eBay

glasser · ‎12-02-2020

So I attempted to list a watch and at first it was rejected because eBay thought I was trying to sell a Covid-19 cure.

In my shipping section I had this line: Please note International shipping is very slow since Covid-19 so be patient can take several weeks.

Changed to: Please note International shipping is very slow right now so be patient can take several weeks.

Listing went through

Really eBay? This demonstrates extremely crude word scanning , keyword programming, and understanding of context.

southern*sweet*tea · ‎12-02-2020

Artificial intelligence is only as "intelligent" as the person who programs it.

'nuff said.

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

gracieallen01 · ‎12-03-2020

The 'bots filter according to a given list. Using 'COVID-19' and 'patient' in the same sentence is probably the problem to which they took exception. You more than likely would have been better off using 'Holiday' as the reasoning for a possible delay.

Not saying 'NO' doesn't mean 'YES'.

The foolishness of one's actions or words is determined by the number of witnesses.

Perhaps if Brains were described as an APP, many people would use them more often.

Respect, like money, is only of 'worth' when it is earned - with all due respect, it can not be ordained, legislated or coerced. Anonymous

nobody*s_perfect · ‎12-03-2020

Probably you just can't say "covid" regardless of the context. Why should eBay go to great lengths to figure out and program when that should be allowed or not?

glasser · ‎12-03-2020

That's kinda the point. If you are going to go to the trouble them get it right. I think the use of patient and Covid in the same sentence probably red flag. However, pretty much ever other eBay listing has something to the same effect these days so not hard to parse.

Really not just an eBay example but how much hype goes into these automated systems that are far, far from perfect.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎12-03-2020

It's a lot more trouble to program specific contexts rather than just give the bots a list of prohibited words. As you said, they're all far from perfect. Any attempt to interpret context is going to be deeply flawed.