Can't we make a direct link to a specific 'auction update page'? Like the recently active threads bit, just under a separate link? Which updates itself every few minutes like an RSS feed? So that way we dont flood the 'recently active thread'-bar and drown out all the useful stuff. But we DO give auctions a specific place where traders can go to check.
Seems as if my presence has been requested. We are gathered here today to discuss the controversy of the new Auction Rules. The previous rules limited the qty of most items to DoubleChest quantities, whether it be 54 items for potions(example) or 54 stacks of an item, whichever amount fully filled a DoubleChest. The previous rules also allowed you to advertise your auction. Whether it be in game using the Marketplace chat channel, or via status on the forums. The previous rules allowed you to "bump" your auction nor more than once every 3 hours allowing more traction to the auction. In short, the new rules allow you to auction any amount of items, disallow bumping your auction(s), and remove any form of advertising for your auction. The controversy on these changes has already shown that it is a very split thought on whether the changes were good or not. Therefore I would like to respond to this thread with my own thoughts and opinions, hopefully unbiased. I will discuss each point individually. Quantity Limit Removed Pros: Allows for more auctions of non-bulk amounts of sought after items that are harder to acquire Allows for more players to host auctions Allows for more players to bid on auctions they previously could not afford Cons: Having more auctions fills the "Recent Threads side bar" Having more auctions fills the Auction subforum Harder to search for the auction you wish to bid on due to the broken search functionality Auction Advertising Removed Pros: Removes "clutter/spam" from the Market channel in-game Cons: Removes any chance for your auction to gain traction via in-game links Removes any chance for your auction to gain traction via forum status posts Auction Bumping Removed Pros: Removes clutter of auctions in the "Recent Threads side bar" Allows the auction to "die out" allowing the last bidder a higher chance to win Allows for non-auction threads to fill the "Recent Threads side bar" Cons: Can cause your auction to "die out" too soon, possibly resulting in a less than market value sale Can possibly cause your thread to not be seen by those who should see it Suggested Changes I would not want to discuss the controversy of these changes without suggesting what I feel are middle-ground changes that could please both sides of this "argument". Regarding the removal of quantity limits: I agree with previous posts that the satisfaction of hosting the newly allowed auctions will die out and will at some point return to normal. I think that this change was good for the community and should not be adjusted. Regarding the removal of auction advertisements: I do not agree with this change in any way. The Market channel in game, from what I have seen myself, is not used to its fullest extent. The majority of what I have seen being posted in the Market channel is players hopping between servers to advertise their shop/mall/casino to players on other smp's. I believe that auction advertising in this Market channel is good for the community, and if it were to be spammed more often a mute or warning can be issued, as per the spam rules. Removing auctions from being posted in that channel not only lessens the traction your auction could potentially gain, but also lessens the usage of said channel. If you want to remove one form of advertising in the channel, remove all advertising in the channel. At that point though, the Market channel becomes rather useless and hurts the economy, thus the community. Regarding the removal of auction bumping: While in a way I do agree with this change, as it removes unnecessary posts to the auctions, it also removes the possibility of additional players seeing the auction. Instead of removing the 3 hour bump limit completely, it should be weened off to allow easier adjusting. It was stated that these rules for now would not be enforced too much, until enough time for adjustment is given. What is the point of having a rule you do not plan to enforce strictly? To counter this, one of several options are possible. The first being that the 3 hour bump limit could have been changed to 8 hour bumps, or 12 hour bumps for the time being, and then slowly changed to being disallowed. This would allow for easier transition of the new changes. An alternative to this is to add a second recent threads side bar module that is white-listed to only the Auctions subforum. This is entirely possible with the current version of Xenforo. The third option I foresee is that an Auction tab be added to the top of the forums allowing easier access to the auctions subforum. If the point of this change was to remove clutter from the current Recent Threads section, then the high post count sections, such as the Forum Games section, should be removed from the recent thread section allowing for more player to see and interact with community posts. Conclusion To conclude this post, the controversy surrounding the new auction rules shows that a poll or some sort of survey should have been used for the discussion of the changes to the Auction Rules, similar to what was done with the Macros changes. It is best to include the community in the changes before they are made, to come to a better middle-ground for the changes to be made. The Macros changes were based on community input which came with minimal backlash. The same should have been done for these Auction Rules changes, and I hope that staff have learned from this that the community has spoken.
Added shortcut to Auctions under the community tab at the top. Hover over it and voila, shortcut to the forums section with Empire Auction House front and center. Edit: You'll have to wait for the more techy admin to get any fancy front page button. That section of the editing is not feasible by yours truly.
You gotta be kidding me.... I'm trying to be respectful but I don't remember voting on these rules changes like the Macro rules and I could argue these are much bigger changes. Now all the legit auctioneers are spammed out, if only bumping was allowed..... Why can't you just admit you made a mistake and fix it.....
We said we'd add one, so I did. We're still going to wait and see how everything goes with this. We're not changing it without giving it a chance.
Have you seen the Recent Forums and also TheGovernment's post? Like are you blatantly turning your back to this?
Not every rule will be voted on. We didn't vote on loosening residence perm selling and we didn't vote on this. That was our choice because we knew that players would react this way. We knew players would spam initially with small item auctions and we knew that bumps and advert removals would be not liked at first, UNTIL given a chance. We didn't make a mistake and we aren't changing it until we get reliable data from a stabilized system. Novelty wears off and the system will stabilize. You just have to be patient.
Clearly not many people are happy with this. Maybe this could have been avoided if there was a survey like there was for macros? Instead, it's just thrown into the mix, like no one's opinion mattered.
Everything that has been argued and everything that has happened, with regards to the auction spam, was fully expected. That's how any rule change goes and it's not a new experience. It's also not going to force us to undo something before we give it a chance. It's not the end of the world and the community will not die overnight because you have to click a few more buttons to see auctions that haven't had recent bids.
In the past few hours, I have seen nothing but this thread and auctions. It's kinda clear that the recent threads section will be nothing but auctions anymore.
I mean this as respectfully as possible. It is obviously a mistake because so many people are angry and there has been more drama created today by these rules and now noone including the staff are happy. Oh and if you're looking for data, then maybe you should have had a poll.... I liked the other rule changes, but this one is a disaster. I think we've sadly seen enough abuse of theses new rules. I'm sorry Krysyy, I appreciate you and the staff and all that you do, but we are all human and we all make what is in my, and a lot of other people's opinion, a mistake.
Killing auctions, huh. Oh well, I'm holding off on my quartz auction until this fiasco produces a result. I respect you, and I will respect you after this whole fiasco. I disagree strongly with these rule changes. However, poor Krysyy is getting all the blame to herself. Staff as a whole made this decision, so you should blame all of them equally. Criticize them, not just Krysyy, she was just a spokeswoman. She's not the only person to blame for this, they all did wrong.
For the first few days yeah. It's a novelty and people are excitable about it. Once again, fully expected. It will die down and stabilize once the novelty wears off. Players get one auction at a time. If they auction a gold block or a dc of gold blocks, it doesn't matter overall. The auction power lies with the bidders and if they bid on one block, that's the name of the game. If they don't bid, then the auction dies because it wasn't a wanted item by the bidders.
I believe you used the wrong word here. I think you mean angry? The only reason this is happening is because no one likes these new "rules". If this was an April fool's joke, well played. But clearly it's not. This isn't funny or even fun. This just ruins the economy aspect, because auctions are only seen on the forums now.
