The Silence Penalty

[Luxpheras]

Greetings!

Thanks for all the feedback and ideas on how to better restrict and prevent spam messages in FINAL FANTASY XIV.

Could square introduce a similar system to FFXIV if an rmt bot spaming tells or standing next to the marketboard spaming in /say is reported multiple times they are then restricted and cannot talk to any player untill investigated by square it could be a solution to the problem of rmt what do you think?

We are pleased to share that the dev. team is currently looking into a new system to address RMT advertisement spam, and we're planning to implement this in the future. Rest assured, we're making sure that this system won't inconvenience normal players.

Please continue to share your thoughts, and we will keep you posted with any future updates.

[Niwashi]

My only concern is that some might use it as a way of abusing others. For example, someone could get their linkshell to constantly report someone they just don't like.

Harassment is already a bannable offence, so not many people are going to directly send their harassment to the GM team. Do you really think anyone is going to convince a whole group of LS or FC members to all give up their accounts and access to the game just in order to attack someone who would themselves only get temporarily silenced by it? The victim gets a silence until the GMs check the reports, at which point they're un-silenced while everyone who reported them is banned. I just don't see that happening much.

The problem is that this is just a placebo. It may make players feel better, but RMT are ridiculously good at churning out new bots. SE already bans thousands of accounts per week for being RMT

They only keep churning out spam bots because the bots are profitable to them. As soon as they're not, they'll quit replacing them. The current system is that a spam bot can spend weeks sending out thousands upon thousands of ads before they're finally banned. That's long enough to bring in some sales, so replacing the spam bot is just the cost of advertising.

With this system in place, however, as soon as the bot starts sending out its first few tells, people start reporting it and it's silenced within a few minutes (possibly faster if it's using /say), with only a few messages having gone out. They're not likely to bring in any sales in just those first few messages.

As soon as it costs more to set up a new spam bot account than the amount that account can add to their sales, they're going to stop doing it. (The RMT itself would still continue, but the spam advertising it wouldn't.)

[Gramul]

Do you really think anyone is going to convince a whole group of LS or FC members to all give up their accounts and access to the game just in order to attack someone who would themselves only get temporarily silenced by it?

Well I certainly hope not, but it's not exactly unprecedented.

[Kio]

It would greatly help if we had the option to not appear on player searches. This is how RMT spammers contact us in the first place. I know search has it's uses but those who wish to have privacy should be allowed it without having to resort to restricting all messages and other in game activities (such as trade) via the /busy setting.

[Gemina]

At this point, I'm willing to even take a half-assed attempt at handling these jerks. Even if it is something that stops it for a week, and they figure out a way around it. I don't care. I would just like to see SOME kind of effort to handle them. SE wants to encourage player interaction, do they not? I feel the RMT is their bane when it comes to that.

Grrr! I know they will post a list of banned accounts that shows they are, and I know I'm frustrated. I know this problem is like trying to eat an elephant. But I think I want to see more preventative measures rather than reactionary ones. You can't attack a fuel source that is unlimited in supply. They need to find the heart, and shove a dagger right though it.

[KrytosFallaran]

Imagine the GM jail full of RMT bots.

[AlphaFox]

Something like this is how I first imagine it. xD

[DeadRiser]

Black Desert has an amazing feature where you simply type in a word or combination of words and all posts with those words are instantly hidden.

www
vvvvvv
buygold
trump

It worked tremendously and it is so easy to implement.

[Fianna_Alcuiden]

I'd love to see an option where you can receive tells only from those on your friend list, and possibly an option to turn off friend requests (to prevent bots from sending them).

[KariArisu]

It would greatly help if we had the option to not appear on player searches. This is how RMT spammers contact us in the first place. I know search has it's uses but those who wish to have privacy should be allowed it without having to resort to restricting all messages and other in game activities (such as trade) via the /busy setting.

Or just remove the "Send Tell" option from Player Search > Right Click. Their job becomes much more difficult if they have to type names or use other methods. The reason they're so "efficient" is because they use tools to search/spam tells, making it harder to automate makes it harder for them to work.