Hi gang, Just an idea I had and I'd appreciate feedback. I think we've all been here one day: you host or bid on an auction, something gets in the way and before you know you forgot all about it. It could be because you got distracted, but it could just as well be because you couldn't play on EMC for a few days. The result is that some players end up a little unhappy because they couldn't get their items or rupees in time. And the usual cause of action when this happens is to get staff involved. Staff can do a lot, but only so much. So now I'm wondering.... Auction by proxy The idea is simple: another player who's willing to sort things out on your behalf. So the moment you don't respond for whatever reason this player can be looked up in a database of some sort, and then players / staff can approach them to ask if they can sort it out. Of course this will need some regulation (when you set something up then you always need to keep in mind that some players could try to abuse the system) and staff involvement should be kept to a minimum. This is what I had in mind so far: Normal rules always apply (obviously). This is just a courtesy service, appointing a proxy does not exempt you from having to obey the rules. Staff involvement should be kept at a minimum; the only thing requested would be that they'd consider using the service to lookup & contact the proxy before the original player gets into any trouble. If the proxy doesn't reply within 24hrs the whole thing is canceled. Involvement is always optional; the proxy isn't obligated to help (also see 1st point), but failing to help obviously cancels the player as proxy (more work on this is needed). A player can register up to two proxies, but only one should be using during a dispute. No rules against trying both in sequence * but the main idea here is to resolve the auction problems as soon as possible; that won't work if you'd have to contact both proxies (2 proxies, 2 days response time so 2 days extra delay, that's no good). * In sequence: under no circumstances would it be allowed to contact both proxies at once because that could create a lot of unnecessary chaos. Registration would involve the player and their proxy contacting the registration service after which both names will be put onto a list of some sort (thinking about a webpage, maybe a Google webform?). Using a proxy It's really simple: whenever a player can't be contacted about an auction they were involved with the other player can check the list to see if any proxies are available and if so contact the proxy and ask them for help. Of course they can also turn to staff after which it might be beneficial for all players if staff would also consider checking for a proxy and when stuff went wrong ask them if they can resolve this. I need to stress this out: this doesn't exempt anyone from the rules. If you misbehaved within auctions on numerous of occasions then obviously you risk getting excluded from the economy section, even if your proxy did sort things out for you (because in all fairness: the proxy use would already be at a time where you failed to uphold your end of the bargain). The proxy idea is not so much to create a failsafe for the rules; but more so to ensure that the other players don't have to wait for too long for their items or rupees. More stuff to consider This is just a crude idea I had and I figured I'd throw it into the group before turning this into an official suggestion. Also because I can see plenty of possible problems as well. Still wondering if it shouldn't be required that proxies have a residence admin flag for example. I'm also not even sure if this could be useful. Sure, staff can only do so much but to my knowledge they usually do get the job done And finally I'm also not too sure if this wouldn't be more trouble than it's worth. But that's what this post is all about, time for a discussion What do you think?
