Ratio proof etiquette

[buckpasser]

Quick question.

I'm fairly new here and was wondering something. I understand the need to severely edit ratio proof pics to hide your username, etc., but if I do a giveaway and am suspicious, is it tacky to ask the person via PM for their username on the site they posted proof for?

My first thought is that it wouldn't be hard to creatively use Photoshop to tinker with these pictures. Or am I just being paranoid?

[Cristian]

For giveaways? I'd say paranoid.

[ShadowsServant]

It's perfectly common to be wary. Doing a public giveaway is like giving to strangers. I think it's very responsible of you to ask for something more than just a ratio proof. A direct link to their profile on the site would be ideal. If you both have the same sites.
If it a tracker you value and don't want to get banned a more thorough investigation is all up to you.
You are the one giving away your invites. It's up to you to decide in the way you go about it.

[Fullmetal]

I dont trust pics of peoples ratios as you dont even need paint to edit them your browser can do it for you.

example
http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i1647052_sct.JPG

[t0mmy]

its perfectly normal to be feeling this what, thats why some people ask for profile page links

[1000possibleclaws]

ask them for profile links. its definitely not paranoid and i do it for level 4+ giveaways. some people will steal someones ratio proof and then use it later on. also be wary of speedtests that are saved or old. if it's a precious site i will pick a location on speedtest.net and ask for a speedtest from that location.

by doing this i can safely say my invite trees on my precious trackers are filled with good users :)

[Sanka113]

When you do giveaways treat it like a group interview. Do whatever it takes to make yourself comfortable with your potential invitees. Ask them questions about what methods they use to seed, ask for a couple speedtest, and some profile links. Remember you are responsible for the person that you invite, so only invite the best candidates. If nobody wows you enough to give away your invite then just browse through candidates from similar giveaways.

[Gtb]

I don't find paranoid, but when i asked some people to tell me the username there, or to PM me, they thought that i was a spy, and was trying to destroy them.

Of course the ones that trusted me, got the invites ;)

I mean, why do i have to trust you with my invite, if you don't trust me giving me the userid that you have on the proof, to check myself?

[PBT42]

I don't find paranoid, but when i asked some people to tell me the username there, or to PM me, they thought that i was a spy, and was trying to destroy them.

Of course the ones that trusted me, got the invites ;)

I mean, why do i have to trust you with my invite, if you don't trust me giving me the userid that you have on the proof, to check myself?

Too true.
After a while of giving out invites, I realised that there were some shady people out there who know some javascript, etc :(
So now I ask for profile links if I don't know the person, and there should be no trust issue, if you are known as a legit invite giver :)

[SgtMajor]

Quick question.

I'm fairly new here and was wondering something. I understand the need to severely edit ratio proof pics to hide your username, etc., but if I do a giveaway and am suspicious, is it tacky to ask the person via PM for their username on the site they posted proof for?

My first thought is that it wouldn't be hard to creatively use Photoshop to tinker with these pictures. Or am I just being paranoid?

Bottom line, your giveaway, your thread, your rules.

You lay down whatever conditions you want, be as clear as concise as you can in what you expect, always remembering of course that quite a few trackers detest what you are actually doing these days, it used to be the done things but now is severely frowned upon, so any safeguards that protect you can only be for your own benefit.

[DKre8ive1]

Nothing wrong with asking for a link to there profile page and I would take it even a step further and suggest you pm the user they claim to be and see if you get an answer back.

[td212]

i dont understand blocking out your username

[Disme]

I dont trust pics of peoples ratios as you dont even need paint to edit them your browser can do it for you.

example
http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i1647052_sct.JPG

and i just made this one for the giggles
chckout the upload amount

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/2088/ftnfakefv8.jpg

:angry: Very nice, but is it really needed to post pics with the URL in them.:angry:

For the OP: that's also part of ratio-proof etiquette ... remove URL's when posting pics!!!

[amade]

What if the invitee PMs the link to the somebody else's profile page? As you know, on trackers, most FST ppl have username different from that of FST. Is there any way to detect this? Is sending PM on that tracker the only way of detection?

[Polarbear]

What if the invitee PMs the link to the somebody else's profile page? As you know, on trackers, most FST ppl have username different from that of FST. Is there any way to prevent this?

make them leave a note for you in the profile. this way you can check them out and your own userdetails stay private.

[amade]

What if the invitee PMs the link to the somebody else's profile page? As you know, on trackers, most FST ppl have username different from that of FST. Is there any way to prevent this?

make them leave a note for you in the profile. this way you can check them out and your own userdetails stay private.

Nice idea! Thx!

[buckpasser]

Thanks for all the interesting insight. After I saw the first response, I really thought I was being paranoid. But there has been some great advice from everyone. I do take my accounts seriously, and would hate to jeapordize them in my attempt to be generous. So it's good to know that I'm not crazy.

Well, I am crazy, but just not in this particular case :).