What is the saying?
"Ignorance is no defense" - this may be true.
However, there should be a saying for
"He who withholds rules/information to entrap is no better".
Who is worse, the unsuspecting person unknowingly getting caught or the person who knows about a rule change but fails to advise anyone?
Who is to blame if the person gets done for speeding when the limit went from 100 mph to 40 mph but no one put any signs up, and just expected everyone to know that the speed change was advised in article 2 section 3c part [iii] of the road rules code of speeding on speedy.com website?
Yes most people who read Uhall - stratics know all about the duping, which I might add has NOT been posted by EA but by regular players posting to the forum. Most long term players, especially crafters, know that seeing 50 barbed kits on a vendor or 10 val hammers is totally unable to be achieved without some form of manipulation of the system, either scripting or duping, both illegal.
However, a player who has returned to the game after a few years away or a genuine new player, has been wandering around vendors for months and if they don't craft and even if they do, there is no possible way for them to know that 15 mil for a val hammer or 2mil for a brk is not the 'norm' especially when multiple vendors on each shard have been carrying these as 'standard stock' for MONTHS.
Where was the information on this illegal activity posted for those who only started playing or returned in the last 6 months?
Nowhere on uo.com does it state to find game information and information about updates and such that you should read the stratics forums and if you don't you may miss out on important information that may result in your account being banned, your assets stripped. Nowhere on the login screen which is the
ONLY method of reaching ALL PLAYERS, has there been a warning issued on certain items etc.
I played UO for a year and a half before I even opened a stratics account. I expect I am not alone in this, in fact half my guild NEVER reads stratics even though I try to encourage them to keep up with things, they are casual gamers with limited time and spend 100% of their time playing, not browsing forums to find out information that SHOULD BE ON THE LOG ON SCREEN if EA has any real commitment or intent to stop the mess created by these dupes.
Now while I expect that the majority of players that would fall into this class would not even be interested in buying nor have the money to buy this type of thing anyways, the fact is anyone could pick up a box of this stuff from an idoc, a week old player or year old player. And picking up a box of 50 val hammers may not send warning bells ringing, especially if the person doesn't even 'know' what they are.
Yes we all want these dupes stopped, yes we all want to see UO cleaned up so that it becomes a more enjoyable and fair game for the majority, however I do believe that the main responsibility for all these lies fairly and squarely at the door of EA.
Not only have they:
- left vendors selling copious amounts of these items which EVERYONE who has been around for the past 4 years knows is impossible to have in any numbers, and are still on shards 'today' as we speak.
- allowed these vendors to continue to supply, knowing that when anything is around for months and months, there are some people who are going to think, sheesh, well I didn't dupe anything and these have been here so long now it must be ok or they would have been addressed or put a notice up.
- assumed that all players have a level of intelligence that would stop them buying items when all their mates do to craft 'uber' items and getting no repercussions so after a few months cave in and do the same. This really is entrapment at its worst, you can compare it to dangling a bag of lollies in front of a two year old every day for 5 months and saying 'don't touch'.
- changed the way they implement discipline by outright banning and deleting a players house for what may be a 'first offense' be it buying a few 'known' dupes or just being unlucky in buying some after selling a crimson or something to give them some cash and them not knowing that 2mil for a brk is not 'normal'
- failing to warn ALL players in any way shape or form in any OFFICIAL capacity by posting those warnings on the log in screen. Saying Draconi et al have said time and time again that buying a dupe is just as bad, yet not making this information available to EVERYONE, just those who read stratics.
- Penalised people for buying items off a vendor although it is impossible to tell a duped item from a 'real' one.
Now I don't know any people who have been caught up in this ban, and I truly hope that all who have been dealt with like this were in fact guilty, and I have no sympathy for them if they were.
However, having had one of my new 'returned' players messaging me one day saying hey, great deal on brk's here someone must of cleaned up an idoc or be getting rid of their stuff, do you think I should get some while they are going cheap? To which I answered no, they are dupes leave them alone. I wonder how many 'other' players didn't have someone to message about the 'great' deal and are now paying the penalty for it?
Sorry but I personally think that AS SOON AS AN ITEM is known to be part of a dupe or scripting activity EA has the responsibility to put a big flashing message on the log on screen saying:
PLAYER WARNING! - illegal duping of the following items is currently ocurring and being investigated
List : valorite hammers
barbed runic kits
vine cord sandals etc
Until such time as the item is removed from the above list players are
warned not to trade or resell or buy these items which may be suspect
or severe action maybe taken against your account including permanent bans.
There is absolutely no point in being so concerned with 'catching' the dupers when we all know for a fact they use 'dummy' accounts for this type of activity and are back up and running within days of being 'banned'.
You need to stop it at the sale, most people will NOT dare buy stuff if they know and it is made quite clear that the devs are aware of not only the dupe but the item involved, there is then NO excuse for anyone to say they didn't know. Dupers rely on the fact that people will 'buy' their junk before ea ever gets around to even acknowledging it or doing anything about it.
I can't think of ONE duped item lately that has been around for more than a day on shards before someone is on stratics calling it out. Why is there not an 'immediate' warning about this item or items issued, even prior to the item being investigated to any depth?
The value of an
instant warning has many positives:
- Firstly it gives NOONE the excuse they 'didn't know.
- Secondly it makes it so much harder for dupers to even move their goods if everyone knows immediately that the scam is known of and being watched. Dupers rely on the fact that ea is so slow to action that they have 'made their money' and 'caused the damage' and have already shifted the gold to 'safe' accounts, long before they will pay any penalty
- Thirdly it then inspires confidence in the player base that EA is actually 'listening' to them and is at least trying to protect them from making mistakes in what they buy, be it with or without knowledge.
- Fourthly it could have the result that dupers give it a miss as there is no real profit if they will only make a little on the first day of trying it on shard. Prevention by making any duped item so much harder to sell is better than having the game flooded for months with duped items that have already caused the damage to player confidence and general gameplay.
The buck stops with EA, it is their game, and it is up to them to control the illegal activities, either by stopping them dead in their tracks by fixing the code so these silly dupes can't be created to start with, informing the player base IMMEDIATELY of any known dupe and the actions that will be taken if people fail to heed warnings, isolating anything that is under suspicion immediately for eg, turning off the bod hand in systems until such time as the bug is fixed.
The way things have been going are obviously NOT working or we wouldn't be here year after year talking about the same things just different items, maybe it is time a new approach is looked at?
