Forum feedback: We want to hear it!

[Kesha]

We're always looking for ways to improve and offer better services and experiences to our users. 

With that in mind, we are planning another round of forum revamp in the new year, and we would love your feedback. 

What would you like to see on the forum? What things might elevate your experience here? 

[filipdevaere]

1) Less spam.
2) Less ChatGPT.
3) The ability to report a gig or seller via the forum.

[priyank_mod]

1. Curbs on how many new topics new sellers can start or how many reactions they can leave to posts. There should be a way to encourage them to SEARCH & READ MORE to learn and post+react less!! 

2. We can have more features like "best answer/community answers" which highlight genuine knowledge/experience-based posts, which can help anyone who is seeking solutions or wishes to enrich their knowledge. 

3. Improve the search results, so that people can FIND the answers they need and deserve instead of not finding anything and starting a topic which has been answered 50 times already. 

Edited November 21, 2024 by priyank_mod

[wordpresssp]

21 minutes ago, filipdevaere said:

The ability to report a gig or seller via the forum.

Potential risks of misuse.

[filipdevaere]

6 minutes ago, wordpresssp said:

Potential risks of misuse.

Please explain?

[vibronx]

I honestly think that swift action should be taken when users clearly are just engaging on the forum through meaningless posts as a means to try to farm orders which we all know doesn't work. And I think this should be a very long timeout from posting. Right now, if a buyer comes to the Fiverr Forum, they will think all sellers are incompetent when that isn't the case because that is the impression that will undoubtedly be left if you let the clueless users run amok. This doesn't mean that they can't come here to learn, but it can be through reading and not posting.

Also, there are so many users who basically come here revealing that they are violating the platform's rules or will come here to harass other users. In my opinion, that should have consequences on the main platform too. For example, there was a user here who was demeaning to everyone and was clearly trolling for years, but nothing was ever done despite me frequently pointing it out.

Edited November 21, 2024 by vibronx

[donnovan86]

23 minutes ago, vibronx said:

I honestly think that swift action should be taken when users clearly are just engaging on the forum through meaningless posts as a means to try to farm orders which we all know doesn't work.

Upvoting this. Most posts are meaningless, just "thank you", "congrats", etc. 

Aside from that, I also recommend a better way of actually becoming a grand master or gaining forum ranks. A lot of people just like every post and quickly become a grandmaster, whenever a newer person asks for guidance and see that "grandmaster" offering advice, they trust him due to the forum rank. But realistically, we know there are plenty of people who just upvote and like every post they can, just to increase their forum rank. Again, related to Vibronx's post, they think being a grandmaster gives them sales, which it won't. 

[majidshowghi]

Hey, just a thought—wouldn't it be amazing if being active on the forum was actually encouraged in some meaningful way?🤔

I know, I know—being on the forum doesn’t directly lead to sales, right? And maybe this sounds a bit off, especially to the seasoned forum veterans who practically live here. But hear me out!

If we could make this space a bit more engaging—a place where people genuinely connect and have real conversations—it could unlock some serious benefits. After all, that’s the magic of social media, isn’t it? Building connections and sparking ideas?

Of course, for that to happen, things would need a shake-up. The forum could use some of the suggestions we've discussed—and yeah, those fake and 'jsut for show' participants? it is Time for them to pack up and move on! then we will be ready to have an active, fruitful forum. 

Forum ranks right now are just for gamification. But what if we could give it a real meaning? again, to do like so, we should get rid of those fake users which I believe, it shouldn't be much of a hassle when fiverr already is enforcing its TOS in the main platform successfully. 

[uk1000]

For the forum we could have:

1) Really practical advice for sellers, including from Fiverr staff, for selling on Fiverr and in general. Maybe sections of the forum with useful resources. There's the "Fiverr Excel" section but I don't think that staff have been posting there for a while.

2) The "activity/recent activity" tab could be brought back

3) We could have forum challenges/competitions (or more of them. Previously there's been Fiverr.com competitions). Maybe things that could increase people's skills/learn new skills.

4) Maybe some more info from Fiverr showing what works best. Like if some people say some things work but other people say they don't or people are unsure (like the Fiverr myth section), Fiverr could show some actual data (as long as it's not confidential) that gives a bit more info about whether something helps or not and how much (like some sort of chart. Though it could go into a bit more detail, like some things may work a bit but aren't worth it for other reasons).

5) Maybe the "Tips from Sellers" section could be renamed. Sometimes people post there starting a new thread to ask a question (but there's already a Questions section of the forum) and then those threads get moved. If it's tips for sellers maybe it could go back to the name it was before (Tips for Sellers) or some other name.

[mrubaid820]

Firstly, the forum should have a dark theme.

Secondly, I think it would be beneficial to have a dedicated section that clarifies myths and facts about Fiverr. If such a section is created, it will likely answer many common questions that new sellers have, and they can easily find the information they need.

Thirdly, I also suggest adding a 'Wow' reaction emoji. This is because some posts truly deserve a 'Wow' reaction! 

[smartdezigns]

• The words like Congratulations, Congrats, Thank you and Thanks should be banned from the Forum as we have their emojis in the Reactions so users should use them (reactions).
• Old topics should be closed for further replies.
• Number of posts per day should be displayed on the user's profile like 7/10 (7 posts have been made out of 10). It should be visible only to user (not everyone).
• The timer should also be on profile that how much time left to make another 10 posts.
• Welcome emoji should be added in the Reactions and this word "Welcome" should also be banned. 
• Repetitive topics/threads should not be allowed. Encourage users to use the "Search Bar" to find the answers of their questions. Or useless topics should be closed immediately.
•  Ban the following words as well:
  • You are right / You're right
  • Well said
  • Thanks for sharing
  • Great information

Edit: Forgot to add Welcome Emoji: 

Edited November 21, 2024 by smartdezigns
Additional Content

[breals]

Awesome information from some of the regulars above. 

For me, a few things that haven't been mentioned. 

1) Contributors having a 'trust score' attached to them.  This could be from Fiverr staff veriying that what they post is true and accurate, and that in all likelihood, the answerthey give is correct. This will then be clear for Newbies, who they can listen to and who they should ignore.  This trust score can go up and down, (Similar to the success score)  At the minute, I can get to 'Grand master' status by simply liking 1000s of posts. 

2) You can only PM/DM another freelancer after a certain period of time.  This will prevent newbies coming onto the forum and spamming the inboxes of experienced freelancers offering thier services. I'm sure a lot of us have been subject to this?

3) Incorperating some of the great work that contributors do on here, with Fiverr Answers.  As someone that is able to post on there. I actually see higher quality content from some freelancers on here.  M-o-ds should be able to take some of the posts from here and drop them onto the Fiverr Answers platform.  

Hope this helps.

[donnovan86]

@Kesha another important thing is to not have a very small post limit per day. I had situations when I was in active conversations here on the forum but had to wait my turn because I can't write more than 10 posts a day, or whatever that limit is. Having a higher number as the post limit and connecting it to the forum rank, for example, would be a lot better. That way, someone who is a grandmaster would have way more posts per day. I don't reach that limit often, but when I do, it's very frustrating, and I know other people here were expressing the same sentiment as well.

[priyank_mod]

I just wish to add one small pointer to the discussion:

Lot of people copy-paste/paraphrase the existing valid answer on a post for name sake participation and rank gain. Most topics have multiple people posting the same answers for months and years!! 

I hope we can have a mechanism to detect and avoid this. 

[Kesha]

Taking notes! These are all great suggestions and insights, guys. Keep them coming, please. 🤗

[visualstudios]

I think there should be a limit to number of reactions you can place, based on your general activity (legit activity, not spam).

I have an issue of coming to the forums and having 100 notifications, and it's always 2 or 3 users liking all my posts en masse. And they do this nearly every day.

The problem with this is that it buries actual notifications I need to see, like people replying to my posts, etc. in a sea of likes given by people who didn't even read (much less understand) what I posted.

Edited November 21, 2024 by visualstudios

[visualstudios]

Case in point, just because it's funny. This is just one user. I have pages and pages of this.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2024 by visualstudios

[mandyzines]

11 hours ago, priyank_mod said:

Improve the search results

This is where I found the biggest issue in getting what I needed from the forum as a new seller. The results are so far off from the search terms. If you need answers, you have to use a regular search engine, outside of Fiverr, to bring you to the forum.

Maybe we can get the chatbot in here to help people! I'm very kidding. 

Edited November 21, 2024 by mandyzines

[sujoydew]

21 hours ago, priyank_mod said:

1. Curbs on how many new topics new sellers can start or how many reactions they can leave to posts. There should be a way to encourage them to SEARCH & READ MORE to learn and post+react less!! 

2. We can have more features like "best answer/community answers" which highlight genuine knowledge/experience-based posts, which can help anyone who is seeking solutions or wishes to enrich their knowledge. 

3. Improve the search results, so that people can FIND the answers they need and deserve instead of not finding anything and starting a topic which has been answered 50 times already. 

Great suggestion! I think all of these points should be applied @Kesha Thank you! @priyank_mod

[olajuwon3276]

Moving forward, I propose 

1. Since we have close to 14 levels (badges) on the platform, badges 1-5 should be restricted to

I. Posting just once in the new members introduction (as a topic starter)

II. Not be able to start a new thread, until they have reached badges level 6

This I believe would encourage new users to search the forum, rather than start new endless topics every day

2. Badges level 6 - 10 have the privileged of starting a new thread, but should not be more than 2 new threads within a span of 60 days

3. The grandmaster badge status should also be treated like the TRS badge (You F** up, you get demoted to the badge before)

4. Let forum users actually earn the Grandmaster badge, and not just anybody (being active on the forum, doesn't equal to you having what it takes to be a freelance grandmaster).

5. Any forum member given a severe warning should be demoted to the new comer badge level.

6. If we can have a bot that would be reviewing the performance of every forum user every now and then (just like the old fiverr analytics), you earn your next badge after the next bot review.

If I am to keep suggesting ideas, Fiverr won't pay me for consultation smile  🙂

On a lighter note, let's plan towards reducing the excessive spam messages on the forum (I dread visiting the question forum page, because it's filled with the same auto-repeated questions).

Sometimes, a meaningful thread might get overshadowed by countless 'how can I get a order' or 'impression level is dropping' and the likes thread. 

7. Curator @Kesha, I'd also suggest there should a banner at the top of the forum page, where featured posts can be placed (by you or even the grandmaster badge holders)

There used to be a thread about how impressions, clicks, views, order and all other parameters affect the gig performance individually and how you can tweak this to best place you ahead of the competition (This particular thread deserves a banner top feature) .

I stand to be corrected on some of my suggestions, but I believe we can do better

[imagination7413]

Helpful link about our forum host platform: https://invisioncommunity.com/4guides/welcome/about-invision-community-r7/

As someone who has a tiny bit of insight into the backend of the forums (not much, though, I'm a m0d, not an Admin)... 

---

According to Invision Reputation and Reactions some of what's been requested is very possible to implement in the default Invision settings, such as setting the 'Reputation' value of reactions to zero. While it wouldn't eliminate serial-likers, it would elimination them being rewarded for the action. If nothing else, I'd like to see the basic 'heart' having zero, and the facepalm actually valued at negative reputation. 

I'm also in favor of a 'Welcome' reaction. 

Very minor, but I'd also like to see the reaction image scaling fixed. 

---

I'd like to see the 'zero-content bumps' rule added back into the rule set. I was never given an answer about the vanished 'provisions' in 2020 and still don't completely understand why that one in particular was removed. 

Quote

"Bumping and cross-posting is not explicitly disallowed but is discouraged and if abused will result in the removal of posts."

This also use to be spelled out in the old ruleset: 

Quote

"In most forum categories, users are encouraged to post commentary that is insightful, useful, or meaningful. Some categories such as Conversations and the Ranting Pot have much more leeway on this, whereas categories like Tips for Sellers, Tips for Buyers, and Fiverr FAQ’s are more strict in this area. Threads with excessive meaningless commentary may be cleaned up and closed. If users place comments on more serious threads and the comments appear to be for attention or self-promotion the comments may simply be removed. Post replies asking for personalized help are generally discouraged since it is much better for users to post their requests for help in Improve my Gig."

Source: http://forum.fiverr.com/t/forum-rules-dos-and-donts/91367 (can still be viewed via the Wayback Machine archive.)

I still remove posts and clean threads, but it's be SUPER NICE to have the current ruleset back me up on this.

https://invisioncommunity.com/4guides/security-and-rules/terms-and-privacy-r23/#registrationterms 

---
Revert the name of the "Tips" categories: 'from' -> 'for'. Audience is more important than author. Tips for Sellers, Tips for Buyers.

---

Rename 'Member' to 'Fiverrian'. 

Add new user group tag for 'Regulars'. https://invisioncommunity.com/4guides/members-and-groups/adding-editing-groups-r30/ AND make it so that only Regulars, M0ds, and Admins can use size 72 font. https://invisioncommunity.com/4guides/themes-and-customizations/editor-and-emoticons_327/customizing-editor-toolbars-r132/ 

---

P.S. For some historical reflection (July, 2020): https://community.fiverr.com/forums/topic/263798-forum-improvement-wish-list/ 

[collinsconsult]

I will like to suggest that all those with 14/14 - Grand Master Badge shouldn't feel or respond to posts as if they know or have seen it all. They should be very polite and respectful when replying to others especially the new sellers. We all have different experiences as sellers on Fiverr. No one person can claim to know it all or have experienced everything on the platform. 

I know they'll come for me hahaha but that's my POV. 

Edited December 10, 2024 by collinsconsult

[thejamuhh]

That when we leave feedback about something related to Fiverr (forum or not) the team actually adresses it and comes with sollutions.

By that i don't mean "Thanks for the input, those are great ideas, I will forward it to....."

 

I feel like the "discussion" part of a forum loses it's power when the hosting party (Fiverr) doesn't really do anything with the resources and pain points (we sellers) provide and point out.

[Kesha]

On 12/10/2024 at 10:16 AM, thejamuhh said:

That when we leave feedback about something related to Fiverr (forum or not) the team actually adresses it and comes with sollutions.

By that i don't mean "Thanks for the input, those are great ideas, I will forward it to....."

 

I feel like the "discussion" part of a forum loses it's power when the hosting party (Fiverr) doesn't really do anything with the resources and pain points (we sellers) provide and point out.

We totally hear you on that and know that within the community team, we are actively working on creating more proactive feedback loops that will connect our product managers to you all. This is something we have been hard at work for, and you should see the results of this in Q1 of the new year. In the meantime, I will continue to champion your feedback up the ladder to our internal teams.

[priyank_mod]

On 12/10/2024 at 8:17 PM, collinsconsult said:

I know they'll come for me hahaha but that's my POV.