Preventing theives from getting support

Any buyer, requesting help with a Flashden file on the forums should have an option to “expose” the files they have purchased so that freelancers can easily verify the file was purchased on Flashden before offering their services.

On the “Downloads” page of a buyers private profile there could be a checkbox marked “Expose my purchase of this file”, then on that users public profile page the “Downloads” page (normally not visible to the public) could be implemented, showing only the files they have currently exposed.

We’ve attempted to address this problem with this feature

You’ll need to direct users requesting support in the forums to send you a den message.

Any buyer, requesting help with a Flashden file on the forums should have an option to “expose” the files they have purchased so that freelancers can easily verify the file was purchased on Flashden before offering their services.

On the “Downloads” page of a buyers private profile there could be a checkbox marked “Expose my purchase of this file”, then on that users public profile page the “Downloads” page (normally not visible to the public) could be implemented, showing only the files they have currently exposed.

We’ve attempted to address this problem with this feature

You’ll need to direct users requesting support in the forums to send you a den message.

That is all good when the person requesting support asks only the author for support, and does so through the authors profile, but my proposal provides a method for independent freelancers to verify a forum request comes from a valid purchaser of the file he is requesting support on.

The only “downside” (apart from implementing it ) is that the person asking needs to expose in his public profile his purchase of any files for which he is requesting support .. but since he has already made that purchase public on the forum, by asking for support, privacy is not an issue anyway.

The only way we have to verify another author’s file was actually purchased before we accept freelance work on it is to ask the client to post an arbitrary message to the file comments then to check there to see if the “Purchased” label appears. It works, but is a bit of a makeshift way to do it and sometimes gets a negative response from clients when you ask them to do it.

Also, if implemented a method like this could replace the current purchase list feature which exposes to an author ALL his files purchased by someone requesting support on any one file and which could therefore cause a privacy concern to the buyer – who may prefer that only the file for which he needs support be exposed as a purchase.

They would have to enter the code of the product (every product could have a code, like a serial number). And if the code is correct, they could post the thread, if not no. And in the post there should be a link to the actual file, so we can all see that the file he needs help with is the actual file he entered the code for.

Nice idea but blatent fail, the code would be zipped up with the file once these pirate people worked it out, wont take long, bet half of them read the bloody forums…

Maybe non-buyers and non-authors should not be able to leave posts on the forum. right now anyone can open account and request support on pirated files or pose as ‘freelancers’ offering help only to disappear once they’ve been emailed the files.

As one of those non-buyer, non-seller freelancers I have to disagree. We aren’t all thieves. I realize that FD is a community built on the authors, and I’m all for tighter controls on people asking for help – but you don’t need to entirely exclude people who don’t trade here.

I’m going to start authoring soon anyway (right after the rates increase), so I wouldn’t be too crushed if you did close the forums, but a lot of people come here asking for help with non-FD files. In fact, all the freelance jobs I’ve picked up here have been to create or modify non-FD files.

Closing off the forums is an extreme reaction. I’m not sure that it would have much effect on piracy anyway. Some people are never going to pay for files, and theft will always be a problem. You wont solve that by restricting access to one forum.

They would have to enter the code of the product (every product could have a code, like a serial number). And if the code is correct, they could post the thread, if not no. And in the post there should be a link to the actual file, so we can all see that the file he needs help with is the actual file he entered the code for.

Nice idea but blatent fail, the code would be zipped up with the file once these pirate people worked it out, wont take long, bet half of them read the bloody forums…

No, I’m reffering to this: the buyer buys multiple files (so we can’t know for sure if he bought the file that he needs help with). But every buyer has a buying history, and every product a code.
And the buyers enters the code of the file he needs help with. If the code is from an item he bought (the FD appi would check if the product he wrote the code for was actually bought by the user entering the code) than he can start the thread for help, and the link to the file can be displayed to make sure that that’s really the file he’s talking about. >br/> I hope I’m expressing myself right
But still, this is a stock market not a help/freelance website so I must disagree with me .

No, I’m reffering to this: the buyer buys multiple files (so we can’t know for sure if he bought the file that he needs help with). But every buyer has a buying history, and every product a code.
And the buyers enters the code of the file he needs help with. If the code is from an item he bought (the FD appi would check if the product he wrote the code for was actually bought by the user entering the code) than he can start the thread for help, and the link to the file can be displayed to make sure that that’s really the file he’s talking about. >br/> I hope I’m expressing myself right
But still, this is a stock market not a help/freelance website so I must disagree with me .

Anything that works on a “code” system fails when the code is made public. So originally the code only appears on a valid buyer’s downloads page . .but how do you think these files get out in the first place? Some valid (but unethical) buyer gives away or sells them! It’s no big deal for them to give away or sell the download code too.

No, I’m reffering to this: the buyer buys multiple files (so we can’t know for sure if he bought the file that he needs help with). But every buyer has a buying history, and every product a code.
And the buyers enters the code of the file he needs help with. If the code is from an item he bought (the FD appi would check if the product he wrote the code for was actually bought by the user entering the code) than he can start the thread for help, and the link to the file can be displayed to make sure that that’s really the file he’s talking about. >br/> I hope I’m expressing myself right
But still, this is a stock market not a help/freelance website so I must disagree with me .

Anything that works on a “code” system fails when the code is made public. So originally the code only appears on a valid buyer’s downloads page . .but how do you think these files get out in the first place? Some valid (but unethical) buyer gives away or sells them! It’s no big deal for them to give away or sell the download code too.

Seems like I haven’t explained it right. So here I go again:
A buyer for example has 3 purchased file: COMPLETE XML WEBSITE , Advanced Xml Template and Elite Xml Template. Let’s say that he needs help with the Elite Xml Template (item code 12345).
He starts a thread by pressing “I need help with a Flashden item”, and he’s asked to enter the code of the item he needs help with. So he enters the code of the Elite Xml Template (code 12345) and if the code of the product is found in his “purchased history” of the buyer (an application is required here) he can start the thread. If he didn’t purchase the Elite Xml Template, but he enters the product code, a display message that says “You haven’t purchased this file” would appear.
The code would not have to be secret, it would be like a product code (it can even be visible on the site), it’s not a serial code (it should look like a serial code, because it would be easier for the user to enter some “serial number” like code than the actual name of the product – with all the spaces and caps, plus there can be files named the same by authors, the item code would be unique).
So to make it short, the code is the item’s code (the item’s numeral name or something), not a secret serial number; and an application could verify if that item that the buyer needs help with was actually bought by that specific buyer.
Additionally, the link to that file could be shown in the started thread, so we don’t have people that enter the code for a preloader and ask for help for a template. I hope I explained it correctly this time

While your idea does work, it involves the exact same amount of disclosure as allowing them to check items to make publicly viewable that they bought them (like flyingtinman suggested in another thread today). As in releasing the code is the exact same amount of disclosure as selecting to make it publicly viewable that they bought it.

So while your solution works, I think flyingtinman’s is a bit more elegant and fills the exact same gap

Maybe non-buyers and non-authors should not be able to leave posts on the forum. right now anyone can open account and request support on pirated files or pose as ‘freelancers’ offering help only to disappear once they’ve been emailed the files.

As one of those non-buyer, non-seller freelancers I have to disagree. We aren’t all thieves. I realize that FD is a community built on the authors, and I’m all for tighter controls on people asking for help – but you don’t need to entirely exclude people who don’t trade here.

we’re selling stock here so market place security should be first priority. the freelancing side is just a spin off but doesn’t bring in income to the author of the file or FD. if freelancers were legit FD authors, with a portfolio then they would be more credible.

While your idea does work, it involves the exact same amount of disclosure as allowing them to check items to make publicly viewable that they bought them (like flyingtinman suggested in another thread today). As in releasing the code is the exact same amount of disclosure as selecting to make it publicly viewable that they bought it. So while your solution works, I think flyingtinman’s is a bit more elegant and fills the exact same gap

I didn’t read timan’s thread . But the buying history of the user wouldn’t have to be visible, only the item that he’s asking help for. From what you said, I understand that tinman said the whole buying history of the user should be visible, I’m not saying that. Just proof that he bought the file he’s asking help for .
But as I said earlier, and I see DS has the same opinion, this is a stock market, not a freelance / help website. (elance and flashkit can be used for that).