RE: Re: Compaq Proliant Server help

["Ian Lowe" <ian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I feel the need to mention the negative aspects whenever sniping is
mentioned, but it's really not a holy war type of issue for me ;)

I think there's a clear distinction between last minute bids by a user,
and automated sniping. I don't have an issue with the scenario you
describe, where someone sits at the auction end, mouse poised... I do
that myself, (I expect that almost everyone does). The problem is the
"go win this for me" scenario.

Thinking about it that way, whether it's a good thing to do or not, it's
certainly on topic for UKHA! ;)

As for technically telling the difference between a person bidding and
an automated sniping... well, the online Sniping services come from the
same address every time, and they "ping" the item page when the
snipe
listing is added, allowing the seller to know that *someone* has set up
a snipe (but not who)

The sniper software that runs on someone's PC... well, in that case
there's a couple of things you can do - placing an 1x1 pixel white image
in the listing, and then checking your server logs for a couple of
"real" hits, followed a couple of phantoms..

More hassle than it's worth to be honest, unless it's a holy war thing
;)

As a buyer, the best defence against snipers, bar none, is to not be a
tightass! The proxy bidding system will mean that an earlier high bid
will beat a sniper, 99% of the time.

As a seller, it's frustrating that people seem to think of ebay as a
flesh and blood auction, when those aren't time limited... I have done
it myself often enough - bid an increment, rather than the largest
amount I am willing to pay, where ebay will only Proxy bid up to that
level if others bid high as well...

Hey. I'm not complaining hard (had an excellent ebay month actually)
just making the token objection to sniping ;)

Ian.


-----Original Message-----
From: UKHA [mailto:mailinglists@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 09 May 2004 15:50
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Re: Compaq Proliant Server help

Not wanting to start a flame war, of any kind, what-so-ever, but
seriously
how can you tell someone is using sniping tools?

For really needed bits of HA kit :) I've been up at ridiculous hours of
the
morning to bang in last second bids, manually of course. Sometimes I've
scored in the last few seconds of the game (several times on literally
the
last second), but I've also been blown out bidding with few seconds to
go,
so seriously, how do you know if you're bidding against a sniper or an
insomniac?


-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Lowe [mailto:ian@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 09 May 2004 15:14
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Re: Compaq Proliant Server help


Tsk :P

<pet subject rant>
In a similar vein, the best way to catch fish in a river is to string
a
net across the river and drop some explosives in the water upstream...

Except that doing so ruins the fishing experience for everyone else,
possibly for good.

Sniping Ebay auctions is anti-social behaviour and is widely held to
be
responsible for the reduction in the number of cool and interesting
auctions on the site in recent months - good sellers have given up on
ebay because of automated sniping.

Bidding manually at the last second is all a part of the online
auction
experience. Using automated tools to do so causes people's auctions to
end with a lower return - a serious disincentive to them offering
anything else for sale, it also blocks out people with a genuine
interest that have been watching the item, sometimes for days.

I like ebay auctions - I like buying, and I like selling. When I see
someone who has *obviously* used sniping software to win an item, I
have
to fight the compulsion to just ignore them and make a second chance
offer instead to the "real" winner instead.

Tools are becoming available, such as "Sellathon" which can
actually
alert seller to snipes in progress - allowing us to then add the
Sniper
to the Blocked Bidder List.

Let's hope they are effective!
</pet subject rant>

As for Kit, I'd advise steering clear of the Proliant 6500s with
redundant Power Supplies fitted - these guys are really meant to be
run
in machine room conditions with a nice smooth supply - I have seen
more
than a few of them quite literally blow their guts out (usually out of
the back, through the fan) on dirty mains.

Ironically enough, on a 6500 with a single PSU, I have never seen it
happen.

Also the 8500s (bit big for a house anyway) - the 7000 series were
brilliant bits of kit, absolute workhorses, but the 8500s were plastic
nightmares. :

All time favourite, super reliable Proliant? Why the 6500R Quad Xeon
of
course :)

Ian.
(former Compaq Service Engineer ;) )

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Noble [mailto:yahoo-groups@xxxxxxx]

Did you use one of the auction sniper type services? They can improve
your chances of winning - a last minute (literally) bid of your
maximum
offer is usually the best way to win an ebay auction...

Jim



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