Auction Bid & What Author can/can't do

[Hugoml59]

Hey guys ! 

 

We recently talked with a trade mod in an auction topic. 

We've said there that an auction bid (in forum auction) is valid only when uploaded on forum.

 

As an author, am I authorized to reply in my topic with a bid I receive ig without providing evidence in the same message ?

 

For example, I got a 300k offer in a pm and I reply in my topic saying '300k ig' 

 

The reason why I'm asking is because it takes time to upload evidence in forum, especially when you receive a lot of them ig. If in the the meantime someone bid on forum, I know for a fact their offer will be considered in priority...

 

So I'm wondering if I can reply without screenshot and provide evidence right after with timestamps and everything?

It would make forum bidder aware of the most recent bid the quickest way possible.

 

Thanks in advance, 

Hope it was clear enough  

Edited March 19, 2023 by Hugoml59

[Eon]

Hello @Hugoml59,

 

Posting "300k ig" is not sufficient. It must be acknowledged with a screenshot to attest its veracity.

 

If you take a minute or two to post, it's alright. Moderation recognises that players aren't robots so it can take a bit.  If the same offer is posted on the thread just before you acknowledge, you're correct that the forum bid will stand as it's prioritised. 

 

Quote

So I'm wondering if I can reply without screenshot and provide evidence right after with timestamps and everything?

 

Editing would result in confusion. Please refrain from doing so. If you do it on a separate post, then it only counts from that one.

 

This is only really a concern in the last 15 minutes of an auction. You can solve it by asking bidders to do their own bidding on the thread. Forum is free, easily accessible, and threads are whitelisted in-game. If the bidder chooses not to and forces the auctioneer to acknowledge it on the thread, then they're risking not having the outcome they'd expect.

 

Let me know if I've answered your question and any other doubt or concern you may still have regarding this matter.

 

Looking forward to your reply.

[Hugoml59]

Hey @Eon ,

 

Thanks for your reply, very clear answer imo 

 

18 hours ago, Eon said:

If you take a minute or two to post, it's alright. Moderation recognises that players aren't robots so it can take a bit.  If the same offer is posted on the thread just before you acknowledge, you're correct that the forum bid will stand as it's prioritised. 

 

Glad to see you guys acknowledge that forum will be prioritised only in 'same offer' case and that sometime it can take a bit before evidence is posted here...

Lets see how this could be useful in some case, and correct me if I'm wrong :

Imagine last 15min rule has applied to my post. I have a forum bid at 300k at 2:00pm (auction is delayed to end 2:15pm), if I provide evidence of ig bid of 325k at 2:16pm with timestamp of bid being [2:14:59] ingame, will it still count as valid here or will the trade be forced to forum bidder due to lack of time to post evidence ? If so, can we still say that Moderation recognized that players aren't robots 

 

I think the answer could be really usefull as this 'fiction' scenario could often happen, thanks in advance and have a good one !

Edited March 20, 2023 by Hugoml59

[Eon]

Quote

I have a forum bid at 300k at 2:00pm (auction is delayed to end 2:15pm), if I provide evidence of ig bid of 325k at 2:16pm with timestamp of bid being [2:14:59] ingame, will it still count as valid here or will the trade be forced to forum bidder due to lack of time to post evidence ?

 

In this scenario, the bid wouldn't be valid since was acknowledged after the end point.

 

Quote

If so, can we still say that Moderation recognized that players aren't robots 

 

Yes, we can still say it. You are not seeing our side, which is understandable - nobody has clarified this for you. It's quite easy to explain.

 

In-game timestamps are based on your device's clock. Meaning it's very easily manipulated. There is nothing that guarantees me that you didn't receive the bid at [02:16:01] and took less than a minute to post it.

This is one of the reasons why in-game mishandled auctions don't have their outcomes reversed/corrected. There isn't data to determine with 100% certainty who won.

 

If the in-game timestamps would follow a server-based time (meaning would be universal for every player), then it would gain strength to be considered. But even then, auctions could be extended by those acknowledgement delays, which is also not the goal.

 

What you (players) need to understand is that forum auctions are handled in the forum thread. You can advertise it in-game, accept in-game bids, but they only count when they are acknowledged (turned public) on the platform the auction is taking place. A [02:14:59] bid received in-game is not a [02:14:59] received in the forum thread. Hence why it's important for bidders to be in control of their own fate in the last 15 minutes of an auction, and it's a good practise to bid in the auction thread rather than private messaging the auctioneer in-game or through the forum. This way, they are not risking their bid not being considered if the auctioneer is slow on bringing onto the thread, or is simply unavailable to do so - you are not robots and are entitled to have a bathroom emergency for example.

 

Recognise also that staff aren't robots and are limited in some aspects, like the game itself if it had a functional Auction House we wouldn't be here having this conversation. We work the best we can with what we got. If you have better suggestions on how to moderate auctions, would love to hear them in the Suggestions sub-forum. The current way is a culmination of several years of experience and generations of Trade Moderators that go from even before I joined the team, but we should always remain open to improvement and criticism.

 

Let me if anything was unclear and if I can help you further in this subject.

 

Looking forward to your reply.

[Hugoml59]

Hey @Eon ,

 

Thanks for making things clear. 

It's good to know exactly what we are allowed to do. 

 

On 3/20/2023 at 11:52 PM, Eon said:

If the in-game timestamps would follow a server-based time (meaning would be universal for every player), then it would gain strength to be considered. But even then, auctions could be extended by those acknowledgement delays, which is also not the goal.

 

 

I think a server-based time could be very helpful to the game. We could choose in parameters our gmt and then server would follow international clock. If this is on - based on the 'non robots' thing - we should consider accepting late seconds bid even though they're done ig for a forum auction thread. While doing so, we could give all players the same amount of chance to get the poke they want and in the same time, give the seller opportunity to have the best possible price. That's a win-win deal imo 

 

I won't even talk about auction house as we players, are aware it might come too late 

 

Dunno about making a suggestion in the sub-forum area to explain what I've just said. Do you think it's worth trying to do so ?

 

Have a good one mate !

Edited March 25, 2023 by Hugoml59

[Eon]

Apologies for the delay in the response.

 

Server-based time would help but there would still be the issue with extending an auction end point "at will" which would need to be discussed internally.

 

Nothing stops you from making a suggestion. It doesn't mean it'll follow through, but will give us food for thought. 

 

Let me know if I can help with anything else. Looking forward to your reply.