Group finder: Custom section is filled with crown sellers/buyers

NoticeMeArkay · November 2023

Look, I don't think it's too far fetched to ask for keeping crown selling out of the group finder. - This new tool is supposed to help people easily find more players for their gameplay.
Everybody is currently capable of using it this way, the trustworthy and the scammers. People looking for more players to run a dungeon/trial/ etc. and people who simply want to use it as a platform to sell runs for multimilion pieces of gold.

Don't give the scammers their own platform. Don't encourage prioritizing selling/buying equipment or titles over finding like-minded people to play the game and head for a goal.

Have "WTB" and "WTS" and similar acronyms filtered out in there, perhaps. Just please have an eye on the group finder in regards of this before it turns into the worst version of a trade chat this game could possibly have. Thank you for reading.

Punches_Below_Belt · November 2023

I’m glad buyers/sellers of crowns have found a place. It’s not like it is crowding out anything else there and it seems very convenient for both sellers and buyers. Not everyone buying or selling crowns is a scammer.

NoticeMeArkay · November 2023

Punches_Below_Belt wrote: »

I’m glad buyers/sellers of crowns have found a place. It’s not like it is crowding out anything else there and it seems very convenient for both sellers and buyers. Not everyone buying or selling crowns is a scammer.

I'm not saying that everyone buying or selling is a scammer. What I'm talking about is that it could potentially be a platform for scammers to seek out less informed or new players to pray on.

People have been asking for some sort of safety function for crown trading for years. At some point many accepted that Zos doesn't show any intentions on implementing something and therefore established a now well-known discord server named "Tamriel Crown Exchange" to ensure safe trading. In zone chat, people are offering crowns publicly and can also be directly called out publicly if caught in action. The group finder has the "group disappear" as soon somebody accept and fills out the necessary amount of players settled by the one opening it up. The only thing that can help afterwards is opening a tickets and serving proof for the scam.

Instead of waiting for a scam to happen, I'd prefer to see Zos making sure the group finder sticks to being a group finder. People can continue to sell/buy via the zone chat or use the discord as a safe platforn.
Same goes for selling runs. - If you don't regulate this stuff early on, the group finder might, and yes this is based on nothing but assumptions, look a lot different in a year.

Edit: Tl;Dr: To prevent cases like this recent one:

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/646534/has-anyone-encountered-this-problem-with-customer-support-they-helped-others-bt-they-didn-t-help-me#latest

disintegr8 · November 2023

Using group finder for anything other than finding groups, or other players to group with, should be banned.

P.S. Crowns look expensive on PC.

phaneub17_ESO · November 2023

Beats zone hopping, now everyone can see it from anywhere!

Twohothardware · November 2023

If there were actually sellers in the group finder it wouldn't be so bad. It's just going to be full of WTB crowns because after what Zenimax did with the new approval process to gifting there's a severe lack fo people able or willing to gift.

NoticeMeArkay · November 2023

wilykcat wrote: »

With every new solution there always comes a new problem.

This is a common occurrence in many online games. The custom LFG listing are filled with automated gold/crown/carries sellers' advertisements.

As a suggestion there should be an built in automated anti-spam and ad block for custom LFG tool.

Mostlikely those advertising are bots and/or AI. Report them and don't click.

I'm not going to report anybody without any proof and neither should you what the heck?

Braffin · November 2023

Personally I'm not into crown-trading at all. Never done that and most probably never will.

Nonetheless I fail to see the problem with using group finder for this purpose. Afaik crown-trading isn't a violation ToS and therefore it's fitting to look for interested people in "custom" category of the finder.

Maybe give crown-trading it's own tab to prevent cluttering and all should be fine.

Ardriel · November 2023

Braffin wrote: »

Personally I'm not into crown-trading at all. Never done that and most probably never will.

Nonetheless I fail to see the problem with using group finder for this purpose. Afaik crown-trading isn't a violation ToS and therefore it's fitting to look for interested people in "custom" category of the finder.

Maybe give crown-trading it's own tab to prevent cluttering and all should be fine.

Since crown trading isn't officially supported, this is not going to happen.

Sakiri · November 2023

World of Warcraft uses a "Services" channel in chat for selling carries and stuff..... maybe something like that, but for crown selling?

btw over there if you repeatedly post outside that channel advertisements, you can be banned.

It was done to combat sales spam in the group finder.

And it's not officially supported there, either, just they did this because people were peeved about the WTB/WTS spam in the group finder.

XSTRONG · November 2023

"Wtb/wts crowns or anything using rl money" shouldnt be in group finder

Braffin · November 2023

Ardriel wrote: »

Braffin wrote: »

Personally I'm not into crown-trading at all. Never done that and most probably never will.

Nonetheless I fail to see the problem with using group finder for this purpose. Afaik crown-trading isn't a violation ToS and therefore it's fitting to look for interested people in "custom" category of the finder.

Maybe give crown-trading it's own tab to prevent cluttering and all should be fine.

Since crown trading isn't officially supported, this is not going to happen.

Probably not, I agree.

Thing is: While crown trading isn't officially supported, it's not forbidden either. So it's perfectly viable to make this offers anywhere ingame.

If they give the traders a place (preferably inside the crown store imo) it simply reduces spam.

fred4 · November 2023

I think this is an opportunity, not a problem. People "misusing" group finder shows there's a demand for crown trading and carry run services. These are not prohibited activities. They're just looking for a home within the limited feature set - Craglorn zone chat and now group finder - of the game. IMO the answer is simple. Support crown trading / escrow services within group finder, or another section of that menu, and look at the possibility of escrow services for carry runs, e.g. payment on acquiring gear or an achievement.

EF321 · November 2023

Thanks for the hint, I never had easier time finding sellers

Amottica · November 2023

wilykcat wrote: »

With every new solution there always comes a new problem.

This is a common occurrence in many online games. The custom LFG listing are filled with automated gold/crown/carries sellers' advertisements.

As a suggestion there should be an built in automated anti-spam and ad block for custom LFG tool.

Mostlikely those advertising are bots and/or AI. Report them and don't click.

Pretty much this.

NoticeMeArkay · November 2023

EF321 wrote: »

Thanks for the hint, I never had easier time finding sellers

Approaching somebodies concerns for the safety of others with mockery is neither appropriate nor mature.

zaria · November 2023

wilykcat wrote: »

With every new solution there always comes a new problem.

This is a common occurrence in many online games. The custom LFG listing are filled with automated gold/crown/carries sellers' advertisements.

As a suggestion there should be an built in automated anti-spam and ad block for custom LFG tool.

Mostlikely those advertising are bots and/or AI. Report them and don't click.

Yes, you misused the tool and get an warning, 3 day 3 week permanent ban.

spartaxoxo · November 2023

It could use its own category. Doesn't even need to be a trade channel for all sorts of trade. ZOS also should have enabled safety guards for crown trading a long time ago. Other games do it, no reason this one can't.

But I don't think the latter has much to do with the group finder. People would say the same thing in zone. And just like zone chat, some of them will be legitimate and some will not.