MeetFighters News

I got a message from travelstud regarding the recommendation system. Since his notions (and my reply to them) might be of interest to other AllFighters members, I'm going to post the message here:

I don't think this whole "reccomendation" feature is really a good idea. It creates bad energy and an atmosphere of bitchiness beyond what you might be able to handle in future... trust me you will run into many more problems with such a feature including maybe even legal issues. Wrestling personals is not an easy site to operate - it involves a lot of aggressive people and you cannot always control their thought process. By adding this reccomendation business - you are creating an atmosphere of "competing" for the most wins. Each person has different experiences with others - I may be bad to some people but I may be good to some others - and if ONE guy hates me for a personal reason and he is good to many others - then all it takes is that one person to destroy my reputation and vice-versa. I think its best to offer people a place to meet and find out for themselves if they are right for each other or not... rather than reading a positive or negative post about someone. Mark my words - in time you will yourself be fed up with the amount of complaints and bitchiness that this whole "reccomendation" business brings out in gay wrestlers... hence you should just remove it.

Let me begin with explaining the rationale FOR the recommendation system:

The recommendation system serves several purposes. It is a counterpoint to the member's own introduction. It lets you tell a guy how great it was to meet him. It lets you screen guys who have similar interests as you. It promotes a sense of community too: we are all here for the wrestling.

A less visible, but equally important benefit is that it discourages fakes and no-shows from registering en masse. It also discourages people from acting uncivil, unsafe, etc. since members have a recourse to tell other members about what he did to them.

Now, on to the points that you were making against recommendations:

The feature itself does not create "bad energy and an atmosphere of bitchiness". Asshats do. That's why there is a huge sign at the door that says "asshats are not welcome". I fully intend to warn, moderate and delete abusive members.

If someone "can't control his thought process" – maybe wrestling him is not such a good idea to begin with.

I don't see anything bad about an "atmosphere of competing". They have that at the olympics too, and I never heard of anyone complaining about it. Again, the problem is not competition, it's asshats.

About "different experiences": if you have some good and some bad, let both have their say. Readers will have to weight both. This is how the system is supposed to work.

About "getting fed up with complaints and bitchiness": I already am, which is why the site moderation works the way it does. If someone won't listen to reason, he gets moderated and deleted, both reduces my exposure to him. In the long run, I intend to delegate site moderation to members who have earned my trust and the respect of the community.

To summarize it: there are both benefits and downsides to the recommendation system. The benefits, in my opinion, far outweigh the downsides.

I am aware that the recommendations are prone to abuse. No other wrestling personals site has anything like it. I ask all members to use it wisely; also to be patient if someone isn't. In time it will work out just fine.

On an unrelated note, AllFighters now accepts your donations.