Colleagues- OK forum??

[Rich Weese]

I'm not sure if this is correct forum. Questions.
1. What do we do with Colleagues? I've had requests and always accept them. Now What?
2. Is there some way to send a PM or message just to colleagues?
3. How about a chat room for colleagues?
I just don't understand what we do with these other than just gather a lot of them. Thanks. Rich.

[Will Barnard]

Tim,

As usual, you hit the nail direct on the head! What a great idea.

Josh, perhaps you should look into this long and hard. This would also offer you the opportunity to add an additional revenue stream to your site (most important obviously).
I hear you on your reasons for enforcing the always been there rule and it does make sense. While many of us had not had a problem, you eluded to the fact that others did.
Hope Tim's suggestion is taken seriously as it would be a great asset to both the mebership, and you as the site owner.

[Joshua Dorkin]

hmmmmmmm . . . (pondering the concept)

[Joshua Dorkin]

Ok - so we were planning on creating the Pro accounts while this discussion was going on, but the idea to open PMs as a revenue stream was a great idea.

Our BiggerPockets Pro members can now PM any other members on the site, but the rules still apply. NO SPAM or unwanted solicitations.

We have taken steps thanks to this conversation to enact these additions and others to further protect the members.

Since there are members that will have the ability to PM anyone, we've also given our members the option to prevent anyone they are not colleagues with (the pro guys) from contacting them. This will be turned off by default, but members can elect to prevent it. Members can also elect to block ANY individual member from sending them a PM (other than mods and admins).

We hope that you guys find these changes to be what you're looking for.

Those of you who wanted to be able to PM anyone without the colleague request can now do that with a PRO Account, and the rest of the privacy and security precautions should satisfy the rest of us.

Thanks everyone!

[Rachel H.]

Adding in the PM option with the Pro Account is a great solution. I also like having the ability to block - I've had spam in the past from another site with people sending me PMs who are not connected to me, it's annoying because most of the time it's a sales pitch. Thanks for your efforts, Josh - this is a great site!

[Joshua Dorkin]

Thannks, Rachel! I appreciate the message. If you need any help in going PRO, let me know!