Bot Enforcers - Community Enforcement Effort to Minimize Effect of Resource & CP gathering Bots

Daniel_Malloy

Bots are a big issue in any MMORPG. Since I started playing with the release of the Gold Edition, I have continually run across bots and have been reporting them with no apparent actions being taken against them as I still see them running around their loops gathering resources and farming for CP. As it appears little to no actions are being taken by ZOS staff, I am starting a community effort to 1) ensure bots are reported to ZOS staff so a proper investigation and disciplinary actions can hopefully be taken, 2) minimize the bot's profit margins in an effort to make the use of bots less profitable.

If you're interested or intrigued thus far, please bear with me as I comprehensibly cover some of the Zenimax TOS that will be very important to why I am starting this effort.

Now, to the important part. with Zenimax's TOS , you agree not to use any Server to:
"-Harass, stalk, threaten, embarrass, spam or do anything else to another user of any Services that is unwanted, such as repeatedly sending unwanted messages or making personal attacks or statements about race, sexual orientation, religion, heritage, etc.;

-Take any action, organize, transmit any Content, effectuate or participate in any activity, group, or guild that is harmful, tortuous, abusive, hateful (including "hate speech"), racially, ethnically, religiously or otherwise offensive, obscene, threatening, bullying, vulgar, sexually explicit, defamatory, libelous, infringing, invasive of personal privacy or publicity rights, encourages conduct that would violate a law or is, in a reasonable person's view, objectionable and/or deemed to be in the sole discretion of ZeniMax inappropriate;

-Promote, upload, transmit, encourage or take part in any activity involving hacking, cracking, phishing, taking advantage of exploits or cheats and/or distribution of counterfeit software and/or Virtual Currency or virtual items. In an effort to continuously improve the Services, You and other players discovering exploits, cheats, cracks or other inconsistencies are required to report them to ZeniMax;"
https://account.elderscrollsonline.com/terms-of-service#_EN_Toc_08

Clearly, while attempting to report bots, we may all unintentionally be violating the Zenimax TOS in some shape or form. For example, by spamming a suspected bot with messages, especially derogatory in nature, this could be construed as harassment, threatening, spamming and even stalking. Some may act very aggressively to locate bots which may negatively affect the gaming experience for honest players doing hard work while others may be very covert in their reporting and in turn, not able to provide sufficient evidence to ZOS to rule that a character is a bot. This Guild has been established to create an agreed-upon method of making contact with a suspected bot that will better adhere to Zenimax's TOS while reporting bots and minimizing their profit margins when possible.

Until more overt official action is taken against these mindless game-killing bots, I feel this is the only thing that can be done to preserve the game and ensure that it remains fun and enjoyable for years to come.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this effort, please either post below or pm me in-game @Daniel_Malloy .

Also, if you would be interested in helping to establish a non-invasive procedure when dealing with suspected bots, the more input from the community in regards to what they feel would be acceptable and unacceptable behavior would be greatly appreciated. We all have differing views and I welcome as much help in ensuring this Guild does not interfere with any honest players' rights and ability to enjoy the game as they see fit.

WreckfulAbandon

If you want to see some bots in action (PC-NA) then just head to Bal Foyen any time of day or night. After a few visits you'll notice that some people are gathering resources pretty near 24/7.

Daniel_Malloy

WreckfulAbandon wrote: »

If you want to see some bots in action (PC-NA) then just head to Bal Foyen any time of day or night. After a few visits you'll notice that some people are gathering resources pretty near 24/7.

This is EXACTLY why I have started this effort. I personally know of 2 loops they use in the Bal Foyen area and about 5 bots that run them.

What's worse is once I knew what a bot acted like, I went back to Bleakrock and noticed they roam all over resource farming and even interfering with the new player's quests!

Dede_Bug

WreckfulAbandon wrote: »

If you want to see some bots in action (PC-NA) then just head to Bal Foyen any time of day or night. After a few visits you'll notice that some people are gathering resources pretty near 24/7.

Daniel_Malloy and I gather resources there every few days. Which is why we've taken to running ahead of the bots and getting the resources before they do.

If you look at ESO Market Browser (http://www.antihax.net/) you can see the impact these bots are have on the Tamriel Economy. It's appalling to see how much and how quickly the price of resources has dropped. Making it almost impossible for honest gathers to earn enough gold for a simple pack or bank upgrade.

P.S. I've noticed people complaining about players gathering all resources whether they need them or not and they didn't seem to notice if it was a bot or real player. If you are try to gather mats from an area I'm working in just let me know what your after and I'll leave those be for you. I mostly grab stuff from bot heavy areas just to keep them from the bots.