Motivate Square Enix to deal with bots & spammers ?

[Tase]

Is there anything we can do to motivate Square Enix to deal with spammers and bots ?

Not a curative approach, but a preventive method. Actually blocking spam and detecting teleport hacks.

Right now they're telling us everything will be ok, but that isn't happening.

So is there anything we can do as customer that enjoys FFXIV but is tired of the rampant spamming and botting ?

I just feel completely at the mercy of bots and spammers in this war against them, and it also feels like Square Enix isn't even fighting back.

SUGGESTIONS IN THE NEXT POST (1000charlimit)

[Tase]

Spams

• Block shouts that repeat the same sequence 7+ of characters more than twice.
• Block shouts that match previous shouts by at least 33%.
• Block shouts from widely blacklisted people. (if those 2 systems can communicate)
• Block shouts by players with shit names (Lots of F,d,s,t,r, no vowels, etc)
• Block all this with increasing returns.
• Sentences with "cheap" "usd" "fast" "safe" "sell" "gil" ? Probably RMT.
• Ban the whole <insert problematic region> IP block or whatever, ask for legitimate users to contact support. (ideally avoid this)

Hacks

• Detect teleports. 100 yalms in less than 1sec? Hacker.
• Maybe automate the report system for hackers/etc?
• Add in temporary case-per-case teleport detection algorithms for people reported for hacking by 3+ people if detecting and crosschecking movements is resource intensive?
• Make the gathering node clusters "high priority" for the anti-hack measures ?

[Tiggy]

Seriously they have the STF (Special Task Force) on the job. They've already banned some people. You are asking for them to do something that they are already doing.

[silverhope]

Seriously they have the STF (Special Task Force) on the job. They've already banned some people. You are asking for them to do something that they are already doing.

there not fixing the problem there dealing with them as they show up.. They need to fix the source like Tase offered great ideas.

[Beezilbub]

Seriously they have the STF (Special Task Force) on the job. They've already banned some people. You are asking for them to do something that they are already doing.

Since every single hour of every single day in the cities there is a wall of text in the chatbox advertising gill spammer sites, I'd say that the STF isn't really doing much. I've basically had to turn off shouts because of it. I'm nearing 100 people on my blacklist and every single one is a gill spammer. How many of those have been banned? Three or four. The STF isn't doing their job or they aren't given the tools they need to do their job. It's just rediculous how the gil spammers run free, unchecked. Whatever the STF is doing it's ridiculously ineffective.

[Tiggy]

there not fixing the problem there dealing with them as they show up.. They need to fix the source like Tase offered great ideas.

Most of those solutions wouldn't work for various reasons. They would mostly have unintended side effects that would effect valid players or are overbroad in their assumptions. Square did an amazing job cracking down on RMT in FFXI. Let them do what they have already prooved in the past that they can do.

[Tiggy]

Since every single hour of every single day in the cities there is a wall of text in the chatbox advertising gill spammer sites, I'd say that the STF isn't really doing much. I've basically had to turn off shouts because of it. I'm nearing 100 people on my blacklist and every single one is a gill spammer. How many of those have been banned? Three or four. The STF isn't doing their job or they aren't given the tools they need to do their job. It's just rediculous how the gil spammers run free, unchecked. Whatever the STF is doing it's ridiculously ineffective.

How many of those people on your blacklist are players that had their accounts hacked and have since had their account restored? You could have legit players on your blacklist now.

[Azurein]

What...? Motivate a company to do it's job? I don't even... what???

[Beezilbub]

I'm sure some of them are, but I have no way to tell if that's the case or not.

[Rizon]

In the last week to ten days the number of /shout have decreased dramatically when compared to this time 1 month ago. In this area SE has had an effect. As a result the RMTs have moved to /tells that contact players in a certain area with automatic tells. Enforcement here is more problematic for SE as they want to try to maintain the privacy of /tells while still combating RMTs. It may take them a while to come up with an acceptable compromise.

As for Bots and teleport hacks it will be a constant war of point/counterpoint as SE will find ways to combat the current programs in use and the hackers develop new programs. That neverending cycle plagues most MMOs.

The only true way to combat RMTs is to eliminate the demand for their product. SE must aggressively pursue the people who utilize these services and come down hard on them with temp/perma bans and they must publicize these actions in the loudest voice available. Only then will you see a noticeable decrease in RMT activity.