Woot, we have a slight change of layout for the search results page which will hopefully make reading even easier and mostly to accomodate the two ad controls we are adding. "What are controls? I don't see them." Ad controls are just the two new "things you can do to an ad" on the search results page. You don't see them because it only shows up when you hover the ad.

The idea is to reduce clutter so you can scan the ads faster.

Block user

Now you have the ability to block any user's ads from showing up on your search results page! Think of it like a personalized search where you can block users you will never want to transact with and slows your browsing of ads.

If you have blocked any users, there will be an extra search filter block which allows you to see whose ads are being blocked and also allowing you to unblock.

This feature is marked as (beta) and each user can only have up to 30 blocked users for the time being. This is so that we can monitor how it affects searching and basically this puts a greater load on our server as well. So enjoy while you can.

Flag this ad

This is one area where I really hope pHingers can help out in. There are many many ads posted each day and although many users email to complain, only a small handful of users actually flag the ads. Flagging the ads will allow us to moderate them faster and more accurately. This means if enough users flag an ad which is truly "bad", the ad will get suspended.

Previously, you can only flag an ad from the ad details page so it might seem like a hassle. Now that flagging an ad is just a click away, we hope to have more pHingers helping out.

Feedback

While we are working hard, please continue to vote/suggest ideas via our feedback forum.

Till date, the only way of reporting bugs and providing feedback is to do it via our "Contact Us" page. But from today onwards, we have an official feedback forum powered by UserVoice. This will allow us to better understand our users needs and common problems (bugs) encountered.

See the feedback tab on the left of this website? You can now submit a bug/idea on any page you are at. It will also allow us to know the URL where the bug occurs. Easier for you, better for us. We have already created a list of ideas to begin with but feel free to submit more. So head on to our feedback forum and cast your votes now!

It has been quite a while since I wrote on this blog. Just thought I will throw in a quick update about the minor feature added recently to prevent spamming of ads.

The basic idea is simply to not allow ads by a single user from hogging pages and pages of the search results. Each time you bump/post an ad, you get one step nearer to hitting the Spam threshold. The threshold is calculated based on the no. of ads bumped/posted over a period time. Finally, any user will not be allowed to bump/post until they are back in the "safe zone". I hope you can see how it helps.

The problem with such changes is that there are like double edged swords. On one end, most buyers will be happy that they will not have to browse through pages of ads finally to arrive at ads they really want to see. And on the other end, sellers will be unhappy that they can't "market" their ads or have to waste more time bumping their ads. Unfortunately, there is hardly a sweet spot for any of the quotas nor threshold. Probably the only solution is to have a pay-per-post model but that just isn't pHing yet.

We are constantly monitoring the happenings in pHing so do know that we value all feedbacks and keep them coming!

For your information and vigilance.

Disclaimer: Instances are not verified by pHing in any way.

Case A (A Complaint against http://www.phing.com/user/Yoshi_Petcharat)

akobana says

pHing - Reporting Scam

"Hi Administrators.
Regarding about AD ID #16812.
I just contact a member (Superboy) selling 2wire router. Met up with buyer at sengkang mrt. Confirm with him whether the router is workable. And he promised me he will return my money if the router not working. End up i went home and tried. The router not working. Call up the buyer that router not working, and i insist to go to his house and try it out to prove there is something wrong with the router. And he insisted the router is workable and refused to return my money"

Case B (A Complaint against http://www.phing.com/user/Superboy)

nanananabp says

pHing - I WAS CHEATED

"Hi,

Yesterday night oct 16. i bought a AMD Athlon 64 3700+ Socket 754 CPU from this guy, Yoshi_Petcharat hp: 81544212,
when i reached how and install the procesor shows only 3200+ not 3700+, i call him he did not answer,sms a few time then he replied and denied that the pcsor was 3200+ it was 3700+, and then i decided to take out the prosr to check the printing letter, and yes it was 3200+.
so again i call and sms and no responed, i just wanna refund, but his not an honest seller, till now i cannot get him,
pls help if can don't let others get cheated like me.

Thank you
From the frustrated guy
Rahmat "

Kindly take note.

It took a while but it is finally here.

pHing has been rebuilt entirely to provide us with a better system which we can build upon for upcoming features. So the good news is that pHing will be more actively worked on in the future. The side effect of rebuilding entirely is that things get changed so much that you will not instantly feel familiar with the new system. I will not be listing each and every of the changes because that will bore you out. Instead, I shall highlight the more significant changes.

Search

This is definitely the most used feature which I have to admit was not very well done previously. The tags only search provided little relevance and was susceptible to manipulation. This time round, search will include title and description into account while allowing search operators to provide an effective search.

The search filters on the left of the result pages will also allow you to quickly filter your results by category, price or tag. Hopefully, this will help more users find their stuffs quickly.

Ad Differences

• New users wanting to post an ad are required to verify your mobile number with us before allowing to do so.
• HTML is now allowed in your ad description so seasoned posters can be more creative in your ad posting!
  
• Ads have different statuses for administration reasons and they no longer expire. Furthermore, you can bump your ad too!
  
• Messages can be added to each ad so you can have your forum-style bidding or simply interaction with other users. It is also probably easier to ask your questions publicly so other users will not ask similar questions.
  
• Ad subscription allows you to be updated with any new messages added to the ad.
• You can now flag an ad which will help us moderate them better.
  
• Even lesser fields and tags no longer compulsory.
  

Dashboard and The Blog

Now we have a dashboard to keep you up to date with the messages from the ads you have subscribed to as well as the latest posts from our blog. The dashboard will become more comprehensive in the future.

Ads Management

Many users have asked how to edit their ads and while it seems obvious to us, it probably was a bad UI decision to use icons only. We have made things more obvious now by listing ads with the date posted and its statuses and each available action clearly labeled. We even threw in a basic results filter so it will be easier for users with tons of ads to manage them.

I guess these are enough to keep everyone updated while the rest are for you to figure out. We will be glad to receive feedbacks, suggestions and more questions via the comments or the Contact Us page.

So now, pHing on!