The main difference between trusted and untrusted feedback, from my own understanding, is this.
Trusted: This is for someone who has built a good reputation on the forum over time, handled deals properly and shown positive activities in different areas of the forum. People can confidently trust such a person because of their good record and behaviour.
Untrusted: This is the opposite of trusted feedback. It usually means the person has a bad reputation, scam records, involvement in shady activities, or was caught doing things like account farming or merit farming. Because of these issues, they received untrusted feedback.
Is there a thread, or quotes from reputable members, that already exists with some information about the key differences between trusted feedback and untrusted feedback? I couldn’t find one using the search.
There are many reliable and well-explained discussions about trusted and untrusted people and I’m sharing some links with you for better understanding. I believe if you check those previous posts, your understanding about trusted and untrusted feedback will become much clearer and stronger.
Read/Follow These Post:Trust flagsDefaultTrust changesMarketplace trustComplete overview of users on DT1 and DT2 and their ratings/Trust list![GUIDE] Overview of the trust flagsLoyceV's Beginners guide to correct use of the Trust systemObviously the major difference between the two is that trusted feedback is from default trust members, or members in your trust list (i think?) and untrusted feedback is from members who are not on default trust, or not in your trust list (i think?).
Let me clear one more thing here. Being on the Default Trust list does not automatically mean someone is trusted, not being on the trust list does not automatically mean someone is untrusted.
A person on the trust list can still be considered untrusted if their username has the (~) mark in front of it on someone’s trust settings. So, both trusted and untrusted people can appear on the trust list, but in different ways.
People who are not on the trust list today may still get there later through their activities, whether good or bad. In simple terms, if someone earns a place on the trust list because of positive actions, it will lead to positive feedback. But if they get noticed for bad activities, then it will result in negative feedback.
-which one has more 'merit' or 'weight' and why?
Of course, positive feedback carries more value because it reflects a person’s good activities and behaviour. When someone has positive feedback, it clearly shows that the person has built a good reputation on the forum and can be trusted by other members.
-why a popular forum investigator/scam buster would have loads of red-tags in untrusted feedback?
An investigator or scam fighter is expected to have good feedback, so I honestly don’t understand why you mentioned red tags here. Normally, a scam buster will not have many red tags in untrusted feedback because their activities are usually focused on exposing scammers and protecting the forum.
-when is untrusted feedback 'better' or 'not better' to reference compared to trusted feedback?
Compared to trusted feedback, accounts with untrusted feedback do not look good at all. I believe you can already understand the reason from the previous detailed discussions, because untrusted feedback usually creates doubt about a person’s reputation and activities on the forum.
At Last:Maybe other respected and experienced members can explain it better than me, but I shared it based on what I personally understand and what makes sense to me. I hope you will understand my point clearly. Thank you