First let me say I love this game and its full of great owners but I see a problem with how some owners interact with others in this game.

As someone who has been attacked in the public forums, (a thread actual has my username in the title), there is a correct way to deal with any owners you may have an issue with. The first step before any action should be to contact that owner by PM to address your concerns. Second, the league admin for the league that owner is in should be contacted by PM to have him attempt to contact that owner to address that issue.

If you use the public forums to attack another owner, you are hurting this game. You may be losing new players that dont know any better and feel like they are not wanted. Remember, without new owners, this game dies. Veteran owners should be helping new owners instead of publicly stating what horrible mistakes they are making. Again, the game has a PM where you could teach them what they are doing wrong without embarrassing them in the public forum.

The option to trade with other owners is one of the greatest parts of this football management sim but most owners dont get the most out of this part of the game. Typically a trade offer will be rejected without comment or a comment like: "thats a ridiculous trade", "dont send stupid trades" will be sent. If you recieve a trade offer and you dont like it because the price is too high or the players are too old or for whatever reason, reject the trade with an actual reason or counter the offer with what you think is fair. I have had fun trading in this game, sometimes going back and forth with owners dozens of times before finally agreeing. An opening trade offer should be viewed as a beginning to a negotiation not something solid or written in stone. Rarely if ever should a initial trade offer be accepted, the art of negotiation is lost on so many owners in this game and I hope more owners would open up to the possibilities in the trade market and treat each offer recieved as an oppurtunity.

This is just my opinion but I hope it helps owners when dealing with our newer owners. Leagues die or stop spinning for lack of owners and we as veteran owners need to groom, help and welcome newer owners to keep this game thriving and growing.

I agree with everything you have just said with the exception of the above statement.

The first offer should not be ridiculously lopsided just because it is the initial offer. Doing so is a waste of the other coach's time and an insult to their intelligence. It appears as if you are hoping you can "pull a fast one." or "win the trade." In the best trades, both sides benefit. You don't need to rip off someone for it to be a good trade. If you send me one of these insane offers, I am likely to be very cautious about dealing with you in the future, if I deal with you at all.

Other than that, I agree with your post. Unfortunately, we live in a culture where simple civility is viewed as wimpy and old-fashioned.

I think all cjfred meant was that if you get an initial trade that doesn't have what you need, instead of wordlessly rejecting it, recognize that you apparently have something they want, and if you're willing to let it go (a player on the tradeblock, for instance) work to come up with a counter that has something you do want.

It's disappointing that there are owners who start off negotiations with a ridiculously lopsided trade, but I can think of two occasions where the first offer to me was downright insulting, but through countering we actually ended up coming to a reasonable exchange.

For me i could care less if a trade offer that comes my way is lopsided or not. I dont get insulted in anyway. There's always that reject button I can hit. Or the reject and counter button. They both work.

Shout out to new MFN GM's..........Don't be afraid to use those two buttons.

That sounds like predatory trading where an experienced owner tries to take advantage of a new owner and steal his +90 speed CB and RB with low trade values by offering an oline player with a 1600 trade score or something similar.

Im talking about a serious trade offer like for instance, I sent an offer to trade a 8 year QB with my rating at 77, default 82 and asked for a 2nd round pick. The team I offerered the trade to had his starting QB retire, and my QB was the best option for his team since no better QB was available through free agemcy pr the draft especially since he had no 1st round pick. Yes, my intial offer was high but fair, I was willing to negotiate but the owner reacted like I was trying to rip him off and it was a ridiculous offer and dont send offers like that again because its a waste of time. In the meantime, I had sent a very similar offer to a different owner who replied, he would jump all over it if the QB was 2 years younger because his team needed a season or two to rebuild. I resent the offer and this time asked for a 3rd rounder instead and he agreed. The point is that, the other owner could have gotten the same deal but wasnt open to negotiate.

Predatory traders are a real problem. Whenever I recieve an offer like that, I reject and reply why it is a horrible trade. I get responses like, it was worth a try or people ripped me off when I started so I just getting even.

I'm the type that will tell you what I think about a trade. If a player can't send a legitimate offer, I won't waste my time trying to find a compromise. Everyone here wants one of two things:
1) to get something that benefits them.
2) to get something that is fair.

I don't trade often because most members try to unload their old/slow players for what I consider gold. It's just not gonna happen with me. I'd rather build through the draft and free agency, than "give away" what I value for something the other guy doesn't even value.

It's been a long time since I got an offer that I would consider fair. It's been even longer since I negotiationed a fair deal.


I agree with the rest.

My advice to newbies is simply this: DON"T MAKE TRADES UNLESS YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND PLAYER WEIGHTS, HAVE ADOPTED A SYSTEM WHICH MAXIMIZES THOSE WEIGHTS, AND KNOW HOW TO GAME PLAN AND STAY WITHIN THE PAYROLL CAP. UNTIL THEN, ASK QUESTIONS (THE COMMUNITY IS ACTUALLY VERY HELPFUL) AND ACCEPT THE FACTS THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE AN ALL-STAR AT EVERY POSITION AND YOU'RE COMPLETELY IN THE DARK ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO SUCCEED AGAINST MORE EXPERIENCED PLAYERS.

I resemble that characterization.

LOL

I wasn't directing my comments at anyone in particular. Once the game mechanics are mastered (as if that can actually happen), it becomes comes a chess game - with a bit of luck to help or impede your success.

Also, If you are the one initiating the trade, perhaps you should look over what the other team would be in need of before sending it out. I get a lot off offers where owners are just trying to dump useless and old players for picks becuase the trade score adds up.. the players they offer would be 3rd string on my team and they ask for 2nd and 3rd picks. It's a bit like they are fishing for a sucker to accept. If you send me trade offers over and over like that. I may be a little insulted