I sympathize with those who have made Market exchanges with which they were dissatisfied. It isn't easy seeing something one finds valuable to go for an unintended price. I understand this. But what I don't understand is how accepting an exchange on terms that someone else has offered can be reasonably construed as "cheating" or "scamming." An error on the part of the one making the offer does not imply rule-breaking or fraud on the part of the one accepting the offer.
One thing to keep in mind in discussions such as this is that the Market is an extension of cRPG, like Strategus is. Player actions in both the Market and Strategus entail risk, which even in Strategus is often economic in nature (e.g., running a trade route and protecting those on mercantile missions). As such, players ought to familiarize themselves with the mechanics of the game in order to avoid regrettable errors.
Both Strategus and the Market are extensions of cRPG and players can make mistakes in each. In Strategus, players make mistakes that result in circumstances that they dislike. If you benefit from another player's error in Strategus, e.g., by taking a town with poor defenses, you are not thereby obligated to rectify the error. You don't have to apologize or give back the town. Players who want to avoid losing towns need to learn the rules of the game and double-check their actions before taking them. They should recognize that any action entails risk and that mistakes are possible. In Strategus, a player might carry the wrong equipment for an imminent battle, resulting in a huge loss of troops; or in running a trade route he might activate quick march at an inappropriate time, leaving his army exhuasted in dangerous territory and open to a major loss of Strategus gold in the form of Trade Goods. In the Market, a player might type an unintended value or propose an exchange without knowledge of a recent patch that has changed the relative values of items. But in neither case does his error obligate another player to hit the reset button. Those who play the Market, just as those who play Strategus, need to know the game if they want matters to proceed as they intend.
Part of knowing the game is knowing what precautions are necessary to avoid mistakes. In Strategus, players should know what it means to drop their trade goods and whether it is appropriate to do so, and they should know not to sell weapons to fiefs, which at the moment do not exchange them for money. In the Market, players should know to verify that they are requesting the intended item, that the heirloom level is correct, and that the gold amount is the right number. The Market, for a short time during Javascript processing, places at the top of the list the offer one has just proposed, which allows the player to check his proposed exchange. One can even search for his character's name in order to double-check his offer. But it is best to rely on one's own careful checking and double-checking prior to proposing an exchange. This is important because the Market at the moment is unable to detect one's errors for him. I recommend that players learn the mechanics of the game as a way to prevent errors that they might regret.
Some think that the Market does not have enough built-in checks. They are free to take up the matter with those running the Market. But if anyone is at fault for a lack of additional methods of verification, one can hardly lay blame at the feet of those who simply click Accept. In the Market, as in Strategus, it is up to each individual player to familiarize himself with the rules of the game, to understand the risks involved, and to act accordingly.
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