• Hail Guest!
    We're looking for Community Content Contribuitors to Stratics. If you would like to write articles, fan fiction, do guild or shard event recaps, it's simple. Find out how in this thread: Community Contributions
  • Greetings Guest, Having Login Issues? Check this thread!
  • Hail Guest!,
    Please take a moment to read this post reminding you all of the importance of Account Security.
  • Hail Guest!
    Please read the new announcement concerning the upcoming addition to Stratics. You can find the announcement Here!

No more HIDE!

G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

I really dont understand people in this chat room sometimes not all of them but more than one. Ok so you hate it when store owners have more then one sim on their lot hiding Ok I can deal with that thats your opinion as I have mine but what I cant understand is if you hate people being afk so much or having their sims hiding to make it on the top 100 why are you just going after the stores HELLO Ive been playing this game for 5 years and trust me its not just stores going afk and hiding their sims to make it on the list its every single category I understand its mostly stores that do it because its hard to keep it on the top 100 usually if say you are a skill house and u have 3 acc so u hide your sims in your house for a couple of days to get to the top 100 then after that people do the rest .. Afk skill houses don't seem to get people so worked up i cant say that i ever saw someone lure afk skillers before Oh did I tell you i cant stand those people that Lure at stores ... So i was thinking why is that why are these people only after the stores than it hits me they r jealous why I don't know could be a lot of things ...I always say to my son after someone is being mean to him that they do this because deep down they r jealous of him because if they were content with them selfs the name calling and bickering would never take place in the first place

[/ QUOTE ]

Greatttttttt, now I have that song from the kids show *The Electric Company* that teaches about punctuation playing in my head.


You're right, other categories do this besides stores, but you also agree that stores do it to a greater degree. Yes, skill houses sometimes do it to put 3 guests on the lot to get on the map, but think about this. If 3 guests are on the lot afk, hiding and not skilling a person might see that they are on the map but when they land and nobody is skilling *poof* they go again. So no, I do not believe that there is an epidemic of extended afk-ing with 3 hidden sims on skills or money lots. I believe that people may put their 3 paying sims on their lots to gain those hours, but the sims are *DOING* something while on the lot....either skilling or making money. That's how things are supposed to be.

When I see 10 sims in a store lot skilling, or sitting there chatting, or greening, I do not bat an eyelash. Why? Because they are THERE. They may not be shopping, but there's nothing in the rules that says you have to shop 100% of the time that you are in a store lot and when you're done leave. So tell me this, if these stores are not extended afking, then why can't they take those same 10-15 sims and DO things with them rather than hide them on the lot? Answer: laziness. This has nothing to do with jealousy, this has to do with standing up for a principle. When the Terms of Service says its wrong to do something, then by golly its wrong to do it and anybody that does it ought to be prepared for the consequences if they are busted by EA or reported and then busted. It'd be really simple to have those same 10-15 sims on the lot, gaining VH by doing things that are not against the rules to do, but it's alot easier to point the finger at other people and call them busybodies for holding you accountable to follow the same ToS that they hold themselves accountable for, I guess.
 
G

Guest

Guest
A lot of people think they can just jump in here and get top house with one acct. LOL We know that will never happen. Some have more invested in the game and therefore get more out of the game. Whether they appear afk or not. These store owners are working. We do not have a problem with free accts exploiting the visitor bonus now. It takes a while to get ahead in this game. Just like any other. Some still need to realize this. The top houses now are ran by seaoned veterans. All wanting top spot.

When you go to the stores, look around. If you get booted for repeatedly finding hidden sims, they are not afk. If the store is well stocked, they are not afk. If they greet you, they are not afk. If they are available to trade cards with you, they are not afk. All the accts are paid for, if not they do not count. If the store has nothing you were looking for, move on. If you do not like it, start at the bottom of the list and go up for your shopping needs.

Stores have been getting bad rap for years. People expect so much from them. The owners are not your personal assistants and the catalog prices are too high for special orders. There is no need to be on hand constantly.

How many of these posts will there be? &lt;----rhetorical
If you think someone is cheating, report them using the nifty reporting thingy we have. Include all the sim names in the report. Then if EA finds them guilty, "justice" will be served.

LOL that was not all for you Angele
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

When you go to the stores, look around. If you get booted for repeatedly finding hidden sims, they are not afk. If the store is well stocked, they are not afk. If they greet you, they are not afk. If they are available to trade cards with you, they are not afk. All the accts are paid for, if not they do not count. If the store has nothing you were looking for, move on. If you do not like it, start at the bottom of the list and go up for your shopping needs.

Stores have been getting bad rap for years. People expect so much from them. The owners are not your personal assistants and the catalog prices are too high for special orders. There is no need to be on hand constantly.

How many of these posts will there be? &lt;----rhetorical

[/ QUOTE ]

The first point is not always true. Just because a house owner happened to walk by his/her computer in the process of doing RL things afk and happened to notice that somebody was seeking his/her sims and booted them does not mean they weren't afk for hours before and will not be afk for hours after. You might say we need to give those sims the benefit of the doubt, but with this epidemic to the point that it is now and what impact it is having to the regular player who goes by the rules, possibly pushing him/her to the point that they feel like they HAVE to cheat to get anywhere thus they become dishonest themselves, we cannot afford to give players the benefit of the doubt IMO. It is up to us to report those people to EA, and then let EA investigate and find out for certain whether or not they are doing anything untoward. That's still not 100% fullproof as I have seen players dodge those bullets, but every bullet that isn't dodged is one less cheater and one more honest player that can get the spot that they rightfully deserve and EARN.
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>


Wal-Mart isn't number one in RL because they have 100 customers hiding under tables and plants!


[/ QUOTE ]

omg...

could you imagine

O.O

-runs off to hide under a plate-

[/ QUOTE ]
Hey find your own plate Im already hiding under this one. LOL. I say we play Hide and seek at these stores lol.
 
F

frogger2

Guest
Just an Ideal that might work...i hide alot just to keep my money lot open to let guest come in and make money when they arrive i always comes out of hideing. the ideal...here it is...cant the Devs some how take away visitors bonus time whenever a sim goes into hideing? when they are out in open time bonus starts again? may not be what you want but at least that way stores cant cheat to be in rank 1 anymore just because they have the cash to afford the accounts they shouldnt abuse the hideing bit i agree on that part but i dont want hideing to go away iether.
 
T

TKSpeedy1

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

Just an Ideal that might work...i hide alot just to keep my money lot open to let guest come in and make money when they arrive i always comes out of hideing. the ideal...here it is...cant the Devs some how take away visitors bonus time whenever a sim goes into hideing? when they are out in open time bonus starts again? may not be what you want but at least that way stores cant cheat to be in rank 1 anymore just because they have the cash to afford the accounts they shouldnt abuse the hideing bit i agree on that part but i dont want hideing to go away iether.

[/ QUOTE ]

No they can't for the simple reason that visitor bonus doesn't exist anymore.
 
B

B Rain

Guest
Just hitting reply.

This is just a suggestion ^^

Maybe EA should have like some other games that I played (e.g ffxi) , where you can idle as long as you want unless if you log off the server yourself or when there is a server maintenance.

You will be able to be in game until your pc or the game server explode!! muahaha


Maybe then no one will bother to find out if anyone is afk or not.
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

Remove the hide feature, and people will simply go back to what they used to do, which was leaving their sims out to die, or trapping them in beds.

[/ QUOTE ]
I miss those days, and I wish they'd go back to them.
I used to lure them all over the place. Revive their dead, go back after a hour or so revive them again, it was fun.
Wonder if you can lure a ghost, hmmmm, never tried.

Mavric

[/ QUOTE ]

Revive is accept/deny isn't it? How were you able to revive them when they weren't there?

[/ QUOTE ]

Did not alway have to click accept or deny. It was a automatic that you accepted everything.
 
I

imported_Shirl1211

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

I stand against the removal of the 'Hide' feature.
I have used it during building and doing roof art, it was very valuable then, at this point I can no longer afford to spend much time doing either of those but I do hope to again in the future.
I use it all the time after greening to be ready for work at the factory.
The ability to hide your greened sim is very useful before a contest, while everyone gets ready.
I do not care if store owners hide, it's their store, it's their $10 a month, who am I to presume to tell them how to play. I do not see the problem with hiding whatsoever. I am not against afk stores either, if noone is there to help me at a particular shop then I am free to go elsewhere. Finding someone who will help is not that hard.

It would be too bad to see the 'hide' feature go because of a few pouty simmers who somehow feel wronged by this. Many of us use it for legitimate reasons.

[/ QUOTE ]


I agree 100%. It is such a useful feature and I would like to see it be reclassified as such only for the simple fact that some people have nothing better to do that stereotype all hidden players as abusers of this feature. Please EA, help us out here. This feature is just as usefull to many of us as the AFK that is included in our interactions, even more so IMO.
 
I

imported_Shirl1211

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

Just an Ideal that might work...i hide alot just to keep my money lot open to let guest come in and make money when they arrive i always comes out of hideing. the ideal...here it is...cant the Devs some how take away visitors bonus time whenever a sim goes into hideing? when they are out in open time bonus starts again? may not be what you want but at least that way stores cant cheat to be in rank 1 anymore just because they have the cash to afford the accounts they shouldnt abuse the hideing bit i agree on that part but i dont want hideing to go away iether.

[/ QUOTE ]

No they can't for the simple reason that visitor bonus doesn't exist anymore.

[/ QUOTE ]


I think you misread what he was trying to say. He just used the wrong words to discribe the hours accumulated that determine what position your perperty is on the list. At least thats how I read it and I often use the wrong words to describe a point that i'm trying to make.
 
K

Kellyn

Guest
LMAO I wish I had been there to see you seeking out these hidden sims
 
I

imported_Shirl1211

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

I agree that it is annoying to go to a store and find everyone hiding, but if you are the only one on the lot and trying to run a store, hiding is the only way to save your green between customers. It is also very useful when trying to build in build mode when you can't see your motives. I don't agree with getting rid of hide, but maybe the time limit would be helpful, or only allow it on store lots when only one person is there.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree...I have a temporary store to sell some stuff I can't use and don't want. I'm the only one living there, so hiding is my only option besides dying. I come out when I have a customer. [/]quote]

This is exactly why I wish the Dev's would reclassify this feature simply because it is so useful to so many for various different purposes. Look at how much money us store owners save by using the hide feature. And when we are alone and our social drops, we would be forced to into buying a pet or leaving our homes to get this one need greened up.
 
I

imported_Shirl1211

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

LMAO I wish I had been there to see you seeking out these hidden sims

[/ QUOTE ]



I'm so bad... LOL. Hey, I used the feature for what it was intend for though according to some...LMAO
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

Just an Ideal that might work...i hide alot just to keep my money lot open to let guest come in and make money when they arrive i always comes out of hideing. the ideal...here it is...cant the Devs some how take away visitors bonus time whenever a sim goes into hideing? when they are out in open time bonus starts again? may not be what you want but at least that way stores cant cheat to be in rank 1 anymore just because they have the cash to afford the accounts they shouldnt abuse the hideing bit i agree on that part but i dont want hideing to go away iether.

[/ QUOTE ]

No they can't for the simple reason that visitor bonus doesn't exist anymore.

[/ QUOTE ]

Visitor bonus doesn't, but visitor hours DOES. frogger used the wrong terminology but his idea is a good one if there is a way in the code to do it. This way stores could hide till the cows come home, make their sales for a while but watch themselves plummet to the bottom of the list despite having some extra simoleans in their pocket. Then being #1 would necessitate actually BEING there, if doing nothing more than greening your sim in between skilling if you have no visitors.
 
J

jenee

Guest
the thing is some of them are not even there.like the fruit stores there never there no one ever answers you.
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

I'll join that mission in a heart beat. Lets see, what is that thing called? OH yeah, Customer service. We aren't ranking number one because of our hide and seek skills now are we? hehehe I do not shop that number one store, will not, refuse not. When they are there actually, they are quite rude. Now expecting tips for their services...the owner flat out said so in chat, "Thanks to what the devs did to us, (removing their dirty money), I will be expecting a tip for my services." Well good Lord, a tip? Its a store, if a store owner serenades me while I shop , asks if I am hungry, acknowledges my existence...then and ONLY then, will I tip that store.

[/ QUOTE ]

I swear to the sim gods, I would have started a trade transaction as if I was going to give him a tip bigger than the amount that "Give Money" would have, and then after he opened the window I would have typed in "Here's your tip buddy, you are not the simgods gift to the sim world, and you are not even a salesman. There might be simgrants you can get to go to classes in Customer Service, I suggest you take them or get the hell out of the CS business, you're giving the rest of us a bad name". Chances are he'd have booted me as soon as I hit the enter button, but my peace would have been said and I'm sure if nothing else it would have gotten some silent chuckles from others on that lot at the time.
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

I agree that it is annoying to go to a store and find everyone hiding, but if you are the only one on the lot and trying to run a store, hiding is the only way to save your green between customers. It is also very useful when trying to build in build mode when you can't see your motives. I don't agree with getting rid of hide, but maybe the time limit would be helpful, or only allow it on store lots when only one person is there.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree...I have a temporary store to sell some stuff I can't use and don't want. I'm the only one living there, so hiding is my only option besides dying. I come out when I have a customer. [/]quote]

This is exactly why I wish the Dev's would reclassify this feature simply because it is so useful to so many for various different purposes. Look at how much money us store owners save by using the hide feature. And when we are alone and our social drops, we would be forced to into buying a pet or leaving our homes to get this one need greened up.

[/ QUOTE ]

There are other legitimate ways to prevent death or over drainage of needs like social than misusing this feature and some of them have been outlined here. Those that choose to ignore those suggestions and continue to exploit have only themselves to blame for the 'stigma' they fall under. As far as social goes, it is possible to give yourself social, either with a 2nd account (which there's no excuse not to have since free accounts are permanently available and can enter store lots in EA Land even, they just dont' accumulate visitor hours).

If one wants to dig their heels in and not register a free account with their premium, then OK, you can still get social. Keep your sim sitting down...when a customer enters your lot, click on them and alternate flirt and compliment. Your sim will not get up and approach them, so they won't even notice this probably, except that in doing this you also raise THEIR social without invading their personal space approaching them for hugs or dances or something. This is the same trick I tell people when we find ourselves in houses were the hosts refuse to serenade. It's not super fast, but it does work. If push comes to shove, close shop for 5 minutes if you go a couple hours without a customer and go to a busy lot to green. You can get social there the same way and alot more people to choose from that won't have a chance of poofing as fast. If you've gone hours without a customer, 5-10 minutes spent at another lot doing this won't hurt things a bit and if you think it will then it is worth pulling that second account in.

The bottom line will never change: NOTHING makes cheating OK. There are always ways to avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing. It might take some extra effort, but if being perceived as an exploiter is that big a deal to you then taking those extra moments will be nothing if it means clearing your name, reputation, and store of being thought of in this light.
 
I

imported_Shirl1211

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

the thing is some of them are not even there.like the fruit stores there never there no one ever answers you.

[/ QUOTE ]



Yes and their the ones who make the hide feature a topic of controversy. That's why I said back a few days ago that its surprises me that with them being in violation of the ToS for the extended amount of time they have been doing this, why they are still in operation. I thought EA was a bit more strict than this. But as of today, their still in business.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Didnt read all the posts here, but from the ones I did read, most are touching on the store owners. I am a store owner and Im only afk long enough to run a short errand, usually to get a drink and right back.. I try to greet and sing to all my guest if possible..

What I DO like about hide is from a shoppers point. When I plan to shop around 10-20 stores looking for something, I should be able to hide so that I can take a good look around, compare prices, check on how much use the object has, maybe compare notes I have wrote about which store had which item at what price... without having to stop and green or die in the process while I am "browsing".

In fact after a short song on my store lot, I encourage my patrons to hide so that they can take a good look around.. I had rather have product on my lot than headstones lol.

Not offering any ways to solve the afk store owners problem, except boycott. But please please for us shoppers that like to browse everything, please dont do away with hide.. There has got to be a solution that will help everyone.. Now its your job to think of it, hehe.. Thats my three hairs worth of comments for today...
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

In fact after a short song on my store lot, I encourage my patrons to hide so that they can take a good look around.. I had rather have product on my lot than headstones lol.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think there is a gross misconception of how difficult it is to actually die of starvation. I've known sims that have done it on purpose just for kicks to see how long it would take, and it took 5 to 6 RL hours. Even if somebody was visiting 10-20 stores, they'd have to spend 20 minutes at each and every store to approach that long, and there's no reason they couldn't put at least a partial green cycle in there long enough to potty and eat even if they didn't mess with comfort fun and social. You might then get sims that pass out on the front lawn from low energy, but you said you serenade so that would prevent that, even if you did not do it enough times in a row to take them from near-passing out to fully green in energy.

It takes real effort or real sim neglect to die from it. It doesnt' just happen after long enough to even run to the corner store for milk and bread, or even if you stayed unhidden on your lot circumventing timeout long enough to see a movie at a movie theater. It takes a SIGNIFICANTLY longer amount of time than that. Maybe if there are more people who don't understand that, and now they do, they won't feel so pressured to 'have' to hide in order to keep hunger green.
 
I

imported_Shirl1211

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

The bottom line will never change: NOTHING makes cheating OK. There are always ways to avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing. It might take some extra effort, but if being perceived as an exploiter is that big a deal to you then taking those extra moments will be nothing if it means clearing your name, reputation, and store of being thought of in this light.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are right, nothing makes it okay. However, my issue here isn't with anyones perception of me! What I find offensive is how many players attack store owners (or anyone else for that matter) for using the afk feature to hide to stay green. What many fail to realize is that just because I and many others are AFK, DOES NOT mean we are also circumventing the time out feature. I watch the customers enter and leave, I restock after items are purchased, I call for repairs when needed, etc.

You mention going to other lots to green up. Why should I visit another lot for greening? Now you are proposing I occupy a space on someone else's lot and prevent another player from going there to skill/make money/visit a friend? That would make me purely selfish and out for my own needs. There is no reason others should make a sacrifice on my behalf when I already have my own capability to provide for myself.

You also mention that I should take social from a visitor without consent by tossing interactions at them when they visit. I have run into MANY players out here who are offended by unwanted interactions.

A majority of the visitors I see also hide upon entry so that they don't lose any green while shopping.

The hide feature may be being abused by some (through circumventing time out), but I find it hard to believe that the majority of us are deserving of the attacks and accusations that are thrown at us on a continual basis.
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

You mention going to other lots to green up. Why should I visit another lot for greening? Now you are proposing I occupy a space on someone else's lot and prevent another player from going there to skill/make money/visit a friend? That would make me purely selfish and out for my own needs. There is no reason others should make a sacrifice on my behalf when I already have my own capability to provide for myself.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good grief you are now arguing semantics to the extreme. If you have greening facilities on your lot, then it would take only 5 or 10 minutes to jump onto a lot long enough to social your sim up. I did not say jump into a lot that had 29 sims in it so that you took up the 30th spot and did block somebody who wanted to get in and skill from doing so. Perhaps you could go to the 20th spot on the list if it was open, for example, or find a lot where the owner is also there alone and go and investigate if they TOO need social. In doing so you'd be helping yourself and then. Geez Shirl, I figured that would be kinda obvious. As far as taking up their resources, that only applies if you eat or use an object. Getting social requires nothing more than sitting in a chair and those don't break down so there's no maintenance cost. If you *choose* to fully green there, then tip them extra based on the extra simoleans you are making at your store, whatever that amount is, just as you would on a money lot. When I go to a money lot (which is rarely but usually to code if/when I do) I tip the roomie who cooks double the amount of the food I ate, and I tip the owner of the lot 10% of the amount of simoleans I made there, even if he/she isn't present on the lot at the time. I'm not suggesting you tip 10%, but even 1% would be nice IF you fully green. For socializing only I think the few minutes of visitor hours you are providing that lot would be sufficient to them, especially if they are not in the top 20 of the list so they are stil *hungry* for VH. They are helping you by giving you social, you are helping them by giving them visitor hours and in the end nobody is guilty of cheating. Win/win all around, how could it get better?
 
V

vapd3317

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

In fact after a short song on my store lot, I encourage my patrons to hide so that they can take a good look around.. I had rather have product on my lot than headstones lol.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think there is a gross misconception of how difficult it is to actually die of starvation. I've known sims that have done it on purpose just for kicks to see how long it would take, and it took 5 to 6 RL hours. Even if somebody was visiting 10-20 stores, they'd have to spend 20 minutes at each and every store to approach that long, and there's no reason they couldn't put at least a partial green cycle in there long enough to potty and eat even if they didn't mess with comfort fun and social. You might then get sims that pass out on the front lawn from low energy, but you said you serenade so that would prevent that, even if you did not do it enough times in a row to take them from near-passing out to fully green in energy.

It takes real effort or real sim neglect to die from it. It doesnt' just happen after long enough to even run to the corner store for milk and bread, or even if you stayed unhidden on your lot circumventing timeout long enough to see a movie at a movie theater. It takes a SIGNIFICANTLY longer amount of time than that. Maybe if there are more people who don't understand that, and now they do, they won't feel so pressured to 'have' to hide in order to keep hunger green.

[/ QUOTE ]

The hide feature is there as a legitimate action. I use it as much as possible while at my store and will continue to do so. I don't circumvent time out. (That I agree with as being wrong.) However, I also don't chat. If someone has a valid question, I will answer it.

How is a "desire" to stay hidden misconstrued as "pressured" to stay hidden? I dont WANT to be visible. I can do anything I need to do from a hidden status. Buy, Build, talk,...etc.... they only thing I cant do is call the repair man or boot visitors. But it's fun to come out just for that purpose.
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

In fact after a short song on my store lot, I encourage my patrons to hide so that they can take a good look around.. I had rather have product on my lot than headstones lol.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think there is a gross misconception of how difficult it is to actually die of starvation. I've known sims that have done it on purpose just for kicks to see how long it would take, and it took 5 to 6 RL hours. Even if somebody was visiting 10-20 stores, they'd have to spend 20 minutes at each and every store to approach that long, and there's no reason they couldn't put at least a partial green cycle in there long enough to potty and eat even if they didn't mess with comfort fun and social. You might then get sims that pass out on the front lawn from low energy, but you said you serenade so that would prevent that, even if you did not do it enough times in a row to take them from near-passing out to fully green in energy.

It takes real effort or real sim neglect to die from it. It doesnt' just happen after long enough to even run to the corner store for milk and bread, or even if you stayed unhidden on your lot circumventing timeout long enough to see a movie at a movie theater. It takes a SIGNIFICANTLY longer amount of time than that. Maybe if there are more people who don't understand that, and now they do, they won't feel so pressured to 'have' to hide in order to keep hunger green.

[/ QUOTE ]

The hide feature is there as a legitimate action. I use it as much as possible while at my store and will continue to do so. I don't circumvent time out. (That I agree with as being wrong.) However, I also don't chat. If someone has a valid question, I will answer it.

How is a "desire" to stay hidden misconstrued as "pressured" to stay hidden? I dont WANT to be visible. I can do anything I need to do from a hidden status. Buy, Build, talk,...etc.... they only thing I cant do is call the repair man or boot visitors. But it's fun to come out just for that purpose.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, the hide feature is there as a legitimate action to be used as a game, called Hide AND seek so those who boot the players who play the game along with them by seeking them are obviously not intending to use it to play that game, therefore are misusing it. Nothing anybody says....ever....will change that. If you are hiding SO that people can find you, then yeah that's using the feature correctly. If you are hiding to preserve green, or for any other reason, then that by definition is misuse.

Perhaps instead of removing hide-n-seek all together the devs need to make it so that after 10 minutes (which is ample time to be 'sought' unless you are so well hidden that somebody has to yell 'olly-olly-oxen-free' or whatever that phrase was to say 'I give up, I cant find you, you win so come out and I'll be it') you either become unhidden, or your needs begin to decay as usual. If you simply become unhidden then sims will just rehide, but if those needs begin to decay after 10 minutes then that will kinda eliminate the purpose that players MISUSE this feature for. Those who use it as a game won't mind greening up when they are done playing since people who actually PLAY the game do know that greening is a big part of our sim lives. W

Whatever they do, they need to do something quick to eliminate this exploit of the intended feature. The reason they haven't done anything about it so far is most likely not because they condone it like so many others want to believe, its because they are having to put out so many other bigger and more important fires that they don't have time to fix things that fall into secondary priority right now. I'm sure others will use this as justification to keep doing it.....what else is new, right?
 
V

vapd3317

Guest
I believe that Shirl was trying to simply state that there is NO NEED to have to visit another property to green up. She is utilizing an available game option, legally, morally and ethically to stay green. Being AFK is not against the ToS. However, if she had prevented the time out feature, I could understand the many arguements against it.

Why should she or anyone else feel forced to create a free sim for social, or close her property to green elsewhere? If people want to call it cheating, then report it....oh my god puhleeeeeeeeeeze report it. I cant help but feel that all this aggressiveness towards an afk person is because people are frustrated at the fact that although they don't like it, they cant acknowledge the fact that IT IS NOT WRONG.

You can try and force your beliefs down our throats as much as you want,....but I refuse to drink the kool-aide.
 
I

imported_Shirl1211

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

You mention going to other lots to green up. Why should I visit another lot for greening? Now you are proposing I occupy a space on someone else's lot and prevent another player from going there to skill/make money/visit a friend? That would make me purely selfish and out for my own needs. There is no reason others should make a sacrifice on my behalf when I already have my own capability to provide for myself.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good grief you are now arguing semantics to the extreme. If you have greening facilities on your lot, then it would take only 5 or 10 minutes to jump onto a lot long enough to social your sim up. I did not say jump into a lot that had 29 sims in it so that you took up the 30th spot and did block somebody who wanted to get in and skill from doing so. Perhaps you could go to the 20th spot on the list if it was open, for example, or find a lot where the owner is also there alone and go and investigate if they TOO need social. In doing so you'd be helping yourself and then. Geez Shirl, I figured that would be kinda obvious. As far as taking up their resources, that only applies if you eat or use an object. Getting social requires nothing more than sitting in a chair and those don't break down so there's no maintenance cost. If you *choose* to fully green there, then tip them extra based on the extra simoleans you are making at your store, whatever that amount is, just as you would on a money lot. When I go to a money lot (which is rarely but usually to code if/when I do) I tip the roomie who cooks double the amount of the food I ate, and I tip the owner of the lot 10% of the amount of simoleans I made there, even if he/she isn't present on the lot at the time. I'm not suggesting you tip 10%, but even 1% would be nice IF you fully green. For socializing only I think the few minutes of visitor hours you are providing that lot would be sufficient to them, especially if they are not in the top 20 of the list so they are stil *hungry* for VH. They are helping you by giving you social, you are helping them by giving them visitor hours and in the end nobody is guilty of cheating. Win/win all around, how could it get better?

[/ QUOTE ]


I'm not arguing anything with you CBrewton. Let's clear that up right now. I will use the features that are in this game anyway that I choose as long as i'm not breaking any rules. If you think i'm cheating then by all means Please report it. God forbid that Ms Righteous not try and cram her beliefs down my throat once again. Also we have been told that when stating what we believe to be facts in this forum to include a reference other than your opinion to proove it to be fact. Since your replies are just short of novels that really should be a problem. Also, if you want to harp about what YOU think is right or wrong, remember one thing, it is merely just your OPINION and we all have one and the forum allows each of us to state it without having to be harrassed by a person that thinks she is an an authority on every topic posted. Morally speaking here, doesn't one of your avatars have a name that all for the spelling is an illegal narcotic? Maybe you find that appropriate for a game that allows 13 year old children to play. I myself find it offensive and think that the Dev's should look into the matter of some of these things since most of us have the morals to want to keep this game as honest and clean as you seem to do.
 
G

Guest

Guest
LOL If you find a name offensive, report it.
btw I agree with you.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Removing the Hide option doesn't remedy the original problem.

The way the stores / houses are classified as "good or bad" is solely based on how many sims are in that house every day.

This classification has never worked well. Now that they are tampering with it by removing visitor bonuses, it works even worse.

In my opinion we should stop trying to "temporarily fix" something and instead implement a good, solid solution.

For instance:
Change the way the lots are rated. Instead of rating them on how many sims are hiding under the plants and plates, let the shoppers rate them (once per IP address/day), for instance rate them 1-10 in "Quality of CC", "Availability", "Selection of items", "Customer service", "Politeness" and whatever criteria is deemed to be of interest.

Add up all the points received in the different categories and that can make an overall grade for the lot. Also make a search function where all the stores who have received high marks in "Quality of CC" for instance, can be sought out.

I'm sure this sort of system can also be abused by stores, but it will make it harder.
 
I

imported_DutchAmerica

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

Remove the hide feature, and people will simply go back to what they used to do, which was leaving their sims out to die, or trapping them in beds.

[/ QUOTE ]

At least that's more fun. You can lure them off to strange places and take screenshots.


[/ QUOTE ]


I have seen many an AFK wedding in my time. There was a time a few years back that AFK weddings were a real epidemic.

But yeah, luring AFK'rs into really embarrassing situations is pretty awesome. Sometimes I wish they would do away with the time out feature so that we can all have a bit of fun with it again.

(I just don't visit stores with a bunch of afk hiders.)
 
I

imported_remflyer

Guest
Disable the hide feature? No, no, no it is too useful for all the many reasons that have been posted in this thread.

The store situation needs to be addressed by the Dev's by redesigning how this category works. Do away with the top 100 list. Give us a general directory of open stores. Let someone create a widget that allows us to give one to five stars to stores we visit and gives us the ability to make comments with our primary avatar. Model this rating system like other store comparison sites that you see on the web.

Officially do away with time out. It is useless anyways because it is too easy to override. We did away with time out in Betaville and it worked fine. Why not do it here?
 
I

imported_fajjaa

Guest
Remember, this is not TSO. This is EALand and I get the feeling after this amount of time, that the Dev team is letting 9.99 a month to allow you to play the game anyway you choose, with certain guidelines obviously, but also without the nitpicking small stuff. With no afk and hiding feature, I am sure they see this as a big loss in revenue. So if you can convince them that removing afk sims from the game is worth losing 9.99 a month, good luck.
 
I

imported_DutchAmerica

Guest
The devs could put a 'boot' feature on guests using the 'hide' feature?

When a guest hides, a timer could start. After a set period of time, say for the purpose of the proposal 5 minutes, after that time the hidden guest would be automatically booted back to the windows view.

I mean like in real life...wouldn't you get kicked out of the store if you were hiding in the dress rack for hours?
 
I

imported_Shirl1211

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

The devs could put a 'boot' feature on guests using the 'hide' feature?

When a guest hides, a timer could start. After a set period of time, say for the purpose of the proposal 5 minutes, after that time the hidden guest would be automatically booted back to the windows view.

I mean like in real life...wouldn't you get kicked out of the store if you were hiding in the dress rack for hours?


[/ QUOTE ]


Dang, thats an awesome suggestion. you should bring that up in the town hall or wherever it is that they meet.
APPLAUDS
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

The devs could put a 'boot' feature on guests using the 'hide' feature?

When a guest hides, a timer could start. After a set period of time, say for the purpose of the proposal 5 minutes, after that time the hidden guest would be automatically booted back to the windows view.

I mean like in real life...wouldn't you get kicked out of the store if you were hiding in the dress rack for hours?


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, and if you were an employee of a store, you'd get fired for doing the same thing and not helping your customers, so I think the same should apply for owners/roomies as well. I like that analogy


*ponders*

Maybe a proposal can be written up on the Wiki, whereby to have a lot in the store category, you have to be *licensed* by EA just like you have to be licensed in RL to have any kind of business. You don't live up to certain codes of behavior, you lose that license and have to convert your lot to a different category type. Seems like that would put an end to everybody and his brother having a store, and allow those who are really proficient in their customer service skills shine through whereas now they are covered up by a bunch of riff-raff. Coupled along with that, there could be a ceiling set on the number of stores allowed to be in the game in a certain period of time, whereby once that number was reached, nobody else could convert their lot to the store category until somebody else changed their category to something else. If they tried to change to a store, they get a pop-up saying that no spots in the store category are available, and that their owner sim had been placed on a waiting list, and would receive in-game notification when their spot on the waiting list came up. When their spot came up they have 24 RL hours to make their lot a store, or after that time period notification will be sent to the person behind them on the list and the person has to reapply to be put back on the waiting list. Seems like a system like this could work and could really help things because players would not all have private store lots now that we have so many sims in the same city that can all own separate lots. Those players would then have to shop in the existing stores, and would thus stimulate the economy with the simoleans they spend.

Some more thought needs to go into this before I write up a formal Wiki entry, but that's a thought that came to mind when talking about this.....
 
G

Guest

Guest
LMAO
It is so funny to see the shoppers face when they go to look at the dresses and you pop out. The stores do frown on it though.
 
T

TKSpeedy1

Guest
I'm with you on this one. I had a newbie come to my store last night when I was full green and hiding. I came out when she arrived and answered ALL of her many questions. I even tried to do some interactions with her, but since she still didn't know what she was doing yet, most of them got ignored and I started to get a red link with her, so I stopped. By the time she left, I had to leave my property to go green. And I hate just walking into a place and say "Can I please green here?" and then leave.

From all the posts I'm seeing here, it looks to me like some people are confusing the hide feature with being AFK. When I hide, I'm usually still in front of the computer and if I have to go AFK it's only for a couple of minutes. I don't think the problem is really with the hide feature because even when you are using that, you eventually time out if you go AFK. The problem is rigging your computer to stay connected while you go AFK whether you hide or not. I have no problem with people who hide. Sometimes, you need to. It's the AFK people that I find annoying.
 
I

imported_Shirl1211

Guest
Maybe you should run this suggestion by the people who make Custom Content. I think this would put a damper on their livelyhood. I don't know, its MO only.
 
I

imported_Qute Pi

Guest
I like the hide feature for other reasons.
I do however think its wrong for a property to be #1 based on how many sims they could hide.
Part of why I don't even bother to host a property is because of this. Its one thing to compete with stores fairly, its another to have to go out and buy 15 additional accounts just to compare.
But hey, the dev's know what they are doing. If I'm having less fun because I don't want to deal with all that and decide to quit then so be it, right?
I guess we'll see which comes first, lack of open properties because they just don't care or a new list.
I'm hoping for the new list.....................................

But then again there are a bunch out there who believe if you can't beat them join them.
Oh well.
 
G

Guest

Guest
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I like the hide feature for other reasons.
I do however think its wrong for a property to be #1 based on how many sims they could hide.
Part of why I don't even bother to host a property is because of this. Its one thing to compete with stores fairly, <font color="blue">its another to have to go out and buy 15 additional accounts just to compare.
</font> But hey, the dev's know what they are doing. If I'm having less fun because I don't want to deal with all that and decide to quit then so be it, right?
I guess we'll see which comes first, lack of open properties because they just don't care or a new list.
I'm hoping for the new list.....................................

But then again there are a bunch out there who believe if you can't beat them join them.
Oh well.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------






<font color="red">Don't let losers like that stop you from what you want to do in this game. I think everyone in town knows their a bunch of losers who cheat so chances are, they don't get much business </font> I'm not going to let them ruin this game for me and you shouldn't either. You will find out in the long haul that you can make a go in whatever you decide to do and so can I. We just need to hold our heads up high and thank the Man upstairs that honesty was included in our upbringing. If you need any help getting started please send me a PM. I will help you out in any way I can!!! You watch, we will succeed and have fun doing it !!!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who are you calling cheating losers? Anyone with more than one paid account that hides sims on their lot?
 
I

imported_Qute Pi

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

I like the hide feature for other reasons.
I do however think its wrong for a property to be #1 based on how many sims they could hide.
Part of why I don't even bother to host a property is because of this. Its one thing to compete with stores fairly, its another to have to go out and buy 15 additional accounts just to compare.
But hey, the dev's know what they are doing. If I'm having less fun because I don't want to deal with all that and decide to quit then so be it, right?
I guess we'll see which comes first, lack of open properties because they just don't care or a new list.
I'm hoping for the new list.....................................

But then again there are a bunch out there who believe if you can't beat them join them.
Oh well.

[/ QUOTE ]




Don't let losers like that stop you from what you want to do in this game. I think everyone in town knows their a bunch of losers who cheat so chances are, they don't get much business. I'm not going to let them ruin this game for me and you shouldn't either. You will find out in the long haul that you can make a go in whatever you decide to do and so can I. We just need to hold our heads up high and thank the Man upstairs that honesty was included in our upbringing. If you need any help getting started please send me a PM. I will help you out in any way I can!!! You watch, we will succeed and have fun doing it !!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks I appreciate it. I have played forever and accomplished a lot, so I know you're right when you say we can do anything we put our minds to.
It's just very discouraging. Maybe its my "enjoy the small town" attitude that can't seem to compete with these mega properties, and maybe those properties are used to busy cities...idk.
I make a store, no one ever comes, they can't even see me on a list or the map.
Thankfully I have a wonderful store that helps me to sell the cc I make, without them no one would have playgrounds!
heh.
 
I

imported_Qute Pi

Guest
<blockquote><hr>


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I like the hide feature for other reasons.
I do however think its wrong for a property to be #1 based on how many sims they could hide.
Part of why I don't even bother to host a property is because of this. Its one thing to compete with stores fairly, its another to have to go out and buy 15 additional accounts just to compare.
But hey, the dev's know what they are doing. If I'm having less fun because I don't want to deal with all that and decide to quit then so be it, right?
I guess we'll see which comes first, lack of open properties because they just don't care or a new list.
I'm hoping for the new list.....................................

But then again there are a bunch out there who believe if you can't beat them join them.
Oh well.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------






<font color="red">Don't let losers like that stop you from what you want to do in this game. I think everyone in town knows their a bunch of losers who cheat so chances are, they don't get much business </font> I'm not going to let them ruin this game for me and you shouldn't either. You will find out in the long haul that you can make a go in whatever you decide to do and so can I. We just need to hold our heads up high and thank the Man upstairs that honesty was included in our upbringing. If you need any help getting started please send me a PM. I will help you out in any way I can!!! You watch, we will succeed and have fun doing it !!!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who are you calling cheating losers? Anyone with more than one paid account that hides sims on their lot?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure about what she meant, but I agree with what she said so in my eyes:
Try those who hide 10-15 sims on their lot.
I have more than 1 account, 4 actually, but I'm not going to join the hidden afk club just to gain hours.
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>

Maybe you should run this suggestion by the people who make Custom Content. I think this would put a damper on their livelyhood. I don't know, its MO only.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not really.....I know many people who sell their CC by word of mouth that do not run a store BECAUSE it is so boring and they feel as strongly about doing shady things as I and others do, so they just avoid the entire situation by not owning a shop and just advertising their wares on their bios. Same with the custom craftables. If there was a mandate that said these things had to be sold in stores, then there might be a problem with the above idea.....but there isn't.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Are you aware that free accounts no longer count towards visitor hours?
 
G

Guest

Guest
<blockquote><hr>


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I like the hide feature for other reasons.
I do however think its wrong for a property to be #1 based on how many sims they could hide.
Part of why I don't even bother to host a property is because of this. Its one thing to compete with stores fairly, its another to have to go out and buy 15 additional accounts just to compare.
But hey, the dev's know what they are doing. If I'm having less fun because I don't want to deal with all that and decide to quit then so be it, right?
I guess we'll see which comes first, lack of open properties because they just don't care or a new list.
I'm hoping for the new list.....................................

But then again there are a bunch out there who believe if you can't beat them join them.
Oh well.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------






<font color="red">Don't let losers like that stop you from what you want to do in this game. I think everyone in town knows their a bunch of losers who cheat so chances are, they don't get much business </font> I'm not going to let them ruin this game for me and you shouldn't either. You will find out in the long haul that you can make a go in whatever you decide to do and so can I. We just need to hold our heads up high and thank the Man upstairs that honesty was included in our upbringing. If you need any help getting started please send me a PM. I will help you out in any way I can!!! You watch, we will succeed and have fun doing it !!!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who are you calling cheating losers? Anyone with more than one paid account that hides sims on their lot?

[/ QUOTE ]

If that's not who she's talking about then those people would fall into that category for me, although with 2 accounts not as much as the ones doing it with upwards of 10-15. Either way its wrong, and wrong is wrong, but the degree the first is wrong is much less than the second. Nevertheless, wrong is wrong.
 
G

Guest

Guest
That does not make them cheating losers, if you chose not to compete with them.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Your wrong. If someone pays for an acct they have the choice of deciding how they want to play it. If you do not like how they play. That does not give you the right to call them a cheating loser. Anyone with more than one acct has one of their sims hiding at some point. (if they know about the feature, and the benefits it provides). You are calling the majority of EA Land cheating losers.
 
Top