I recently noticed the yellow/orange warning that is displayed on listings that were created over a VPN connection. It's a good thing, but I never knew this was a thing until I saw it on someone elses listing, and found out that this was also the case for my own listings, as I generally use a VPN to hide my traffic from my ISP. This in turn made me realize that this warning may have been the very reason for my modules barely selling lately despite listing them at very generous prices, prices that I genuinely feel are too low, but would leave me without any sales if I didn't list them as low as I have.

Would it be possible to have a message pop up when we are about to list a module for sale and MG detects that we're connected via a VPN network? I absolutely don't mind exposing my real IP to MG if that means I can have the warning disappear from my ads, but as is stands right now it feels more like a flag that a user is a potential scammer while this much more often than not, is not the case. It kind of invalidates my 30+ positive ratings because it genuinely looks like my account in specific got flagged for suspicious activity to anyone unfamiliar with the system.

Another solution could be to offer profile verification to users in order to obtain a verified status/checkmark, this would then also eliminate the VPN warning from their listings. This can most likely already be done by verifying the details of anyone with a Unicorn account, as payments are generally well-backed by identity verification on the payment platform's end.

tldr: VPN warning is a good thing in concept but could use some work in practise.

Would it be possible to have a message pop up when we are about to list a module for sale and MG detects that we're connected via a VPN network?

The check is not instantly, it takes a couple of minutes, so the messages popup won't work as expected. But you're right, at least it should be better explained ...

Another solution could be to offer profile verification to users in order to obtain a verified status/checkmark

The problem we had in the past was that user accounts with weak passwords got hacked. In such cases the verified checkbox would be counterproductive. We are experimenting with a trustscore system, but, like the voting system, that will lead to a new level of drama, Mr. 78/100.

verifying the details of anyone with a Unicorn account,

Also good idea but won't fix the problem with hacked accounts. We might have keypasses for the offer section at some point.

A quick workaround: if you click edit on one of your offers and save with or without changing anything, the VPN check will run again.

The check is not instantly, it takes a couple of minutes, so the messages popup won't work as expected. But you're right, at least it should be better explained ...

A short static infobox on the submit listing page would probably do just fine. Similar to how it appears on live listings, regardless of a user using a VPN or not.

The problem we had in the past was that user accounts with weak passwords got hacked. In such cases the verified checkbox would be counterproductive. We are experimenting with a trustscore system, but, like the voting system, that will lead to a new level of drama, Mr. 78/100.

2FA based on TOTP as a start would genuinely improve account security massively. To keep it a bit more user friendly, you could make it an optional setup for account creation, but mandatory for creating marketplace listings as well as interacting with the voting system. Using an IP or browser based trust system, most users would only occasionally have to enter their 2FA code, while keeping intruders out very effectively. Passkeys could be an additional layer alongside TOTP, but from my experience, passkeys don't always play well with every browser and it can be quite a headache to use when a user switches devices frequently.

With data breaches happening so frequently and the vast majority of online users having little knowledge about account security in general, it's just too easy to have an account compromised (or even a multitude of accounts for those who reuse their passwords). That's not even factoring in the use of generative AI making it significantly easier for hackers to compromise user accounts.

Not to step on any toes, I know a website like MG takes a lot of resources to maintain, but I personally find it nonsensical for VPN warning to be a thing while not offering any form of 2FA for basic account security. Yes, it isn't as user friendly, but anyone who can grasp the concept of modular should easily be able to set up 2FA, which they most likely already have done previously with other services anyway.