It simply amazes me.. wow. First, this is not just about my personal expierances in games, or about other people posting pics from a guild party of me on my guild site. This affects more than just girls being stalked by creeps. It ruins the ENTIRE player reputation system, and should never be implemented in any tyoe of role playing or PVP atmosphere . I do not see this as a positive thing for the entire system. Not only does it cause confusion in guild member lists, bounty lists, blacklists, and provide stalkers, scammers, keyloggers a cloak to hide behind, and completely screw up the reputation system, it will be used to rename accounts after they are purchased from 3rd party RMT.
PS. to the trolls who are more concerned about my personal life than the actual topic here, get some reading glasses before you make statements that make you sound like an idiot. 1. guildmates posted pics from the party that I attended, other people took them. 2. Not only have I had to involve police and GM's in these matters I have had to deal with this on this site as well, and had to involve Admin from this site. 3. this is not just a stalking issue, this is an entire reputation system issue. It affects more than just people being stalked, and you people who blame women for being stalked, you have issues..
I really find this thread quite bizarre.
The actual topic of the thread was that name changes are bad because you are getting hassled in game by someone. Then you let us know that its actually happening in real life and not in the virtual world. To me this goes way beyond the scope of a MMO and a simple name change service.
If you are getting stalked and you have contacted GM's and the police as you have said surely the police know who this person is and dealt with it? Surely the GM's have banned this person completely from the game?
And one thing I haven't seen is what game are we actually talking about here?
How in the world do you know what the person looks like that drove by your house if they are someone that was online? Are they pixelated? Did they get out of the car and walk up to you and tell you? Not to mention, who in the world would give out another persons home address and other info, I couldn't see myself doing that to a friend or enemy. It is pretty obvious when someone just asks a person online for another persons home address, either they are plain stupid or it never really happened.
You are very self absorbed in this thread for some reason (I guess some guys are into that? idk that isn't really stalker material), I can't even read all of your posts because they are written in horrible dark red that doesn't go well on the site layout. Name changes are here to stay, you might as well get over it
Apparently the entire point of this thread went wayy over some of your heads. You resort to personal attacks making complete asshats of yourselves rather than focus on the primary issues here. Since you do not get the point I will make it a little bit clearer for you:
I do not see this as a positive thing for the entire system. Not only does
it cause confusion in guild member lists, bounty lists, blacklists, and
provide stalkers, scammers, keyloggers a cloak to hide behind, and
completely screw up the reputation system, it will be used to rename
accounts after they are purchased from 3rd party RMT.
Do you understand the community reputation system? Have you been acitvely involved with large pvp guilds? have you ever been a merc? Have you ever killed other players for Bounties? If not you obviously have no idea how much this screws up the game, because you have not played the game on that level.
This is not JUST about creepy stalkers, or not wanting some kid to be able to change their name this is about ruining the gameplay for many players over some stupid kid who can't choose a name they like in the first place.
How are bounty hunters supposed to know who to kill?
How are guilds supposed to know who is reputable and who isn't?
Guilds would have to keep changing their names on their memberlists, how would this affect offical wars? Lists are turned in advance then you have some dumbass in the guild go change their name and disqualify you.
The entire arguement that players can just go make another account instead of change their name and then stalk/ scam/ keylogg/ pj/ loot ect disgards the fact that making a new account takes alot of effort and time, changing a name does not. They would have to take that time and effort to do so and so it makes them unable to do that as often. Guild have requirements, that would not be met by their new character for some time, unlike a name change where they can get booted from a guild go change their name and come back .. It completely screws up the reputation or honor system.
* As for what I have dealt with on these forums and games I enjoy playing, I could care less if you believe me or not. My friends on here know me on and off this site. I enjoy hanging out with my friends, even have had guild parties at my own house. There is no reason I should have to be looking over my shoulder all the time because there are creeps out there. Just because I am female does not mean I should have to stop hanging with guild members because someone wants to be a jerk.
No, I do not like being made a target, but no I do not feel I should have to change because of creeps. Anyone that can't understand that isn't worth talking to.
I think SWG has some sort of bounty system... Heard something about EVE as well, but OP doesnt strike as me as being on the intelectual side of things, so SWG would be my guess-
Just to make things clear... I speak for myself and no one else, unless i state otherwise mine is just an opinion. A fact is something that can be independently verified, you may challenge such but with proof. You have every right to disagree with me through sound argument, i believe in constructive debate, but baseless aggression will warrant an unkind response.
Sorry, but I'm not with the OP on the whole name change thing in terms of preventing stalkers. To explain, one has to understand how a stalker thinks. Stalkers don't really care about reputation, if s/he is truly stalking you. S/he is obsessed, s/he want you, regardless of the reputation. And said stalker will continue until two things happen: you are dead or s/he is dead. Or possibly a third, where s/he gets a good jolt to the brain pan from an ECT technician. Anyways, pretending that the obsessed and deranged will ever be stopped by lack of name change services is typical from someone with no psychology background as they think human motives and value scales must be fixed and wholly rational (hint, they're not). So until you try to make another suggestion in the lines of "there oughta be a law" consider your logic in terms of the intended effects, then realize that the unintended effects is what you'll more than likely propagate.
Your right. There is no point in discussing this with people that will never " get it".
How dare you?
Look i know its tough someone gives you trouble, but if it happens, there is always someone to help you there, in a game its the GMs, in real life there is the police. The issue is not going to be solved by preventing the said person from changing his name. He can always make a new charracter, or account, and what then? This is the reason why preventing name changes is pointless, because whatever you do, you CAN change your name, reset your reputation and everything else you are worried about by simply making a new charracter. The GMs have all the data, they should handle everything that is a breach of the rules and there is nothing more that is needed. Laws dont prevent crimes, laws punish the criminals.
Sorry, but I'm not with the OP on the whole name change thing in terms of preventing stalkers. To explain, one has to understand how a stalker thinks. Stalkers don't really care about reputation, if s/he is truly stalking you. S/he is obsessed, s/he want you, regardless of the reputation. And said stalker will continue until two things happen: you are dead or s/he is dead. Or possibly a third, where s/he gets a good jolt to the brain pan from an ECT technician. Anyways, pretending that the obsessed and deranged will ever be stopped by lack of name change services is typical from someone with no psychology background as they think human motives and value scales must be fixed and wholly rational (hint, they're not). So until you try to make another suggestion in the lines of "there oughta be a law" consider your logic in terms of the intended effects, then realize that the unintended effects is what you'll more than likely propagate.
I think you misunderstood. I am not saying it will stop stalkers that have escalated their obsession. What I am saying is by allowing them to change their name they can maintain all the lvls and cloak their identity in game to reappraoch you after you have already been harassed. Unless you greet everyone you meet with hostility before they provoke it, they will continue to approach you. If you see them coming and are continueally hostile ( kill them before they can speak) since in game I prefer to stay in high level pvp areas, they must be a certain lvl to enter. It allows them to continually reaproach me after I have already made it clear I have no interest.
You are completely correct, stalkers do not go away easily. No the GM isn;t going to get rid of them, the police do nothing until after your hurt or dead. I have no idea where people get this idea that women are protected from stalkers, because guess what, WE ARE NOT. The laws in most places have little or no protection for women being threatened. What it can prevent however is encouraging them to escalate their obsession, this kind of cloaking of their identity is very attractive to them and they will contnue to do so .
My assestment was not based on stalkers alone, though many have chose to just direct the thread in that direction. Stalkers were just a small part of the whole problem with the name change system. Player reputation has always beena core in MMORPGS, this completely ruins the reputation system. If a player is an ass all of the other players have a right to know who they are, and should not be put into a situation that they are being " fooled" by a new identity. It takes time and effort to create an account, it is a deterrant for being a jerk with your account, because players will remember what you did and who you are and base their treatment of you on your previous actions. Allowing players to have a clean slate that was not earned takes away the responsibility of being part of a " community".
The name change system not only allows for deterioration of the community by removing the player reputation system, it ruins bounties, mercs and guilds as well as makes it easier to 3rd party RMT accounts. I guess no one cares about the community, pvp, or "honor " system anymore. This used to be important in MMORPGS. Now it is all about changing hair ,nails, and names.. I thought that is what they created barbies for. MMOS is where we came to kick some ass.
I am done here ... people obviously care more about name changes than they do about pvp these days, no wonder FPS has become more and more attractive these days with the quality of mmos deteriorating to the point of dress up like barbie and go attack some bots .. I have no idea how you people find that entertaining. And here I thought I was easily amused...
Do you understand the community reputation system? Have you been acitvely involved with large pvp guilds? have you ever been a merc? Have you ever killed other players for Bounties? If not you obviously have no idea how much this screws up the game, because you have not played the game on that level. This is not JUST about creepy stalkers, or not wanting some kid to be able to change their name this is about ruining the gameplay for many players over some stupid kid who can't choose a name they like in the first place I got the impression that was your main point was about stalkers using name change as if you look at the first post it mentions nothing about the stuff below, just about creepy guys stalking you using name change to hide. I think thats why most people are on that subject because tha'ts what you were originally talking about? How are bounty hunters supposed to know who to kill?
I assume that if there is some sort of bounty list the list would get updated with the name change? How are guilds supposed to know who is reputable and who isn't? From my experience of new people joining guilds they are normal put on a trial to see how good they are and how well they act. Hopefully this would weed out anyone that is not reputable. Guilds would have to keep changing their names on their memberlists, how would this affect offical wars? Lists are turned in advance then you have some dumbass in the guild go change their name and disqualify you.
I know in WoW if someone changes there name then your friends list is updated and the same goes with the ignore list. Also if they were guild members I would hope that they actually say to you hey I have changed my name or tell you that they are going to be changing there name. Again if you let us know what game you are talking about then we might be able to understand the problems you are having with it effecting the reputation of people.
Why? Because part of long term playing of an MMORPG is a player reputation based on how they treat other players in the game. It allows some guy to be a creep, stalk you all over a game then be able to go change their name and come after you again attempt to regain trust only to stalk you more. Why would any game want to allow for change of username? It is the worst Idea I have ever heard. Being a girl in an mmo and constantly stalked by creeps, it is hard enough to keep them at bay, this type of system only allows for them to be able to be an ass for years then go change their name and follow you around more. Are they trying to run women off? is that what this is supposed to be a " girl repellant for games" Who thinks of these stupid ideas?!!
"My assestment was not based on stalkers alone, though many have chose to just direct the thread in that direction. Stalkers were just a small part of the whole problem with the name change system."
If the thread went the stalker route, you only need to read your original post to see why... I quoted it for you, since it seems your memory is a wee bit short. You then went on about personal photos posted by others and so on. Basicly, YOU brought it up. Nothing in that first post about Honor, PVP, rep or the like.
Anyways,
As far as rep and honor goes, there is another reason why it means less today than it did in the past: The games are far less dependent on groups. Rep = Nada, Zip, Nothing.
Who cares about rep when you can solo your way to end game? Why be worried when you have millions of people to play with on 100's of servers across many games?
It is not like back in 2002, where there were only 500,000 players in a several games.
As far as all of us "trolls" being insensitive goes: I am sorry that you had to endure being victimized in what should have been a fun hobby. No one deserves that, male or female.
That said, you may want to consider how unfair it is to insist that we players change how we play, and the game makers themselves be forced to redesign core account management based solely on your experience.
well hi all as she like to said about she is woman and said as a girl but as the tone don't seen she is and see her history that all about arugmentive the behaviour ,devil alway think that she is alway right that we are alway wrong ,as mean we just give our view and some infromation,she will just aruge with you all,i think we need a mod to solve this kind of problem.
name change is just a alternaive service that if people like it they change or not they remain,changing username have pro and cons that 1 of the pros is account more secuity as scammer cannot scam your password etc,for cons is confuse with the user is who in the past ,thing come with rwt is hard to solve as most of game allow it to trade,pvp etc.so there like not other way to avoid it .simple avoid rwt like 1 acc only 1 ip address and not trade ,this sure solve rwt problem,but it spoil the game fun and many player rant it like runescape about remove wildy,trade limit etc.
Seriously Deviliscious, get yourself together. Saying all those who mentionned real life ways of fixing the issue as mere trolls is completly silly. They are trying to find a solution to an issue very few people get without punishing the majority just because of you. You really are self-centered aren't you?
First you bring up the stalker argument and when you see it's not working too much anymore, you call other users trolls and start talking about "community reputation" which is completly irrelevent to name change and back yourself up with that stalker again.
Of course in the case where you are playing a game based on PvP and PK , allowing name change cause issue so allowing players to keep track of their new identity is a good thing but that falls into the stuff Game Devs. have to take care of. I believe Champion Online had a similar system with the chat .
Why should everyone pay the price for the case of a very slim minority is beyond my understanding. While many members here have recommanded ways that are MORE EFFECTIVE than name changing ( as it is only a temporary fix as it's still possible to make new characters) you'd rather discard those ideas, call them trolls, and go back to crying about how unfair it is. Really now....wake up?
To be honest, like what a lot of people have said before me, I don't think implimenting username changes is going to be much help in deterring idiots, because after all, people still can create different alts, and they can still use those alts to harrass people. Yes, it would probably deter some because doing up a toon is going to take a lot of trouble but still, if people are really serious about it, they will be willing to put in the trouble.
Moreover, if someone does buy a username change, it would still be updated in the guild/friends/blacklist list, so yes, it would still be obvious who that person originally was. The only way to effectively start over is to create a new toon altogether.
The name change system not only allows for deterioration of the community by removing the player reputation system, it ruins bounties, mercs and guilds as well as makes it easier to 3rd party RMT accounts. I guess no one cares about the community, pvp, or "honor " system anymore. This used to be important in MMORPGS. Now it is all about changing hair ,nails, and names.. I thought that is what they created barbies for. MMOS is where we came to kick some ass.
I am done here ... people obviously care more about name changes than they do about pvp these days, no wonder FPS has become more and more attractive these days with the quality of mmos deteriorating to the point of dress up like barbie and go attack some bots .. I have no idea how you people find that entertaining. And here I thought I was easily amused...
If you would be as good in pvp as you apparently trying to make us believe, you would have no problem fending off somebody with a name you never seen before.
But this thread isnt about name changing or pvp or honor or mercs or bounties or RMT or stalking.
The general consenus here is that you are only making up edrama.
And namechange is great and is here to stay. Supply and Demand anyone?
That some of you people make such a big thing out of 'ingame reputation' kinda shows that you take these bullshit games way to serious. And I thought I was a bit of a nerd.
Unless a game takes a long time to level (which very very few do now a days) allowing name changes doesn't effect anything. If I can roll multiple toons up to max level in a month, what is to stop me from being a complete ass and then using one of the other characters?
But they should make a system where if someone gets a name change, ignore lists are automatically updated. That would solve the original posters issues and allow everyone to change names.
So, what you are saying is that players who may have to change their in-game names for any reason should never be allowed to do so?
That's a wee bit absurd.
Take the situation of a woman in my guild, someone I have known for a very long time and with whom I am very good friends: her ex-husband, a violent man against whom she had a restraining order, also played the same MMO as she did. Though she did choose to use the tools available to her (ignore list, reporting the behavior to GMs, reporting the behavior to the courts), the ex continued to persist in e-stalking her. Finally, having had enough, she applied for - and received - a character name change. This allowed the woman to continue playing the game in peace, without losing everything she had earned on that character.
Under your "idea," however, this woman would have been forced to re-roll, forced to spend copious amounts of time in the attempt to earn back the levels on her level-capped character, and forced to re-earn everything that "defined" her character in-game...all because you are too selfish and immature to use the tools at your disposal in order to deal with a problem that you have. Explain to me how forcing your will upon an actual victim - one who isn't immature or lazy - is even close to being the right thing to do.
For the record, I am also female. I have also been harassed in games by male players. I am also a part of a guild that has an extensive application process. I have used all of the tools at my disposal: ignore lists, ./report, discussing the problem clearly and calmly with the 'offending' players' guild leaders, creating lists of all known alts of a harassing player on the guild forums (because, really, I can check my guild forums in the middle of an instance or PvP battle - it is not rocket science) and yes, as a former guild leader, I have even invoked the "almighty" blacklist on a very few of the most deserving players. I have found that when you use all of these tools in conjunction with one another, they work quite well - and fairly quickly. The difference is quite simple: you can whine and cry and act like a victim (and one who apparently seeks out their abusers, given the fact that you refuse to ignore them) or you can take proactive steps to ensure that the bad behavior stops.
May I suggest taking the cotton out of your ears and stuffing it in your mouth (or at least taping it across the top of your keyboard) for as long as you choose to attempt to discuss such issues in a forum? Posting a forum thread usually indicates a willingness to at least hear other points of view - something you clearly are not willing to do...so the only point to this thread that I can see is unnecessary shit stirring and, by your own horrid behavior, making yourself out to be at least as bad as the in-game harassers, if not worse.
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr
Probably been stated before, solution is simple. Let people change their character names but provide a look-up on the company's official site that lets you look up not only their previous name(s) but also lists any alt characters they may have on the same server.
That would provide the level of traceability you requested and allow people the freedom to get rid of an undesirable name.
Plus's and minuses to this of course....have to take the good with the bad, a player could no longer have anonymous alts which some folks like for reasons other than stalking people.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I'll apologize right now in advance if any of these solutions were already offered up - I made it through this thread but there was so many (quote-inside-quotes) that I started to lose track as I was reading...
The first idea that I thought of was a way that allowed players to change their name, but attached an "AKA" to the new name with the old name for a set amount of time (like 90 RL days or 200-500 game play hours, etc...). So, if their name was normally Harry but they changed it to Anthony, it would be displayed as:
Anthony (AKA - Harry)
...and would remain in this format for the required amount of time - this way, people will see that they changed the name, it will allow those who need to change their ignore lists time to change them, as well as provide plenty of time for the name change to be viewed by a large number of players on the server. If the player has any titles / guild tags, etc., then those tags would be removed until the "AKA" status is officially removed - the name could also be highlighted in a different color to help notify players of a changed name.
Another solution to attach to this would be to require a player to complete a particular quest / set of tasks so as to have the "AKA" status removed, this way, the player is required to spend a specific amount of time with the "AKA" tag displayed for all to see. I would consider this solution if people feel that 90 RL days or 200-500 game play hours might be too much (but there are some people who put in 50+ hours a week, so even 200 game play hours would keep the addict on the "AKA" listing at least 1 month...).
I think requiring the mass player base to go to a website to see who changed their name recently is a bit a PITA for the regular player, so implementing a notification system where players receive a system message that player "Harry" who is currently on their ignore list has recently changed their name to "Anthony", and if they wish to continue to have this player on their ignore list, that they should add this new name to the ignore list. Some forum replies suggested having the system auto-switch the names on the ignore list, but I think it would be better to not auto-switch, but to notify - this way, each and every player who have ignored "Harry" can make the decision for themselves if to keep this particular player on the list or not. As for the players who DO NOT put anyone on their ignore list, then at least the "AKA" notification / highlighting suggestion I made above will allow them some time to find out about the change.
EDIT - (Forgot to add this part in...)
Originally posted by Nifa
So, what you are saying is that players who may have to change their in-game names for any reason should never be allowed to do so?
That's a wee bit absurd.
Take the situation of a woman in my guild, someone I have known for a very long time and with whom I am very good friends: her ex-husband, a violent man against whom she had a restraining order, also played the same MMO as she did. Though she did choose to use the tools available to her (ignore list, reporting the behavior to GMs, reporting the behavior to the courts), the ex continued to persist in e-stalking her. Finally, having had enough, she applied for - and received - a character name change. This allowed the woman to continue playing the game in peace, without losing everything she had earned on that character.
Under your "idea," however, this woman would have been forced to re-roll, forced to spend copious amounts of time in the attempt to earn back the levels on her level-capped character, and forced to re-earn everything that "defined" her character in-game...all because you are too selfish and immature to use the tools at your disposal in order to deal with a problem that you have. Explain to me how forcing your will upon an actual victim - one who isn't immature or lazy - is even close to being the right thing to do.
I read this part of this post from Nifa and can't help but agree with her. Really, the only solution that comes to mind would be a 2-tier renaming system, the 1st tier would follow the format I suggested above, allowing people to change their name while linking them to the "AKA" older name for a set time period. The 2nd tier would be for people that have done everything they could (using the tools available to fend off stalkers) and have made a report with the Admins / GMs about the situation and need a name change so as to avoid the e-stalkers. the 2nd tier would be a "blind" name change (as well as a "makeover", if needed), so as to allow that player to change the character's name without having the "AKA" tag.
What would stop the abuse? well, 1st tier can be used by anyone for any reason, while 2nd tier can only be used by players who have filed a complaint and have gone on record with the Admins / GMs about the problem, meaning you can only get a 2nd tier change if you file an abuse / stalker / jackass (call it what you like) report and the Admins / GMs have found a valid issue with another player.
It may not be a perfect idea, but I was trying to detail what would be a good solution to the concerns of both sides of this thread. Personally, I think name changes are necessary in MMO's because of many of the reasons stated within this thread are valid and you just cannot remove the option from the majority of the player base just because of a minority of stalkers and psychos...
Comments
I really find this thread quite bizarre.
The actual topic of the thread was that name changes are bad because you are getting hassled in game by someone. Then you let us know that its actually happening in real life and not in the virtual world. To me this goes way beyond the scope of a MMO and a simple name change service.
If you are getting stalked and you have contacted GM's and the police as you have said surely the police know who this person is and dealt with it? Surely the GM's have banned this person completely from the game?
And one thing I haven't seen is what game are we actually talking about here?
Yeah I don't buy the story....
How in the world do you know what the person looks like that drove by your house if they are someone that was online? Are they pixelated? Did they get out of the car and walk up to you and tell you? Not to mention, who in the world would give out another persons home address and other info, I couldn't see myself doing that to a friend or enemy. It is pretty obvious when someone just asks a person online for another persons home address, either they are plain stupid or it never really happened.
You are very self absorbed in this thread for some reason (I guess some guys are into that? idk that isn't really stalker material), I can't even read all of your posts because they are written in horrible dark red that doesn't go well on the site layout. Name changes are here to stay, you might as well get over it
Apparently the entire point of this thread went wayy over some of your heads. You resort to personal attacks making complete asshats of yourselves rather than focus on the primary issues here. Since you do not get the point I will make it a little bit clearer for you:
I do not see this as a positive thing for the entire system. Not only does
it cause confusion in guild member lists, bounty lists, blacklists, and
provide stalkers, scammers, keyloggers a cloak to hide behind, and
completely screw up the reputation system, it will be used to rename
accounts after they are purchased from 3rd party RMT.
Do you understand the community reputation system? Have you been acitvely involved with large pvp guilds? have you ever been a merc? Have you ever killed other players for Bounties? If not you obviously have no idea how much this screws up the game, because you have not played the game on that level.
This is not JUST about creepy stalkers, or not wanting some kid to be able to change their name this is about ruining the gameplay for many players over some stupid kid who can't choose a name they like in the first place.
How are bounty hunters supposed to know who to kill?
How are guilds supposed to know who is reputable and who isn't?
Guilds would have to keep changing their names on their memberlists, how would this affect offical wars? Lists are turned in advance then you have some dumbass in the guild go change their name and disqualify you.
The entire arguement that players can just go make another account instead of change their name and then stalk/ scam/ keylogg/ pj/ loot ect disgards the fact that making a new account takes alot of effort and time, changing a name does not. They would have to take that time and effort to do so and so it makes them unable to do that as often. Guild have requirements, that would not be met by their new character for some time, unlike a name change where they can get booted from a guild go change their name and come back .. It completely screws up the reputation or honor system.
* As for what I have dealt with on these forums and games I enjoy playing, I could care less if you believe me or not. My friends on here know me on and off this site. I enjoy hanging out with my friends, even have had guild parties at my own house. There is no reason I should have to be looking over my shoulder all the time because there are creeps out there. Just because I am female does not mean I should have to stop hanging with guild members because someone wants to be a jerk.
No, I do not like being made a target, but no I do not feel I should have to change because of creeps. Anyone that can't understand that isn't worth talking to.
lol the drama.
Dev, check your PM's.
::hugs::
I think SWG has some sort of bounty system... Heard something about EVE as well, but OP doesnt strike as me as being on the intelectual side of things, so SWG would be my guess-
Just to make things clear...
I speak for myself and no one else, unless i state otherwise mine is just an opinion. A fact is something that can be independently verified, you may challenge such but with proof. You have every right to disagree with me through sound argument, i believe in constructive debate, but baseless aggression will warrant an unkind response.
Thanks Teala,
Your right. There is no point in discussing this with people that will never " get it".
Sorry, but I'm not with the OP on the whole name change thing in terms of preventing stalkers. To explain, one has to understand how a stalker thinks. Stalkers don't really care about reputation, if s/he is truly stalking you. S/he is obsessed, s/he want you, regardless of the reputation. And said stalker will continue until two things happen: you are dead or s/he is dead. Or possibly a third, where s/he gets a good jolt to the brain pan from an ECT technician. Anyways, pretending that the obsessed and deranged will ever be stopped by lack of name change services is typical from someone with no psychology background as they think human motives and value scales must be fixed and wholly rational (hint, they're not). So until you try to make another suggestion in the lines of "there oughta be a law" consider your logic in terms of the intended effects, then realize that the unintended effects is what you'll more than likely propagate.
Thanks Teala,
Your right. There is no point in discussing this with people that will never " get it".
How dare you?
Look i know its tough someone gives you trouble, but if it happens, there is always someone to help you there, in a game its the GMs, in real life there is the police. The issue is not going to be solved by preventing the said person from changing his name. He can always make a new charracter, or account, and what then? This is the reason why preventing name changes is pointless, because whatever you do, you CAN change your name, reset your reputation and everything else you are worried about by simply making a new charracter. The GMs have all the data, they should handle everything that is a breach of the rules and there is nothing more that is needed. Laws dont prevent crimes, laws punish the criminals.
I hope you "got it".
I think you misunderstood. I am not saying it will stop stalkers that have escalated their obsession. What I am saying is by allowing them to change their name they can maintain all the lvls and cloak their identity in game to reappraoch you after you have already been harassed. Unless you greet everyone you meet with hostility before they provoke it, they will continue to approach you. If you see them coming and are continueally hostile ( kill them before they can speak) since in game I prefer to stay in high level pvp areas, they must be a certain lvl to enter. It allows them to continually reaproach me after I have already made it clear I have no interest.
You are completely correct, stalkers do not go away easily. No the GM isn;t going to get rid of them, the police do nothing until after your hurt or dead. I have no idea where people get this idea that women are protected from stalkers, because guess what, WE ARE NOT. The laws in most places have little or no protection for women being threatened. What it can prevent however is encouraging them to escalate their obsession, this kind of cloaking of their identity is very attractive to them and they will contnue to do so .
My assestment was not based on stalkers alone, though many have chose to just direct the thread in that direction. Stalkers were just a small part of the whole problem with the name change system. Player reputation has always beena core in MMORPGS, this completely ruins the reputation system. If a player is an ass all of the other players have a right to know who they are, and should not be put into a situation that they are being " fooled" by a new identity. It takes time and effort to create an account, it is a deterrant for being a jerk with your account, because players will remember what you did and who you are and base their treatment of you on your previous actions. Allowing players to have a clean slate that was not earned takes away the responsibility of being part of a " community".
The name change system not only allows for deterioration of the community by removing the player reputation system, it ruins bounties, mercs and guilds as well as makes it easier to 3rd party RMT accounts. I guess no one cares about the community, pvp, or "honor " system anymore. This used to be important in MMORPGS. Now it is all about changing hair ,nails, and names.. I thought that is what they created barbies for. MMOS is where we came to kick some ass.
I am done here ... people obviously care more about name changes than they do about pvp these days, no wonder FPS has become more and more attractive these days with the quality of mmos deteriorating to the point of dress up like barbie and go attack some bots .. I have no idea how you people find that entertaining. And here I thought I was easily amused...
"My assestment was not based on stalkers alone, though many have chose to just direct the thread in that direction. Stalkers were just a small part of the whole problem with the name change system."
If the thread went the stalker route, you only need to read your original post to see why... I quoted it for you, since it seems your memory is a wee bit short. You then went on about personal photos posted by others and so on. Basicly, YOU brought it up. Nothing in that first post about Honor, PVP, rep or the like.
Anyways,
As far as rep and honor goes, there is another reason why it means less today than it did in the past: The games are far less dependent on groups. Rep = Nada, Zip, Nothing.
Who cares about rep when you can solo your way to end game? Why be worried when you have millions of people to play with on 100's of servers across many games?
It is not like back in 2002, where there were only 500,000 players in a several games.
As far as all of us "trolls" being insensitive goes: I am sorry that you had to endure being victimized in what should have been a fun hobby. No one deserves that, male or female.
That said, you may want to consider how unfair it is to insist that we players change how we play, and the game makers themselves be forced to redesign core account management based solely on your experience.
well hi all as she like to said about she is woman and said as a girl but as the tone don't seen she is and see her history that all about arugmentive the behaviour ,devil alway think that she is alway right that we are alway wrong ,as mean we just give our view and some infromation,she will just aruge with you all,i think we need a mod to solve this kind of problem.
name change is just a alternaive service that if people like it they change or not they remain,changing username have pro and cons that 1 of the pros is account more secuity as scammer cannot scam your password etc,for cons is confuse with the user is who in the past ,thing come with rwt is hard to solve as most of game allow it to trade,pvp etc.so there like not other way to avoid it .simple avoid rwt like 1 acc only 1 ip address and not trade ,this sure solve rwt problem,but it spoil the game fun and many player rant it like runescape about remove wildy,trade limit etc.
Seriously Deviliscious, get yourself together. Saying all those who mentionned real life ways of fixing the issue as mere trolls is completly silly. They are trying to find a solution to an issue very few people get without punishing the majority just because of you. You really are self-centered aren't you?
First you bring up the stalker argument and when you see it's not working too much anymore, you call other users trolls and start talking about "community reputation" which is completly irrelevent to name change and back yourself up with that stalker again.
Of course in the case where you are playing a game based on PvP and PK , allowing name change cause issue so allowing players to keep track of their new identity is a good thing but that falls into the stuff Game Devs. have to take care of. I believe Champion Online had a similar system with the chat .
Why should everyone pay the price for the case of a very slim minority is beyond my understanding. While many members here have recommanded ways that are MORE EFFECTIVE than name changing ( as it is only a temporary fix as it's still possible to make new characters) you'd rather discard those ideas, call them trolls, and go back to crying about how unfair it is. Really now....wake up?
To be honest, like what a lot of people have said before me, I don't think implimenting username changes is going to be much help in deterring idiots, because after all, people still can create different alts, and they can still use those alts to harrass people. Yes, it would probably deter some because doing up a toon is going to take a lot of trouble but still, if people are really serious about it, they will be willing to put in the trouble.
Moreover, if someone does buy a username change, it would still be updated in the guild/friends/blacklist list, so yes, it would still be obvious who that person originally was. The only way to effectively start over is to create a new toon altogether.
Main characters:
Jinn Gone Quiet (Guild Wars)
Princess Pudding (Guild Wars)
If you would be as good in pvp as you apparently trying to make us believe, you would have no problem fending off somebody with a name you never seen before.
But this thread isnt about name changing or pvp or honor or mercs or bounties or RMT or stalking.
Its about drama.
Thanks for the good read.
The general consenus here is that you are only making up edrama.
And namechange is great and is here to stay. Supply and Demand anyone?
That some of you people make such a big thing out of 'ingame reputation' kinda shows that you take these bullshit games way to serious. And I thought I was a bit of a nerd.
Unless a game takes a long time to level (which very very few do now a days) allowing name changes doesn't effect anything. If I can roll multiple toons up to max level in a month, what is to stop me from being a complete ass and then using one of the other characters?
But they should make a system where if someone gets a name change, ignore lists are automatically updated. That would solve the original posters issues and allow everyone to change names.
For those of you just joining us, and clicked on the most recent post, allow me to summarize 8 pages of crap for you;
Some people like drama, get off on being a victim, and throw a hissy fit when called on it.
/thread
Katsma is Lithuanian for 'he who drinks used douche fluid'.
So, what you are saying is that players who may have to change their in-game names for any reason should never be allowed to do so?
That's a wee bit absurd.
Take the situation of a woman in my guild, someone I have known for a very long time and with whom I am very good friends: her ex-husband, a violent man against whom she had a restraining order, also played the same MMO as she did. Though she did choose to use the tools available to her (ignore list, reporting the behavior to GMs, reporting the behavior to the courts), the ex continued to persist in e-stalking her. Finally, having had enough, she applied for - and received - a character name change. This allowed the woman to continue playing the game in peace, without losing everything she had earned on that character.
Under your "idea," however, this woman would have been forced to re-roll, forced to spend copious amounts of time in the attempt to earn back the levels on her level-capped character, and forced to re-earn everything that "defined" her character in-game...all because you are too selfish and immature to use the tools at your disposal in order to deal with a problem that you have. Explain to me how forcing your will upon an actual victim - one who isn't immature or lazy - is even close to being the right thing to do.
For the record, I am also female. I have also been harassed in games by male players. I am also a part of a guild that has an extensive application process. I have used all of the tools at my disposal: ignore lists, ./report, discussing the problem clearly and calmly with the 'offending' players' guild leaders, creating lists of all known alts of a harassing player on the guild forums (because, really, I can check my guild forums in the middle of an instance or PvP battle - it is not rocket science) and yes, as a former guild leader, I have even invoked the "almighty" blacklist on a very few of the most deserving players. I have found that when you use all of these tools in conjunction with one another, they work quite well - and fairly quickly. The difference is quite simple: you can whine and cry and act like a victim (and one who apparently seeks out their abusers, given the fact that you refuse to ignore them) or you can take proactive steps to ensure that the bad behavior stops.
May I suggest taking the cotton out of your ears and stuffing it in your mouth (or at least taping it across the top of your keyboard) for as long as you choose to attempt to discuss such issues in a forum? Posting a forum thread usually indicates a willingness to at least hear other points of view - something you clearly are not willing to do...so the only point to this thread that I can see is unnecessary shit stirring and, by your own horrid behavior, making yourself out to be at least as bad as the in-game harassers, if not worse.
Firebrand Art
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr
NO! When I buy account and don't want to be called Gantalf the gay, but want to be Gantalf the fay instead!
Stalkers you say? Naa newah
R.I.P Chikaca Whachuchu
Obvioulsly, you caused all of your problems yourself because you are an attention whore.
It already starts with writing your posts in red letters. You think you're something special?
Probably been stated before, solution is simple. Let people change their character names but provide a look-up on the company's official site that lets you look up not only their previous name(s) but also lists any alt characters they may have on the same server.
That would provide the level of traceability you requested and allow people the freedom to get rid of an undesirable name.
Plus's and minuses to this of course....have to take the good with the bad, a player could no longer have anonymous alts which some folks like for reasons other than stalking people.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I'll apologize right now in advance if any of these solutions were already offered up - I made it through this thread but there was so many (quote-inside-quotes) that I started to lose track as I was reading...
The first idea that I thought of was a way that allowed players to change their name, but attached an "AKA" to the new name with the old name for a set amount of time (like 90 RL days or 200-500 game play hours, etc...). So, if their name was normally Harry but they changed it to Anthony, it would be displayed as:
Anthony (AKA - Harry)
...and would remain in this format for the required amount of time - this way, people will see that they changed the name, it will allow those who need to change their ignore lists time to change them, as well as provide plenty of time for the name change to be viewed by a large number of players on the server. If the player has any titles / guild tags, etc., then those tags would be removed until the "AKA" status is officially removed - the name could also be highlighted in a different color to help notify players of a changed name.
Another solution to attach to this would be to require a player to complete a particular quest / set of tasks so as to have the "AKA" status removed, this way, the player is required to spend a specific amount of time with the "AKA" tag displayed for all to see. I would consider this solution if people feel that 90 RL days or 200-500 game play hours might be too much (but there are some people who put in 50+ hours a week, so even 200 game play hours would keep the addict on the "AKA" listing at least 1 month...).
I think requiring the mass player base to go to a website to see who changed their name recently is a bit a PITA for the regular player, so implementing a notification system where players receive a system message that player "Harry" who is currently on their ignore list has recently changed their name to "Anthony", and if they wish to continue to have this player on their ignore list, that they should add this new name to the ignore list. Some forum replies suggested having the system auto-switch the names on the ignore list, but I think it would be better to not auto-switch, but to notify - this way, each and every player who have ignored "Harry" can make the decision for themselves if to keep this particular player on the list or not. As for the players who DO NOT put anyone on their ignore list, then at least the "AKA" notification / highlighting suggestion I made above will allow them some time to find out about the change.
EDIT - (Forgot to add this part in...)
Originally posted by Nifa
So, what you are saying is that players who may have to change their in-game names for any reason should never be allowed to do so?
That's a wee bit absurd.
Take the situation of a woman in my guild, someone I have known for a very long time and with whom I am very good friends: her ex-husband, a violent man against whom she had a restraining order, also played the same MMO as she did. Though she did choose to use the tools available to her (ignore list, reporting the behavior to GMs, reporting the behavior to the courts), the ex continued to persist in e-stalking her. Finally, having had enough, she applied for - and received - a character name change. This allowed the woman to continue playing the game in peace, without losing everything she had earned on that character.
Under your "idea," however, this woman would have been forced to re-roll, forced to spend copious amounts of time in the attempt to earn back the levels on her level-capped character, and forced to re-earn everything that "defined" her character in-game...all because you are too selfish and immature to use the tools at your disposal in order to deal with a problem that you have. Explain to me how forcing your will upon an actual victim - one who isn't immature or lazy - is even close to being the right thing to do.
I read this part of this post from Nifa and can't help but agree with her. Really, the only solution that comes to mind would be a 2-tier renaming system, the 1st tier would follow the format I suggested above, allowing people to change their name while linking them to the "AKA" older name for a set time period. The 2nd tier would be for people that have done everything they could (using the tools available to fend off stalkers) and have made a report with the Admins / GMs about the situation and need a name change so as to avoid the e-stalkers. the 2nd tier would be a "blind" name change (as well as a "makeover", if needed), so as to allow that player to change the character's name without having the "AKA" tag.
What would stop the abuse? well, 1st tier can be used by anyone for any reason, while 2nd tier can only be used by players who have filed a complaint and have gone on record with the Admins / GMs about the problem, meaning you can only get a 2nd tier change if you file an abuse / stalker / jackass (call it what you like) report and the Admins / GMs have found a valid issue with another player.
It may not be a perfect idea, but I was trying to detail what would be a good solution to the concerns of both sides of this thread. Personally, I think name changes are necessary in MMO's because of many of the reasons stated within this thread are valid and you just cannot remove the option from the majority of the player base just because of a minority of stalkers and psychos...
- Bradyhawke