Auction Courtesy. Your Thoughts

[Nocshadue Balbozar]

I've been to auctions in the past where a timer was actually set per panel and it was dismal. NO talk was allowed in local once the auction began, not even comments or questions about the cat being sold. There were a lot of no sales as not enough time was given for potential buyers to really consider whether to bid or not, or get into their own pedigree to check on a potential partner etc, and those that did sell went for the opening bid and many were worth much more. I never went back. That was a while ago and it's not around anymore.

A good auctioneer allows for some randomness, has fun, but always steers the auction back on track. I'd say, if you want to sell at a kitty auction, and you want a chance for you cat to sell well, go with the flow. Now if you're getting a lot of unrelated personal IMs, I think a polite "I'm really interesting in the auction right now but would love to chat when it's over." would suffice. I don't think that would offend anyone wanting to chat you up in IM.

I do agree though that if things are getting really out of hand, the auctioneer should take control of the situation. I've only seen things get bad a few time but that was from a group of griefers showing up so it wasn't "kitty people" causing a problem.

I've often showed up late and been greeted in the midst of a panel. The auctioneer usually say hi once I ask what panel they are on, then a few others, but the overall interruption is brief. I also chat in IM with a few friends if I see them, though if they don't reply, or it takes a while for them to reply I don't get bent out of shape and visa versa.