Actions Taken Against In-Game RMT & Other Illicit Activities (May 12)

[MirageSniper]

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[Shug]

We know they are doing something about it, it's just sad that a game that has a sub has worse RMT spam than a F2P game does.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

We know they are doing something about it, it's just sad that a game that has a sub has worse RMT spam than a F2P game does.

That is because they are addressing the symptoms of RMT rather than addressing the RMT directly. There are ways of killing RMT off, but they apparently prefer banning those caught up in doing RMT to actually getting rid of the RMT itself.

Want to get rid of RMT, rather than simply address the symptoms? Kill off any profit associated with it. Offer something that makes it uneconomically viable for the RMT businesses to continue operations in the game. SE is the only one that can do this, but they are choosing not to.

In all fairness to SE though, the only things I can think of are some form of game time token (which could, in theory, lead to people making a ton of Gil and spending it on those tokens, without paying SE the cash for the game time; though someone already paid SE for the token itself so that should be considered a wash, some don't like that idea of someone playing for "free") or some form of power that obviates the need for the items or Gil sold by RMT businesses.

[MirageSniper]

I know but I just get tired of players saying SE does nothing and basically trash talking them. This is a good company, not the best, but good. But there are difference, ppl dont really play F2P game much which is why they dont get RMT as much. This game is doing really good and is popular and that is why even though it is sub we get more RMT. That and because many players are actually buying gil from RMT which is why they are more persistent now.


Im just saying, dont blame SE, blame the players that buy gil.

[MihaelB]

I know but I just get tired of players saying SE does nothing and basically trash talking them. This is a good company, not the best, but good. But there are difference, ppl dont really play F2P game much which is why they dont get RMT as much. This game is doing really good and is popular and that is why even though it is sub we get more RMT. That and because many players are actually buying gil from RMT which is why they are more persistent now.


Im just saying, dont blame SE, blame the players that buy gil.

That is beyond stupid, don't blame the company who provides a service we're paying for and can very easily provide a solution to prevent spam (external add-on applications have done it)?

They have done very little for my time since I've started, at least 10 bot spams a day for the past 2 years or so, that is not acceptable via any standard of customer satisfaction.

[LineageRazor]

That is beyond stupid, don't blame the company who provides a service we're paying for and can very easily provide a solution to prevent spam (external add-on applications have done it)?

They have done very little for my time since I've started, at least 10 bot spams a day for the past 2 years or so, that is not acceptable via any standard of customer satisfaction.

There is no spam filter, external or internal, that RMT will not eventually figure out how to bypass. Ever wonder why spam is riddled with odd symbols and characters? It's how they've evolved to get around spam filters. The fact that you see those symbols and characters at all is proof that SE IS screening tells for spam, and the fact that those symbols and characters change over time is proof that RMT is evolving to match.

No, SE may be to blame, but it is because they're too reluctant to bring the hammer down on paying customers who buy gil. That, I think, is the best solution; a no-tolerance policy on gil-buying. RMT aren't going to waste money trying to sell gil in a game where the players KNOW they're going to be permabanned for even the smallest sale. RMT place no value on the game characters they use to do their thing. You can ban RMT all day and all night, and no RMT will shed a tear. Players, on the other hand, place a LOT of value on their game characters. When a player gets banned, it's devastating.

Unfortunately, being too heavy-handed with the banhammer can be bad for a company's reputation. So, it's not too surprising that gilbuyers generally just get a slap on the wrist. Still, if the goal is to rip RMT out by the roots, it needs to be made clear to the PLAYERS who buy gil that they're putting months or even years of character development at risk every time they buy...

[MihaelB]

There is no spam filter, external or internal, that RMT will not eventually figure out how to bypass. Ever wonder why spam is riddled with odd symbols and characters? It's how they've evolved to get around spam filters. The fact that you see those symbols and characters at all is proof that SE IS screening tells for spam, and the fact that those symbols and characters change over time is proof that RMT is evolving to match.

It's even simpler than that, 'Select Tell' > 'Friends only' or a checklist for 'tell in area only' or by level only (the PF has this criteria) would suffice for majority of players. As you've surmised, SE does not have the manpower or capability to keep the current filters updated and as a result, it is not working.

[Khalithar]

It's even simpler than that, 'Select Tell' > 'Friends only' or a checklist for 'tell in area only' or by level only (the PF has this criteria) would suffice for majority of players. As you've surmised, SE does not have the manpower or capability to keep the current filters updated and as a result, it is not working.

Adding more filters to our tells is the best solution. If I could set my tells to FC/Friend List/LS only I could actually turn my tells back on, as is I leave them off at all times because of all the RMT spam.

[Gemina]

What about confirmed Gil buyers? Are they part of 4257 count?

Not sure how good banning accounts are. I'm sure many have been banned already, and the spam is relentless still. Ban discipline won't stop Gil sellers. When has it, ever? Attack the source SE if you are not already.

[SDaemon]

Attack the source SE if you are not already.

The desire, want and need for gil? As long as there is an exchangeable currency to fuel an economy in the game there will be people who obtain said currency in order to sell it and there will be people who will buy said currency from them. Unless you want the outright removal of the ability to exchange gil between players there is no stopping RMT from existing.

They could certainly give us more tools to ignore its existence so it doesn't bother people as much, but it'll always exist.