Removing the R.C.H. Blanket.

[Utsoob]

The R.C.H., or random craft hat, blanket shenanigans has to stop. The commotion and the confusion among this is too much for me to sit on the sidelines and watch while this goes on. Now I  understand the benefits of the R.C.H, which was helpful to organize things, but we need to scrap it. For good this time. For those not know what the hell I am talking about, the R.C.H blanket was made specifically for the use of ease of access. Made for the craft hat hype during the L&W update, it was made later to specifically target the countless Ellis caps, robo-hats, Halloween cosmetics, and all other things into a nice convenient blanket for all items deemed, bluntly, shit.

 

"Just want to clear up, once and for all, what we consider a random craft hat. In the words of Brad, 'Basically any hat that isn't worth anything and nobody will pay extra for.' " -Polar, in the "What is a Random craft hat?" thread.

 

Now this system worked a long period of time, and the hats appeared to be perfectly fine, until the range popped up in this suggestion here (http://backpack.tf/vote/id/54643d65b88d8836598b45fc), which led to the creation of the the thread listed above. However, the use of this is contradicted by three "rules" set in place by this currency, most notably this one, which has the first two:

blind polar bear, on 15 Nov 2014 - 6:52 PM, said:

Hats he is suggesting have no stock on scrap.tf. They are cosmetics people actively seek to wear. Shouldn't fall under the umbrella.

*Talking about stock on scrap.tf and seeking hats*

and this one, which contains one:

blind polar bear, on 15 Nov 2014 - 6:56 PM, said:

That will change if most hats aren't priced as random craft hats. People think that because most hats are under the blanket now.

*talking about how people think that the craft hats that are in 1.33 are in the blanket*

 

Lets talk about the first quote. The thing about the lack of stock in a hat makes no sense. If you enter one of scrap.tf's many hat banking bots, you will find a variety of hats, most notably a lot of hats at 1.22,( some at higher prices due to a recent update which fucking sucked). However, using this logic, if I, or another person, placed a lets say a Sultans Ceremonial in said box, would it fall into the umbrella then? Yes. But if I placed in on Outpost and sold it for a scrap extra? Totally a-okay under the rule set in place.

 

Another main problem faced with the RCH is the huge leap of faith used by the "actively seeking a cosmetic" factor, mentioned by Polar. Now I am not exactly a expert on hat searching, but I have played on a large variety of servers, while a larger variety of traders, people, and noobs alike. However, I have never, ever seen anyone wear a, let's say a Sultan's again, on a server. Would the umbrella apply then? Of course it would, its a RCH. However, if I listed it on say the classifieds, and it sold at 1.33, would it count as a in demand cosmetic? Maybe it would, I cannot say for sure.

 

The last major "rule" is the "Most don't count" rule. This "rule" I am assuming, however polar mentions it in a quote, listed here, along with some of the recently passed suggestions on some common hats. :

blind polar bear, on 15 Nov 2014 - 6:56 PM, said:

That will change if most hats aren't priced as random craft hats. People think that because most hats are under the blanket now.

*talking about how people are still thinking that the blanket applies to all hats*

Now, if I was Joe Schmo trader bro, and I read that the blanket affected my brand new, let's say a unique Professional's Panama and a toy tailor (Sniper and pyro hats respectively). Now, if my Panama was raised up to 1.33, while my toy tailor stayed at 1.22-1.33, would you think I would be confused? Of course I would! That is what happens when you try to force a hat under the same blanket. But if one gets bumped up, while another stays the same, there's a shift and as a result, people start selling all hats at 1.22 or 1.33, and not at 1.26 like the range says it is. So why do we even need the system in place, if its convoluted as hell already?

 

My solution to this problem is a pretty easy one. Remove the R.C.H. blanket, and place all normal, previously under the blanket hats in a solid 1.33 ref mark.  This will help in the long run by solving the three problems listed above that are caused by the blanket.

1. Allows for a easier understanding if a hat needs to drop better than a check on scrap.tf

2.Shows how in demand the item really is in, rather than who would buy it for a sale elsewhere for a scrap more than what they paid.

3.Removes the "Most don't apply to this" rule set in place

 

So yeah, that's my suggestion, hope that it passes and I hope you all have a great day/night/timezone related day-night cycle shift thing

 

 

 

TL;DR for those who didn't want to read: remove the R.C.H. Blanket ,because its flawed, and can be made better by removing it and putting back on a 1.33 solid thing like before.

(Also holy shit I spent like 60 minutes writing this, grabbing qoutes and stuff. Sleep is for losers.)

[Пол игрока trade karambite]

Yes please

[Zerr]

+1 we never needed it

[Seminal Inhalation]

+1 we never needed it

Mr. Giang needed it.

[NecroTed]

I think its for the best to scrap it. If a specific hat needs a drop, it'll drop. Otherwise, the problem is, most hats dont actually fit under the blanket. Sure, most hats range from 1.22-1.33 at the moment, but there are some hats which should stay at 1.22 and others at 1.33 (or inbetween)

Constituting and saying all RCH are 1.22-1.33 is inaccurate, inconvenient and a hassle.

[Zerr]

I think its for the best to scrap it. If a specific hat needs a drop, it'll drop. Otherwise, the problem is, most hats dont actually fit under the blanket. Sure, most hats range from 1.22-1.33 at the moment, but there are some hats which should stay at 1.22 and others at 1.33 (or inbetween)

Constituting and saying all RCH are 1.22-1.33 is inaccurate, inconvenient and a hassle.

The 3 last words of this post describe the RCH Blanket.

[cares]

Exactly as Brad said, the blanket is used for hats which are almost never worn and instead used in crafting. If a hat is intended to be worn, it will have a higher price tag 99% of the time.

 

There is nothing wrong with the blanket. A random craft hat is a hat used for crafting. Prices will be updated as need be.

[Tanner the Original Scout™]

We didn't need it in the first place. It was just built to give Mr. Giang people free rep.

[Mr.Giang]

+ 1
I prefer pricing individual craft hats to pricing all of them at once. It's just plain unfair and if the suggestion gets passed, I will have to clean up my own mess by repricing craft hats which actually have demand instead of being used to craft back to 1.33. That work is boring as hell. Just remove the damn thing.
But don't completely remove it, we will need this again in case of some events like Bread Box Hype occur again. When there are updates like that, enable the craft hat blanket again so suggesters can have easier time pricing those instead of doing what I did 5 months ago.
 

We didn't need it in the first place. It was just built to give Mr. Giang people free rep.

 

The craft hat blanket was built to stop me from rep-farming during Bread Box, not give me free rep. If you were here during the Hype, you should have known.

[Tanner the Original Scout™]

 

The craft hat blanket was built to stop me from rep-farming during Bread Box, not give me free rep. If you were here during the Hype, you should have known.

Oh but I was. The blanket is proving VERY ineffective when you're pricing half of the craft hats at 1.33 now.

[λngelღмander]

When the random craft hat blanket came out, I knew it was stupid. I questioned the amount of thought that went into it. If you're going to create a blanket for a certain type of item, then have most of those items defy that blanket price, it's already stupid. Not to criticize the idea, it was an okay one, but maybe not for use as an actual price indicator, but maybe as a note. "Most craft hats are worth around 1.33.", not "This craft hat is priced at craft hat price."

When lowering the random craft hat price, that automatically lowered the hats that were priced at random craft hat. And those hats may be worth more than that new price. 

[Blatch]

I can see the the specific circumstances as to when we would need it. It was certainly useful in raising all of the individual hats during Bread Box hype without the need to make hundreds of suggestions.

However, the recent downward shift of craft hats has exposed a major flaw: having a range means that most craft hats will settle to either 1.22 or 1.33, depending on what they sell for, and most of the hats that would be 1.22 otherwise would shift upwards to due demand. Mr. Giang's mass suggestions of hats at 1.33 prove that, and if we were to keep doing that, pretty soon we'll have almost nothing left in the blanket, making the entire system pretty much useless.

 

Scrap it plz.

[ProPain]

+1 I agree, it's just confusing.

[Rambro]

I agree, it was not really needed :/

[Jacobmeister]

I'm not totally in support of this - it's definitely handy in hype-filled events (Love & War, etc) but it gets messy when it uses the mid point of 1.22 - 1.33 (1.28) so yeah, I'd like to see THAT change, if anything.

[Jacobmeister]

Sorry for the double post, but yeah, things change (and my above statement still stands)

http://backpack.tf/vote/id/546763abb98d886b268b4998- RCH blanket is now defined as 1.22.

Quoting polar here:

 

"It is those hats that have no extra cosmetic value - hats like the ellis, halloweens, robo hats, etc - that are almost exclusively used for crafting. Hats with cosmetic value should be priced separately - not included in the blanket."

 

This brings up another problem - how do we define what those hats with "cosmetic value" are? It's too subjective a matter to try figure out, because someone could see the Ellis Cap as having cosmetic value, for example. Now, of course that's a silly example, but there could be hats that lie within the blanket that people could consider to have cosmetic value (ex. Otolaroethtrsftrdf's Mirror) I don't know, I'm trying to see it from both perspectives of the argument.

tl;dr The matter of cosmetic value with hats may be too subjective to try constantly value

[cares]

Sorry for the double post, but yeah, things change (and my above statement still stands)

 

http://backpack.tf/vote/id/546763abb98d886b268b4998- RCH blanket is now defined as 1.22.

 

Quoting polar here:

 

"It is those hats that have no extra cosmetic value - hats like the ellis, halloweens, robo hats, etc - that are almost exclusively used for crafting. Hats with cosmetic value should be priced separately - not included in the blanket."

 

This brings up another problem - how do we define what those hats with "cosmetic value" are? It's too subjective a matter to try figure out, because someone could see the Ellis Cap as having cosmetic value, for example. Now, of course that's a silly example, but there could be hats that lie within the blanket that people could consider to have cosmetic value (ex. Otolaroethtrsftrdf's Mirror) I don't know, I'm trying to see it from both perspectives of the argument.

 

tl;dr The matter of cosmetic value with hats may be too subjective to try constantly value

 

Market demand will decide.

[Cottonbonbon]

+1 with this as well. It is a very confusing system that is causing the uninformed to create suggestions claiming it falls under the R.C.H blanket without actually understanding what it really is, like this one http://backpack.tf/vote/id/546c101bba8d885f6a8b4892

[Julia]

I think it's fine.

[Utsoob]

Although the range was removed, the blanket is still useless.

 

My suggestion still stands.

[Mole]

Good idea, the current state gives more trouble than good and we can live without it, in fact be better off without it

[ENDED]

Agree, no actual need for it

[Zefrom]

+1

[fisk]

I'm seeking approval to remove it since I also find it useless, we will see

[Utsoob]

I'm seeking approval to remove it since I also find it useless, we will see

Awesome, thanks Friskie!