Make Crossposting in Trades less Likely

[Ha-Ki]

I haven't bothered reading through the whole thread, and I'm in favor of almost any suggestion that makes the trading subforums more organized.

 

But please: Don't add restrictions to the general Dragon Trading Thread. It's the only thread without restrictions that we have.

 

Too many restrictions can be very annoying. If the general thread gets restrictions as well, where are you supposed to bundle offers then? We really need one thread where everything is allowed.

 

Just one example: I once offered 2 or 3 rare things in the rare trading thread and added the line "can add anything currently growing on my scroll to my offer". Guess what? A thread mod bothered to check my scroll and send me a warning pm because "that line was breaking the rules of the thread because the other stuff on my scroll was not rare".

 

I agree that reducing overlap in the trading threads is a great idea, but please don't do it by adding restrictions to the only thread without them.

[Laugh]

I'm curious about something: Does anyone feel the Rare Trading Centre is really necessary?

 

I mean, I adore the place, since like most people I often am looking for a rare when I'm trading, but the kicker is, I'm usually looking for a specific rare and not for any rare. In other words, I could also browse the cave born or metallic threads for those. (Though, like I said in my previous post, I think 2G alts might be difficult to find in the backlog of the evengen thread - I mean, they're already the thing I would say is most difficult to find in the RTC, and that's probably the best place to look.)

 

I do want to say that the metallics the RTC accepts are generation-restricted for a reason, but that's because if you don't, you flood out all the non-metallics with metallics. I don't see much of a problem with them flooding out other metallics - which is to say I think the metallic trading centre is a decent place to forage in even if you're looking for rare metallics.

 

I'm sure there are other people with an emotional involvement in that thread. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

It's my go-to place when I'm looking for unbreedables/CB Trios. I don't quite go there for alts since there isn't quite a lineage restriction on those (I prefer PB alts or alts from metals so I'm a bit picky there, I must admit). I don't think CB Nebulas get offered there often because I don't think people quite know? I think I could be wrong on that, but I never go there for CB Nebulas (though I have seen them), instead I go for hatchie trading or gender swap trading threads. As for the prizes I'm generally not interested in those, but the 2g Metals I am so I use that a lot for those too. Everything else on there is not what I'm usually looking for (though I did use it for CB Blusangs frequently when I was making a Blusang lineage). I would definitely be sad if the Rare trading center went away. I do agree with the restrictions on there though because that's an understandable reason, the thread is to trade rares and quite frankly, I don't think anyone considers a messy Gold Wyvern rare, or a 2g wrong colored red dorsal rare either. IE: Purple Dorsal x Purple --> Red Dorsal. I do like the restriction there.

[Syphoneira]

 

 

... as for crossposting: why do people feel they get buried or not enough attention without? i posted my last few trades only in the metallic trade center, and I always got a lot of offers, pretty fast. my last 6 silvers were traded within like 16 hours. Yes, some offers i had to decline because people can't read, but still... all that without cluttering the forum with duplicates.

 

 

 

 

(Quoting an example relevant to a point I've seen made more than once and would like to enlarge upon, rather than whitebaron, although hi, whitebaron! anyway, lol.)

 

 

If you have high-demand dragons to offer, a lot of people will want them and some will be able to quite quickly provide whatever you want or will accept.

 

If you're offering a jumble of lower-demand dragons in the hope that some people might happen to want one or more of whatever you're offering and looking for a specific lineage, it's a bit different, lol.

 

 

And if you don't, for example, have much in the way of pretty, continuable, low-gen checkered lineages but are looking for one as a mate for something you lucked into, most of what you're hoping to be able to breed for it might involve low-gen metals (if yours aren't tied up with breedings intended to advance lineage plans or whatever, for which they may not be producing over the long-term anyway,) or longer-gen Tinsels or Shimmers which are more likely to be considered by those more in the 'lower economic echelons' since those in the higher typically have better.

 

(I don't expect anyone needs to ask why people feel that people trading may be more likely to breed for some sort of metallic, especially if a Prize line.)

 

Those with less possibility are more likely to offer a variety of whatever they can scrape up in the hope that something among that will appeal to somebody who can produce what they need.

 

 

The Trade thread is good for that, but even though it no longer moves at anything approaching the speed it once did, things do get buried.

 

And with more restrictions on the other threads - and discussion on shutting down/combining others - more reliance will be placed on the Trade thread as the only place for many to post anything.

 

Some of the other threads may move more slowly with more restriction, but I'd guess that the Trade thread probably won't see much decrease, and with everything Prize-related on the Prize thread, the posts with lower-demand dragons will be likely buried there while waiting for, perhaps, specific common offers, while the high-demand ones continue to receive prompt and multiple offers.

 

The best place to look for lineages would be on the Even-Gen thread, but you can't post step Tinsels there and not everyone potentially having what you need will look there - you could (previously? still?) post the 4th gen Tinsel on the Rare/metallic thread, but not any CB Common or any even-gen checkered Common you managed to breed for that purpose at some particular point over the weeks of trying for a trade - and even-gen breeders are less likely to look there anyway, although they might.

 

And, of course, not the 5th gen Shimmer in the Rare thread, it being OK there *in actual trade only* to 'single out' low-gens of specific breeds into categories requiring specialized treatment, based on player evaluation.

 

But you try where you can, because what you have and want may be limited in (either sense of) appeal to a relatively small group of players it may be difficult to reach, especially *while you have anything to offer for it which you can hope someone having what you need might want*, unlike those offering high-demand dragons.

 

 

The good thing about having a variety of threads is that people can have a better chance of seeking and finding more specific trades, but the more those threads specialize, and the more threads incorporate further restrictions, the more limited are the options given mainly (it seems from this end) those without the ability to provide high-demand trade dragons.

 

How much of this demand for radical change over the whole trade section actually relates more to people tired of the long-running 2nd gen Prize focus and wanting the Prize offers they can't make themselves out of their faces, rather than to the actual cross-posting situation itself?

 

 

Is the point of the trade threads to give people places to post and conduct trades, or is it something that needs to be kept 'neat' with reduced levels of posts at the expense of perceived utility and free player choice of multiple venues?

 

If people cross-post in order to increase their chances of a trade, eliminating this will reduce access to the 'market' they can offer it to.

 

Reducing the number of specialized threads would increase posting on some (combining the Rare and Metallic thread, in example,) and reduce it on others, the difference being that without cross-posting, people cannot re-post a buried post anywhere else, and have fewer choices available.

 

Time limits as proposed of 3 hours would still prevent those unable to get on in 3 hours from reposting anywhere they still could.

 

 

I guess what I'm really wondering about is, does limiting the number of player trade posts when people can currently post *once a day* on several *different* trade threads really matter more than any real or perceived increase in their trading chances?

 

Would so many people cross-post if it didn't matter to them?

 

If a lot of people are using some option/facility, it's probably because they find it useful.

 

Do (admittedly sporadic) usage rates by individuals and complaints from individuals more or less balance out as far as the numbers of players wanting cross-posting as opposed to those not wanting to have to wade through their posts?

 

 

Does cutting back on specialized threads provide any discernible benefit for the thread Mods currently in charge of these (each dealing with *one daily post per individual* themselves,) in cutting back player choice as to posting options?

 

Most of any posts on Trade threads will be ones in which any given individual will likely have no interest in or no ability to offer on and, 'bazaar-ly', we must always sort through multiple N/A posts while browsing - the examples I'm seeing of specific player complaints given seem typically to specify those of encountering repeats regarding low-gen Prizes and it does seem possible that this irritation level has more to do with some specie of '2nd gen Prize overload' than the actual repeated postings in many cases.

 

Isn't there supposed to be a specific Prize thread now, where many of these offers will be going, even if they don't wind up restricted to that thread?

 

 

 

Would having a reduced number of trade threads and limiting everyone to a single daily trade post actually solve more issues than it would create?

[Prince_Xanthius]

I actually don't have much time to do this, so apologies that this is a little bare bones, and may skip points entirely.

 

Syphoneira: We are not discussing reducing the number of specialised trading posts. Nobody mentioned that? (EDIT: Apparently pinkgothic did; sorry didn't see that; but it wasn't part of the plan, and I think everyone so far has said to keep it) The idea is to restrict what breeds are allowed in the 'breed'-type threads - i.e metals, rares, prizes, common - such that any given dragon is eligable for only one of those threads. All the other 'niche' threads - code, EG, stairs, etc - would still be allowed as cross-postings. The general thread would stay a free-for-all as is (I know I previously stated the idea of making it commons as I didn't realise we had one; and everyone seems to want the general thread to remain so w/e).

 

There is the problem of finding specific lineages, or advertising for specific lineage, but the EG thread already allows postings of lineage requests without the need to be offering anything right then and there; I don't think they object to requests followed by a list of things you can trade in return. So you could state that you can breed 4G tinsels, possibly that you have one available (I feel the rules could be interpreted a couple of ways with that - possibly requests are meant to be done entirely in PM, not request followed by NON-EG offers?).

 

I don't think the change for the most part would affect peoples ability to have their trade seen by enough of the market, if you want to browse, browse everywhere or use the general thread, if looking for something specific use those threads, and if you are trying to trade, then post everywhere the eggs are eligible. We want to change it so that they are only eligble in one of the breed-restricted threads; but EVERYTHING will be eligible for one of those threads.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Prince_Xanthius