Gold Sellers

[Avenger]

Given that it doesn't look like SE will be able to solve the spam problem any time soon, it would be nice to have a single-click blacklist/report method.

Every time I get a spam message, I currently:

1. Go to my blacklist (which is full of 200 "active" spammers) and delete a spammer from it to free up space (many clicks.)
2. Go to my friend list to decline the spammer's friend request.
3. Go go the log window to blacklist the spammer using the "add to blacklist" pop-up.
4. Select mouse mode on the PS4
5. Expand the log window so that I can find the original spam message.
6. Select it and copy it using PS4 mouse mode and control-C on my keyboard.
7. Go to Support/FAQ, wait several seconds for the window to pop up, and select "How do I report RMT?" in the FAQ section.
8. Click on the "report" button.
9. Wait for the report window to pop up and become usable (usually a few seconds.)
10. Paste the spam message into the body using control-V.
11. Add an appropriate message subject line such as "Blacklisted! RMT Gfdfdsdf Fdsdssh 'www.gilspammers.com' (diabolos)" (which I have to type manually)
12. Hit "send" and verify that I've spelled the spammer's character name correctly.
13. Hit "send" again.
14. Some minutes later, receive a "reply" to my message, which causes an icon to blink on my screen.
15. Check replies under "support" only to get an irritating piece of boilerplate which advises me that I should add the spammer to my blacklist (what part of "Blacklisted!" did you not understand, support person?) and that this is only a "temporary measure" while they are busily (not) working toward a more permanent solution to the spam problem.

I have probably done this over 300 times. It's kind of like mining, but not nearly as rewarding.

[Hopegoran]

I wouldn't expect them to do anything about gold sellers since they don't do anything about the bots. On my server, Leviathan, I have found a bot in the Spineless Basic and report it just about daily. Even the coordinates where this bot is. I even ran into another individual there and he told me he reported the same bot a month ago.

They can say they're against gold sellers and bots but let's be honest - A sub is a sub no matter how they get them.

[Panthera13]

I've tried reporting these gil spammers, mostly because my tells/whispers get flooded time to time, I'm almost to my max on the blacklist, but the way it's done is so confusing. Plus some of them I don't even remember dates and time.

SE should try and make a program where if players have their blacklist maxed, they get a message to ask for a reason, thus sending all those names straight to SE with a tag of Gil Spamming. Same if a name gets blacklisted so many times they're automatically written up/banned.

[NationOfZealots]

There is a bigger underlying issue.

Has anyone ever come across a /tell from a RMT or see a bot, only to have to open up this window where all this information is required from the end-user that could be heavily automated, this is why 1 Click Purchases are a thing.

Because lemme tell yu this: people will want a Coil win if it pops, rather than wait to finish their huge arse letter to SE, thinking these bots will be taken down? This is the majority of the problem, lack of efficiency in reporting.

[zenmetsu]

As stated previously, the cost of entry into the game is low. Banning the account will only create a minor setback for the RMT folk. What S-E needs to do, as much as an inconvenience as it would be, is to target more finite resources when it comes to dropping the banhammer. Ban by CC number or bank account number. Better yet, allow new accounts a 30-day grace period and require an authorization code sent by POST to the account owner's physical address. Sure, the RMT account can operate for 30-days, but once that account gets reported for RMT and banned, no further accounts can be generated from that address.

[NationOfZealots]

As stated previously, the cost of entry into the game is low. Banning the account will only create a minor setback for the RMT folk. What S-E needs to do, as much as an inconvenience as it would be, is to target more finite resources when it comes to dropping the banhammer. Ban by CC number or bank account number. Better yet, allow new accounts a 30-day grace period and require an authorization code sent by POST to the account owner's physical address. Sure, the RMT account can operate for 30-days, but once that account gets reported for RMT and banned, no further accounts can be generated from that address.

It sounds easy doesn't it, SE of course numerously defends their lack of resources, hence ban waves, the above idea would create too much administration on their end, they need to get player$ in the game ASAP. In all seriousness and efficacy, SE should just monitor the MB a bit closer and better work out the numbers for who the botters are and who are the real deal, this will see their precious gil fall away a bit more easier as we would like it to be, and in the long run it will regulate huge-gil-sink items like Housing which is a direct reflection of group data centers' wealth.

[JeffD]

I see alot of the gold spam using massive amounts of symbols and such. Really shouldn't be a problem for square to give the player the option to filter out tells that feature over a certain amount of non letter characters.

[BraveheartRamo]

My blacklist fan club is becoming bigger. I'm pretty amazed with their marketing and sales techniques, first we get /sh msgs then evolved to /t msgs and now further evolved to friend invites! So what next, private chambers?

[Zephyr-Umbra]

I cancelled my subscription tonight because of the gold seller spam. Completely ridiculous. Simple solution...right-click report spam or ignore. Bad enough they get away with flooding chat so nobody can read , but then I have to remember their silly scramble of letters they call a name and use my game time to type it in. How was this not taken care of already?! And when I hit escape while I am typing I expect it to CLEAR what I was typing and then decided not to say when I hit escape. But nope, gotta go delete it or backspace it. Beautiful game with a broken chat log.

It's quite immature to cancel a subscription based on a small minor problem such as gold sellers as it is hardly a great inconvenience, you must live quite the privileged life if your willing to stop playing something based on a minor demographic of the player base.

That said some people seem surprised FF14 has them despite being P2P, the simple answer is that if no one supported them they would go away, people purchase gold from them, so it's an investment to them to create a subscription for these bots, it's that simple. I know for a fact some servers are worse than others and it's purely because of this, we need to crack down on the players forking out money for in game gold as well as the ones creating these false accounts otherwise its just a vicious circle. It would be a terrible waste of time and money even for gold selling groups that do this full time if no one bought from them, if theres no market for profit then they wouldn't hang around. "Say no to gold sellers kids."

[Sentaq]

maybe I'm wrong, but i think there was a way to turn off public chat
+ gold maybe will let you buy somethings better, but at the end game - you can get good (120lvl) items for poetics, or from Turns of coil