First Avatar now John what can be done??

McDougle

the RMT spamming is out of control.... i block them but they must be EJ accounts because they just keep coming US the paying user's shouldn't have to deal with this...

Drakelord

You would think that EJ account would be on HELP chat like YOUNG are forced to be??

McDougle

the simple solution appears to be EJ accounts must use help but for whatever reason this is not used to stop them maybe the system should itself spam a users who use RMT sites will be banned as i know it is posted here but not every player uses either board...

jelinidas

And nothing shall be done... why? LoL
 
IBTL

popps

Drakelord said:

You would think that EJ account would be on HELP chat like YOUNG are forced to be??

What good would it do, to an EJ account of a player in need for help, advice or get started, that hardly any regular player is logged in the HELP Channel ?

There is a reason why most players only log in the General Chat, because most of the players are there....

Therefore, anyone looking for help, advice or getting started can only most likely find that in General Chat.

That's it.

Forbidding EJ accounts from accessing the General Chat is NOT, to my opinion, the right way to address RMT spammers. Other ways should be found to deal with this issue but certainly not ways that would have the grandest majority of EJ players suffer from their implementation.

Fortis

Hey why not sub if you like the game like the majority of others mmo...ej suppose to be there to give you a taste of the game not a permanent scripting bots...like most of them are use to

McDougle

there are many ways to insure that real EJ accounts get the help they might want but the bottom line is the needs of the many(paying) are more important than the needs of the few(not paying)

vortex

popps said:

Drakelord said:

You would think that EJ account would be on HELP chat like YOUNG are forced to be??

What good would it do, to an EJ account of a player in need for help, advice or get started, that hardly any regular player is logged in the HELP Channel ?

There is a reason why most players only log in the General Chat, because most of the players are there....

Therefore, anyone looking for help, advice or getting started can only most likely find that in General Chat.

That's it.

Forbidding EJ accounts from accessing the General Chat is NOT, to my opinion, the right way to address RMT spammers. Other ways should be found to deal with this issue but certainly not ways that would have the grandest majority of EJ players suffer from their implementation.

And your suggestion?

Xris

Make them develop chars to chat. Some private wow servers (maybe official too?) Require you to get to level 20 to chat on trial/free accts. This adds lots of time for botters, and seemed to reduce spam. Make them get 2 skills to 80 to get into gen chat.

popps

Fortis said:

Hey why not sub if you like the game like the majority of others mmo...ej suppose to be there to give you a taste of the game not a permanent scripting bots...like most of them are use to

Endless Journey are eligible to upgrade, with quite a good expenditure of money for a game of 23 Years, to High Seas and Times of Legends.

I do not think that it would be a good idea to further restrict EJ players who went as far as sending money to upgrade to those expansions and, perhaps, even spent more money on Soulstones and what not from the UOStore.... 

popps

vortex said:

popps said:

Drakelord said:

You would think that EJ account would be on HELP chat like YOUNG are forced to be??

What good would it do, to an EJ account of a player in need for help, advice or get started, that hardly any regular player is logged in the HELP Channel ?

There is a reason why most players only log in the General Chat, because most of the players are there....

Therefore, anyone looking for help, advice or getting started can only most likely find that in General Chat.

That's it.

Forbidding EJ accounts from accessing the General Chat is NOT, to my opinion, the right way to address RMT spammers. Other ways should be found to deal with this issue but certainly not ways that would have the grandest majority of EJ players suffer from their implementation.

And your suggestion?

Well, for example, how have other game Companies dealt with RMT in regards to their games ?

Maybe, looking at how other Game Companies have dealt with this issue regarding their games might give some suggestions to how it could perhaps be dealt with for Ultima Online ?

Arnold7

Don’t buy from them.  I have noticed it too.  Don’t mind seeing it once in awhile but now it comes up all the time while I am trying to play the game.

Bilbo

I hate it also and if I am in Luna selling/buying I have Gen Chat on but if I am out doing spawn or other activities I turn chat off and honestly I should not have to do this in order to play UO.

JackFlashUk

popps said:

vortex said:

popps said:

Drakelord said:

You would think that EJ account would be on HELP chat like YOUNG are forced to be??

What good would it do, to an EJ account of a player in need for help, advice or get started, that hardly any regular player is logged in the HELP Channel ?

There is a reason why most players only log in the General Chat, because most of the players are there....

Therefore, anyone looking for help, advice or getting started can only most likely find that in General Chat.

That's it.

Forbidding EJ accounts from accessing the General Chat is NOT, to my opinion, the right way to address RMT spammers. Other ways should be found to deal with this issue but certainly not ways that would have the grandest majority of EJ players suffer from their implementation.

And your suggestion?

Well, for example, how have other game Companies dealt with RMT in regards to their games ?

Maybe, looking at how other Game Companies have dealt with this issue regarding their games might give some suggestions to how it could perhaps be dealt with for Ultima Online ?

I cannot see an example there Popps?

so to add to your thoughts above, EJ free accts have no access to gen chat, but as soon as they sub, or buy an expansion they get access,  that will work of course and the RMT scammers won’t pay to upgrade etc as they get banned all the time and restart.

common knowledge that the banned players on the newsletter are these RMT sellers throw away accts.

I have no idea how many new players are EJ Acct holders, most will be RMT sellers or current players with EJ 2nd, 3rd accts 
with the restrictions not many players stick around with EJ accts they either sub quickly or leave

i see no reason why they cannot default new players to help etc, as I understand there is a new player experience in place to help them learn the game, they can chat to others players hen they see them. They have new player tags to let other know so help can be offered that way.

Trismegistos

Just switch all ej accounts after login for 30 minutes to help channel.

And if they want to switch, let solved them a easy puzzle.

Mariah

A word of caution here. Helpful, realistic suggestions will remain, slurs against players & Broadsword staff will be removed.

JackFlashUk

@Mesanna. WHERE ARE YOU> Can you please at least answer this to let us know WHY you wont block EJ accts from Gen Chat?  I think its what YOUR customers want....

KHAN

There is a THIRD one spamming on occasion as well. This s*** has gotten way out of hand. It is also pretty common knowledge that the vast majority of the "EJ" accounts are nothing more than the RMT players "support" accounts. @Mesanna @Bleak @Kyronix SOMEONE give us an answer on what is actually being done to combat the RMT crowd. My advice: Start banning the MAIN accounts of the sites (because you DO know who a lot of them are). Along with the gold sellers passing themselves off as honest players! If they see you are serious about it, they might think twice, or get banned. It would be a win for the honest players. 

Bilbo

@KHAN In theory I agree with you %10000000000 but how many paid accounts could we talking about and we all know that they get their gold/items from somewhere that appears to be an endless supply.  Could UO stay profitable if all those accounts are shut down, I am no way saying it is right what these sites/accounts are doing but it has gone on for so long EA/BS/UO may not be able to do anything about it without running the chance of shutting down UO and if UO closes then I would thing BS/DAoC would not be far behind.  EA has created a world that we must allow evil to reside in UO in order to survive. 

KHAN

Bilbo said:

@ KHAN In theory I agree with you %10000000000 but how many paid accounts could we talking about and we all know that they get their gold/items from somewhere that appears to be an endless supply.  Could UO stay profitable if all those accounts are shut down, I am no way saying it is right what these sites/accounts are doing but it has gone on for so long EA/BS/UO may not be able to do anything about it without running the chance of shutting down UO and if UO closes then I would thing BS/DAoC would not be far behind.  EA has created a world that we must allow evil to reside in UO in order to survive. 

I still think it would be the right thing to do. Ban 2 or 3 of the "biggest" ones, and perhaps the rest will decide that the chance of losing their 14+ year accounts forever isn't worth it. OR, as an alternative, at least have @Mesanna come out and make it "legal" for EVERYONE to do it, aboveboard. Let everyone play on the same "level". Not a good solution, but much better than what is allowed to happen now. 

Bilbo

@KHAN it is sad that we must allow this but if we want UO to survive we may have to bite the bullet as they say and while they are at it look at all the 3rd party programs out there and allow us to use them as long as there is NO AFK or MULTIBOXING allowed.  Have the GMs make it a priority to respond to calls that report this and if they are caught start running up a point system on them and for the accounts that report them if it is determined that it is a form of harassment against a player then the reporting account gets points.  Might have to go as far as making this a paid account only reporting because we all know that the majority of EJ accounts are just throw away accounts used to protect their paid account.

McDougle

i see three possible solutions
1. EJ help only channel
2. have the UO store everything the RMT site does for less
3. make Abator2 and do reverse sting stuff banning the buyers....

Bilbo

@McDougle
#1 YES
#2 NO RMTs sell items/gold already in the game and if UO sold the same things then alls they would do it make new ones, could you see the gold glut if UO just made gold to sell at $0.12 per mil not to mention that you would destroy the open market in UO.  Why would you hunt/gather anything when you can just buy unlimited quantities from the UO store not to mention all the player run vendors you would put out of business.
#3 EA has allowed this for +20 years and you want to ban the buyers, sorry NO.

It was brought up when EJ was first talked about, allowing them in Gen Chat, and it fell on deaf ears.

TimSt

They are obviously using some sort of script engine(s) to do the spamming.  Block the scripting and the spam goes away.

1. Update the clients to remove the ability for a macro to write to the chat window.
2. Add protection to the input field to prevent another app from writing to it using Win32 api calls.

TimSt

TimSt said:

They are obviously using some sort of script engine(s) to do the spamming.  Block the scripting and the spam goes away.

1. Update the clients to remove the ability for a macro to write to the chat window.
2. Add protection to the input field to prevent another app from writing to it using Win32 api calls.

For number 2 I am referring to using the Win32 API function: ChangeWindowMessageFilterEx

Incase of a skeletal spamming client and not an official client add cryptographical signing to the chat messages.  If not properly signed the message is not forwarded onto other players.  Protect the signing certificates through code obfuscation and secure in memory data cleanup.

Arnold7

Checked the site.  Looks legitimate.  It appears to have Ultima's official art from the Ultima Online Website as a header.  Could be wrong about this my eyes are not as good as the used to be but the image looks pretty familiar to me. Don't appreciate all the messages I have from John4, but I don't think anyone else reading this does either.  Not sure I would take the risk of going to this site again.   

Arnold7

I don't buy from these third party websites, but I would from the official Ultima Online site.  Have always wondered why it does not carry more items useful to players.

KHAN

Anybody care to take a minute and explain what IS actually being done to combat the RMT floodgates that are currently open? My understanding is that it is still against the ToS. If that has changed, please let us know that as well! @Mesanna @Bleak @Kyronix ;

JackFlashUk

So avatar, Chuck Norris, John, Johnz freely spamming illegal good and codes, obtained, according to EA Customer service with stolen, cancelled credit cards.

Arroth_Thaiel

@Messana @Kyronix @Bleak @Misk

I have a slightly darker concern than the rest of the posters.

The RMT sellers are one thing, but this now has the potential to devolve into a cesspool of unmoderated internet hate as more and more people discover they can say anything they want in UO. Especially with automation that repeats their nastiness constantly.

You've got the pieces in place for UO to be co-opted in the same way as the Ok sign, Pepe the Frog, etc. 

I'm sorry to say it, but the basics are there and these things break fast when they happen. It's only going to take a couple suggestions in a chat room and a couple willing people to initiate something. It wouldn't cost anything to wreck UO, and participants could cause a multinational corporation (EA) embarrassment in the process.

As the speech in UO disintegrates, and it will, people will start questioning EA's involvement with the things UO is allowing. EA will have to react, both to protect it's image and to keep the Ultima brand from becoming stained and unusable. Occam's Razor.

Even if it delays UO's development schedule, you all might want to take some time and get a handle on this now, before it goes where it's heading.   

Fair winds and following seas. 

TimSt

Something has happened.  I have not seen a spam message on Pacific all morning.  Late last night it was crazy.  The new spammer johnz was spamming almost every minute.