MyUO player n guild search!

[Vander Nars []R[]]

Do the devs have any plans to ever bring this back?

 

[NuSair]

I want to say I remember them saying this wasn't coming back.

 

[cazador]

No! Messana said in a letter or something there are security issues so we will not be getting it back..

I'm sure that's either code for (security issues, or we can't do it)

 

[Vander Nars []R[]]

So the devs are to lazy to fix it, sweet one of my favorite functions outside the game forever gone.

 

[Veldrane]

I'd love to see them fix it as well, but I'm not sure I'd call it laziness. MyUO is most likely not handled by the Dev team but rather the web development team at Mythic. Since it is highly probable that UO is considered in maintenance mode (perhaps even sundown mode) by the folks at Mythic, then getting web development time is going to be low priority. You've got a better chance of getting web team time to actually update the site rather than recode a major database project like the guild search.

 

[Vander Nars []R[]]

MyUO has been down for a long time not sure how many years but its been long enough for even something on the buttom of the list to be fixed, i dont know what else to call it but lazy.

 

[Uriah Heep]

It wasn't a security issue for years, I wonder what happened to make it one. I cant remember, but didn't it go away when they let go of their own boards?

 

[cazador]

I'd personally like to know why it's a security issue and can't be fixed to not be one..probably because it doesn't increase revenue and they can't see a real advantage to putting the man hours into implementing it again..focus on content, boosters and things that bring in revenue rather than putting back something that was just a luxury..I don't think there was ever "official" boards from what I can remember..but then again I often forget what I ate for breakfast, so I'm not exactly reliable in that aspect.

 

[Vander Nars []R[]]

I think we would all like an answer why it cant be fixed but I have a feeling we will go ignored because its not asking about the newest dyes in game or some music for a music box.

 

[Taylor]

Bonnie said in a recent interview that security issues were preventing them from bringing this back.

 

[Prime.]

I could understand MYUO being a security issue, even if it is a silly excuse, but there's no security issue in a guild or character search.

 

[Taylor]

Could it not have something to do with how it pulls data? If a website can pull account data automatically, but it needs to use legacy languages to do it, couldn't that present vulnerabilities? I'm not sure.

 

[Ashlynn_L]

Well if it is a security issue, maybe they could fix it and get MyUO up and running again. I think when they highlight it being a security issue perhaps what they really mean is it would take a lot of time and resources to make it secure enough.

Time, resources, and devs are not plentiful these days. So basically I think other things are taking priority.

 

[old gypsy]

I'd love to see them fix it as well, but I'm not sure I'd call it laziness. MyUO is most likely not handled by the Dev team but rather the web development team at Mythic. Since it is highly probable that UO is considered in maintenance mode (perhaps even sundown mode) by the folks at Mythic, then getting web development time is going to be low priority. You've got a better chance of getting web team time to actually update the site rather than recode a major database project like the guild search.

As much as I hate to say it, I have a feeling you're probably correct.

 

[Mithryl Elves]

So the devs are to lazy to fix it, sweet one of my favorite functions outside the game forever gone.

Yep it was a favorite function. And nope there are no security issues. Maybe they should focus on something good for the game instead of lame ass heads on spikes and painted masks.

 

[Vander Nars []R[]]

I think the devs fail to see how important this function is to the community its not just some waste of time and resources. Who knows if we can get this topic enough attention maybe they would reconsider it, they spends so much time trying to convince players to use 3d something ill never use (even if it allows u to run faster in pvp) when they could focus on something that all the players want fixed.

 

[claudia-fjp]

It wasn't a security issue for years, I wonder what happened to make it one. I cant remember, but didn't it go away when they let go of their own boards?

No it stuck around for years afterward. I for one don't buy the "security issues" line.

 

[Dot_Warner]

The data in MyUO wasn't live. In fact, it was sometimes several days out of date. Unless someone really didn't know what they were doing in the Mythic IT dept,"security issues" is probably just a cover. WAR lost the it's version of this service at the same time...

The best way to do this is to export character data (char name, guild, alliance/war, faction, skills, etc.) during server maintenance into a web accessible database. Strip out all account info so if it gets hacked all that data is useless to anyone but us. Reuse the old art, but skip the character profiles since those graphics hadn't been updated since SE anyway.

An intern could probably have it up and running in about a week.

Wishful addition: hooks for websites to pull data for their own character info pages.

 

[Petra Fyde]

It wasn't a security issue for years, I wonder what happened to make it one. I cant remember, but didn't it go away when they let go of their own boards?

It went away when the CMS used for the web page was changed to Drupal. My (uneducated) guess would be that some .php or javascript coding was needed to handle the data. Drupal doesn't like java script - I had a tiny 'show hide' script in one of my quest pages on uo.stratics. I couldn't edit the page without having to re-enter the script, Drupal always opened a page for editing in 'wysiwyg' mode and wiped out the javascript code.
Also older .php and javascript is judged to be very insecure and hackable.
If Mesanna says it represents a security risk, then I believe her. Despite some people's determination to flaunt unfounded conspiracy theories.
The internet is full of coding that 'wasn't a security issue for years', but suddenly became one. That's why we keep getting security updates.

 

[Winter]

It went away when the CMS used for the web page was changed to Drupal. My (uneducated) guess would be that some .php or javascript coding was needed to handle the data. Drupal doesn't like java script - I had a tiny 'show hide' script in one of my quest pages on uo.stratics. I couldn't edit the page without having to re-enter the script, Drupal always opened a page for editing in 'wysiwyg' mode and wiped out the javascript code.
Also older .php and javascript is judged to be very insecure and hackable.
If Mesanna says it represents a security risk, then I believe her. Despite some people's determination to flaunt unfounded conspiracy theories.
The internet is full of coding that 'wasn't a security issue for years', but suddenly became one. That's why we keep getting security updates.

I think you are confused and shouldn't malign Drupal. The new UO.com website uses Drupal 7, and this issue has absolutely nothing to do with Drupal. Drupal does just fine with java script and php. Your issues had more to do with custom php code and outdated modules in the old Drupal 6 that Stratics was using. Wordperfect, Drupal, and your forums run on php, so that isn't the issue. Bad php and javascript is.

 

[Vander Nars []R[]]

I think you are confused and shouldn't malign Drupal. The new UO.com website uses Drupal 7, and this issue has absolutely nothing to do with Drupal. Drupal does just fine with java script and php. Your issues had more to do with custom php code and outdated modules in the old Drupal 6 that Stratics was using. Wordperfect, Drupal, and your forums run on php, so that isn't the issue. Bad php and javascript is.

Thanks for clarifying that.

 

[Veldrane]

An intern could probably have it up and running in about a week.

Given the age of the UO database it is highly likely that it is not as friendly to deal with as you may think - I have a feeling that there is going to be more to dealing with it than just a simple database query. It is certainly not a week project by the time you factor in web designer time for the UI & page layout, plus web developer time to code said layout & interface. It is definitely not something I would entrust to an intern to handle.

Given that uo.com can't even be updated with new rotators or side call-outs by the Mythic web team; there is little to no chance that Mythic will expend the web team resources to undertake the MyUO project. Mythic most likely has one web development team that handles all of their web assets and I would venture a guess that the lions share of their time is being spent on working out the issues with the EA Store.

 

[Winter]

Given the age of the UO database it is highly likely that it is not as friendly to deal with as you may think - I have a feeling that there is going to be more to dealing with it than just a simple database query. It is certainly not a week project by the time you factor in web designer time for the UI & page layout, plus web developer time to code said layout & interface. It is definitely not something I would entrust to an intern to handle.

Given that uo.com can't even be updated with new rotators or side call-outs by the Mythic web team; there is little to no chance that Mythic will expend the web team resources to undertake the MyUO project. Mythic most likely has one web development team that handles all of their web assets and I would venture a guess that the lions share of their time is being spent on working out the issues with the EA Store.

The current UO.com can do all the "new rotators or side call-outs" without even breaking a sweat. It's very simple to do with their current setup, and you don't need a team to do it. I would guess that Mythic just chooses not to, and I don't see the point since those just slow page load times.

The MyUO project security issues has nothing at all to do with the UO.com website. It's not a web design issue at all, but purely database problems, which as you point out are probably not a simple database query. This part I would hazard to guess would take a team to ensure security... you don't want that database query to accidentally pull out user account information.

 

[Veldrane]

The current UO.com can do all the "new rotators or side call-outs" without even breaking a sweat. It's very simple to do with their current setup, and you don't need a team to do it. I would guess that Mythic just chooses not to, and I don't see the point since those just slow page load times.

The MyUO project security issues has nothing at all to do with the UO.com website. It's not a web design issue at all, but purely database problems, which as you point out are probably not a simple database query. This part I would hazard to guess would take a team to ensure security... you don't want that database query to accidentally pull out user account information.

Yes, the currently UO.com can quickly have the rotators and called out changed via the CMS. It's still not something that is going to be handled by the dev team, it's going to fall squarely in the web teams area of responsibility. My point of bring up the rotators and call outs is that if the site isn't even high enough on their priority list to update those, then there is zero chance that a involved project like restarting MyUO will be accomplished.

There is no web design time involved with ensuring the security of the project, but there would still be design time involved with completing the project. There's going to be more to relaunching MyUO than just solving the security issue. While the main conversation in this thread is focused on the security issue, I'm trying to look at the broader scope as I believe that while the security issue is the main reason Mythic gave for not want to invest web team time in fixing the issue there are also additional factors that reinforced the choice not to fix MyUO.

 

[Winter]

... I believe that while the security issue is the main reason Mythic gave for not want to invest web team time in fixing the issue there are also additional factors that reinforced the choice not to fix MyUO.

I think we are mostly saying the same thing. It's not an easy fix and it's not a priority. I know a lot of people will be disappointed, but Mythic and the development team has higher priority issues.

 

[MalagAste]

Well I'll say this again... if you want to talk security risks it's a security risk for the players to not be able to see who's in another guild before allying with them or warring them.

Bothers me to no end.

 

[Winter]

Well I'll say this again... if you want to talk security risks it's a security risk for the players to not be able to see who's in another guild before allying with them or warring them.

Bothers me to no end.

Yes, but the difference is the in-game security should be limited to just whatever you are carrying (unless you give someone access to your house), versus the security of losing your whole account to someone hacking the MYUO website. Allying with another guild means at worse they can steal off you, but you won't lose everything. The "security risks" aren't even comparable.

 

[Lord Frodo]

Well I'll say this again... if you want to talk security risks it's a security risk for the players to not be able to see who's in another guild before allying with them or warring them.

Bothers me to no end.

This feature has been down for how long and you consider it a security risk because of this, LOL.

 

[The Zog historian]

This feature has been down for how long and you consider it a security risk because of this, LOL.

Speaking from experience, it's been hard for a long time. Some guilds, particularly on smaller shards, have found it hard to achieve symmetrical trust. I myself am trying to find out which guild a certain green troublemaker is.

 

[Winter]

Speaking from experience, it's been hard for a long time. Some guilds, particularly on smaller shards, have found it hard to achieve symmetrical trust. I myself am trying to find out which guild a certain green troublemaker is.

How would you use MYUO guild search to track this troublemaker down? It only showed the top 3 skills, so thievery might not show up (or any other skill) if that is the issue.

 

[Zosimus]

This subject was touched upon in another thread back in 2001 here on Stratics.

Posted by Woodsman


The Warhammer and Camelot versions of MyUO (well web apps that draw upon in-game data) were both taken down for security reasons, and Warhammer doesn't appear to be getting their version back.

Somebody claimed on some Camelot forums that the character search features had a security flaw:

Something I touched upon in a previous post was most likely the reason for the rush of the unfinished site, a security vulnerability of which users could gain access to the php code and web dbs. I was informed of this and then I informed Mythic. They took the server down completely, and it isn't a case of just switching it on again. That site had all the pre-built goodness, such as the housing directories and other live server db related herald stuff.

It's not something their limited resources at this time can work on replacing, perhaps in the future, I know some changes for the site are planned and in motion, but the studio is pretty busy with all the new Wrath of Heroes stuff, their web guys certainly with all the account center changes to prepare for the beta.​

This was on the BioWare Warhammer forums

It was taken down because of a fault in security that was being exploited. Realm War held account information and they feared it could compromised, potentially resulting in credit card theft.

Andy once said that they needed to rebuild the entire thing in order to make it secure, but knowing Mythic's lack of ressources, I doubt it'll be back before WAR shuts down completly.​

The conspiracy theorists think that the Realm Wars stuff was able to be used to show Warhammer's true active number of players, but Kai says no. He also said Realm Wars wasn't coming back for Warhammer, which makes me wonder if MyUO will come back.

Given that MyUO, Realm Wars, and the Camelot character search all had similar functionality, pulling in-game data into web-based functionality, and that videogame industry collectively **** its pants back in April/May when Sony had servers with customer data hacked, they might have done an audit on the MyUO, Realm Wars, and Camelot character and housing stuff and found that there were security flaws and yanked them.

I have a feeling that the same people who would be responsible for MyUO are the same people who would be responsible for Realm Wars and the stuff for Camelot so if anything happens with the other two games, it might happen for MyUO. I'm inclined to believe that the new account management stuff broke a lot of that functionality or has made it more difficult. I also have a feeling that with better security being a part of the new system, it might be harder for websites to interact with in-game data.

 

[cazador]

I'm not sure it was really used for in-game security as much..I mean incognito/disguise kits..using MYUO character search didn't help you keep your guild any more safe then as you can now by searching guild roster, or having an allied GM search his..if anything it showed what faction held dominance on what shard, what guild had the most people..what their guild average was for mages..it was a nice tool to have at your disposal to see what guild that pesky stealther is in that keeps res killing you, or what faction was most active, so you could join the opposing one to get more fights..I think the MAJOR issue is..if they bring it back, everyone will see how small the population "really" is..

 

[claudia-fjp]

The data in MyUO wasn't live.

I tested it once with an inactive account I was turning back on. The characters from that account showed up instantly after I reactivated.

 

[cazador]

It refreshed every server up..from what I remember

 

[Flutter]

I have to admit I do miss this feature.
I know The Secret World has this available.
You can look up a characters name, see their cabal (guild), how much XP they have, and many other things, even how many kills of a certain monster they have.
It's actually pretty cool.

 

[The Zog historian]

How would you use MYUO guild search to track this troublemaker down? It only showed the top 3 skills, so thievery might not show up (or any other skill) if that is the issue.

The name and template would be distinctive enough for this particular person.

 

[Winter]

The name and template would be distinctive enough for this particular person.

Oh, I see what you mean. You know the troublemaker's name, but his guild title isn't showing. That makes sense now.