You meet the nicest people in this game.

squintz said:
I meant to ask. With your idea of a beacon of light, would this only be visible to staff and game mods? If so, by highlighting a player yourself, it could be a private matter hopefully responded to by staff. I'm assuming it would be only between you and game mods or whomever is present at the time? As with law enforcement surveillance, you never let the subject know they are reported and being watched, as this knowledge allows them to alter their conduct.
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I can already inform you my idea will not be accepted. However, for sake of just "brainstorming," which I think perhaps the OP of this thread is seeking, I believe a ray of light could serve both purposes. With that said, I favor the public version far more. Here's why...in my opinion.
  • A public ray of light equates into a (temporary) "mark" put against a pirate for outright breaking some rule or being a bully
  • A public ray of light may cause hesitation within the mind of a pirate towards repeating said behavior within the future (see next bullet point)
  • Said mark of a public ray of light helps the community - not moderators - formulate a slight opinion of them (creating a PROACTIVE, not reactive, system where bad behavior is better deterred)
  • A public ray of light brings legit "face" and morale to sound moderator presence (ie, they are publicly seen [to serve and to protect], they can become heroes/held accountable far greater [creating 'in-game' trust], they can be seen as responding quickly by players outside the circle of conflict [allowing them to fulfill the responsibility of their roles without all of the committee, headache, and boring review of report logs)
Here's something to consider: think of a moderator like a babysitter. *The really good babysitters are excited about their jobs and love what they do! Their fulfillment and purpose is derived from the positive reaction and appreciation from others; the kid and the sitter feed off of each other. In other words, they know and trust each other publicly. Outsiders (ie, parents) can sense this/are happy to reward them for a job well done. Good babysitters are called back!

- The same can be said for game moderators! *We must help them bridge relationships (in an rather alone, mundane, and boring 'moderating' world). ;)
 
Other ideas I have include a mark of some kind against a bully's Guild Master for that bully's behavior, the unruly/bully pirate being temporarily shackled by chains for minute or two, a flock of chickens following pirate around publicly, the flatulence "smoke cloud" idea, and others.

Report/ignore is ideal but...come on! We are far more creative than that, aye?
 
Shamus The Brute said:
Other ideas I have include a mark of some kind against a bully's Guild Master for that bully's behavior, the unruly/bully pirate being temporarily shackled by chains for minute or two, a flock of chickens following pirate around publicly, the flatulence "smoke cloud" idea, and others.

Report/ignore is ideal but...come on! We are far more creative than that, aye?
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Well, the thought was that if a 'beacon' were to be able to be attacked to a miscreant by any player, mistakes can happen and people remember one mistake more than 10 good things. Plus chance of abuse.
I would suggest something like skull and bones or a dunce cap floating above the guilty party's head which only a modrator can place and remove if they were to witness an actionable conduct. That's if shaming were a allowable punishment. The concept seems sound, but the acceptance very slim.
 
squintz said:
Well, the thought was that if a 'beacon' were to be able to be attacked to a miscreant by any player, mistakes can happen and people remember one mistake more than 10 good things. Plus chance of abuse.
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A ray of light "beacon" would incur the same percentage (%) for mistake as anything else which would have to do with reporting/moderating a player. Also, abuse would not occur - I feel - if the ray of light mechanic would permit it's public disappearance if the one initiating it left prematurely the scene. (In this way, the one initiating the ray is held accountable just as well until once a moderator shows up to access the situation [hence eliminating the 'shaming' concern everyone is soooooo worried about because it holds all present accountable]).
squintz said:
...I would suggest something like skull and bones or a dunce cap floating above the guilty party's head which only a modrator can place and remove if they were to witness an actionable conduct. That's if shaming were a allowable punishment. The concept seems sound, but the acceptance very slim.
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That is a good idea. ;) Again though, there is a stark difference between shaming someone versus holding them accountable. Intention is that difference!

Any remake, INCLUDING TLOPO, will never have enough resources available to moderate a MMO game such as this completely. Bad behavior will continue to slip through the cracks and attempts of bullying online...will continue. Much I feel like the OP of this thread asks, why can't the power of moderating be changed to include everyone whom plays rather than the few elite? I am not saying the current/past system needs to be completely abandoned. What I am saying is...the current/past system is not enough in a world where a pirate can easily take advantage of it.

Please! Let's make it harder for players to continually spoil the FUN of this game. ;)
 
Its a non issue. If you have a problem report them, ignore them, and leave if need be. If they are violating the TOS they will be punished as per TLOPO's policies as stated already. TLOPO already does a much better job of this than Disney ever did, granted there are less players to moderate but the point still holds. This happens in every online game, and dare I say even any location involving other people. There are people you will meet who will upset you. Playing a moderated online game does not guarantee you a barrier from these sorts of interactions, (though it does much more than real life). If you have a problem still after taking the above steps granted to you, maybe play a singleplayer game for a while, or do something else.
 
Shamus The Brute said:
Here's something to consider: think of a moderator like a babysitter. *The really good babysitters are excited about their jobs and love what they do! Their fulfillment and purpose is derived from the positive reaction and appreciation from others; the kid and the sitter feed off of each other. In other words, they know and trust each other publicly. Outsiders (ie, parents) can sense this/are happy to reward them for a job well done. Good babysitters are called back!

- The same can be said for game moderators! *We must help them bridge relationships (in an rather alone, mundane, and boring 'moderating' world). ;)
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See this kind of thinking is the problem. Parents sitting their kids in front of something and expecting it to be the babysitter. TLOPO, POTCO, etc; they aren't there to protect you or your child from the world. You/the parent are there for that. TLOPO has moderators, like POTCO did, to provide a safer online game for people to partake in. This doesn't mean its free of any sort of unsafe, bad, or unwanted things. To think that it should be a place close to or up to 100% free from these things is preposterous. This is where you, or the parent must step in and take the necessary actions. Remove yourself, or the child from the situation, and move on.
 
I’d like to just take a moment here and reiterate what this thread was supposed to be about.

It’s supposed to be brainstorming ideas for new game mechanics that could be added to the game that would discourage trolling on land.

Yes, we are all aware of reporting and more suggestions that reporting is the way are frankly off topic.

It’s got to be something that is not in game now for it to be a fair idea.

For the record, I’m against labeling offenders and against stiff penalties, I hope we can come up with new game mechanics that very minimally change the game while discouraging trolling. It really struck me how effective the boot option in sailing was/is and so had the thought that land looting might have a similar solution but I just couldn’t think of anything, so, that’s where you all come in.
 
Bart Gunshot said:
See this kind of thinking is the problem. Parents sitting their kids in front of something and expecting it to be the babysitter. TLOPO, POTCO, etc; they aren't there to protect you or your child from the world. You/the parent are there for that. TLOPO has moderators, like POTCO did, to provide a safer online game for people to partake in. This doesn't mean its free of any sort of unsafe, bad, or unwanted things. To think that it should be a place close to or up to 100% free from these things is preposterous. This is where you, or the parent must step in and take the necessary actions. Remove yourself, or the child from the situation, and move on.
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Read my status update, on my profile. Thank you. ;)
 
Eric Sailcutter said:
most of the time but not always... I was in the Gold Room when these guys came along and the first thing one of them said was "finally, an open Gold Room" then they proceeded to go crazy and call me names, I had not said a word, and genally behave as spoiled 2 year olds. They told me to leave, "kicked rocks" on me and called me a girl, as though they thought that might be some sort of insult???. You know, it made me think of how the boot option on ships has worked out. When it was suggested there was a lot of people that claimed it would be abused but I've not experienced that at all, in fact I used to get quite a few trolls and now since the implementation I've only had a couple. I really don't need to use the boot option as its existence has cut trolling's effectiveness to where few bother with it. I wonder if there might be some way of implementing something to stop this kind of abuse on land. I realize that it's not so simple as it was in sailing but I'm hoping you all have some suggestions on ways to limit this kind of childish behavior. Got an idea? Let's hear it please.
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A mute feature would be good, kind of like Town of Salem. It wouldn't kick them but at least you wouldn't see what they'd be saying.
 
RazorSharp said:
A mute feature would be good, kind of like Town of Salem. It wouldn't kick them but at least you wouldn't see what they'd be saying.
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RazorSharp said:
I dunno if the game has it already, since I never had to mute somebody, but if they don't that would be nice
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The mute (or ignore) option is effective. But only from the perspective of players whom play "good" and/or by the rules...not from the perspective of pirate players whom have their minds set on deliberately causing trouble and ruining someone's day. In other words, it's an option that resolves to only put a bandaid upon the problem.

Please keep in mind, it is a pirate's actions too which can cause harm in-game (not just their mouths). As such, bad behaving pirates can simply:
  • Follow you around, in-game, to no end - making a "game" out of it
  • Utilize mechanics of the game to further ruin your day (ie, toss grenades at your feet, throw daggers by your ears, swirl your 'space' with staff exhaust, flatuent vapors near your nose, etc.)
Point is, they still have the upper-hand despite you putting them on "ignore." Granted you can always report them (which is good) but remember too that until that report is officially handled said pirate behaving badly has the flexibility of more time available to cause further corruption to you and possibly others (@that moment) - deeming the report option limited in scope, in my opinion.
 
I really am tired of trying to be nice and people are so mean. You leave a guild, they seem to hate you for it. You're grinding and someone comes along and ruins it. Yes I could go to another server however that is not the point. There are so many mean games out there, why ruin this one for people? Because I left a guild I play solo in this game because people were making comments and nothing was done about it. I asked to change my name in game and was told no they couldnt do that so I play alone. Thats fine, I still enjoy the game. Seems the older you get the more lonely it gets :(
 
Eric Sailcutter said:
I’d like to just take a moment here and reiterate what this thread was supposed to be about.

It’s supposed to be brainstorming ideas for new game mechanics that could be added to the game that would discourage trolling on land.

Yes, we are all aware of reporting and more suggestions that reporting is the way are frankly off topic.

It’s got to be something that is not in game now for it to be a fair idea.

For the record, I’m against labeling offenders and against stiff penalties, I hope we can come up with new game mechanics that very minimally change the game while discouraging trolling. It really struck me how effective the boot option in sailing was/is and so had the thought that land looting might have a similar solution but I just couldn’t think of anything, so, that’s where you all come in.
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I believe the boot on ships work because you're the captain of a ship that you made public, thus a technically controlled private space that you choose to open up and is your personal area, you, the ship owner more or less owns that space. On land, no one owns any space anywhere in the game. A public ship is unique. It's like a raid or dungeon that one can initiate like WOW or other mmo's and make your own rules to a point.

Since you can't boot people off a map or room, it looks like the report options are the most logical tool. I think the reports should be redone and modernized if just to the public face and perhaps have some sort of short record mechanism where one can record the screen while live play. Yes people do that now, but I'm suggesting it be embedded in the report page, and not have to struggle with a 3rd party.

You couldn't think of anything, because I don't think anything would be fair on land or maintainable.
 
squintz said:
I believe the boot on ships work because you're the captain of a ship that you made public, thus a technically controlled private space that you choose to open up and is your personal area, you, the ship owner more or less owns that space. On land, no one owns any space anywhere in the game. A public ship is unique. It's like a raid or dungeon that one can initiate like WOW or other mmo's and make your own rules to a point.

Since you can't boot people off a map or room, it looks like the report options are the most logical tool. I think the reports should be redone and modernized if just to the public face and perhaps have some sort of short record mechanism where one can record the screen while live play. Yes people do that now, but I'm suggesting it be embedded in the report page, and not have to struggle with a 3rd party.

You couldn't think of anything, because I don't think anything would be fair on land or maintainable.
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Yes, the boot option is not translatable to land, I could see that when I started the thread. I think that the boot option is so effective because of the swift response time, a troll that can’t linger is ineffective and wasting their time. I’d hoped people could come up with ideas to reduce response times on land in a similar fashion to what the boot option did for sea. I think you are right that the key is in improving the reporting system.
 
Whiskey55 said:
I do think players get harrassed when they leave a guild and sometimes I think a name change could help the person being harrassed.
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Specifically the part about "Name Change" I saw your post prior to this where you said "they said no we cant do that". Once your name is accepted or whatever your picked via the generator which you have to accept at least 2 times. The name of that pirate cant be changed unless you delete it or make an alt which is starting over and no one really wants to deal with that. Now the leaving a guild part I completely understand been there myself a couple times. Best advice I can give you is just ignore them whenever they try to harass you over leaving a guild. In my experiences specifically my guild whenever someone leaves a guild a lot of the time the GM or officers will try and ask "may I ask why you left" or something along those lines.. Which I believe to be a way to improve their guild.
 
I agree with Kate's point 3 that naming and shaming is a form of bullying.

But let's look at the OP, which Eric has strived to bring back to topic: other ideas besides punishment and boot from ship.

Yes, there is another facility that limits people on land. It's called CREW. It might be possible to "cordon" certain key grind places so that the first person who enters becomes the Crew leader and can boot subsequent people from the space itself. I'm not sure if the software could handle that. But the concept is there, at least obliquely.

OTOH, the people who pointed out that nobody owns a space are correct. The spirit of pirating is that the whole territory is freely available. (Apparently some people take that too far and act like the meanest pirates of legend.) There are plenty of servers, so start on a "quiet" ocean if you're worried about interference. Or play at time when most North Americans are sleeping.
 
I posted a while back on another thread about a similar "cordon" suggestion, regarding sailing into a maelstrom of 5 player ships circling with 2 or more pairs of Hunter + Warship.

The software/game engine seems sensitive to this type of "overloaded location" because crashes were much more likely at such a place than elsewhere on the same server at the same time.

That observational fact suggests there is already some kind of partitioning of the live map into segments, each of which compete for RAM to handle the volume of player activity.

I suppose this theory could be tested by a few players who each sailed solo into a group when hunters were coming versus the same players on the same ships sailing with full crew on the same server at roughly the same time of day. Latter would crash more?
 
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