smashradio

Skynet doesn't like critical voices.

On a different musical note, this guy is my wind-down.

I used to sing Norwegian-country-about-a-low-budget-TV-drama-karaoke through a boob-shaped microphone without a t-shirt on, dancing on top of the bar, after drinking tequila. That stuff just ain't for me. Good day and welcome to Hotel Cæsar Hotel CÆsar, a home for you and me At the reception stands Alex Benedicte hangs out at the bar Jens August and Juni have a sinister plan And poor Ninni tries to hide her bun in the oven Hotel Cæsar 🎵 (By the way, I know the singer, Rune. He's semi famous in Norway and he's a sleeze ball.) 😅

That's DNS, not VPN. And yes, you can use any DNS you prefer. As for a VPN, that might lead to issues like the system flagging you for "Location inconsistencies." You're not allowed to use tools that might mislead buyers about your location. According to support, using a VPN isn't strictly banned, but it's discouraged because it can cause problems like that. Personally, I avoid using a VPN because it's not more secure (almost all traffic over the Internet today is encrypted, even without a VPN) and it doesn't make you anonymous like so many people seem to think. Those are just myths spread by VPN companies to get you to spend money on something you probably don't need. The only real use for a VPN, aside from tunneling into networks for work (some servers require you to tunnel into the network at your workplace to access the system), is to change your location to access content you're not supposed to or to hide your real IP if you're doing something nefarious online. And that’s exactly what Fiverr doesn’t want you to do. Sure, there are some outlier cases here, like streamers having to mask their IP to avoid getting swatted and so on, but in most cases, all a VPN does is tunnel your traffic through them, adding another layer of encryption that's not needed in most cases. VPN providers will tell you that they stop people from snooping your data, but that's exactly what HTTPS does by default. And yes, it does so even on public wifi. As long as your connection is via HTTPS and not just HTTP, your info is encrypted. As for VPNs stopping your ISP from "selling your data", there are laws against that in most countries and even when you're in a country where that's not the case, it doesn't stop your VPN provider from selling your data instead. Remember, using a VPN might make you share an IP with thousands of others, which could even lead Fiverr to suspect you have multiple accounts, potentially resulting in a ban. So I'd avoid them if you can. Changing your DNS doesn't alter your IP. It just changes the server your computer contacts for directions on the Internet. It could help avoid DNS blocks (some ISPs block certain services via their DNS due to government requirements, and one example of this would be a certain pirate website in Scandinavia being blocked via DNS). Some DNS providers even help you avoid dangerous websites, but that's usually something your ISP does just as well if they're any good. Some DNS servers, like 1.1.1.1, may offer faster service for some users. So, there are benefits to not using your ISP’s DNS. A VPN, not so much, unless you want to mask your IP. The question is: why would you do that?

Totally! And Red Bull! Not particularly. Back in my youth I used to work as cabin crew, and someone thought it would be funny to bring a box onboard and open it while in cruise. The captain actually decided to divert after 14 passangers puked all over the galley trying to escape the rancidness. 😁 The passenger ended up having to pay 150 000 euros. 🤑

How to use AI for proofreading, according to Fiverr: AI Educational Article for Sellers - Proofreading & Editing (fiverr.com) It's obviously written with a ton of AI tools and then "enhanced" to make it pass AI detectors. Either that, or the author is just really into fancy buzzwords and too confident in himself. He shouldn't be, when he can't even spell cliché with the correct accent. The article lacks proper spacing between paragraphs. And even ChatGPT knew that "&" is clunky. Some proofreader. Maybe he should have used AI. 🙂

Yeah but I'm not about to go make bad PR against Fiverr. I draw the limit at snarky forum posts.

Hey, that's cool 😀 But yeah, you can only take so much inspo before you go out on your own. Congrats om making TRS btw! And thanks for your kind words! I'd say you have your own brand by now. You do UGC videos and stuff as well, right?

We should get everyone together and send a joint letter to Fiverr (leadership level), signed by as many sellers as possible.

Hey name brother! (I'm Leo, too!) This right there ^ should be your indication that working with this seller was not a good idea in the first place. I have a rule: if a buyer is difficult to work with for any reason, even if they leave a five-star review, I'll never work with them again. If I have to offer a refund, I'll never work with them again. If we have to cancel an order, I'll never work with them again. If you already had to offer this buyer a partial refund, that should have told you to stay away from them in the future. If support said they could cancel the order based on the buyer not feeling as if they got what they paid for, the support representative should re-read their own terms: "Orders are not eligible to be canceled based on the quality of service/materials delivered by the Seller if the service was rendered as described in the Gig Page. " The following is from Fiverr's payment terms: Payment Terms (fiverr.com)

The evil part of me always wanted to go to Italy and order a Cappuchino at 10 pm.

This is a textbook case of Fiverr screwing us over and then having the audacity to charge us for the fix. Anyone can place an order without contacting you first, increasing the risk of cancellations. Every cancellation has the potential to kill your business entirely. If you just pay for Seller Plus Premium, you get access to RTO, giving you a modicum of control. Unethical – yes. But effective.

If you want to graduate, you have to first become a seller and hit TRS. 😄 Yeah it's kept me afloat but I just got wind of my BSR dropping this winter, so it's probably time to get a prescription for valium. 🤣

I can't handle sweet coffee drinks. In fact, I can't handle anything called a coffee drink. Coffee is supposed to grow hair on your chest, otherwise, it's not coffee. 😛 I'm a sucker for Red Bull Zero though. 🤭 Nothing I do is healthy 😀

I've been making fun of Fiverr staff's coffee habits for years. And then you go ahead and top my Fiverr staff secret recipe. Nicely done, @Kesha 🤣 My secret is black coffee. With a double pump of black coffee, and an extra shot of black coffee. For the days when Fiverr launches a new AI product, a shot of Norwegian 96% home made ultra flammable spirit is added, for extra courage.

Remember that public reviews aren't always the same as your private feedback. You never know when someone might leave no review or even a positive one publicly, and then give negative feedback in private. But you're not alone. We're influenced by so many factors, it's hard to tell exactly what's affecting your performance if it's not clearly reflected in your stats. I hope things get better for you soon!

Let's just say I know people, yet I'm in the dark about my private reviews and all the factors that affect our success scores, just as everyone else. What I do know is that they have no intention of changing how things operate. So, we can complain all we want, but we're stuck with it. Instead of just complaining (though I do get a kick out of poking fun at Fiverr's AI), we need to figure out how to work with it. Sure, we could leave, cry, yell, complain, and tell Fiverr how much we hate it, but from their perspective, we might as well be preschoolers throwing a tantrum for more candy.

Yeah, like I said, the issue is compounded by the success score system. The SS is the new BSR, and it can make or break you. With that said, I own an entire newspaper, on top of a voice over business outside of Fiverr, and I run my copywriter business on Fiverr. (But on Fiverr, it's only me) But you're right in saying it's an issue. And I sure hope Fiverr will find a way of balancing that. Then again, we're competing against agencies everywhere.

This may sound blunt, but you're not worth much to Fiverr, nor am I. Consider the massive scale of the company. At this level, they aren’t concerned about one user. To them, neither you nor I significantly impact their bottom line. That’s just how it is. With that said, I'm not just a buyer or seller, I’m also an investor, and I hold Fiverr stock. From that perspective, especially with their recent announcement to buyback up to $100M in shares, Fiverr obviously believes in their stock. Fiverr isn't known for changing course. Mika is all in on AI right now, convinced that just adding "AI" to anything will draw investors. He’s banking on the AI boom, and if it hits, he stands to profit significantly. And to be fair, so do I. This confidence in their stock is the sole reason I’m still holding mine, even though I’m not sold on their AI strategy. It might take years, but Fiverr doesn't want to be left behind while others innovate. It’s just disappointing that Fiverr’s attempts at AI are... let me try to find a nice word here... lackluster. You have five reviews, three of them being from the same buyer. Is that the entirety of your data? I get where you're coming from, but I have no basis to trust you since I don't know you. None of us do. You're just another user upset about the new system, but you claim to have definitive proof that the system is flawed. That would indicate that you haven't considered the you-factor at all, and while you might very well be the most talented seller on Fiverr in all of history, we would have no way of knowing, hence the need for you to present actual data. Academically speaking, you're not entitled to your opinion; you're only entitled to what you can argue for, and something being "unfair" isn't really an argument in a business context. So far, I've heard lots of complaints about the system being just that – unfair – claims I've seen daily for years from sellers not happy with the way Fiverr works. By all means, I can't force you or require you to provide us with anything. You do what you feel is best. But you can't expect us to accept an argument that's not being backed up by any real data. You just complained about it being unfair, but it's not about what we feel is fair? If it's a flaw in their AI, what is that fault? How does it affect sellers, why, and which sellers are being impacted?

So did the old system, just using fewer data points. This is nothing new. Do I like the new system? No. Do I think it's here to stay? Yes. Is it working as intended? Sort of. And I expect they will refine it as we move forward, and combine it with other upcoming changes to the platform. As for agencies competing with freelancers, this is not new. Agencies have been on here for a long time. Misrepresenting yourself is, as far as I know, still not ok on Fiverr. So claiming you're just a freelancer when you're an agency is, based on my understanding, not ok. Your revenue/average selling price/number of orders has always played a part in the algo. But Fiverr was and is still a freelancing platform first, not an agency platform, so I do hope they find ways of balancing the system, and soon. What you're pointing out is an actual issue that only gets worsened with the success score system.

You claim to have "your own ways" that could "cause me harm" but are "not against the terms of service." I find that to be suspect, at best. While many of us have concerns about the success score being controlled by an AI developed by the same folks who brought us Neo (and we're on the same page there), making groundless accusations and asserting without question that a system is flawed based on "data" you won't share doesn’t build confidence in your methods, nor does it help anyone form an opinion about your conclusions.

How's your success score for each gig? Noticed any shifts in the factors impacting it, like changing from a "Strong positive impact" to a "Negative impact"? This could just be the effect of a bad private review, which might not yet be reflected in your success score. That score tends to stay stable over time, considering your long-term gig history, but it doesn't guarantee the algorithm will always favor your gigs, even if your score is perfect. You're not the only top-rated seller seeing a drop. A mix of factors could be impacting you right now: businesses cutting costs, people struggling with higher bills and costs due to inflation, AI, the onset of spring causing more people to spend time outdoors rather than on their computers, and competitors pulling ahead. It's hard to pin down exactly why, but it's a reminder not to put all your eggs in one basket, especially when that basket is filled with Fiverr's brand of AI.

I'd raise a ticket with support and have them take a look at it. When it happens across four browsers, I'd say you have tried everything you can try. You could perhaps check on a different network just to make sure it's not a device/network issue, but this isn't supposed to happen.

New sellers do get a boost in the beginning though, so perhaps that makes up for the time it takes to build a success score.

Fiverr actually favors buyers over sellers most of the time. In this case, you can expect the seller to get a big dent in their success score, which might even lead to loss of their level, loss of business and decreased visibility on the platform. It's unfortunate that you had to experience this, but know that we sellers are (usually) held to pretty high standards. In your case, I'd say all of the above consequenses are appropriate. 🙂