As per the request of Andrew, I would like to initiate the discussion on 'What constitutes a dispute. Here are a few guidelines to get us started:

What constitutes a dispute:

For Buyers:

- If a buyer purchases a product or service via the Market or Jobs area, and does not receive the purchase within 5 business days.

- If a buyer purchases a product or service via the Market or Jobs area and attempts to contact the vendor for support (not the product), and receives no responses within 5 business days.

- - If a buyer purchases a product or service via the Market or Jobs area, and does not receive the product/service as described in the description/agreement.

- If a buyer purchases a product or service via direct contact (Unity email, gmail, skype, etc) and does not receive what was purchased within 5 business days. In this case, there will need to be proof of agreement, pricing, and payment, and when the item/service was agreed to be delivered.

For Sellers:

- if a seller provides a product or service via Market, Jobs, or via Direct Contact, and the item/service was delivered as described and/or agreed upon, and the buyer submits a refund without a legitimate reason, the seller can then file a dispute against the buyer.

The above statement includes buyer refunds submitted due to conflicts with other 3rd party modules.

You CAN NOT file a dispute against ANYONE if you have not endured at least 1 of the scenarios listed below:

- Lost funds paid for item/service not received

- Encountered site downtime (5 business day rule) to a service/support that you paid for

IMPORTANT: When a dispute is posted in the forum, this is not a place for other 'outside' members (excluding Moderators and/or BoonEx staff members) to join in and give their opinions. Disputes should remain between the person filing the dispute and the person being disputed. Any other comments will be hidden.

More will come I'm sure. I am open to other scenarios and/or suggestions.

I think the "outsiders" rule should be waived in certain situations. If another member has information to add, they should be able to request a moderator to take part in the dispute. I would allow this only for situations where the other person is having the same problem as the person who opened the dispute, and may be able to share more information/add weight. I stress the on request part, as nobody should be barging into a dispute, especially to say something useless (like "John Doe is a great person who doesn't send boxes of rabid cats to tropical islands every week.").

I also cannot stress enough the need for evidence. I will not take someone's word over another's. If you cannot provide some kind of evidence to support your claims, the dispute will not be able to move forward. If the person opening the dispute fails to provide evidence after being asked numerous times, the dispute should be closed and the person warned.

I love baseless accusations as much as the next guy, but I'd rather be watching General Hospital than handling illegitimate disputes.