted on the forum are malware-free.

When accounts have been caught engaging in scams on forum (loss of money through something flag-worthy), and definitive proof is available, that account should be banned.

And if in the off chance the account was innocent and a mistake was made, guess what? It can be un-banned.


In short, other than banning actual scammers I don't see many improvements that can be made to dissuade them or people from being scammed. A reversion back to the deep red -1 for trust from the low testosterone orange it currently is would be nice.