Welcome to the Feedback Center!
What is this place? Well, up until now we've had threads in both the "Trading Board" and "Selling and Buying Board" for users to give feedback on the individuals, labels or distros that they've made music-related transactions with. Normally this involves people making posts in those threads letting us know whether the transaction was positive or negative and why. But, we also understand that those threads can get pretty large, messy, and difficult to navigate. This is especially true if you're a person wanting to know more about an individual or company you might want to make your own transaction with. This forum provides an alternative to that old way of doing things.
The way this forum works is simple. If you've had a transaction with a person, label or distro and want to give feedback, search the forum to see if there's a thread on them already. If there is, make a post to that thread giving the feedback you want to give. If there is no thread yet, create your own and give your feedback in the post for that thread. Every time someone wants to give feedback on a transaction with that person or company, all they need to do is make a new post in the thread on that person or company. Essentially, every individual, label, or distro that you've had a transaction with can have their own thread. This should make it very easy for people to see what feedback an individual, label or distro gets. This can also be very useful in finding out about scammers/rip-off artists and the experiences people have had with them.
View this example threadThis example is fake, for a hypothetical individual named "John Smith". Let it act as a
loose guide.
In simple terms:
> Search this forum for the individual, label or distro that you had a recent transaction with that you want to give feedback on.
> If you find a thread on them, make a post with your feedback in that thread.
> If you do not find a thread on them, create a new one and give your feedback in that thread.
> Keep all feedback, questions and discussion on a specific individual, label or distro to a single thread on them.We do ask that when you give feedback that you justify why it's positive or negative feedback. We ask that you do this in a manner that is respectful, honest and on-topic.
Rules1. One Topic per Business Partner. NO Duplicates.This should be common sense. If you've done a deal with an individual, label or distro (a "business partner"), we only want one thread dedicated to giving feedback on that person or company. To understand what we mean by this, please
see our example thread. It is ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY that you SEARCH THE FORUM before creating a new thread; you can do this either by searching using the link at the top of the page OR by choosing to sort the forum alphabetically (at the bottom of the page, choose "Sort by: Subject" and click "Go"). If you decide that you don't want to add feedback to an already-existing thread, and decide to create a duplicate thread instead, tough luck. Any duplicates we find will be merged into a single thread. We will NOT be happy if we have to do this. Keep that in mind.
Important Note: Thread titles for business partners ought to be labelled by the handle(s) or name(s) under which they are best known by.
eg
Dave Nuggets Radical Records not the_merry_piper667 they are the same person but the label name is the most well known and what they trade by.
2. Give Feedback on Music-Related Business Transactions ONLY.This forum exists for one purpose and one purpose only; to give positive or negative feedback on music-related transactions that you've had with other metalheads. What does this mean? It means that if you have either purchased, sold, or traded a music-related piece of merchandise (album, shirt, zine, whatever) with another person or a distro/label you can give feedback on that transaction here. You MUST have had a music-related transaction with that business partner to give feedback. This is not a circlejerk. DO NOT give feedback simply because you like/dislike that person. And, honestly, DO NOT make a thread on a transaction that has nothing to do with music or about a company that has little to do with metal. I don't want to see feedback on "The Bay" or "Prisma" or "Nordstrom" or even "Hot Topic" because you bought a metal shirt there; that's just fucking stupid and useless. Please, focus on music-related transactions you've had with metalheads, metal distros, metal labels ONLY.
We do ask that when you give feedback that you give REASONS for a positive or negative post; that you JUSTIFY your feedback! You don't have to give details about what you purchased, but it would help if you explained why the transaction with that person, distro, or label went the way it did. Keep in mind that your feedback may influence someone seeking to do their own transaction with the person or company you're commenting on, so the more information you can give the better the feedback.
YOU ARE NOT LIMITED TO JUST GIVING FEEDBACK ON TRADERS/SELLERS/BUYERS FROM MA ONLY! Labels, Distros, individuals from other services (eBay, Discogs, etc.) are perfectly fine here. Let's try to make this a good resource for traders/sellers/buyers in the metal community.
If you are interested in a transaction with a potential business partner or you are in the middle of a transaction and may be worried about delays, you are more than free - of course - to ask questions and comment in the thread on that individual, label or distro. It never hurts to ask for feedback when there is none or to get clarification about something. Discussion is encouraged.
3. NO Sockpuppets, Spamming, Abuse, Gaming of the System.Just like how the best transaction is founded on honesty, so the best feedback is also founded on being honest. There's nothing worse than a person who intends to game the system to their benefit. Not only is it cowardly and low, but it's also pretty fucking obvious. We will know if you do this. If you decide to create duplicate accounts (sockpuppets) to give yourself or someone you like good feedback, you will not be welcome here. The same is true if you get your friends to do so or take any other devious method to trying to raise your or someone else's positive or negative feedback. It wont get you anywhere here. Trust us on that.
It is also strongly recommended that you disclose any affiliations (bands, labels) and/or any conflicts of interest when you leave feedback. Not only is this more honest, but it also may be useful for potential buyers/traders/sellers in knowing how trustworthy a scammer accusation or a positive recommendation might be.
4. AVOID Derogatory Remarks/Ad Hominem Attacks. BE RESPECTFUL!Understandably, especially in cases with rip-off con artists and scammers it might be hard to be mature and respectful in your feedback, but it's very important to at least try. The more sensible, straight-forward, and polite your feedback is, the more likely it is that those reading it will take it seriously. Remember, too, that your feedback should be geared towards the actions (or inaction) of the business partner you did the transaction with, not necessarily the person or company itself. It may be tempting to call them names or to attack them for who you believe them to be, but it's their actions that define them. Tell us what they did to you, not what type of person or company you think they are.
Keep in mind, also, that there's a fine line between proving to us that the person or company deserves negative feedback and committing slander. You may want to discuss their motives; why they did what they did... but motive is a complicated and messy topic. Sometimes problems develop due to the unfortunate case of miscommunication. In other situations, motive is more insidious, and people and companies are malicious and do intend ill-will in their transactions. It is important to let us know why something happened, but be aware that baseless accusations are tantamount to slander and libel. Tell us what happened, why it happened and how it was resolved without resorting to personal attacks, derogatory comments, or accusatory remarks.
5. NO Whining and NO Witch-hunting.Just don't. We do get it. Sometimes people tell lies about a transaction or there's individuals or companies that may rightfully deserve a good whooping, but don't whine about it and don't try to recruit people for your agenda here. If you're unhappy with the feedback that you get, feel free to comment in the appropriate thread about it... but keep in mind that we expect that you will be truthful, honest and polite while you do so. Metal Archives has NO interest in picking sides; we are only here to make sure that people abide by our rules as they give feedback. Complaining to us or whining to us about your reputation or about negative/positive feedback will get you nowhere. Prove through your own actions, in either your transactions or your own replies to feedback, that you deserve the feedback you think you SHOULD be getting. Only you have the power to change that.
Likewise, this is not the place to organize witch-hunts. Yeah, there's assholes in the world. Those people and companies are horrible and we understand that, however, digging up their personal information (beyond what was given to you during the transaction) and getting others to try to
dox, troll, and/or harass that individual or company is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. You will be gone in a moment's notice if we see that bullshit here.
If you have any questions or comments, please make them here.