RMT countermeasure idea (Yes another one just hear me out)

[Radkat]

Nobody is being banned from buying, that's the problem. People who spend extra money to buy gil tend to care about their characters. So if people are constantly getting banned for buying gil, most would not dare to risk it. That is the solution. The proof is that there is no RMT spam in JP servers, since JPs mostly don't buy gil.

[Skeith-Adeline]

Then you'll just get friend request spam, which is as annoying lol. Having the ability to deny newcomer friend requests, FC requests and Tells would be great.

[Darki]

Then you'll just get friend request spam, which is as annoying lol. Having the ability to deny newcomer friend requests, FC requests and Tells would be great.

I did think of that. However from an RMT's perspective, the friend request would be pointless if players won't see the advertisment tells in the first place.

[Risvertasashi]

There is no solution to RMT, none.

While you're quite correct in that it's impossible to stamp out completely, there are many games that have a much better handle on it than this one.

Nobody is being banned from buying, that's the problem. People who spend extra money to buy gil tend to care about their characters. So if people are constantly getting banned for buying gil, most would not dare to risk it. That is the solution. The proof is that there is no RMT spam in JP servers, since JPs mostly don't buy gil.

You haven't been paying attention to the lodestone posts if you think they aren't banning buyers.

[giantslayer]

Filters on what tells you see is ultimately a band-aid with limited effectiveness. The most effective approach would be to create a "report RMT" option right next to blacklist and have various restrictions triggered automatically when enough reports are received. Restrictions could be things like temporary restrictions from using tells, shouts, friend requests, etc or account suspensions. I'm sure this would require a massive programming effort, but it would be extremely effective.

[LaylaTsarra]

A close friend of mine created a new linkshell yesterday and added me and a couple other close friends who are always on busy. At least in that way he or we can communicate with each other even though we're on busy status. There is NO EXCUSE for forcing the community to have to put up with this invasive abuse. They can fix it by allowing preferences in who sends tells, who sends friends requests and more. For those not bothered by the status quo they would not need to do anything. For those who want to eliminate it they should have the tools to do so.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY. FIX IT SE.

[Darki]

While you're quite correct in that it's impossible to stamp out completely, there are many games that have a much better handle on it than this one.

Indeed. This is why I called it a countermeasure instead of a cure.

The most effective approach would be to create a "report RMT" option right next to blacklist and have various restrictions triggered automatically when enough reports are received.

I wouldn't recommend this myself. I can see it too easily being used by large groups to gang up on a single person they don't like. Hunt "networks" for example. "Hey this jerk likes to pull hunts early and ruin the game for the rest of us! RMT report him and get him auto-banned!"

[Risvertasashi]

I wouldn't recommend this myself. I can see it too easily being used by large groups to gang up on a single person they don't like. Hunt "networks" for example. "Hey this jerk likes to pull hunts early and ruin the game for the rest of us! RMT report him and get him auto-banned!"

There are several games that use this successfully. The key is to have temporary, relatively light restrictions (no character on a so-flagged account can send tells, for example, but can still play) until a GM reviews. Accounts that abuse the report functionality, lose it.

And, at least there's a human intelligence making these reports. Automatic filter systems... too narrow and they're circumvented quickly (what we have now), too broad and mentioning the wrong term can get you autobanned.

[Radkat]

You haven't been paying attention to the lodestone posts if you think they aren't banning buyers.

Actually, I read the lodestone reports every time. They have never mentioned any gilbuyer bans, only RMT advertisements and RMT/illicit activity, which is essentially botting. Trust me, if SE starts banning gilbuyers, you will hear about it in this forum. Many NA/EU players buy gil, RMT is flourishing in those servers with constant ad spams. Those are the ones that can afford to lose paid accounts just to ad spam. If gilbuyers start getting banned, many here will jump up and down swearing they were wrongly banned for no reason.

[Aerowaffle]

Actually, I read the lodestone reports every time. They have never mentioned any gilbuyer bans, only RMT advertisements and RMT/illicit activity, which is essentially botting. Trust me, if SE starts banning gilbuyers, you will hear about it in this forum. Many NA/EU players buy gil, RMT is flourishing in those servers with constant ad spams. Those are the ones that can afford to lose paid accounts just to ad spam. If gilbuyers start getting banned, many here will jump up and down swearing they were wrongly banned for no reason.

To be fair, buying gil would fall under "RMT/illicit activity". And I doubt many gil buyers would bother to post complaints about it on the forum, even to feign innocence.

A. The random forum people can't do anything about their ban.
B. They would get far more people doubting them than supporting them, which would make it counter productive if their goal was to rally support.
C. Even if they were to get support and force SE to look into it, SE would just see that they were correct to ban them.