Banning rights.

Jim_McMasterub17_ESO

United States sir, I forget these forums are multinational. My apologies.

Elember

Years ago when I played Ultima Online after it was fresh out of beta the developer, Origin Systems, started a volunteer program that any player could apply for and take a series of online interviews and then be given access to several different types of jobs in the game.

If accepted the player was given a free account to conduct their volunteer job from and these jobs ranged from Customer Service to Dungeon Masters (Seer's).

The Customer Service rep was titled as "Counselor" and your job there was to respond to player "tickets" and see if you could resolve them without involving a GM in the issue.

Many in game issues/problems can be solved by someone who is more familiar with the game then someone who is new to the game and does not fully understand how everything works and this would eliminate a large percentage of the issues that GM's had to deal with.

Anyway the program eventually ended when EA bought out Origin Systems and they decided to make a server specifically for the AoL (America Online) customers. The players on that server suddenly forgot they had volunteered to do a job and decided to take the company to court saying that they should be on the payroll. The program was promptly cancelled and this set a precedence in the industry so that no developer since then has tried to run a similar program.

Narrator

Worst Idea Ever. Every GM I have spoken with in game has been invisible but they are there. I have had 2 tickets answered.

Stormynature

If we were to be given the powers of a GM to ban mods...perhaps we should also ask for powers of a GM to reset quests so that we can at least progress through our storylines....also it would be completely appropriate for us to ask for the GM Scripts they use in the roleplay help they provide i.e. nothing has more style than role playing the sending a bot into banishment...Also it would be completely appropriate to have some glowy aura that enables other non-powerful players to realise that they should shift to the side of the dirt track in homage as we pass by or stop harvesting that node just to prove they are not a bot.

Speaking seriously though.

I have often thought about wanting the powers of a GM to deal with things like bots and how good I would be at it...as I know myself and I am a pretty straight up guy who wouldn't abuse it willy nilly...the trouble is...I would end up abusing it... The annoying troll who baits people into stepping over the code of conduct, the player who needs on gear that should have gone elsewhere or for some other just as valid points matching my individual set of moral and ethical judgement. Employees of ZoS or related companies have specific guidelines set down as to what they can and can't do...the ultimate penalty for failing to meet these guidelines would be losing your job. Players as GMs are accountable to ZoS only insofar as their toons...if they get banned for abuse, it doesn't take much at all to get a new account - reset your IP - and work up to being a Player GM again where such abuse can be happily repeated.

Do I think players should be given Banning abilites: No
Would I like to have the Banning abilities: Absolutely...cause that mongrel dog just harvested my node!

Censorious

lol!

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

P.S If you don't know what it means, Google it you ***. uneducated person.

Randazzo

"starkerealm wrote: »

Also it amuses me.

As if bots could be amused.

Randazzo

Kyosji wrote: »

Also, I don't appreciate you accusing me of being a bot.

I'm sure your psyche will recover from the blow.

However, if you're standing in place farming for such long periods of time that people think you're a script, don't you think it unwise to make yourself unable to communicate on a basic level?

In terms of how much average players despise each one, what is the ultimate difference between a farmer and a bot?

starkerealm

Randazzo wrote: »

"starkerealm wrote: »

Also it amuses me.

As if bots could be amused.

Negative, I am a meat popsicle.

...wait a second.

Randazzo wrote: »

As if bots could be amused.

That's...

That's just what a bot would say to throw us off it's trail! O.O

starkerealm

Censorious wrote: »

lol!

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

P.S If you don't know what it means, Google it you ***. uneducated person.

He who reads Watchman, watches cats?

Censorious

starkerealm wrote: »

Censorious wrote: »

lol!

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

P.S If you don't know what it means, Google it you ***. uneducated person.

He who reads Watchman, watches cats?

Close enough

Charwyn

Vyndetta wrote: »

So, has anyone actually seen a GM in game?

I did. He was like a big llama with wings and 6 lion heads.

steven_shidiwenb16_ESO

You sir, Are ***.

mikeyyyc_ESO

This is just a terrible terrible idea. Sorry OP. Giving players mod powers is never a good idea.

DukeofChutney

So you are a good judge of character and who should be given such power, and the first person you would give it to would be yourself? I find those who desire power are the last ones who should have it.

Towards the idea of "Wardens" that can patrol for such things, with additional powers against obvious gold spammers would be welcome. I know back in the day pillars of the community were given such a power in SWG, and no one knew who they were.

AlexDougherty

toddcanniffub17_ESO wrote: »

I feel a good way to deal with bots would be to give select players that prove themselves power to ban. I personally have reported 200+ botters and gold spammers.

Just a thought, though it will never happen because of toxic players that would ban someone who took their kill or got to a node before them.

God no, giving people this sort of power without some sort of limiting factor would be a disaster. (Zenimax moderators know that if they ban without a reason their boss will start thinking they are a liability and give them a sideways promotion (like changing the office printer toner))

Bansheedragon

toddcanniffub17_ESO wrote: »

Because I am a player that would use it to do good, not a troll who's going to ban someone because they asked where to buy a mount or where the bank is.

You say that now, and I dont doubt your intentions, however sooner or later someone will *** you off ingame, to he extent that you just drop the ban hammer on them.
And even if you didnt do it, there would be others who would do it
I have played allot of MMOs and there have been times where I actually wish I could just ban them, because they annoyed me or pissed me off at a time when I was in a bad mood.

ZOS have enough problems as it is, giving players the ability to ban others would only cause more problems and more work for them.

Kyosji

Randazzo wrote: »

Kyosji wrote: »

Also, I don't appreciate you accusing me of being a bot.

I'm sure your psyche will recover from the blow.

However, if you're standing in place farming for such long periods of time that people think you're a script, don't you think it unwise to make yourself unable to communicate on a basic level?

In terms of how much average players despise each one, what is the ultimate difference between a farmer and a bot?

No, because if I chose to use my chat box to display other information such as attacks experience and loot, that's my right. Why should I pay $15 a month just to appease someone in chat? It's my UI, and I can do with it as I please.

vauscrollsb16_ESO

worst idea ever. abuse would kill the game

Perseas

Its a horrible idea, a player to be an ingame moderator for free (it sounds like thirst for power over others, like a fetish). Maybe the worst I ve ever heard for many years.

Its better to be a paid employee that follows his company rules and it's his job to do that, instead of giving power to players. In the beginning all these "mod players" will focus in bots - true, in the proccess and in order to hold the power, they will have to find a new excuse to keep up going, so they will start marking players, a kind of dictatorship...

So if they give power to some players, it will end up all other players will abandon the game from any exits they find... You will destroy the game.

Infact your idea is very humorous, I would suggest to give power in all players to ban other players, so everybody will ban everybody and all of us will be happy at the end. Zenimax will bankrupt and we will move in the next upcomming mmo.

Jadeviper1974

I think it would be better to give Player Moderators/GM's/Whatever the ability to suspend for 24 hours, Then they have to support their suspension with screenies and/or video and can recommend a ban to a "real" Zenimax GM.

Kyosji

Jadeviper1974 wrote: »

I think it would be better to give Player Moderators/GM's/Whatever the ability to suspend for 24 hours, Then they have to support their suspension with screenies and/or video and can recommend a ban to a "real" Zenimax GM.

Screenshots and video still don't prove they are bots. So if a regular player ends up suspending someone, that person would turn around and threaten legal action. Since the person that exhibited that authority is not a part of Zenimax, that opens a whole truckload of legal issues. Examples would be since they are not employees to Zeni, the player could in fact seek legal actions against the other player for disrupting their time on the game. Since the player PAYS for this time, that becomes a legal matter. The EULA we agreed to only applies to Zenimax, not outside normal people. And because those people are being sued by the other player for not being a part of Zeni and issuing these bans, THOSE players could seek legal action against Zeni for putting them in that situation. There are so many ways this could go bad.

Gelston

Jadeviper1974 wrote: »

I think it would be better to give Player Moderators/GM's/Whatever the ability to suspend for 24 hours, Then they have to support their suspension with screenies and/or video and can recommend a ban to a "real" Zenimax GM.

I don't think players should ever have any powers to effect someone else's account in anyway. The MOST power I can see giving a player would be to have "trusted" players who have higher priority reports then the general population.. And then have a GM monitor the situation. This would help the GMs so that they aren't wading through false reports and reports on things that aren't a violation.

Players should never have their finger on the trigger though. Not even on the safety.