Dude, do you ever make a post without insulting someone in it? You're absolutely ridiculous and offensive, all the time.
Part of the 'charm' for us arrogant types. It's hard to temper all the condescending tells. That and when they come from the 'I am right and will die on this hill to prove it!' it's hard to discern if they are really trying to convince others of their viewpoint or just looking for a fight by virtue of differing opinion. I usually assume the latter when the personal insults are trotted out. Kind of like the majority of the early posts made. I think reputation is a big part of how people react. If I or another "Well-Known" member made this post, there would be a slightly slower rush to troll OP. That's the internet and humanity for you. 10% nuggets of wisdom, 90% garbage spewing. I try to average 13% nuggets myself.
Regardless of intent, clothes making the post, early mouse getting the cheese or the second bird gets the worm; I think the big difference is how people define respect and where they set the bar for their fellow man.
Consider the following:
So that leaves the questions as you discuss on pros/cons right/wrong etc. but as I began here it's difficult to even begin to clearly define specifically to encompass all the various scenarios that can occur and whether it could be considered a snipe or not, in that sense I agree it is in fact arbitrary in application but the concept still remains in tact.
Not that I think you care, as you are obviously pro-sniping your guildmates, but the reason you don't is respect. The guilds I choose to belong to are like families. You work together to become stronger. My 'family' is not worth a few FPs. I'm not going to get ahead by taking advantage of them. I won't. I choose to surround myself with people who feel the same way.
Sniping is used to refer to something bad, but if you look at what is going on here it is not bad at all.
Sniping is considered bad because the people playing the swap threads are all bumped down by a paying player, and they don’t get the free payout they were expecting. But there is a huge upside to this situation: the person with the GB gets a big reward as well. This upside applies to all guild members, so everyone on the swap threads will enjoy this benefit.
ALLOWING GUILDMATES TO SNIPE IS SELFISH AND RUDE - NOPE
The opposite is true. What is selfish is to deny a player what they are due. They are due the fps for that GB spot that they can easily sell. The person buying it makes a profit, so it’s a win/win. With the “no snipe” rule, the person that takes that spot for free produces a win/loss situation. THAT is rude. Remember - the worst that can happen to someone on the swap threads is they break even. They are not a victim!
As SJS alludes to earlier: Who gets to define the differences between good or bad? Is it a strict binary switch or are there shades of grey? Is it selfish for someone to demand their family take care of them when they have lost the ability to take care of themselves or is it selfish for the family to contract the care to an institution?
Depends on the family's values. Which a lot of these discussions boil down to once you strip away the FP numbers and GB economics.
filthyhorse said:
WHO BENEFITS MOST FROM ‘NO SNIPING’ RULES?
Short answer: the whales. Big players benefit most from no sniping rules as they have the means to dominate the swap threads, only now they don’t have to pay for their positions, so they get to keep 100% of their reward. Without the no sniping rule, they would have to share the majority of their reward with the GB owner. To confirm this, go through your guild’s last round of top GBs there were leveled and notice who took the majority of the tops spots. The other person that benefits most for No Sniping Rules are players outside your guild, preventing your guild from receiving the reward from its own players.
This is the most important question for anyone who considers implementing a no sniping rule. Understanding who can use the system to their benefit and track that will help leadership root out the bad actors versus the earnest mistakes. When someone argues you 'just know' the right thing or some other abstract 'feeling' argument, then you should be wary of that leadership's intent. Intuition can be a wonderful tool, but it lacks the analytical intelligence to support and keep the people in power from making mistakes, or worse, abusing their power.
To augment JCera & Stephen's side of the argument: Swap threads allows for a hybrid contribution race; It is controlled and overseen by guild leadership and laid back to promote team-building over cutthroat profiteering. This is why the 'No-sniping' portion is implemented, to stamp out profiteering between guildies and direct it towards hoodies or 'enemy' guilds. Unfair feelings is where a lot of drama can spawn from, so it makes sense to erect systems that help minimize it. Free Trade systems are less empathetic, as they focus on the numbers game with little regard to feelings of 'fair'. This is why we see many defensive arguments revolving around team-work, family and feeling based put-downs to opposing viewpoints. Even filthyhorse has waded into the feelings side of the equation by speaking to the 'negative' tone that sniping brings and framing arguments as good/bad in their attempt to convince others.
Regardless of one's views on the whole 'feels versus reals', outcomes are what we should all be interested in.
I liked some of your arguments,
@filthyhorse , especially those pointing to how no-sniping doesn't solve the 'rich versus lil guy' issue. A big FP generator will dominate Swap threads and secure more top spots than smaller players. Swap threads just create an artificial queue that forces a smaller player to work harder to secure benefits. It's a first come, first served system that does not lend additional help to the little guy in comparison to the big guy. So any argument stating swap threads or no-sniping helps the poor doesn't hold any weight and weakens any related arguments.
I also liked the points relating to giving more owner control, like personal swaps, can allow the player, regardless of big/little status, to achieve their goals easier than a highly regulated/controlled system. I don't think 'no-sniping' rule alone makes a system highly regulated, but it can certainly compound an issue if the guild has many specific rules in regards to swap threads.
Anywho, thanks for the potentially fun topic. Similar discussion occurred recently in my guild in relation to our Arc Drop system. It made me realize how I am in a weird 'middle class' of FoE Players. I am a little guy, when you analyze me from a Arc perspective, but I can dominate part of the 'swap thread contribution race mini-game' due to my FP generation and banked FPs.
