But to be serious, I have never seen any GM intervention in the chat channels. And those channels get pretty heated and violate a ton of ToS rules.
stardestroyer001, Admiral, Explorers Fury PvE/PvP Fleet | Retired PvP Player
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9 My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
With GMs and Customer Service the way it is, you really think they care about the Gold Spam?
But hey, they nerfed the living hell out of XPs and took Tau Dewa Patrol viability quickly, while players were still ingame with the server up. Can't have players doing that.
If they were serious about wanting to end this they would institute a time gate for free accounts on zone chat like a lot of other games do, but i think it has more to do with being able to count them as a "new account" for the metrics of see we are growing. It has gotten a lot worse since DR came out
You basically want Cryptic to hire someone that is pressing the "Report Spam" button for you. Because they won't be able to stop the first spam message. Only the subsequent ones. You'll still see them, and you'll know that Cryptic spend your Zen or Subscription money and that of other players to afford that.
I don't think it is going to happen. A general, automated way - sure, that could be something Cryptic is working on. But hiring people to do it for as long as the game exists, when you can press the button just as well... It seems not a good business decision.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
with 2+ days of delays, when they get to you (if at all) the reported account probably long gone by now due to the already working "filters"
and GM's doesnt have to be hired for money, id do it for free myself in my free-time ( got lots of since DR ruined PvP ) like many of us would.
voluntary service. ever heard of it?
How do they verify that you don't abuse your powers and ban people that aren't spammers?
AFAIK, the voluntary moderators on the forums have very limited power, too. But they also only affect 3 % of the population, if some estimates are correct. The Forums are not really essential to the game. Chat in game? That's pretty important.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
with 2+ days of delays, when they get to you (if at all) the reported account probably long gone by now due to the already working "filters"
and GM's doesnt have to be hired for money, id do it for free myself in my free-time ( got lots of since DR ruined PvP ) like many of us would.
voluntary service. ever heard of it?
The thing that you need to understand about these spammers is that if they get account banned or even site banned they can be back up and running in a matter of minutes with a brand new account from a totally different IP. They come in expecting to get banned within minutes of their first postings and just create another account or use a previously created (or TRIBBLE) one.
There is no way to keep these people out of a F2P game. All Cryptic can do is make their job so difficult that they move on to greener pastures and even that won't stop all of them. As long as there's a market for third party EC, Dil or lockbox items they'll be there.
I agree with the sentiment that the gold spam has gotten worse since DR and cockroaches are certainly an appropriate metaphor for these spammers. Tbh, though, filters are not enough; the spammers always get around them. We need moderators, community or in-house, pronto, before the spam gets any worse.
Heck, I will volunteer myself for this position Cryptic since I love doffing and spend a lot of time in the main zones. It's time to call the exterminators Cryptic and get rid of these pests once and for all (pun intended).
Well there is one way to kill off these spammers and that is to reverse the big vendor-trash nerf so people can actually earn EC's in the first place.
Make earning EC's in the game more attractive than going to some site selling things for $'s and you'll soon cut off their supply base.
That's why these scumbags appear, they do so in real life too. As soon as resources become scarce someone somewhere will pop up selling said resources for what seems like a good price, or less work than doing it in-game.
Sad thing is these clowns are only really hoping to fool some newbie player into risking their account or credit card and the newbies are the ones affected most by the vendor nerf last year.
Cryptic created the problem of poor EC's earning potential and these spam guys just walked right in to supply what people needed, regardless of it being legal (in game terms) or not.
These "people" are tolerated by PWE/Cryptic. Dare say, supported. Why else has Cryptic not lifted a finger to do anything. For 5 years these "people" have been a plague. I'm starting to believe, looking at the business model of the game, that these Gold Sellers are somehow connected to the developers.... call it a conspiracy theory, but hey...
Well there is one way to kill off these spammers and that is to reverse the big vendor-trash nerf so people can actually earn EC's in the first place.
Make earning EC's in the game more attractive than going to some site selling things for $'s and you'll soon cut off their supply base.
That's why these scumbags appear, they do so in real life too. As soon as resources become scarce someone somewhere will pop up selling said resources for what seems like a good price, or less work than doing it in-game.
Sad thing is these clowns are only really hoping to fool some newbie player into risking their account or credit card and the newbies are the ones affected most by the vendor nerf last year.
Cryptic created the problem of poor EC's earning potential and these spam guys just walked right in to supply what people needed, regardless of it being legal (in game terms) or not.
You DO realize that these "people" were present in the game before the so called "Vendor-trash nerf"....
Reversing it will change nothing.
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
I agree with the sentiment that the gold spam has gotten worse since DR and cockroaches are certainly an appropriate metaphor for these spammers. Tbh, though, filters are not enough; the spammers always get around them. We need moderators, community or in-house, pronto, before the spam gets any worse.
Heck, I will volunteer myself for this position Cryptic since I love doffing and spend a lot of time in the main zones. It's time to call the exterminators Cryptic and get rid of these pests once and for all (pun intended).
The big question is this: how would you get rid of them?
Account bans don't work. F2P game, accounts are a dime a dozen.
Site bans don't work. It's too easy to spoof your site's IP address.
Hardware bans would be the next thing up, based on their system specs. Getting that data is fairly invasive and can be changed pretty quickly, too, so it's hardly worth it.
Require everyone to use a security key to log in? That would be a good start but I have yet to see a game where those things are free so that's got some problems.
For these guys spamming is a full time job and they've got it down to a science. How do you make it so hard for these guys to do business that they pull up stakes and leave without making things too hard on legit players?
You DO realize that these "people" were present in the game before the so called "Vendor-trash nerf"....
Reversing it will change nothing.
Yes but it's clearly gotten a lot worse since DR hit.
Everyone is climbing over each other to earn resources for upgrades or to grind out various other aspects of the game, rewards are stupidly low in many areas and people wonder why a group of parasites appear to try exploiting the poorer players?
I did see this sort of thing pre-DR and even pre-trash nerf, but it is clearly much more common now. The fact that some days ESD zone chat is filled with it, not just the traditional location you see it like Q'nos seems to indicate it's increased.
The big question is this: how would you get rid of them?
Account bans don't work. F2P game, accounts are a dime a dozen.
Site bans don't work. It's too easy to spoof your site's IP address.
Hardware bans would be the next thing up, based on their system specs. Getting that data is fairly invasive and can be changed pretty quickly, too, so it's hardly worth it.
Require everyone to use a security key to log in? That would be a good start but I have yet to see a game where those things are free so that's got some problems.
For these guys spamming is a full time job and they've got it down to a science. How do you make it so hard for these guys to do business that they pull up stakes and leave without making things too hard on legit players?
Good points. The security key idea sounds decent. Maybe require new players to put in a security key the first few times they log in. Apart from that, I hate to suggest it but something similar to the forums post delay should be implemented. For every 5 levels you gain, you can shorten the delay between zone posts.
Almost makes you wonder if it's not a subdivision of PWE, since they're offering bind-on-pickup items that, as you said, would require hacking in the first place.
While I would not say we have evidence to make that leap, what I think we absolutely have hundreds of years of economic observation to back is a direct correlation between the imposition of extreme resource scarcity through "regulation" (which has gotten exponentially worse with DR) and extreme proliferation of black markets. Even without claiming PWE is responsible for goldspammers, it IS very clear that their development decisions have hugely exacerbated the problem. Look at any command economy IRL--any case where an item is tightly regulated or banned outright, especially when it is an essential item--to see how the black market explodes.
I actually think Cryptic could greatly reduce the goldspamming chatter through fixing the game economy to be more equitable for the player, far more than even moderation or legal action, and more cheaply. Quite simply, they are in a position to make demand dry up if they would take the right actions.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-) Proudly F2P.Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
Yes but it's clearly gotten a lot worse since DR hit.
Everyone is climbing over each other to earn resources for upgrades or to grind out various other aspects of the game, rewards are stupidly low in many areas and people wonder why a group of parasites appear to try exploiting the poorer players?
I did see this sort of thing pre-DR and even pre-trash nerf, but it is clearly much more common now. The fact that some days ESD zone chat is filled with it, not just the traditional location you see it like Q'nos seems to indicate it's increased.
You know how many I've seen since Season 2?
Zero... Not a single one... And not because I ain't online.
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
I actually think Cryptic could greatly reduce the goldspamming chatter
LOL Cryptic wrote the book on spamming chat channel with enticing, alluring messages to set a sense-of-easy winnings for players.... Gold farmers are merely extensions of something Cryptic themselves are exploiting.
"TRIBBLE just won a B]add luring prize here[/B!!! {between the lines: YOU TOO CAN BE A WINNER! ITS SO EASY JUST GIVE US YOUR MONEY!!!}"
While I would not say we have evidence to make that leap, what I think we absolutely have hundreds of years of economic observation to back is a direct correlation between the imposition of extreme resource scarcity through "regulation" (which has gotten exponentially worse with DR) and extreme proliferation of black markets. Even without claiming PWE is responsible for goldspammers, it IS very clear that their development decisions have hugely exacerbated the problem. Look at any command economy IRL--any case where an item is tightly regulated or banned outright, especially when it is an essential item--to see how the black market explodes.
I actually think Cryptic could greatly reduce the goldspamming chatter through fixing the game economy to be more equitable for the player, far more than even moderation or legal action, and more cheaply. Quite simply, they are in a position to make demand dry up if they would take the right actions.
Very much this. Without a market to feed them money, these guys become marginalized. I'd say dial back the dil requirements slightly and put the dilithium rewards back to pre-DR levels.
Zero... Not a single one... And not because I ain't online.
Go to Q'nos and watch zone chat. 2 or 3 gold spammers pop up every minute now. ESD probably isn't as bad since there are more players there generally and spammers quickly get silenced through the report system.
Go to Q'nos and watch zone chat. 2 or 3 gold spammers pop up every minute now. ESD probably isn't as bad since there are more players there generally and spammers quickly get silenced through the report system.
I am there for at least an hour every day...
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
Then you don't pay attention to zone chat. I was there at 9:00 a.m. eastern this morning and reported 3 for spam in the span of 5 minutes, yes 5 minutes. Seriously Anazonda? I'm not sure if you're trolling or just completely aloof of what's going on right before your eyes. Do I have to get on STo right now and count the countless gold spammers polluting the chat?
Update: I just logged in to STO at 4:51 Eastern. One gold spammer already popped up at 4:55 p.m. eastern. Come to zone chat right now, and you'll see the spammer. I'm in Q'nos instance #1 btw.
UPdate 2: Another one just popped up at 5:02 p.m. eastern in Q'nos zone chat.
Update 3: Another spammer just popped at 5:12 p.m. eastern in Q'nos zone chat.
While I would not say we have evidence to make that leap, what I think we absolutely have hundreds of years of economic observation to back is a direct correlation between the imposition of extreme resource scarcity through "regulation" (which has gotten exponentially worse with DR) and extreme proliferation of black markets. Even without claiming PWE is responsible for goldspammers, it IS very clear that their development decisions have hugely exacerbated the problem. Look at any command economy IRL--any case where an item is tightly regulated or banned outright, especially when it is an essential item--to see how the black market explodes.
I actually think Cryptic could greatly reduce the goldspamming chatter through fixing the game economy to be more equitable for the player, far more than even moderation or legal action, and more cheaply. Quite simply, they are in a position to make demand dry up if they would take the right actions.
Reduce the energy credit value of items in order to "encourage" new players to purchase master keys to sell on the exchange for energy credits. Surprise, other parties come in to undercut PW/Cryptic by selling energy credits themselves.
I am curious as to how these other "companies" can sell things like the Delta packs, how they are able to sell these packs so cheaply and how they are able to transfer the packs to other accounts. Steam has both the Romulan and Delta packs for sale. Perhaps the packs are bought in regions where the price is far lower (relative to what we pay) and Steam gives the key which can be redeemed on any account.
Cryptic should give us the ability to filter out items by string. Every gold spammer ad I see uses /\/\ in place of M's. Simple, let me ignore anything with /\/\ in it and all of that particular site's spammers are gonzo.
Comments
But to be serious, I have never seen any GM intervention in the chat channels. And those channels get pretty heated and violate a ton of ToS rules.
Missing the good ol' days of PvP: Legacy of Romulus to Season 9
My List of Useful Links, Recently Updated November 25 2017!
But hey, they nerfed the living hell out of XPs and took Tau Dewa Patrol viability quickly, while players were still ingame with the server up. Can't have players doing that.
the devs/gms/etc. should check teir logs and see what is the same like: IP, proxies, pc hardware id's, etc., and and put a range ban on it.
but tbh all it needs is one (1) active GM at a time ingame
I don't think it is going to happen. A general, automated way - sure, that could be something Cryptic is working on. But hiring people to do it for as long as the game exists, when you can press the button just as well... It seems not a good business decision.
with 2+ days of delays, when they get to you (if at all) the reported account probably long gone by now due to the already working "filters"
and GM's doesnt have to be hired for money, id do it for free myself in my free-time ( got lots of since DR ruined PvP ) like many of us would.
voluntary service. ever heard of it?
How do they verify that you don't abuse your powers and ban people that aren't spammers?
AFAIK, the voluntary moderators on the forums have very limited power, too. But they also only affect 3 % of the population, if some estimates are correct. The Forums are not really essential to the game. Chat in game? That's pretty important.
The thing that you need to understand about these spammers is that if they get account banned or even site banned they can be back up and running in a matter of minutes with a brand new account from a totally different IP. They come in expecting to get banned within minutes of their first postings and just create another account or use a previously created (or TRIBBLE) one.
There is no way to keep these people out of a F2P game. All Cryptic can do is make their job so difficult that they move on to greener pastures and even that won't stop all of them. As long as there's a market for third party EC, Dil or lockbox items they'll be there.
Heck, I will volunteer myself for this position Cryptic since I love doffing and spend a lot of time in the main zones. It's time to call the exterminators Cryptic and get rid of these pests once and for all (pun intended).
Make earning EC's in the game more attractive than going to some site selling things for $'s and you'll soon cut off their supply base.
That's why these scumbags appear, they do so in real life too. As soon as resources become scarce someone somewhere will pop up selling said resources for what seems like a good price, or less work than doing it in-game.
Sad thing is these clowns are only really hoping to fool some newbie player into risking their account or credit card and the newbies are the ones affected most by the vendor nerf last year.
Cryptic created the problem of poor EC's earning potential and these spam guys just walked right in to supply what people needed, regardless of it being legal (in game terms) or not.
You DO realize that these "people" were present in the game before the so called "Vendor-trash nerf"....
Reversing it will change nothing.
The big question is this: how would you get rid of them?
Account bans don't work. F2P game, accounts are a dime a dozen.
Site bans don't work. It's too easy to spoof your site's IP address.
Hardware bans would be the next thing up, based on their system specs. Getting that data is fairly invasive and can be changed pretty quickly, too, so it's hardly worth it.
Require everyone to use a security key to log in? That would be a good start but I have yet to see a game where those things are free so that's got some problems.
For these guys spamming is a full time job and they've got it down to a science. How do you make it so hard for these guys to do business that they pull up stakes and leave without making things too hard on legit players?
Yes but it's clearly gotten a lot worse since DR hit.
Everyone is climbing over each other to earn resources for upgrades or to grind out various other aspects of the game, rewards are stupidly low in many areas and people wonder why a group of parasites appear to try exploiting the poorer players?
I did see this sort of thing pre-DR and even pre-trash nerf, but it is clearly much more common now. The fact that some days ESD zone chat is filled with it, not just the traditional location you see it like Q'nos seems to indicate it's increased.
Good points. The security key idea sounds decent. Maybe require new players to put in a security key the first few times they log in. Apart from that, I hate to suggest it but something similar to the forums post delay should be implemented. For every 5 levels you gain, you can shorten the delay between zone posts.
While I would not say we have evidence to make that leap, what I think we absolutely have hundreds of years of economic observation to back is a direct correlation between the imposition of extreme resource scarcity through "regulation" (which has gotten exponentially worse with DR) and extreme proliferation of black markets. Even without claiming PWE is responsible for goldspammers, it IS very clear that their development decisions have hugely exacerbated the problem. Look at any command economy IRL--any case where an item is tightly regulated or banned outright, especially when it is an essential item--to see how the black market explodes.
I actually think Cryptic could greatly reduce the goldspamming chatter through fixing the game economy to be more equitable for the player, far more than even moderation or legal action, and more cheaply. Quite simply, they are in a position to make demand dry up if they would take the right actions.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
Proudly F2P. Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
You know how many I've seen since Season 2?
Zero... Not a single one... And not because I ain't online.
LOL Cryptic wrote the book on spamming chat channel with enticing, alluring messages to set a sense-of-easy winnings for players.... Gold farmers are merely extensions of something Cryptic themselves are exploiting.
"TRIBBLE just won a B]add luring prize here[/B!!! {between the lines: YOU TOO CAN BE A WINNER! ITS SO EASY JUST GIVE US YOUR MONEY!!!}"
Very much this. Without a market to feed them money, these guys become marginalized. I'd say dial back the dil requirements slightly and put the dilithium rewards back to pre-DR levels.
Go to Q'nos and watch zone chat. 2 or 3 gold spammers pop up every minute now. ESD probably isn't as bad since there are more players there generally and spammers quickly get silenced through the report system.
I am there for at least an hour every day...
Then you don't pay attention to zone chat. I was there at 9:00 a.m. eastern this morning and reported 3 for spam in the span of 5 minutes, yes 5 minutes. Seriously Anazonda? I'm not sure if you're trolling or just completely aloof of what's going on right before your eyes. Do I have to get on STo right now and count the countless gold spammers polluting the chat?
Update: I just logged in to STO at 4:51 Eastern. One gold spammer already popped up at 4:55 p.m. eastern. Come to zone chat right now, and you'll see the spammer. I'm in Q'nos instance #1 btw.
UPdate 2: Another one just popped up at 5:02 p.m. eastern in Q'nos zone chat.
Update 3: Another spammer just popped at 5:12 p.m. eastern in Q'nos zone chat.
Reduce the energy credit value of items in order to "encourage" new players to purchase master keys to sell on the exchange for energy credits. Surprise, other parties come in to undercut PW/Cryptic by selling energy credits themselves.
I am curious as to how these other "companies" can sell things like the Delta packs, how they are able to sell these packs so cheaply and how they are able to transfer the packs to other accounts. Steam has both the Romulan and Delta packs for sale. Perhaps the packs are bought in regions where the price is far lower (relative to what we pay) and Steam gives the key which can be redeemed on any account.
hahahahaha
.... I don't mean the muppet.