implying that auctions are the only way for geekhack to make money? or that there is not a difference between a charity auction and one for sole individual profit?
i'm in a ****-stirrin' mood tonight. sorry 
implying that GH auctions are more important than personal auctions? Let's take Glissant for example; did you s**t on his auction? Probably not. You don't know the cause for which someone is hosting an auction, therefore, have no right judging people for it.
They might have a good reason for doing it.
Secondly - if we say stop hosting auctions, it should be across the board. The best way to express your feelings about auctions, is stay away from them or complain somewhere else (like off-topic) and stop s**tting on peoples threads.
I don't think they are more important, at all. But you're comparing what amounts to a
charity auction (people donating stuff to be sold), to a personal auction. These are very different things in my opinion. Even the government views giving to charity different than giving to someone else, and this is reflected in the tax code (forget about that pesky gift clause, it has a limit unlike philanthropy).
At GH, auctions very, very rarely will come in at under value. The
only time we see auctions are for known, high value pieces that have rarity, or for charity. The former is clearly geared at getting the most money possible for a selfish cause, while the latter is intended to benefit not only an individual but the community as a whole. To me the former is the definition of exploitative.
That reason alone is why many niche forums ban auctions. They exploit the fact that you have a small community that all want the same thing, so they will drive prices above value. This is the only themed forum I know that allows auctions in its classifieds, and I think that's really telling.
Cheers,
