"Vacate Chambers" without Estate Access

[Rocl]

After seeing this I did a test with my FC leader. You have to give someone 0 privileges AND close the house from guests. So no Estate Access and no Guest Estate Access. After that FC members will still see the glowing dot for the estate to enter, but when they try to enter, the game will prevent them from entering.

Okay, just tested this part now and it's right. Thanks. This was the crucial missing piece; the way it was being described didn't make sense to me-- but this does.

Again, I wasn't trying to say it wasn't true or that those affected were "too dumb to even try" but an attempt to figure out when/where the problem is.

[Lurial]

No worries. It's good to think things through thoroughly and test. It also makes it easier for the developers if they read this and want to implement a fix if they can copy the exact same conditions.

[ExKage]

Pushing it a bit got us that missing factor for why you had no issues and why so many did. Knowing all the details makes it easier for the team too, I'd bet.

Other things I'd discuss are just inconveniences with the housing design that contribute to this. Vacating rooms shouldn't require the player to remove their furnishings. If they were able to vacate their rooms without having to remove their furnishings, i don't think this issue would have been exploited to hold members in an fc as its prisoners. Vacating should essentially do the same thing as being kicked out by the FC leader (and now, house relinquishing), it sends what furnishings can be salvaged to the NPC in the housing area.

[zakalw3]

Where is this tumblr thread people are referring to?

[Niwashi]

I didn't know you could lock out your own FC members from the FC house. How and why is this even possible?

I use that feature for the lowest level of FC members; my server has had some issues with Company Chest smash and grabs, as well as many other problems with people stealing, being caught planning to steal, etc. the CC and the estate are both completely locked to people at the lowest rank.

That makes sense for Chest access, especially Chest withdrawals. It makes no sense for Estate Access, however. The FC leader should be able to choose who can decorate the house, but not who can enter it (at least not among FC members). If it's an FC house, then the right to enter it should automatically be available to ALL FC members. That "Estate Access" setting shouldn't even exist.

(The "Guest Access" setting is ok, since whether other players who aren't in the FC are also allowed to enter should be something the FC leader can choose.)

[Beckett]

Wow, that's hilarious. It's absolutely horrible, and it needs to be fixed immediately, but hilarious.

[AnnietheCat]

snip

I get why you feel that way, but that's not the case. We've had members join up AFTER my co-leader and I spent all our gil purchasing the house and then decide to stick around to get permissions and take things. People who show up after we've purchased our house aren't entitled to the estate just because it belongs to the FC. Sure, if they had a hand in helping to purchase the plot and the permit they do. But I'm talking people who either don't contribute anything(be it gil or mats or even helping lower level players within the fc) or join up after the estate is there. People can't steal or plan to steal what they can't see, and they'll get tired of waiting within a few days. Not to mention, I don't enjoy having members who just intend to use us for housing features; I've had people ask to join up to use our stables and chocobo food and then leave when their bird is the color they want, or people who said, in all honesty, that they don't care about the fc and they just want a room of their own. Restricting access to the estate discourages these types of "members". That isn't the problem.

The problem is that this feature can be used to abuse others all because the devs won't allow people to vacate furnished rooms from the lawn. All features in this game can be used to abuse and/or harass others. voting to kick a member from a dungeon/trial/raid, the rank system in FCs, even Linkshells and the MB if a person is popular enough. However, all of those systems have the means for players to remove themselves or protect themselves from harassment. This case did not have that. Because you cannot vacate from the lawn, these players could not protect themselves or their items. Everything in game has potential for exploitation. That's why almost everything has a backup plan or a way out. This situation could have been avoided had the devs allowed for people to vacate furnished rooms. It's that simple.

[ToasterMan]

Not to mention, I don't enjoy having members who just intend to use us for housing features; I've had people ask to join up to use our stables and chocobo food and then leave when their bird is the color they want, or people who said, in all honesty, that they don't care about the fc and they just want a room of their own. Restricting access to the estate discourages these types of "members". That isn't the problem.

This wouldn't be such a problem if housing was available for all players rather then just a few FC's and rich players

[Aleczan]

Where is this tumblr thread people are referring to?

The players who started the original post telling about the situation and details had removed the posts after they paid the ransom and got their people out. But the reblogs by some bystanders like me are still accessible.

[D-chan]

This was a huge mess. I'm disappointed in how the GM's handled it. I'm not sure how well it was explained to them, and I know from a technical aspect everything is "working as intended," but surely they could see that not being able to leave an FC is a huge and surely unintended issue, and the FC leader making demands in order to let them leave has to be considered harassment/scamming. I know the GM's likely couldn't have just unlocked the house against the FC leader's will, but that's not the only way they could have handled it. They could have removed those wanting to be removed from the FC, or vacated the rooms of the people who wanted their rooms demolished. My main worry is if this isn't fixed soon, now that many people know about it, someone may try to exploit it again, and we'll have a repeat of this situation.