It would be interesting to see examples of the alternatives. That is, marketplaces that failed due to scammers, marketplaces that succeeded by heavily curating to block scammers, and marketplaces that failed due to excessive curation while trying to stop scammers.

I wonder if scamming is actually a symptom of a successful marketplace. Scammers presumably have to think through their opportunity costs and would want to focus on marketplaces with many buyers and sellers and high transaction volume.

> I wonder if scamming is actually a symptom of a successful marketplace.

For new marketplaces the risk and reward are pretty low. For mature marketplaces the reward is much higher and the risks probably vary based on your home country.

The ideal for a scammer is probably a site with good enough security to remove most scammers but not good enough to remove you.

> marketplaces that succeeded by heavily curating to block scammers

Think about Uber as a marketplace which heavily curates scammers, success is a matter of many discussions though.

Nothing big or complicated is easy

I'm not sure why your comment was flagged / dead. It seems pertinent and on point.

I'm not sure why it's been flagged either. For me, it shows it's been upvoted. Very strange behavior on HN.

Just a new user thing probably. It’s been resurrected.

I had to click "vouch", because the comment was dead :/

Sometimes new accounts get (mistakenly) caught in anti-abuse filters. If it was [dead], that’s likely what happened. If it was [flagged][dead], it was the result of user action. In those cases, vouch as you did. You can also email the mods using the Contact link in the footer to make them aware so they can take a look at what’s going on.

You're being targeted. This comment was dead too. :(

"Dead" indicates an account-level filter, not flags applied to a specific comment.

Often this is based on prior history, based on exchanges with admins. It's possible for accounts/users to be rehabilitated. "Vouch" actions or emailing mods can have effects.

Sad thAt this kind of immature behaviour is on HN. Mods should be easily able to search for this kind of behaviour

How nice to be downvoted for this comment.