***Disclaimer: Views expressed in this editorial do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the EQ2 WarCry team or even the WarCry network. If they did then what would be the fun of writing an editorial? I stand by what I write and if I don’t I’ll issue a retraction! These are my views, Firstaide Kit, and if you don’t like it feel free to express it by emailing me ([email protected]), posting it to this thread, or signing an online petition to get me fired. (http://www.petitiononline.com/petition.html) Enjoy!!***
*** NOTE: This isn’t directed to anyone specifically ***
Segregation is not the answer. (Like it ever is?) There are different servers to better suit different countries both language and timezone wise. (German, French and Japanese) Although convenient to have, I’m glad not everyone who lives outside the U.S. plays there because that takes away one of the biggest aspects of an MMO. How many of you have logged in and said “Good morning!” only to get back “Good morning? Good night! I’m going to bed it’s late here”. It is nice to log on any time of the day and find people all over the world to play with. In order to preserve something so unique you have to keep your head out of your butt.
The perfect example of that racism can be found here.
http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?start=0&topic_id=380596�
Someone’s whose English skills aren’t the best trying to find more people in his timezone to play with and possibly form a guild with. The 2nd post already shows a narrow minded attitude that seems to be more apparent on all servers as the “botter” epidemic gets more complicated. As hard as it is to believe, not every single person from an Asian country sells in game money for real life cash! Stereotypes = bad!
I have a friend who was born and raised in the U.S. and knows no other languages other than English….. but you couldn’t tell that if you saw his typing skills. Honestly, he’s been accused so many times of being a bot for two reasons:
A) His character names are often taken from Animes.
B) When he types it makes you wonder how a toddler can type such long sentences.
My friends and I rag on him all the time for it because we know he has no problems with English. The same cannot always be said about others. Just the other day I got randomly invited into a group where I couldn’t pronounce the name of a single group member and they were speaking a language I couldn’t even begin to understand. What the heck did it matter? I was Tank and I did what Tanks do, and that is universal in any language, I pulled. The healer healed. The DPS assisted and did damage. I couldn’t partake in any meaningful conversations but then again most English speaking pick up groups rarely do.
They didn’t roll on anything they couldn’t use. They didn’t get loot then disband. They knew how to play their classes well. Were they “botters”? Heck if I know. I am not saying you should ever contribute to helping a “botter” get loot as they are like a disease affecting MMO’s that needs to be eradicated. If they join my group, know how to play their class, don’t steal or roll on loot they CANNOT use, then what does it matter? What proof do I have they are “botters”? Since when did I become the police as to what someone does with the loot they get?
If I group with an Assassian and a Decapitate (Master 1) drops it will go to him. Do I make sure he uses it and doesn’t sell it on the broker? Do I make sure he uses it and doesn’t transmute it? So why should I make sure the person who talks funny uses it in a manner that I see fit? “Botters” joining groups does make the eradication of them much harder as you now have the possibility of alienating the population of EQ2 players that are different in their name selection/grammar skills. That doesn’t seem to be stopping players from finding ways to single out the “botters” from people who pay to play, not get payed to play. (Although you have to admit getting payed to play EQ2 is pretty sweet!)
Word of mouth is one of the biggest tools used to stop “botters”. Just like you can shout in a channel for a price check and get a sometimes accurate price, people are now doing the same for “bot checks” before letting a suspicious person join a group or guild. There is no real solution to this growing problem. I leave you with these words from a Homeland Security website as “botters” and terrorists have a lot in common! Yes, that’s right, “botters” are the terrorists of EQ2!!
It is impossible to identify a terrorist (“botter”) by
” Appearance
” Nationality
” LanguageYou CAN only identify a terrorist (“botter”) threat by observing or hearing about suspicious activity that may lead to a criminal act.
Identifying suspicious activity is not a difficult science. Rely on your judgment. Your suspicion of a threat could be confirmed with only one incident or it could take a series of incidents. Your suspicions will need to be based on:” Experience
” Judgment
” Common sense
