Curse

to mr strybook hero · Aug 08, 2007, 02:51 PM // 14:51

i used to play runescape, and one handy thing was that we could report in-game and if we saw a mod we could tell him Somewhere someone wasnt following the rules. i see so many people trading accounts, selling gold, not using trade chat and it stinks we need a screenshot and everything to send it in on the GUILDWARS website. its just a suggestion

countesscorpula · Aug 08, 2007, 06:02 PM // 18:02

In game moderators require a salary. Jeff Strain pointed out in one of his recent interviews that this was one of the costs that was cut in order to provide a game without a monthly fee. If I have to email a screen shot to avoid a $20/month fee (what it costs where I live for LOTRO or WoW), I choose the screen shot every time.

TheRaven · Aug 08, 2007, 07:16 PM // 19:16

Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about something like this being implemented. First off, Arenanet is not going to pay an employee to be an ingame GM. This is off the table completely so it's not even worth discussing.

That leaves a few other options.
1. Ingame reporting that auto-creates an email to support.
2. Ingame volunteer GMs from the player base with power to ban/temp suspendations/muffle.

I'd like to see #1 implemented, but it has problems. You're going to have jerks reporting everyone in town just because they can. You're also going to have overly sensitive people also reporting every violation they can find. Some legitimate violations and some non-legit that just irritated someone. Support would soon be massively overwhelmed with reports.

Idea #2 is also chocked full of issues. Abuse of power being the worst one. We've all seen those posts here from Player X whining about his account being permabanned for botting/spamming/scamming. He rants and raves and e-mails supports 5 times an hour demanding his account back. Many times the ban is legit and Player X is SOL. Other times you see a follow up post saying Arenanet sent him an apology and restored his account. This implies that someone with a banstick made a mistake. That someone was a trained employee under the watchful eye of the developers. If they can make these mistakes, imagine what problems a random volunteer gm could cause.

For that reason alone, I doubt it will be implemented......yet I still wish it would. Perhaps for GW2? Gaile Gray and others at Arenanet must certainly have a list of players that they respect and trust to a certain extend. These folks could be invited to participate in a Beta GM program.

Step 1: If you are interested in a GM position, apply for the position at the Guild Wars main site. You must fill out an extensive application with your GW experience and a real life resume of sorts. No one under 21 will be considered for the position. This application is not available all the time. Only during select "open enrollment" times when a position is available.

Step 2: Selected applicants are invited to an online GM training class. This class must be completed and tests passed before you are given GM powers.

Step 3: After passing the class, you are made a junior GM. For 6 months you have the ability to report potential violations to full GMs and support staff. Your reports are evaluated and at the end of 6 months you are either promoted to full GM or demoted back down to regular player. Junior GMs will appear no different to the community than regular players, but other GMs will be able to see them as GMs.

Step 4: Once promoted to full GM you have the ability to chat ban or temp suspend accounts with optional recommendation to permaban. GMs can never perma-ban accounts. Any disciplinary action taken is reported to Arenanet. If Arenanet decides that your actions were inappropiate you are warned. After 3 warnings your GM status is removed. GMs are also expected to be active in the game. If a GM does not log at least a minimum amount of hours they are removed from GM status.

Full GMs are given 2nd accounts rather than promoting their characters. This way they can still sign in under their normal characters and play the game as normal or sign in as a GM.

So what do you think? Sound do-able for GW2? If it were, would you sign up for GM status?

Thor Muthels · Aug 08, 2007, 11:30 PM // 23:30

I agree with Raven in concept. Obviously well thought-out. I would recommend a couple of minor changes though.

Quote:

Step 1: If you are interested in a GM position, apply for the position at the Guild Wars main site. You must fill out an extensive application with your GW experience and a real life resume of sorts. No one under 21 will be considered for the position. This application is not available all the time. Only during select "open enrollment" times when a position is available.

I would set the minimum age to 18. I personally know players between the ages of 18 and 21 that would make excellent GMs.

I would also recommend a minimum of one year in-game experience.

Quote:

Step 3: After passing the class, you are made a junior GM. For 6 months you have the ability to report potential violations to full GMs and support staff. Your reports are evaluated and at the end of 6 months you are either promoted to full GM or demoted back down to regular player. Junior GMs will appear no different to the community than regular players, but other GMs will be able to see them as GMs.

Reduce the "probationary period" from 6 months to 3 months. This would reduce the amount of paperwork anet employees would need to maintain. It would still afford ample time for performance review.

I would also recommend giving the junior GM the ability to issue temporary suspensions to a violator's account (maximum 24 hours). Since they have to send a report to a full GM, they will need to justify the suspension and include screenshots of the offending behavior. There are instances when something should be handled immediately and not be deferred until a full GM is available. If the suspension is deemed unwarranted, the junior GM is removed from the program. If the suspension is deemed malicious, the junior GM's account may be suspended or banned, based on the GM's judgement. Hopefully the initial screening of applicants would weed out anyone who wants the position simply for the ability to screw around with people in the game.

I think it would be a great idea to have volunteer GMs around to take care of problems immediately.

/signed

genofreek · Aug 08, 2007, 11:54 PM // 23:54

/signed, especially for the ideas put forth by Raven and Thor.

I personally would happily volunteer some of my game time to help clean GW up and assist new players. C'mon, I already answer questions and provide free mission runs/ferries because I'm like that.

MithranArkanere · Aug 09, 2007, 12:10 AM // 00:10

Yup. Just ingame reporting would be abused.

Many forums use volunteer GMs. But, as I could test myself, they may become corrupt and make much damage before being caught and punished...

A player willing to leave the game for ever with a loud 'boom' could act as a good buy for some time... much time... and once he gets tired... boom.

They where forums of an online game (Gameforege rings the bell for you?)
When I noticed how corrupt was the system, my integrity made me leave those games and forums forever...
But I'm Ok now. I have Guild Wars, XD.

One more thing to do could be having each account a variable that stores a daily/monthly/quarterly value that represents reports that can made, and allow making and sending them directly, linked to you account.

You type /report and a screenshot is sent.
That would have the added benefits of allowing the system to reduce image sice before sending, or more data other that just an screenshot (compressed datadump).

Once the account uses up all the 'automathed' reports, the player would have to make manual ones in the Support pages.

Abuse of the system wold mean also punishing the reporting account.
For example, one idiot reporting anyone that do not accept his trade prices.
He could move the chat to hide part of the text, but the datadump would send the whole chat log.

Yeah... that could help a bit in this.

Pulsh · Aug 09, 2007, 03:06 AM // 03:06

/signed

A lot of people have been doing stuff without being caugh and they should be banned for it like racial slurs, cussing at random people, sexual chat, etc.....but I think that racial slurs are probably the biggest thing and they should get like perma ban......

Darkobra · Aug 09, 2007, 04:59 AM // 04:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by to mr strybook hero

i used to play runescape, and one handy thing was that we could report in-game and if we saw a mod we could tell him Somewhere someone wasnt following the rules. i see so many people trading accounts, selling gold, not using trade chat and it stinks we need a screenshot and everything to send it in on the GUILDWARS website. its just a suggestion

Runescape moderators were also required to see the offense themselves. They can't report another player on some one else's word. Also it took time to recruit some decent mods, and even then, some were corrupt and power abusing. Now in Guild Wars, a superior game, power abuse would be taken far heavier. There's no reason for mods if the old report system works.

Unless, of course, you mean professionally paid moderators. That'd be a waste of money too. After all, they can't be everywhere at once and you can still report them.

The Lurch · Aug 09, 2007, 07:26 AM // 07:26

No one under 21 allowed to be a GM?

Why? That makes no sense. Are you assuming/suggesting that everyone under 21 is irresponsible and cant handle a position of power? That people under 13 are immature?

I think ANYONE should be able to be a GM. And the thing with the required amount of hours? Is that hours a day? Sorry, I have a LIFE outside of the computer. Maybe I dont want to play GW for a day. So I lose my GM status? No thanks. I agree with the sign up, and the class an all that, but not that every GM has to be 21, and that I have to be on X amount of hours a day.

Heres a simple idea to keep GMs from abusing their power. Permaban those who abuse it. With great power comes great responsibility right? Well, if some GM decides to be an asshole and starts muting/banning people or w/e he can do for no reason, he should deserve a permaban.

Also. check a players history of reports, tempbans, and other things before assigning them a GM position.

I'd sign up for this. Of course, people under 21 have to be able to do this for me to sign up

**EDIT**: Sorry, forgot to /sign this as long as the condition above is met.

Bithor the Dog · Aug 09, 2007, 10:13 AM // 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Lurch

No one under 21 allowed to be a GM?

Why? That makes no sense. Are you assuming/suggesting that everyone under 21 is irresponsible and cant handle a position of power? That people under 13 are immature?

I think ANYONE should be able to be a GM. And the thing with the required amount of hours? Is that hours a day? Sorry, I have a LIFE outside of the computer. Maybe I dont want to play GW for a day. So I lose my GM status? No thanks. I agree with the sign up, and the class an all that, but not that every GM has to be 21, and that I have to be on X amount of hours a day.

Heres a simple idea to keep GMs from abusing their power. Permaban those who abuse it. With great power comes great responsibility right? Well, if some GM decides to be an asshole and starts muting/banning people or w/e he can do for no reason, he should deserve a permaban.

Also. check a players history of reports, tempbans, and other things before assigning them a GM position.

I'd sign up for this. Of course, people under 21 have to be able to do this for me to sign up

**EDIT**: Sorry, forgot to /sign this as long as the condition above is met.

I would say that 21 is a decent age lurch me old mate.

We have lost 3 decent players in my guild ALL were 13 or 14 and acted with a sense of maturity which i find is rare these days.
The problem was they left because of commitments to schooling. They were getting very behind with acedemic work, so for that age group it would be wise to think maybe that we could condone factors of extended gameplay ruining their academic life?
At 21 in the UK you are either working or at University( I think) so its up to them how they play then. Under 13's shouldnt even be playing the game according to the ratings on the box so that isnt going to get any stay.

I just dont like the idea of "gamer" GM's. I think its open to too much abuse. If they were salaried to ANET then it would be different. They have commitments to the company.
player GM's are not commited in the same way.

In game reporting again, I think would be open to too much abuse. I had a character deleted because someone took offence to his name. I think ANET have a hard enough job sifting emails as it is let alone the torrent of stuff that would hit the screens with an in game system.
How many times have any of us seen something that said in our minds
"I could report you for that and you'd likely get a ban" and because the system to report is a little backward (Screenshot, support site, raise ticket etc) you think twice and let it go?
I did it once as someone was advertising gold selling in game. did as I was told send the ticket blah blah....then got an email back saying i had sent it to the wrong department............I'd lost enthusiasm by then.

/not signed ...im afraid...just my opinion on the matter