Following up on topic: https://overgrow.com/t/ga-spray-withdrawn-from-auction/29923/38
I think that requiring level 2 before bidding would help keep people of being labeled unwarranted. Or did i misunderstand this statement?
One key consideration is attracting more users to our community. Attracting users may include the auctions and seed runs. We canāt overly cordon these areas off since it would not fit the term āovergrowā and would limit growth of new users.
Whether the solution is level based or not can be considered while being mindful that this was an auction, not a give-away. The person sponsoring the auction in conjunction with the admin can provide some guidance as to the target audience. There are already limited closed areas for the long term community members which would solve such problems under certain circumstances.
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Hmmā¦this statement confuses me. Should a sponsor of a fundraiser have any say in target audience? Do i even completely understand that statememt? No i dontā¦ Is not the target audience any OG member able to participate? Also, I dont think requiring level 2 for auction participation would deter future members rather then encourage them to participate in the community to achieve such status. While, also helping to deter āseed vulturesā(arent we all in some sense of the word).
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A sponsor of an auction is providing something free that will benefit the community (covering the bills). They could certainly stipulate specifics on how theyād like to see the auction occur. Open to anyone for instance. Open to just TL3, perhaps. Most to date have been open to everyone over basic (TL0).
The hit and run seed vultures were mostly in the āfreeā categories. Auctions, having money involved, usually deter the hit and run types. The breeding effort are an entirely different ball of wax and already have limitations on who can participate.
Iām a seed vulture in many ways but Iād like to think Iām a good vulture.
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I think the crucial point is what ākind of usersā we attract with this policy, IMHO this should be voted in the Private lounge, I always bid for quality, not quantity, and that can only be seen along time passing by and peopleās behaviour with others, you must earn those seed runs and auctions, they shouldnāt be a freebie ā¦ 
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Seed runs: thatās entirely up to the persons directly involved with the seed runs.
The bulk have already been limited by the organizers. And, itās easy enough to make your own personal rule if youāre doing your own seed run. The person doing the run (and if there are organizers) are capable of making that determination and are the ones that take on the burden of their decisions.
Auctions: entirely up to the admin and the auction sponsor (the person supplying the goods) to determine who can participate.
Why anyone believes a community vote is required to decide who should be allowed to bid in an auction boggles my mind. Beyond recognition, those sponsoring an auction donāt receive special privileges just because theyāve made a donation. The person supplying the goods, owns the goods. Ownership is transferred to the winning bid. The community doesnāt own it. Iām certain, the sponsor and the admin are entirely capable of determining who would be deserving to participate. New users or not.
Give-aways: same deal as the auctions. Take the Fluence fixture give-away earlier in the year as an example. It was specifically limited to TL1 or greater with the odds handicapped towards the more senior users. A community vote wasnāt necessary to determine who would be deserving. If that were limited to TL3 by dictate, well, the person donating the good could easily decide to back out entirely.
Bad actors are weeded out accordingly over time. Much of it experiential.
Thereās a fine line between being inclusive and exclusive. OGās base intent is heavily slanted towards being inclusive. No one user can determine whether a new user is going to be a contributing community member or not until there is actionable history.
Private or community group driven efforts (e.g. the organized seed runs) are capable of determine their own rules as long as they arenāt purposefully being exclusionary towards classes of individuals (such as race, gender, etc)).
If there is a burden on the moderation and the community as a whole, we can make those decisions once the issue become apparent.
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That should be clear for you if you have been reading this thread, it is a question of trusting people or not, which has made people not continuing biding, inflating the bids artificially or the risk to disappear after winning the auction ā¦
I was referring to those āsupportedā by OG and being distributed, the CO-OP I think they are named, should have been more precise on this ā¦
I think weāve got an evident problem with all regarding sponsorship, giveaways and such. Valuable members have quitted or being banned because of a perception on how OG is now monetary oriented.
More users => Bigger server needed => More adds and sponsors
I sincerely think we are going in the wrong way, we will lose the āfamilyā feeling and old Ogers will be swallowed by this bunch of newcomers.
As long as many of us monthly contribute we should have a way to express our thoughts and considerations and participate on how this forum is evolving, of course having the admin the last word ā¦
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Or, someoneās upset because theyāve been outbid by a new user. IDK. As noted, the goods in the auction are not in anyways owned by the community or OG. Through the good heart of the sponsor, theyāve agreeād to donate any proceeds to the community.
The shill angle has been addressed and is mostly supposition. Donāt bid if itās a concern or wait for the auction which only targets TL2 or above.
Theyāve already been limited with the organizers specifically asking for feedback from the community as a whole. You need to clarify this point. This is not run by OG, itās a community group lead project.
Unfortunately those who quit can make that decision on their own. For those that are ābannedā, this does not occur lightly and there is always a āpaperā trail of behavior leading to such action.
The lights in this place do cost money to operate. Adding features and improvements cost money. Allowing the storage a high resolution images cost money. If everyone in the community were able to contribute, then there may be a way to avoid site sponsors (which are constrained anyways) and the ad banner (which is in no way obtrusive).
I donāt find the āmoneyā oriented feel here at all. The majority of the forum activities revolves around the sharing of information, free trade, and giving. A few folk seem to be up in arms because theyāve been outbid in an auction and would rather entertain more exclusivity.
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How much does it cost to run a server per year.
Whatās that been a year and thereās been how many more server fund benefits have there been since, 3.
I have no idea thatās why Iām asking @LemonadeJoe are you getting enough so thereās no money out of pocket for you?
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It is hard to read and understand your dense English for a Spaniard, but I think I understood the OP of seed runs and auctions are the one to choose the rules on how they are managed.
I make a proposal, creating a Seed run & auctions hidden category, just as the Private lounge, so anyone just wanting to share with dedicated members could directly post there and avoid seed hunters and hit & go new members, looks reasonable at least for me ā¦ 
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Yes, Iām sorry. I do tend to pack in as much as possible in the wording.
Can you put this into the featureās request or reach out to the seed run organizers.
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As someone whoās sent out a seed or two, I am perfectly okay with hit and go members. They all pay their dues, theyāre not begging. The bar appears to be too high for one person to be running multiple accounts, and other than that, I want as many people as possible to put their hand out.
I used to buy from the single seed centre, and every single seed was worth more than gold. I fucking hated it. Lol.
To the extent that we donāt strain our logistics, Iād like as many people as possible to have a chance to grow something spectacular.
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I would prefer to start a thread in the Private lounge, so the only ones that would be affected by that decision may expose their thoughts about this prior to ask it as a request ā¦
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Then you can still post your threads āin openā, I appreciate what people like you or Sebring are doing, just donāt like to feed the strangers and attire unwanted attention. Both points of view can coexist, just let people an option to decide between them ā¦
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You should start a preservation run @George Iāve got a few things I could offer you and it might change your perspective. Nothing like a few thousand spare seeds to make one want to share.
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I am pretty far for having the knowledge to make seeds. I am starting to understand the plants but far away from being able to breed.
I am worried about the site, not the seeds. I could make a list of people already missing because of sponsoring or latest monetizing drift of this forum, it is beginning to be long enough so to be worried about.
Thanks for your offer but we are speaking about philosophy, I have already shared with people I know and appreciate and also being gifted by them. I will give back to the community when ready, but not anyone just passing by to get free seeds ā¦
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Iām not worried about the site. Itāll be here well into the future.
There have been some that would rather increase the exclusivity with discourse brought to a private conclusion. OG already has the private lounge to cater to senior TLs, PMs, etc along with the aforementioned ability to limit participation on the seed runs, etc.
But, OG is not really tuned to present itself as a private members forum rather that would be somewhat contrary to the charter. There are places out there that will cater to that but that is not the overriding goal here.
The admin does listen and we do help to entertain ideas that may include some limited access areas and events but the bulk of the discourse is intended to be freely accessible to the community at large.
Perhaps some of the folk that have left for other places because āsponsorsā or āmonetizationā could also provide guidance on how to hook into such groups. I donāt have such information myself but also donāt really seek it out.
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Dude thereās a million teenagers with kids and at least as many shitty breeders that can tell you, knowledge is not a prerequisite. You just have to learn the plants youāre growing and kill the weak.
Do you have an active journal @George I have trouble keeping track of everyones journals anymore. lol
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Many times itās hard to me to explain something in English, I am worried about the spirit of the site, not the site itself. I think we are beginning to lose what it makes us different from other forums: feeling like a family, knowing each other, helping and contributing without expecting nothing, no ads or sponsoring, no quarrels and discussions between members ā¦
I come here not only to learn how to grow but also to meet my āvirtualā friends and make a laugh with them. If many of them are quitting the site because of the drift it lately has and I think the same as them I know what will be my final destiny ā¦ 
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I agree that the spirit and unity of the site is an amazing aspect that makes OG an amazing place.
It is not the moderators or any one person that makes this a great place to be. It is the community as a whole acting together. But one aspect is the accepting nature and the willingness of everyone to allow others into the fold by remaining humble and patient.
We have had some high energy members and great contributors that on occasion lose sight of this and have started conflicts on even the smallest of slights. It does occur and it is natural. We have also had some new members acting like block heads. This occurs and is also expected. The community does need to at least help mold the conversation, be accepting and patient, and allow some time for integration.
Although, there have be campaigns started as some individuals feel they need to interject a vision onto others. Sometimes itās deserved but sometimes it is not. Making it into an on-going campaign is not about building a community. Instead, it is about that single individual.
OG has never been about one person, cliques, or exclusivity. It is about community. There is nothing that is preventing the family feel, the knowing of each other, helping or contributing. Working together with diverse values and ideals is not always easy but at the same it can be easy. Patience. Be humble.
It is up to the community to help avoid and deescalate the conflict rather than actively escalating them. Communicate with the moderation team, be patient, be humble. The bad actors will be asked to leave in due time but it not necessarily immediate. There is a learning curve and history to be considered. Patience, be humble.
The ads and sponsors have been discussed. It is an unfortunate necessity to pay the bills. There would not be an OG otherwise and the community could not grow.
edit: There are going to be growing pains. I lose my patience from time to time as well. We all should try to do our best. I do believe we have one of the best communities on the net. Iād also point out Iām making generalizations and not specifically referring to this OP.
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