Ah, yes, LMGTFY, the sarcastic internet user's ultimate tool.
When I spoke of a way to sort out trusted members, I meant more of a "Click here to see members ranked by trust/ranked by post #/ranked by (insert statistic)" that was innate to the site, not just a randomly updated thread that has been pieced together by users.
But that looks like a good place to start looking for active traders. Thank you.
This site doesn't really have anything "official" or guaranteed to provide a reliable list of trustworthy individuals. The operators of the site seem to be aware that any such list would be subject to manipulation and fraud.
It is far safer to keep the concept of "caveat emptor" at the forefront of your thoughts whenever attempting to make any form of exchange of anything of value.
There are several tools, such as the "trust" pages that allow individuals to provide user generated feedback about each other, and the Escrow Lists that individuals have generated. However, you should absolutely NOT trust either of those tools. They are a source of information that can be weighed by you to help you make your own personal decisions on how much trust you are willing to place in an individual, but either of those tools can be manipulated for purposes of fraud by an individual with such intentions.
Some indicators to consider:
How many "posts" has an individual made?
Someone with very few posts may have recently created an account for the sole purpose of committing fraud. Those interested in "making a quick buck" through fraud will often not be willing to take the time to build up a significant history of helpful posts. However, someone interested in a "long con" might be willing to put forth such an effort with plans to commit a fraud that results in a significant value at a date in the future.
How much "activity" does an individual have?
Activity measures not only how many posts, but also how much time a user has been active on the site. Again, the fraudster looking for a "quick buck" won't be willing to spend months or years participating in the community, and will therefore have a much lower "activity". As before, someone attempting a "long con" and hoping for a really large payoff at the end might be willing to put in significantly more time.
What is the "Trust Rating" of the individual?
Note that "trust" is determined by who you choose to trust. You should update your trust list from the default list and add only those individuals that you have decided to trust. The rating you see is not universal for the site, it is specifically based off of the feedback created by individuals whose opinion you have decided to value. If you choose not to create a "trust list" of your own, then you will have a "default" list of people whose opinions the administrator of the site has decided to value.
What specifically is said on the "trust page" of the individual?
The fact that someone has some negative trust could simply be vindictive punishment from someone who didn't appreciate being outed for a scam they were perpetrating. It could be intimidation from someone who simply didn't agree with an opinion expressed by the individual. It is also possible for an individual to create multiple accounts to give themselves false feedback, or manipulate others into leaving positive feedback. Take a look at specifically what is said, how it is said, and who said it. Use this information to assist you in deciding how much weight to give the feedback in your decision making process.
Read through several of the threads that the individual has participated in.
From this you can determine if the individual has put forth an effort to maintain a respected reputation within the community. Someone who is looking for a "quick buck" won't have much concern for the reputation associated with their site ID since they don't intend to use it again after they've pulled off their scam. Someone who appears to value their reputation on the site will be more likely to act in a fair and trustworthy manner to protect that reputation. Of course, as indicated already, if the user is engaged in a "long con" the more skilled they are the more trustworthy they will appear and the better their reputation will be.
You will be safest (against fraud) if you and the individual you are exchanging with are located in the same legal jurisdiction and you are able to confirm their real life identity prior to any transaction. Even more so if you meet up for a physical exchange in person.
