"Legal" Scamming = Trolling

I wholehearted agree with this. Just because "users have to be careful with what they buy and whom they trade with," does not mean that other users are allowed to bend rules, find loopholes, troll, or trick users out of such. This is especially important with all the new users we get and how long it takes to learn about everything in the economy and about the server.

 

WOW, some people, people like this need to mature up and find other ways of making their money which does not effect others in a bad way, this needs to become a rule, it is clearly scamming and it is not always obvious with the high speed of chat. I despise people like this, I look down on them and they are just silly immature little children. This needs to become a rule and moderated upon... +10000

 

Scamming is bad

 

I feel like doing stuff like this is allready breaking rules such as trolling and bending server rules like what aracelas said. anyway it should not be tolerated

 

I believe this would be a great rule that can be added into the game.

 

This is already a rule, just to clarify. The rule quoted by aracelas is already a server rule. The suggestion is that we the staff apply it to these cases.

 

It is the user's fault for not paying attention to what the auctioneer is auctioning... even kuk said so in another thread.

 

I support this suggestion! The "legal" scams need to stop!

 

Basically it's allready bordering on illegal and we're saying that it should be enforced. This is because people are taking advantage of the community. When you auction something such as a chicken egg it is your intent that someone will think it's a spawn egg or else you would say chicken egg not just egg, your hoping someone is not paying enough attention or only gets a quick glance at the auction and you're not being specific enough. This is trolling and all in all disrespect, be an honest person. Anyway as for it bending rules you're bending the fact you can't lie by not being specific in the case of the egg and many other situations. Also I do recall auctioning mystery items is not allowed even with hints, you must say what you're auctioning which is a rule that this is also kind of bending. You're saying just enough for it not to be considered a mystery item.

 

The problem with this is that it takes the middle line, and cuts it in half, and sits in the middle of the middle line.

They are not scamming by selling " a melon and a sword" They sold exactly what they stated. One melon. And one sword.
In all technicalities they aren't breaking any rules.
The only reason this is a problem is because people don't take the time to watch out.
It also doesn't really apply to the "bending rules" rule. They haven't bent any rules. They haven't lied. They auctioned some items off.


While yes it's very easy for all the rest of us to see they are being a troll, they haven't technically broken any rules.

Now I can sit here and state that I'm selling a dirt block and have someone bid 50k because they thought it was a melon sword. Should we outlaw selling of dirt blocks because someone saw it wrong?
All these people are doing is making it easier and easier for us to mess up.


Our only hope is for a "Staff Discretion" situation.

Remember a while back when (i forget their names) two guys traded a melon sword through an unlocked chest and someone snatched it? Andrewkm got it back, and gave it to the person receiving it.

Now if a mod pulled aside someone who bid a ton of money on something like "a melon and a sword" and explained to them what it was, and asked if they would like to keep their bid, it would fix the problem.

 

On "confusing" items (even if spoken clearly) I can say yes, a mod should step in and make it clear, even if the seller won't go past what's needed.


An auctioneer can say "Selling a melon and a sword." And he's not breaking any rules. But a mod could easily step in and say "He's selling a melon block and an un-enchanted diamond sword with full durability."

It ruins the whole plan of the seller, to confuse people.

 

Not everyone has the same level of reading [skill] (or writing, for that matter). Some people have personal health issues that can make those small differentiations difficult, too. Furthermore, new users won't understand (this leads on towards the end of my post with a quoted rule) because they don't know everything yet (prices, economy, good/bad, logical, names, abbrvs., etc).

Users trying to take advantage of these users is not allowed, far as I can tell, based on the rules. As well, even if it is not scamming, it is purposeful trolling, and trolling is against the rules. Those who do not clarify and do their best to hide what they did and/or avoid clarifying and nay-sayers are likely trolling/trolls.

Your example of a dirt block and melon sword is not a very good example, as they are completely different in letters, spelling, and length of word/phrase. Something like that would only happen if multiple auctions were going on and someone couldn't keep up; that would be a legitimate mistake.

Also, based on one of the Auction Channel rules, users should be describing their items (at least, or more-so especially, under questionable names):

"melon + sword, melon and a sword, etc" is not a description; it's more of a name. This kind of goes for any type of egg in Mincraft, too; people should give a brief description of it, like when they sell an enchanted sword and list off it's enchants. "Auctioning enchant diamond sword" is like "auctioning melon + sword," but "auctioning a diamond sword with so-and-so-and-so" is like "auctioning a melon sword; enchanted for [melon] farming."

So, I suppose, I do and do not agree with this thread. I agree that something should be done, but what needs to be done is questionable. Enforce actual descriptions of items being sold, make a new rule, rewrite a rule(s), users knowing of this rule and using it as a guideline to buying, or...?

 

This is my take on it.

Scamming is illegal regardless of any bending of rules. There is no such thing as "legal scamming". If not enough evidence is submitted by either parties involved, then scamming can not be adequately determined. If the staff team consults and it is clear that a user was bending rules/trolling in their attempt to sell an item, then action can/may be taken. Now with that said....

It is and always will be the buyers respectability to ensure that they are not being scammed. If they follow the appropriate steps then no scams should take place to begin with. There have been countless threads that offer suggestions on safe buying on ECC. I would suggest that everyone become familiar with them, especially when entering any high $$ trades. I have added a few that have always been helpful to me...

1. If for any reason anyone feels as though they either don't understand, have a hard time reading, etc., they should ask a mod to assist. I know that there are several who would be more then willing to assist to ensure no scams occur (more work for us).
2. Always make sure there is a clear statement of what you are trading and read it very carefully. Always state what you believe you are buying and wait to see what the answer from the seller is and screen shot it.
3. Always ask for enchantments (eff5, unb3, st1, etc) to be stated completely and not the "name" of the item (ie melons word).
4. Always take lots of screen shots during the entire conversation. It is not hard to hit the f1 key repeatedly and thus will prevent you from missing a key moment.
5. Take time to read the complaints/ban appeal thread regularly to get educated on current scams and make a note of the users you see. Obviously you would want to be a bit cautious if you are interacting with a user who was either accused or banned for scamming.
6. And my favorite...... "If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is too good to be true" My favorite example.

"he said he was selling his melon sword for 20k. After I paid him he gave me a wooden sword with eff5 & unb3 and said he used it on melons regularly."

I mean come on people.. If you fall for this, then you are beyond help. Remember this is a hardcore server and it is expected that you have a solid understanding of trading and protecting assets.