P
Prince Caspian
Guest
Devs, I know you take the stance that all the cheater investigations are behind the scenes and must be kept hush-hush so you can catch the bad guys red handed.
But let's face it, right now that's like the FBI "Do Not Copy This Tape/DVD" warning. Nobody pays attention to it because there is never any conspicuous enforcement. Even the perps, when asked straight up, probably would say that while they believe there MAY be some enforcement behind it, the odds are overwhelming that THEY won't get pinched. Why? Because we see flagrant defiance everywhere so much that the whole idea of being called on it is not only remote, but ludicrous.
Sound familiar?
I am sure there's plenty more folks on this board who can speak better on Criminal Psychology (I have no schooling at all on the subject after all) but I would conjecture that the public breaking of law and subsequent getting away with it isn't just damaging because of the criminal's direct actions. It also is very harmful to the public's opinion of the law. Why obey it if there is no consequence for breaking it? Furthermore, why should I toil honestly when I can make a lot more by breaking the law? For most people in real life, the answer is obvious -- because you put your freedom at stake. You have to face the consequences. And of course we're dealing with a world of dragons carrying bottles of vanilla here, so where is the reality, but human nature doesn't change just because the context does.
But enough babble. Let me get to my point, 100000 words later. As someone very perceptively posted, just the APPEARANCE that there is more enforcement will go a long way. A pop up screen saying "As of today, x users busted on this shard, x illegal gold seized, x accounts banned for cheating. Cheating does not pay in UO." -- That protects this anonymity that the devs seem to prize above all else for the cheaters. And I really dont see how this is something that would be difficult to program and maintain. We're talking a silly pop up screen fed by some server side .INI file. Ralph Wiggim could program that.
Or, how about adding a Help option for "Report a Cheater?" We all know that our erm... stellar... GM support staff will be there after you page before you can translate the Book of Maccabes from Hebrew to Cantonese on most days. But hey, even so, the cheaters and dupers will look at this and say "Heeey.... look, they are implementing more features to stop cheaters.... MAYBE they mean it this time?" Will it stop them? Probably not. Will it make them think twice? Maybe. Will it repair this opinion that most of us hold that you all are blowing smoke when you say you are "dedicated to stopping cheaters?" Definitely.
A pop up screen and a new help page option. For starters. I think that's a hell of a lot more worthwhile for the lifespan of this game than some new colored slime quest.
What sayest thou?
But let's face it, right now that's like the FBI "Do Not Copy This Tape/DVD" warning. Nobody pays attention to it because there is never any conspicuous enforcement. Even the perps, when asked straight up, probably would say that while they believe there MAY be some enforcement behind it, the odds are overwhelming that THEY won't get pinched. Why? Because we see flagrant defiance everywhere so much that the whole idea of being called on it is not only remote, but ludicrous.
Sound familiar?
I am sure there's plenty more folks on this board who can speak better on Criminal Psychology (I have no schooling at all on the subject after all) but I would conjecture that the public breaking of law and subsequent getting away with it isn't just damaging because of the criminal's direct actions. It also is very harmful to the public's opinion of the law. Why obey it if there is no consequence for breaking it? Furthermore, why should I toil honestly when I can make a lot more by breaking the law? For most people in real life, the answer is obvious -- because you put your freedom at stake. You have to face the consequences. And of course we're dealing with a world of dragons carrying bottles of vanilla here, so where is the reality, but human nature doesn't change just because the context does.
But enough babble. Let me get to my point, 100000 words later. As someone very perceptively posted, just the APPEARANCE that there is more enforcement will go a long way. A pop up screen saying "As of today, x users busted on this shard, x illegal gold seized, x accounts banned for cheating. Cheating does not pay in UO." -- That protects this anonymity that the devs seem to prize above all else for the cheaters. And I really dont see how this is something that would be difficult to program and maintain. We're talking a silly pop up screen fed by some server side .INI file. Ralph Wiggim could program that.
Or, how about adding a Help option for "Report a Cheater?" We all know that our erm... stellar... GM support staff will be there after you page before you can translate the Book of Maccabes from Hebrew to Cantonese on most days. But hey, even so, the cheaters and dupers will look at this and say "Heeey.... look, they are implementing more features to stop cheaters.... MAYBE they mean it this time?" Will it stop them? Probably not. Will it make them think twice? Maybe. Will it repair this opinion that most of us hold that you all are blowing smoke when you say you are "dedicated to stopping cheaters?" Definitely.
A pop up screen and a new help page option. For starters. I think that's a hell of a lot more worthwhile for the lifespan of this game than some new colored slime quest.
What sayest thou?
