STEAM GROUP
TF2 Outpost by Fanbyte
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STEAM GROUP
TF2 Outpost by Fanbyte
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Founded
7 August, 2011
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Ascent 10 Nov, 2014 @ 7:43am
Banned for Public Shaming Question
I was banned for 1 day because of a "public shaming" section in my trade. I had no warning and have never been contacted by a moderator for any reason. I submitted a ticket that was not read, and was closed when my ban was lifted after 1 day. I would, however, like to talk about my ban...

This temporary ban is due to a comment I had on a dueling mini games trade. I have been going through a ton of duels recently and was looking to stock up on 0.22 ref duels (225 of which I got from bulk trading in 2 days). A player (who I have learned not to name) sent me a trade request with 2 dueling mini games for 4 scrap. Having done the trade tons of times, I subconsciously accepted it while glazing over the items. It turns out that neither of the items had 5 uses. I don't remember the numbers, but I was getting ripped off. I realized that it may have been a casual error, so I added him and gave him a comment asking if he could fix the trade. This comment was deleted.

I realize that I was scammed of 1 to 1.5 scrap for a 2 scrap item, just a few cents, but the idea that someone could do something that petty really pissed me off. I had stated in the trade the price for used games, and it was obvious from his responses that he was taking advantage of me. I have read your rules and been using outpost for quite some time. I have also seen public shaming of "nubes" and "idiots" ( a word I regretfully used) who don't understand trading. I believe my case is quite the opposite. I made the mistake, and I wanted people to know that I wasn't falling for that trick again. I was trying to report someone for cheating me.

I am sorry for such a long winded response, but I have never considered my behavior unjust. I understand that you cannot control what happens outside of outpost, but I didn't understand why I could not give someone bad rep for scamming . In the future I realize that I should not use names explicitly in the trade. There are situations where shaming could genuinely hurt someone, and I apologize.

On that note, where would I post something like this. Experiences like this don't warrant action, but I would to know how honest a trader is outside the context of large scale trades. Steam account comments would be great for this except for the fact that you can delete them.

I would also really appreciate a warning before my trades are taken down for something that can be quickly fixed. I realize that the trade notes did not explain the entirety of the situation. I am also a bit critical of the hard rule that there is no public shaming. One of the reasons the internet is such a dangerous place is that there is usually little policing. It seems like this rule would endorse the idea of non-countability for scammers and make trading even more cut throat.

Sorry for the wall of text.
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Showing 1-6 of 6 comments
The action - trade closure, post deletion and ban issued - is the warning. It has never been a policy to contact people and warn them. We deal with thousands of tickets every week, and our user base has over 800,000 accounts. Contacting every single offender is just impossible.

Shaming is not allowed, period. Outpost is not a reputation tracker, hence you are not allowed to rep users here. If you were scammed then you should file a ticket on the site or a report on SR so it can be appropriately taken care of.
Ascent 10 Nov, 2014 @ 10:20am 
Thank you for the quick reply. I realize that you deal with a ton of infractions, and probably don't have enough time to check up on all of them if you give verbal warnings. The exclusion of ALL shaming, I would argue, is also due to outposts relatively limited resources. I do not believe what I did wrong, but I understand the circumstances of the instant ban. I would only get hate from posting such a minor act of scamming on steam rep or in a ticket. There isn't really a way to condemn these minor incidents that I know of.

Again, thank you and have a great day!
Tickets are private - the accused does not have access to it nor the general public. You can't get hate from doing it, unless the accused adds you on Steam.
Ascent 10 Nov, 2014 @ 11:53am 
Thanks for the advice, Ill send in a support ticket. I've heard that they take a very long time, but again that is understandable. I have personally found it rather difficult to find outpost guides and rules on the website. I was surprised that you responded so quickly, but it would be very helpful to have direct links in the site. The only way I can find the rules is by searching for them in google.
There are many links at the bottom of the page, including the rules page http://outpost.gg/bsod/vh49gm.png
Last edited by Blue Screen of Death; 10 Nov, 2014 @ 4:30pm
Ascent 10 Nov, 2014 @ 1:56pm 
I knew I would feel stupid, but I was not expecting to feel that stupid. Thank you for pointing that out. I believe you've answered all my questions
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Date Posted: 10 Nov, 2014 @ 7:43am
Posts: 6