Botting

[Mersereau]

Lots of stupidity in this thread.

If I idle to wait out a poison, regain mana or master a JBS I should be punished for robot activity? Before people are dumb enough to swing the hammer, I hope they can come up with every possible reason one might be standing in one place waiting.

[Dan]

Draugor, prove just once that i'm on a hunting trigger,.. just once.

You have a billion wild accusations and yet to come up with 1 proof of your wild bullshit. But accusations are free, it even makes random bot checks on those playing genesis while you sit out here on the forum accusing left and right, without 1 single valid proof to the crap that leaves your fingers.

[Cherek]

I do believe that autohunt shit is muuuuch worse than any xp script or stuff like that (especially when abused - I am only basing on the stuff I read here, so I have no real evidence of this though). Having three bots in guild-council is funny though (my 2 cc)

I'm maxyz btw, I don't use autohunt, and I don't bot. So if you don't want to stand up to your accussations, take them back.

Commune doesn't work while you are in the prison Nothing works there, so you have to roll a new character and commune with that character instead.

If you or anyone else is unable to read the bot test, simply use commune BEFORE you get thrown in prison. There's more than enough time for that. The bot test is easily readable on my screen / client / font, but clearly it's not on everyone's, so if we learned that by throwing you in prison for a few minutes by mistake, I think it was worth it. At least now we know the bot test might be unreadable for some, and I also learned that it will be really hard to pass on any mobile device. Another good piece of information. So at last some good has come from this thread.

But yeah, if you for some reason cant read / solve the bot test just commune me, or all, clearly there is at least one wizard awake to hear you, since someone sent the test, and all we really want is to check that you're not a bot. If you prove that by talking to us or solving the test, doesn't matter.

So don't worry so much about that... if you're awake I am sure you'll figure out a way to prove you're not botting.

[Cherek]

Lots of stupidity in this thread.

If I idle to wait out a poison, regain mana or master a JBS I should be punished for robot activity? Before people are dumb enough to swing the hammer, I hope they can come up with every possible reason one might be standing in one place waiting.

There's no rule against standing in one place. And there's obviously a difference between waiting out a poison and idle botting to keep good EQ from others.

[Bromen]

Botting should be illegal imho. Hard to draw the line between what's what though.

[Cherek]

After listening to what people have said here, and discussing it with both players and wizards, and after thinking a lot about it, I have decided to keep the rules as they currently are.

Yes, they could be clearer, however, each time I started to write on more specific rules, it turned out both long and complex. There are simply so many different scenarios when it comes to botting and scripting so if I started to list specifics I would still probably miss just as many other scenarios.

So unless I or someone else thinks of some brilliant way of formulating the rules, without making them overly complex or text heavy, we'll stick with the ones we have.

I also think most players already know the difference between scripting and botting. And like in most circumstances, if you're uncertain, don't do it! As some players already have discovered, I WILL make checks. You may get away with botting for days... for weeks... for months... but if you keep it up, eventually, you'll get caught.

But also know I am not going on a crusade to stop people from taking bathroom breaks, but I do suggest that if you need leave for a longer period, just be safe and LD for a few minutes.

Or, why not spend some time with our new players instead of running the same old script day after day? We have a serious chance now at reaching the same numbers as we had in the late 90s, but botting around like robots surely is not gonna "sell" the game. Be active, show off your RP skills, or take a newbie out for a spin. Doing that for an HOUR does a lot of good for the game. Botting around killing everything you see without ever stopping to interact does the opposite.

[Mortis]

It sounds like we have a bot check already. I am opposed to bot checks. The reason is because I don't think non-botting players should have any burden put on them to prove they're playing legally.

I'd like to pose my original question. What is the evidence or case study showing there is a problem? If there is evidence, I am for the AoP dealing with it. By dealing with it, I mean addressing the problem with the offender.

Players playing by the rules should not have to do anything to prove innocence. This game is tough enough to deal with gear being lost compared to every other MMO where you keep yours permanently. (This is the #1 complaint on the newbie line btw: "What? I lose everything when I quit?!?") Therefore, I am not for requiring players to do anything to prove their innocence.

If someone is obviously caught botting / If a wizard wants to hunt for bots : I think that's awesome if you catch one and deal with it accordingly. I am opposed to inconveniencing the rest of the population for this pursuit.

[Cherek]

Mortis: I have only been AoP for a few weeks and I have gotten several reports from players about suspected botting, and I dont know how actively you have played the game in the last couple of years, but if you do, it's kinda hard _not_ to run into unresponsive scripters and "drone teams" in your travels. And only the last few years several people have been caught and punished for proven bot behaviour. So yes, the problem is there.

But most players in Genesis have never seen a bot test, and probably never will. Neither me nor anyone else has time or wish to monitor all our players. Play the game, enjoy it, follow the rules and you'll most likely never have any unpleasant conversation with me or any other wizard, nor will you see a bot test or find yourself in bot jail.

And as I said before, the best way in my opinion to combat botting is not by punishment, but by rewarding an active style of play. Wizards can strive to create areas and guilds (or transform old ones) so that they reward more active play instead of scripting for example. And mortals can do the same, be active in your teams, socialize with people, start conflicts, well anything that you like that requires attention. We all know that when things happen, like events or conflicts, even the most serious scripters usually wake up and suddenly becomes more active. Events and other gatherings are perhaps the best proof of that.

I think many players really want to be active, but bot/script often due to laziness and lack of other things to do. Well, dont be lazy, think of something else to do for a change, and maybe others will follow.

[Mortis]

Thanks for that, Cherek. That's a great note explaining what's going on, and I'm glad to hear what you're doing to investigate reported problems. Enough said.

[Alisa]

ohh this one - it was not accusation of botting, it was accusation of being bad council. For me you three are like Castaneda x 3 and his work as a councillior was a part of my worst guild experience in genesis so far (you are running with him, do everything together, you have just admitted that you are not socializing with me - and probably with other people - in the game , how I am to see ANY difference between you?).

Mortis: I have only been AoP for a few weeks and I have gotten several reports from players about suspected botting, and I dont know how actively you have played the game in the last couple of years, but if you do, it's kinda hard _not_ to run into unresponsive scripters and "drone teams" in your travels. And only the last few years several people have been caught and punished for proven bot behaviour. So yes, the problem is there.