Why create this system if there is no one to govern it correctly?

I think it's quite unfair that something that had happened in the past should completely ruin your trading reputability in the future especially when it was something stupid that had been done when I was younger.

Flash back maybe 3-4 years ago I attempted to scam someone by impersonating them. Yes I know, quite stupid, and I paid for my mistakes. I clicked a link by the middleman which led me to being banned by SteamRep automatically. Flash forward a couple of years and now I can't bet on Dota2Lounge because of this.

Not only am I a first time offender I haven't scammed or attempted to do anything shady since and have been trying to build up reputability. It's been almost a year since I submitted my appeal and no one has even looked or commented on it; I'm not the only one. I think it's completely unfair to those of us who are first time offenders and haven't done anything to be punished for something that was stupidly done in the past.

I'm not the only one who thinks SteamRep is corrupt.

Take these reddit threads for example:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/3056km/steamrep_something_needs_to_be_done_about_how_bad/

http://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/305n0q/steam_rep_is_corrupt/

Even old moderators and administrators of SteamRep agree that this system is broken:

http://forums.steamrep.com/threads/resigning-from-steamrep-staff.46425/

So, what gives? Either abolish the system, rework it, or start fixing the system. Nothing is stopping me from making a new account and trading/betting on that, or even scamming other people and there would be no way for you to know it. I haven't done so because I understand the repercussions of my actions and if I was earning money I wouldn't want to lose money on a $100+ item I acquired.

Exactly what we're trying to do, but it's a LOT more complicated than you think.

People say, "You guys need more staff!" (like we don't know that already), but it isn't easy. We are actively trying to promote moderators where possible and accept new volunteers. It's pretty easy to judge someone's character in a real life job interview, but through the internet, that luxury is basically non-existent. We have to be sure the people we bring on are trustworthy enough to use their power responsibly. God knows the community's reaction if an admin went rogue or something. Being cautious has served us well. We're very fortunate to have the staff we have now, they're all very good people who devote hours out of their days here. There's also the fact that if we hire someone, they have to be trained which is very time consuming and can be pretty difficult depending on how much experience they already have. I'm sure you guys would love it if mods processed every other report incorrectly.

On appeals: I will admit here and now that we are not doing particularly well here. We need more admins (not mods) for this, and those are hard to come by.

You have to believe us when we say we ARE trying to improve the system. I know one thing: It's a lot better to currently have a slow system than one that doesn't exist. The amount of scammers in our database, the unconfirmed reports, archived reports, and just info in general still prevents scams. It's incredibly difficult for one kitchen to feed every homeless person in the world.

*Side note: People complaining on Reddit with no basis is kind of... meaningless, but scary. I just don't understand how people think SR is ultra-corrupt and that we take bribes. If there's every any evidence of any of us taking bribes, they will be immediately removed. I mean, if the community wants transparency, nearly all reports and appeals are public. Same goes for many of our partners. Not sure what else we could do. Let us know.*

**PS: HorseD locked the thread, so if you have further questions, reply to "Ask a Moderator" please. Thank you.**