I agree that the argument over who is bidding on what is old. The purpose of this thread was to suggest a rule change that would eliminate this situation once and for all. The grey area of what is or is not rare and what is or is not easy to find can vary from person to person and as such, is open to interpretation of the poster, the members reading the thread and the moderators who police the board. That grey area allows a lot of feet to get in the door and open up the whole can of worms again. My proposal would end it, it's a clear and unmistakable rule that has no way to subvert it that I can think of. If this rule were put into effect, the people bidding on items would be kept happy and would no longer have any reason to be upset over auction postings and it would eliminate bad blood there. It would also allow the people that want to talk about various auctions to do so in a manner that would allow them to post whatever pics or details of the item without fear of upsetting anyone. It would also allow others to comment in the thread that would not otherwise because of not wanting to draw attention to an item. There would be no further need for arguments or discussion about the situation if there were a rock solid rule that has no points that are open to interpretation. If the auction is ongoing, it is not allowed to be posted about. If the auction is over, people can post whatever they want.
Alredneck, I formally apologize to you for my earlier comments. I guess I am a little sensitive to the fact that my motion to change a rule to prevent arguments has met with such resistance that, to me, seems unreasonable. I did not take offense, but I do admit that I took the post as being antagonistic. I agree that we should work together to keep this hobby going, but I don't think that posting about "keeping up with the big boys"and "wasting space" with "stupid stuff" is helping. If my idea were to be tried, it would end a potential cause of bad blood between members and preserve the auction itself. I still see posts in these threads that seem to imply that one person or another is going to purchase and item or intends to bid. Some are obviously jokes, but any form of bidder collusion should be avoided as it is illegal. Again, my idea would eliminate this as well and there would be a lot less reasons for these repeating arguments on the board.