Draconian policies in Steam Trading forum

[NorthStar462]

Here is a post outlining some of the rules for the Steam Trading forum:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=2373241

The gist of it is that there is absolutely no bumping of posts allowed, nor are you allowed to create a new thread if your original thread is ignored.

I posted a thread in that forum about a month ago during the Holiday Sale that contained the trades I was looking for. There was so much traffic on the forum at that time that my post was buried on page 3 in literally seconds and got virtually no views, let alone any replies. My question is, where do these rules leave me now? I can't bump and I can't make a new thread. My only options seem to be to either waste hours sifting through dozens of other people's posts seeking out the trades I want instead of letting people come to me with some offers, or make a new thread anyway and risk admin actions against me.

I understand the need for some fairly strict rules around trading, because otherwise people will abuse the system to advertise their trades. But under the current rules it seems that if your thread gets buried, you are simply out of luck.

[gvmwaoep]

You shouldn't even have to be told. Bumping is some of the dumbest, most annoying online behavior. In a very active forum, bumping just makes things worse.

[SweetNothing]

I suspect, but have absolutely no evidence, that they mean don't create a new thread immediately (i.e, within 24 or 48 hours) if yours is ignored. I can't imagine that they would object to a new thread a month later.

edit: Have you tried PM'ing a mod for clarification on that rule?

[NorthStar462]

Originally Posted by SweetNothing

I suspect, but have absolutely no evidence, that they mean don't create a new thread immediately (i.e, within 24 or 48 hours) if yours is ignored. I can't imagine that they would object to a new thread a month later.

edit: Have you tried PM'ing a mod for clarification on that rule?

Well, there's no time limit specified on the rule. The only reason I've gone this long is because I basically gave up. A month later is one thing, but at the time it really sucked to have my thread buried like that. There were only a few days left in the Holiday Sale, so unless I posted again within a couple days my holiday coal was going to be gone. How can I get in touch with a moderator?

[NorthStar462]

Originally Posted by gvmwaoep

You shouldn't even have to be told. Bumping is some of the dumbest, most annoying online behavior. In a very active forum, bumping just makes things worse.

If you read more than a handful of words in my post, you would see that nowhere in there did I advocate bumping or dispute the rules against it.

[SweetNothing]

To get in touch with a moderator, find one in a thread somewhere (stickies are a good place to look) and click on their username and select "send private message" from the list of options.

[NorthStar462]

Ok, I'll see what they say. Thanks.

[Snaggle]

I think it just comes down to common sense. A post a few months later shouldn't be a problem.

[Satoru]

You can just use the search function to find things in the trading thread if you need to.

[KK_reborn]

Originally Posted by gvmwaoep

You shouldn't even have to be told. Bumping is some of the dumbest, most annoying online behavior. In a very active forum, bumping just makes things worse.

You must realize that by just responding to a thread in a forum causes it to bump to the top. A no bump policy essentially means you can only create new topics and not respond to any of them. It's the complete opposite of what a forum is designed to be.

The rules should really indicate what a good bump and a bad bump is. Steam Trades knows how to do it properly - they have a one bump every hour policy. That way people can still know that your trade is still open and find new people to trade with.

[ChrisW]

What you guys need to understand is that the other thousand people want to also bump their thread to the front page. If you are allowed to bump your thread, it will be burried in just a few seconds by everyone else bumping their own threads. All the bumping causes the forums to stop responding for everyone.

[Corpekata]

Originally Posted by KK_reborn

You must realize that by just responding to a thread in a forum causes it to bump to the top. A no bump policy essentially means you can only create new topics and not respond to any of them. It's the complete opposite of what a forum is designed to be.

The rules should really indicate what a good bump and a bad bump is. Steam Trades knows how to do it properly - they have a one bump every hour policy. That way people can still know that your trade is still open and find new people to trade with.

And you have to realize they when they say no bumps, they mean posts that are clearly designed as a bump only. That's what anyone using common sense means when talking about bumping threads. People really making a mountain out of a molehill in this thread.

[GirlPower23]

You are allowed to create a thread once every 24 hours. It works a lot better than it used to. Before I'd get maybe one view on my thread.. with my recent thread I had over 34 views. So yea.. it works very well. IF you do not like the rules, then use one of the other third party websites. They all work very well and offer a much better experience.

My question is, where do these rules leave me now?

Steam Trades
Steam Exchange
UberDeals

[Porcupeth]

Originally Posted by Snaggle

I think it just comes down to common sense. A post a few months later shouldn't be a problem.

Months? Your common sense must be different from mine lol. 24 hours is enough, and anything over 48 hours would be too much

[brataccas]

you could of just asked a friend to post on the thread to bump it up...... pretending to be interested in the game, hm sorry