Fined !! Are you a bad boy as well?

You have been penalised $2000 for your late predictions on this question
http://www.hubdub.com/m33495/Who_will_be_the_next_presenter_of_the_BBC_Radio_2_breakfast_show

It is not possible for our category editors to monitor the site 24/7, and so at times there are questions still open which could be settled. This email is a reminder that it is good community etiquette to send in a settlement request when this occurs, rather than place predictions dishonestly.

Cheers, XXXXXX

Thats interesting. I agree that sometimes its ridiculous when people are bidding when the outcome is obvious. There are times when I am not sure that a news story will be enough to settle a question and in those times I'll flag, but may place a wager hoping to take advantage of the odds. In those instances I usually expect the wager to be canceled if admin finds that the news report is sufficient to settle. I would hope in those instances they would be understanding.

There is a growing tide of frustration at Cat Eds who have difficulties with settling, because many people seem to take adbvantage after the facts are known. I myself questioned a total void where my big bet was two hours in time but the suspend date was 1 day off. There were many bets after the daily DOW suspend for opening - this looks like cheating. These is an example that puts many predictions in doubt. It always important in these questions when to void and that causes a lot of unneccesary work. Off course there are some users who simply bet on current news and haven´t heard that the answer is out. Therefore it should be pretty obvious that someone is streching normal behaviour before fining them. I prefer voiding because there it is possible to determine the news broke at 0917 pm with reuter, ap oder others and the void should than be 917 pm oder something nearby. With many news there are some rumors before where it is still legitimate to bet. Fines should only be given if it seems obvious. Hubdub should define Fines somewhere for everyone to see and should define what ethical behaviour in flawed questions is.

Please make it easier to achieve settlement by your correct behaviour and not more complicated by trying to use flawed design or already known news!

My guess is that "win at every price mentality" like shown by some in the forum is responsible for this unkind developement.

As I far as I know there are no rules about this at the moment. I was warned before (Tut, Tut), so it seems to be one warning and then you are fined for a second infringement. I really don't mind or care because its only a game with pretend money but it does seem that a policy on fines needs to be highlighted.

just yesterday there was a Q where the news broke on it and it could be settled...i went to the Q to see if it had been suspended and noticed a player with a good amount of cash placed two huge wagers on the winning outcome...i then went to details and noticed that no one had sent in a settlement request...i promptly cashed out my bets(as it was above 98% and i wouldn't gain that much more H$) and placed a $1 bet just so i could see if the settlement would be back-dated...while it was on this Q, i have noticed that about 20-30% of the time, the settlement time is not back-dated to the time the news actually broke and it makes me wonder how many of these players have racked up their huge wealth by betting on Q's after the news has broken...i've noticed that at least one player often makes wagers after news breaks and won't send in a settlement request in an apparent attempt to profit from it...i myself have sometimes placed bets on known outcomes in order to keep others from being able to cash out on the wrong answer, but i always send in a settlement request and note the time and remind the cat ed to back-date the settlement(i have not received any kind of warning about this btw)...i think if the players took a little more time to search for the earliest possible settlement time and point it out in a settlement request it would go a long way to prevent this type of "gaming"...i always try to check the cnn or ap wire for earliest possible story...alot of times u can simply write a comment asking a super user to suspend the Q and usually someone will be monitoring recent comments and come suspend it until a cat ed can settle it...placing a huge bet on known outcomes without sending in a settlement request is dishonest and there should be some kind of defined rule and fine for it...

i agree with you pics4d. It frustrates me when I see huge bids on obviously settled questions. Yet, no request has been submitted. It even frustrates me more knowing that those same people will cash out once a few more people bid. I think a fine is the appropriate action and I am glad to see it is being handled. My only concern was what I mentioned in comment 2 regarding stories that have broke, yet cat eds may not find it sufficient to settle a question. For example, a question that states "will player a, b, c, d, e, or more than one start a game in week 2". If a news article breaks that states "player a" will start a game in week 2, what is the correct action? Settlement request? I don't want to miss the odds on "player A" if Cat Ed decides they want to keep the question open to see if there will be more than one. If I wager, I'm concerned people w/ think I'm gaming (if no announcement has yet been made), If I don't don't it could be too late and i would have missed the great odds should Cat Ed decide to keep the question alive. KWIM? In the long run, I think it is important to crack down on those who are blatantly gaming.

*actually it wasn't a hubdollar i bet, it was really $300...went back to make sure and i musta been thinking in case they left the Q open i woulda gotten in at a good price point :S