Originally posted by Hip J:

Are you implying you guys are working on a more specific backpack purchasing icon? You can't put the mercenary in the 'looking for' section. I wish you could - it would be nice if you guys could implement it.

There will be more fake icons, some specifically for inventory offers.

Originally posted by Hip J:

As for objectors - as long as you are using the images to give more details about your trade, I don't see how they're a problem. Using random emoticons to attract attention, sure, I can see how that's an issue when people want to buy them but they're not literally for sell - but the objectors can really be used appropriately, not distractively or to gain attention, to simply elaborate upon your trade. It costs a solid dollar or more to even make one. And if this rule is so clear cut and obvious (as you imply by simply copy pasting the rules) then why did I go an entire year without anyone mentioning or flagging it even with 30 minute autobump premium?

My profession is graphic design and marketing, using objectors in conjunction with a trade is just good advertising. I really wish you guys would rethink your stance on them specifically. If I have 20 strange weapons that all have nice bonus parts on them, it would be very cool if you would allow me to use an objector with a picture of a strange part + "Strange Parts" written on it just so people understand that every strange in the trade has parts. SO many times I get people sending me trade offers for my stranges with parts as if they don't, using something like this really helps prevent it and makes the job of people like me - mass traders, the ones who would like to have TF2outpost premium (and were about to buy it before this whole ordeal), the ones who have been trading since mannco came out and have a completely clean record - it would make those people's trading lives a bit easier. [/quote]

It is a problem and as such a rule was added to address it. We have enough data to establish what can and cannot be considered a problem. The rule will stay.

The rule is a few months old, and only a small share of the user base report trades. These are the reasons why nobody reported your trades before.

This is not new, it's been around for 6+ months now.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/groups/tf2outpost/discussions/0/558747922562007365/#c540742485382266453

Originally posted by Hip J:

The following admin banned and closed half of my trades for being relists yet they weren't: Beyond the Sun https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/profiles/76561198007444332 ALL of these trades contain different haunteds with completely different spells applied to them. I realize that quickly thumbing over them they may look like relists, but they are not. Each is unique and individual and valuable (especially when you consider only 300 of each 2014 pyro haunted exist in the game according to stats.tf).

http://www.tf2outpost.com/trade/24384434#latest
http://www.tf2outpost.com/trade/24384225#latest
http://www.tf2outpost.com/trade/24384276#latest
http://www.tf2outpost.com/trade/24384383#latest

All of your trades use the exact same notes, and advertise similar trades. Some of the items are part of different sets, with the only distinction being their levels. If your goal is to sell pyro sets, why not do it on a single trade? You can't have multiple trades open for the same goal. Trade Rule #4:

No relists. Relisting is creating multiple trades for the same purpose or listing the same item in multiple trades excessively. You cannot have multiple trades open with the same goal, and you cannot have an excessive number of trades open for the same item.

Originally posted by Hip J:

They also closed my backpack buying trade for "using placeholders to attract attention". However, these aren't emoticons being used for 0 purpose. They are signs that explain that I buy backpacks for paypal. The only emoticon is a wad of cash. Is that too much, is that the infraction? Or is it my objectors that literally say what I'm doing?

http://www.tf2outpost.com/trade/24201845#latest

I'm buying backpacks and there's no better way to signify this than to literally spell it out using an objector. There's no set of items I can put in my windows that directly signify what this trade is for any better.

Trade Rule #1:

Please do not make trades with...
Items whose features or placements foremost goal is to attract focus — using emoticons to spell words is an example of this.

If you want to show a backpack buying service, use the real world money icon on the left and a backpack/mercenary badge icon on the right (temporarily, see https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/groups/tf2outpost/discussions/6/616187203893210070/)

Originally posted by Hip J:

I also had an identical trade opened with those same objector and cash icon for nearly 8 months. However, it too was closed but this one was for "linking my group page", even though another admin told me it was fine because the group page was completely dedicated to my backpack buying process and rep and contained more proof of my legitimacy and more detailed screenshots and explanations of my process. Same trade, but no one ever complained about me using signs:

http://www.tf2outpost.com/trade/19426388#latest

Advertising Steam groups is not and was never allowed. Main Rule #4:

No advertising. We do not allow users to advertise any other services or websites. You may, however, post links to other trades on this website, as well as links to relevant YouTube videos or related images.

No circumstances are acceptable. We only deal with reports people send us, if nothing happened then probably the incidents were never reported anywhere.

Yes it is. It doesn't matter whether the items are scammed or not.

Rule #2: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/groups/tf2outpost/discussions/0/558755530343215312/

Outpost is one of the largest trading sites, and as such its community is made of all kinds of traders. The "speculators on the site" expression should be changed to "speculators on all sites".

The problem is the community, not Outpost. The community spams, the community scams, the community causes problems. We take care of the problems that concern our site. We can't prevent people from spamming you trades, we can't prevent people from scamming other users. And we work with very limited tools, hence why we have to ask people for information sometimes.

There are many other trading services in which noone will ever ask you for anything. However, you may encounter quite a few scammers hanging around I'd guess for the exact same reason. I'd offer 30 mins of my time once in a while in exchange for a lower risk of being scammed at any time.

Also, remember that the "real bad business model" also voluntarily "spends 30 minutes" of their days making sure the community is safe. Try to put yourself in an 800k users community admin' shoes for a moment, too.

I'll repeat it: We only ask for these information to corroborate other evidence we have, we don't do it for fun.

The spam comment was hidden, so I don't know why you still have a problem with it. The request was necessary, again, to corroborate other evidence we have - we don't do it for fun. If you have done nothing wrong you would have no problem supplying information, our history shows only people involved in shady dealings refuse to provide information about an item/trade.

Bad business model is the one that allows people to engage in illicit activities, and we certainly are not one of them. If you have a problem with the way Outpost fights scamming and related offenses, you are free to move your business elsewhere.