I don't see what the big deal is. I agree with DroppinS that it is a reflection of your trustworthiness when it comes to trades.

For example, you are going to trade with someone hundreds of miles from you that you've never met: given all things being equal, would you rather trade with Person A (who you know had 50 local trades with no issues, but 0 mail trades), or with Person B (who you know had 2 mail trades with no issues, 0 local trades)?

However, my take on the situation is, if one person doesn't want to do it, then fine, let it go. If they both agree to it, then fine, do it. Since the trade was NOT conducted through HCRealms, and both traders are coincidentally members of the Realms, they should both have to agree to it before it's done. If one doesn't want to participate, then the other should graciously agree.

Where's Smudge?

If I may come at it from the other side, I'd argue strongly against iTrader for an in person trade. It's not just a measure of trustworthiness. It's a measure of a specific kind of *blind* trustworthiness. If I agree to an in person trade with someone, and that person takes off with my fig without fulfilling his/her end of the trade, you can be darned sure that that person is going to get forcibly tackled from behind and have all measure of physical indignities visited upon him/her. Done through the mail? Heck, there are virtually zero repercussions (at least that I've found). I find it very easy to trust someone when you agree to an exchange of goods and the goods are there and present for all to see. It is, understandably, much more difficult to achieve that level of trust when said goods are unseen and very far away. Which is why we have iTrader. I look at the ratings that have been earned by the likes of hair10, booleyb, or NoGoCat - those numbers tell me that the fig for which I'm trading might as well be sitting in front of me right now. A person who demanded to be given feedback for an in-person trade would dilute the purity of those ratings (not a lot, but it would certainly add a bit of a gritty taste to the well) and it would set a really sketchy precedent - one that would possibly lead to people ginning up iTrader scores through unverified local trades. Heck, it wouldn't be the first time that we saw a rip-off crew, one that artificially inflated each other's ratings so as to better take the rest of us to the cleaners.

What about if a trade is agreed to upon the realms, but is actually conducted in person? Two examples from real life:

Scenario 1: Someone at my venue posted a trade thread. I contacted him via realms, made a deal, and then made an exchange at our venue at a later date.

Scenario 2: I found out that another realmser (that I had never met in person) and I were going to both be vacationing at the same place. We decided to meet up and get in a game or two. I also saw he had some items in a sale thread I was interested in. We agreed to just conduct the sale in person when we met up and thus not have to worry about shipping.

Do you think that either of those cases is sufficient for iTrader ratings?

The rating system is to know that you are okay shipping out these figures as well as just getting them to the person...just because you are okay just doing things in person doesn't mean that they aren't going to take KC Superman, stick him in an envelope, and mail him out to someone else :-/

I think you can make a case that iTrader ratings could be warranted as the Realms was a primary means of communicating the terms of the trade in both the cases you presented.

I can see it going the other way as well, though.

Yeah, I think something specific in the trading forum rules addressing local trades wouldn't be out of line...

I can see your side with everything but the last. I thought about mentioning the possibility of two local traders making fake trades to boost their score, but then realized they could do the same thing by pretending to do it through the mail. Ergo, I don't think it should enter the discussion as the chances for abuse are pretty much equal.

However, to address your side of this (which contains the monocle and top hat): You say you view the ratings as one specific thing, which others may not view it as. Some view it as trustworthiness in general, while you have whittled it down to a more specific transaction. I agree, that from your point of view, it would be bad to include local trades in the ratings (like having Street Fighters in HeroClix), because they're specifically for trading through the mail. While from my point of view, it would be good to have local trades in the ratings (like having Street Fighters in HeroClix), because it's a measure of a person's credibility

This is what I love about our little corner of the Realms. Everyone who has posted, and no one gets talked down to or crapped on for having a different opinion. It's like a resonable conversation can be had on the internet.

For my $.02, I don't feel it nessassary to make an I-trader update every time a local trade is made with a fellow Realmser. That's just silly. And if a trade is made using the Realms as a start point for a local trade, that can be noted in the trade results. It's possible you don't keep track of your fellow venue players trade stock.

For Vlad's examples, I-trader ratings aren't a bad idea. If I were to arrange trades here before I go to Gencon, and complete the transaction there, that can be noted. There are threads to plan ahead for Gencon for other things, why not trading?

This all said, I would question someone who just had an I-trade rating based on local trades.

This is madness. This is LPC!


carry on.

Yeah, well, your avatar pic looks like a troll!




So, I had an absolutely awful day yesterday. Anyone want to tell me about a good day they had so I can live vicariously through them?

Well, I have my normal checklist for a day, to see if it was good or bad.
I didn't die, that's a big one.
I didn't injure myself in a way that required a trip to the ER.
I didn't get someone else sent to ER with my screw up.
I didn't burn any thing down I didn't intend to, or not get something I did.
I managed to eat when I should. Mmm, food.
I have a place to sleep.
The relationships I care about are still intact.

Nothing extraordinary, but it helps me sleep at night.


It's not a troll, it's a Butt Scratcher!

Yep, put a check in these columns for me, too.

I also like to make sure that:

I messed around and got a triple double
I was able to keep my AK fresh and unused

Did you play bones, and then yelled domino?

I thought that was so obvious it wasn't even necessary to add.