Is Sharking report worthy?

So, here's my story.

Long ago when I was new to trading, I happened to get a Crate 30 drop while I was skipping along. When this fellow trades me and asks if I would trade said crate for a hat.. Me, being completely dumb to all of this trading stuff said yes and gave him my crate 30 for a Genuine Mask for the Shamen.

It was a few days later my one friend told me I was ripped off, and I have been sadface since then. ;-;

But just this week, I was able to find said guys account, and I am wondering if I could possibly report him to here? I would really not like him to get any other items from anybody else. Or if this is the wrong channels to possibly report, please do point me in the right site.

Thank you for your time.

Yes, you should report sharking. However, the SteamRep staff is extremely overwork and does not have the capacity to handle sharking reports. Instead they are handing the responsibility of sharking reports to Mann Co. Trading, Ace Fortress 2, and TF2 Outpost. You should go to one of those three communities to submit a shark report.

Thank you for the reply, I will do just that!

I didn't think people were marked as scammers for sharking.

They are not... yet.

However individual servers/networks do take action against blatant sharks, and there are databases of such individuals. It is a murky area and not something that can be codified.

With regard to the OP, unless you still retain screenshots and or other evidence, and there was clear proof of deceit/misrepresentation, I doubt you have a leg to stand on.

The fact you did not bother to check the price of an items is your affair to an extent, there is an onus of responsibility upon a seller to understand the basic tenets of trading. Also be aware many servers which do take an interest in sanctioning sharks, do not take an interest in low value items, and your crate 30 was probably worth about 6 keys if it was indeed as you say a long time ago.

Items in this game have very subjective prices, and the majority of trades result in one party gaining more benefit than the other, usually only by a small percentage. What most of us are concerned with a grossly unfair trades (unusual for strange for example), where experienced traders prey on the naive using deception/pressure and the like. There are traders who routinely try to gain profit by abusing others in this manner, and these serial offenders present a danger to everyone: these are the "sharks" that are the main concern to us all. It would be great if we could wave a magic wand and every trader would be instilled with some ethics, however that is really a flight of fancy sadly.

Sharking isn't inherently considered scamming. Even if you lie to the other person about the value of their item, that's entirely up to them to decide before they agree to the trade.

It's frowned upon, but I think everybody who's active in trading sharks to some degree.

Oh yes it is, if you bother to check definitions of the word "scam", and the majority of people understand this well.

However many parts of the TF2 Community (and SR especially) use "scam" in a restricted sense, which is why SR defines what is considers a scam for tagging purposes: http://forums.steamrep.com/pages/faq/.

The reason "sharking" has been set apart is due to the very difficult nature of the dealing with it. It is impossible to codify in an absolute sense, and has generated a great deal of argument and controversy for the longest time. You will find other threads where SR has spoken on this matter and mentioned changes to policy/viewpoints in recent times. There are servers/networks which have policies in place, and as time goes by people are starting to work together. One person who comes to mind is Penguin, who is part of the good work MCT is doing.

In response to the OP, I most certainly would report anyone you consider a "shark", just as you should always report anyone you consider a "scammer". Many of the reports SR or other groups receive are invalid, but even so, all the info is documented and can be most helpful to future work.

How about lets not get into this argument again (for the the 10th time this week)? Obviously we have our different definitions and the communities that want to ban for it can.

Steamrep doesn't tag for sharking actually.

There are, however other communities who handle those reports and ban such users from their servers.

Steam rep normally give the person a caution if they shark an item
however i think i may talk to Mattie,jameless or diego about possible getting a tag for sharks and whether it would be feesable. although a shark is sometimes hard to judge since their is a fine line sometimes as to what is sharking and what is simply just a lowball

I think it would be fine to mark caution then just have sharking as a reason in the admin notes.

And how would you define the term "sharking" then? From which point does a good deal change into a sharking attempt?
Don't want to speak good of ppl which do that, it should be banned, i just think it is almost impossible to define that (unless it is an obvious case like getting someone to trade his unu for a strange weapon)...

Hopefully that helped. No clear, set definition.

I was just answering to this one, i know it is impossible to set a definition for this!!!

guys, sorry to say this but this entire debate gets brought up at least once a month. Steamrep has made it quite clear why they will not tag for sharking unless the admin chooses it fit for the crime. There will be no set "sharking" tag. This discussion is like a broken record. Perhaps this thread has run its course?

Indeed, does SR reserve the right to (Caution) tag for Sharking, but we do so very rarily.

Infact, I don't think that in the past 6 months 1 caution was given for sharking on SR. I might be wrong, but thats just how rare it would be.

As to the question if its report worthy: yes.
Altho reporting to AF2 or MCT would lead to a effective ban there, a report here would be a "case" to look at if that account pops up again.

I think you missed what I posted earlier "It is a murky area and not something that can be codified."

SR has only in recent times changed its stance to an "opt-in" rather than a blanket "too hard" approach essentially due to the difficulties inherent in judging what is a "shark". In practice what occurs in the community, is that servers and networks maintain databases and lists of people are on interest. There are different "guidelines" that servers use individually to determine what they consider sharking, however SR does not have any concrete definition (nor should it).

I personally believe the slight change in SR policy bodes well for the future, in practice it really means that only the most blatant serial offenders need be afraid, but even this sends a clear warning across the community.

Perhaps over time, groups such as MCT may end up fashioning a workable definition that other servers/networks agree with, however I believe there is no way to establish a blanket catch-all definition of a shark, and each case must be treated on an individual basis and with great care.

The thing that is important, is that slowly sharking is becoming an issue which we as a community choose not to accept, and while it is a difficult issue, it is being worked on by a great many people, quietly and without fanfare.

No, i did not miss your point, i know how hard this one is to define. I'm just abit scared of posts like:

As long as no clear and understandable definition of 'Sharking' exists, no tags whatsoever should be used (again, unless extremely obvious). That's all I'm pointing out.
And i am rly glad to see how the community tries to get sharks out, because they are a disease among newer traders.

I am sorry if i made this turn into a debate, because i read allot of those, this wasn't my intention.
Plz let's stop here, as SR doesn't have any clear/ official definition of sharking (yet).

Most sites/networks maintain private "notes", Steamrep does too, this is nothing unusual.

The reason SR is not directly applying any tags at this stage, is because they are very careful, require proper evidence and like to have clear guidelines. No one need to be afraid of SR in this regard, they are very conservative and do not change policy lightly, rather we should be very thankful they reserve the right to deal with sharks, rather than their previous stance, which was essentially "too hard, we don't touch it".

Again, people should of course report any sharking to MCT and others, bearing in mind low value deals like one scrap for a strange shotgun is just pointless to report.

SR never said we absolutely won't mark for it afaik. Just that we didn't have justifiable definitions to deal with it prevents us to do so.

It comes back in every Sharking discussion that flares up like once a month or so.

Make no mistake, SR admins have a huge distaste of sharks, but to mark/tag as a "shark" must be justified and be able to withstand a appeal.

But all the circumstances of where a shark operates prevent and nullify the effect of such a tag.

I ought to write a entry about it in the FAQ, and I will probably somewhere soon...

so much to do, and so little time.