Time to End Account Buying/Selling?

[Nocte]

Originally Posted by azxten [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

There is a simple solution to all the problems relating to account trading. Allow it but never investigate scammers. This is how it was on live and this is really why no one traded accounts in the end.

Could you imagine trying to sell your account in classic and getting scammed then making a post on the SOE forums requesting that Sony investigate and ban whoever did it?

The fact that account trades are not only allowed but also investigated when people get scammed shows that there is ZEROCHANCE of stopping account trading here because it is supported by the people who run the server.

Thread over.

I disagree. You'll still have entrepreneurs with good reputations willing market their trustworthy business for a percentage commission of character sales. (see also: Bob from EC Tunnel circa 2011).

[azxten]

Originally Posted by Nocte [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I disagree. You'll still have entrepreneurs with good reputations willing market their trustworthy business for a percentage commission of character sales. (see also: Bob from EC Tunnel circa 2011).

Yes, but just recently someone with a good reputation scammed someone of something like 1.5 million platinum and the GMs stepped in and banned them.

Account trading is 100% supported by the server staff here. Its treated as if you had an actual trade window where you put an account and got platinum.

[citizen1080]

Originally Posted by azxten [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Yes, but just recently someone with a good reputation scammed someone of something like 1.5 million platinum and the GMs stepped in and banned them.

Account trading is 100% supported by the server staff here. Its treated as if you had an actual trade window where you put an account and got platinum.

This stance has changed since I was active than.


When I was brokering the Gm stance was complete non involvement. If you put plat in a trade window with nothing on the other side and hit trade, then that is your issue. The risk was 100% on the players. I got scammed out of an account myself during this time period and was told tough luck.

[Nocte]

Originally Posted by azxten [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Yes, but just recently someone with a good reputation scammed someone of something like 1.5 million platinum and the GMs stepped in and banned them.

But this doesn't mean that everyone with a good reputation is going to scam a buyer/seller just because they can. This will only serve to create a market for those with superb reps to buy/sell accounts. If the goal is to eliminate account sales, this solution is not the best.

[Vexenu]

It's absolutely asinine for people to come in here and say things like, "Why do you care about account selling? It doesn't change the way you play the game. Let people have fun and play the game the way they want."

This is simply not the case. The rampant buying and selling of accounts has major implications at all levels of the game, from casual to hardcore, 1-60.

1) It eliminates the importance of reputation, since a banned player can simply buy a new account
2) Encourages cheating, for the same reason
3) Turns the raid scene into a farce that is largely based on accumulating accounts and camping them out at raid targets
4) Artificially de-populates the lower levels of the game since fewer people level alts, which hurts new players
5) Contributes to the top-heavy nature of the server since accounts don't necessarily leave when players do
6) Is a major conduit for RMT, and is much more difficult to detect since suspicious in-game transfers don't need to take place
7) Artificially increases the demand and market price of mid to high-end gear, since it is being constantly bought and sold to outfit stripped chars people purchased
8) Eliminates feelings of community since character/player identities are so transient and ultimately meaningless

Imagine P1999 as being a nice public park that people can come enjoy, hang out, have picnics, fly kites, throw footballs, etc... generally do whatever they want.

People defending account sales would be like if a bunch of rednecks drove into the park in 4x4s and started doing donuts in the grass and running over bushes and generally making a wreck of the place, and told everyone else to fuck off because, "I'm enjoying the park the way I want to!"

[Faerie Blossom]

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It's absolutely asinine for people to come in here and say things like, "Why do you care about account selling? It doesn't change the way you play the game. Let people have fun and play the game the way they want."

This is simply not the case. The rampant buying and selling of accounts has major implications at all levels of the game, from casual to hardcore, 1-60.

1) It eliminates the importance of reputation, since a banned player can simply buy a new account
2) Encourages cheating, for the same reason
3) Turns the raid scene into a farce that is largely based on accumulating accounts and camping them out at raid targets
4) Artificially de-populates the lower levels of the game since fewer people level alts, which hurts new players
5) Contributes to the top-heavy nature of the server since accounts don't necessarily leave when players do
6) Is a major conduit for RMT, and is much more difficult to detect since suspicious in-game transfers don't need to take place
7) Artificially increases the demand and market price of mid to high-end gear, since it is being constantly bought and sold to outfit stripped chars people purchased
8) Eliminates feelings of community since character/player identities are so transient and ultimately meaningless

Imagine P1999 as being a nice public park that people can come enjoy, hang out, have picnics, fly kites, throw footballs, etc... generally do whatever they want.

People defending account sales would be like if a bunch of rednecks drove into the park in 4x4s and started doing donuts in the grass and running over bushes and generally making a wreck of the place, and told everyone else to fuck off because, "I'm enjoying the park the way I want to!"

Winner of Faerie's "Post of the Week" award! I know it's only monday, but this is not going to be bested.

Very well organized; expresses what should be common sense in a concise and clear way. Uncultured redneck analogy spot on and funny [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

A+

[Stinkum]

Rampant account selling is the root of most evils on P99.

What stopped everyone from being a dick in game on Live? The fact that it took you forever to level your character and you couldn't just re-roll on a whim or buy/sell a new character.

[smokemon]

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It's absolutely asinine for people to come in here and say things like, "Why do you care about account selling? It doesn't change the way you play the game. Let people have fun and play the game the way they want."

This is simply not the case. The rampant buying and selling of accounts has major implications at all levels of the game, from casual to hardcore, 1-60.

1) It eliminates the importance of reputation, since a banned player can simply buy a new account
2) Encourages cheating, for the same reason
3) Turns the raid scene into a farce that is largely based on accumulating accounts and camping them out at raid targets
4) Artificially de-populates the lower levels of the game since fewer people level alts, which hurts new players
5) Contributes to the top-heavy nature of the server since accounts don't necessarily leave when players do
6) Is a major conduit for RMT, and is much more difficult to detect since suspicious in-game transfers don't need to take place
7) Artificially increases the demand and market price of mid to high-end gear, since it is being constantly bought and sold to outfit stripped chars people purchased
8) Eliminates feelings of community since character/player identities are so transient and ultimately meaningless

Imagine P1999 as being a nice public park that people can come enjoy, hang out, have picnics, fly kites, throw footballs, etc... generally do whatever they want.

People defending account sales would be like if a bunch of rednecks drove into the park in 4x4s and started doing donuts in the grass and running over bushes and generally making a wreck of the place, and told everyone else to fuck off because, "I'm enjoying the park the way I want to!"

^^

[Tecmos Deception]

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

1) It eliminates the importance of reputation, since a banned player can simply buy a new account

Reduces, does not eliminate (by a long shot).

Why are you equating reputation and bans anyways? Players can have bad reps without getting banned and vice versa.

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

2) Encourages cheating, for the same reason

Cheaters gonna cheat, regardless.

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

3) Turns the raid scene into a farce that is largely based on accumulating accounts and camping them out at raid targets

Raid scene is a mess, but ending account sales now won't fix it cause there are already a million accounts ready to raid spread amongst the raiding players. Plus the people who are hardcore enough to farm the pp to buy and gear multiple raid accounts are just going to level/PL them once account sales are banned anyway.

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

4) Artificially de-populates the lower levels of the game since fewer people level alts, which hurts new players

Right. Cause ANY of the people who had the plat to buy accounts and lacked the motivation to level a character themselves are suddenly going to do 1-60 in full groups in oasis with a bunch of untwinked newbies instead of leveling solo+twinked and/or getting PLed.

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

5) Contributes to the top-heavy nature of the server since accounts don't necessarily leave when players do

Not sure that this is exactly a problem, per se, especially not one that deserves staff intervention.

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

6) Is a major conduit for RMT, and is much more difficult to detect since suspicious in-game transfers don't need to take place

Maybe. I doubt you would know this. I suspect you're just speculating for the sake of another # on your list.

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

7) Artificially increases the demand and market price of mid to high-end gear, since it is being constantly bought and sold to outfit stripped chars people purchased

Those stripped characters probably didn't level to 50+ naked. So account sales simultaneously increase supply and demand for gear. You even say yourself that the gear is constantly being "bought and sold," yet try to argue that this is spiking demand. Also, again, this doesn't really sound like a problem, especially one the staff should get involved in dealing with.

Originally Posted by Vexenu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

8) Eliminates feelings of community since character/player identities are so transient and ultimately meaningless

Community is what you make of it. If a person/group/guild is concerned that any random character they see is just an asshole player hiding behind newly-acquired pixels, then tighten up recruitment or something. And character/player identifies are only meaningless for the people who constantly flop into new characters (which they could do anyway, albeit by taking some time to level/pl instead of just hopping right into a new 50+ character... though seriously it takes like 1 day /played to hit 50 if you are serious about buying PL); those of us who play the same characters don't have transient/meaningless identities.




And yet again. I don't give a shit which way this goes, because I'll never buy or sell another account again. I just like to troll/argue/inspire people to find the truth by way of calling things into question.

[raff01]

Originally Posted by Tecmos Deception [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Cheaters gonna cheat, regardless.

.

lol at that way of thinking ! ok then why not leave your house door open since burglars are gonna rob your house anyways?
You might as well commit suicide since you're going to die regardless.