I think the problem is that like many things in social life these days, Audiogon relies on the honor system for people to govern their behavior. This is obvious because this thread pops up every year or so and people bemoan the state of things and how people are ruining the neighborhood. And they’re not wrong. But at the same time, we have to look at this problem like economists because no one is better at getting people to self-regulate their behavior. No one.
Right now, there is no barrier of entry or cost associated with making an offer on a piece of equipment here. None. So there is nothing that would dis-incentivize the behavior of making a lowball an offer on 10 items, 100 items, 1000 items, all the items. Nothing. Maybe they’re banking on statistics favoring that someone, somewhere will say, "Yes."
I am not saying that it would necessarily cost actual money to bid on things. But maybe bidding on something decrements a counter or some other token based system. Maybe that system is time regulated where the counter builds up at a given rate, and the better your credibility here based on ratings, the faster that rate increases.
A similar system could be used to help moderate the forums, like Reddit. As people’s contributions get up-voted or down-voted, they gain more influence over the forums themselves. Either through frequency or moderation powers, etc. I think everyone should have the opportunity to grow and change. As a society at large, we need to stop ostracizing people (like banning them from forums) and learn to help them adapt to standard, functional behavior. It could be a way to police those who are perpetually acerbic, negative, aggressive or mean spirited without having to outright ban people.
For my idea, I require the payment of 2 hamburgers (or a Chord Dave!)...
Right now, there is no barrier of entry or cost associated with making an offer on a piece of equipment here. None. So there is nothing that would dis-incentivize the behavior of making a lowball an offer on 10 items, 100 items, 1000 items, all the items. Nothing. Maybe they’re banking on statistics favoring that someone, somewhere will say, "Yes."
I am not saying that it would necessarily cost actual money to bid on things. But maybe bidding on something decrements a counter or some other token based system. Maybe that system is time regulated where the counter builds up at a given rate, and the better your credibility here based on ratings, the faster that rate increases.
A similar system could be used to help moderate the forums, like Reddit. As people’s contributions get up-voted or down-voted, they gain more influence over the forums themselves. Either through frequency or moderation powers, etc. I think everyone should have the opportunity to grow and change. As a society at large, we need to stop ostracizing people (like banning them from forums) and learn to help them adapt to standard, functional behavior. It could be a way to police those who are perpetually acerbic, negative, aggressive or mean spirited without having to outright ban people.
For my idea, I require the payment of 2 hamburgers (or a Chord Dave!)...