18 replies to this topic

[Scout Derek]

Thanks for all the help you give to new players! I appreciate it! Not only that, but you guys help report any spam bots that come through here, makes finding them easier and not so hard!

As for the new players, this is a tip to you;

If you see something along those lines, such as a thread advertising a service or job, be sure to report it, it Violates the Code of Conduct!

Again, to all that help new players and report those pesky bots, thank you! And to the new players, watch out for what I explained!

Spoiler

- Scout Derek, Volunteer Moderator

[Doctor Dinosaur]

No, I'm Mad Cat (sorry, could not resist).

[SnagaDance]

You're very welcome!!

Also, I'm actually the crown prince of Nigeria and I need help to get 16,3 million US dollars out of the country, completely legal. And If you'll help me I'll give you 10% ($1,630,000). Send me an email if you're interested.














Please don't ban or delete my account!!

[Roughneck45]

Thanks! Its fun to help the new guys.

I'm sure the ones who are on here more frequently than I feel the same.

Battletech has one of the best gaming communities out there.

[Scout Derek]

Grr, bots never give up do they?

I've been trying to get some help on this... by implementing different rulings on when and how much you can post with the web designer.

[Rogue Jedi]

Scout Derek, on 15 May 2016 - 09:11 PM, said:

Grr, bots never give up do they?

I've been trying to get some help on this... by implementing different rulings on when and how much you can post with the web designer.

the 5 spam posts usually seem to go up inside 10 minutes so perhaps limit new accounts to one post every 30 minutes, that should not hurt the new players who are asking for help but would mean a spam poster would likely have been reported and banned before making the second post.

[mailin]

I really enjoy helping new pilots, so you're very welcome. I remember playing all the Mechwarrior games on PC but feeling very overwhelmed with MWO initially. (I've been playing since August 2012.) Helping new players is pretty self-serving. I want to have the best experience possible, and that means trying to make sure that all of my team members know what they're doing. It also means that when I drop I want a challenge. A 12-0 roll isn't that much fun, but a game that gets down to one on one and is something of a nail biter is a GREAT game, even if I lose.

It is nice to know that we're appreciated though, so thanks for that.

[D V Devnull]

Rogue Jedi, on 15 May 2016 - 11:12 PM, said:

<<<snip>>>

the 5 spam posts usually seem to go up inside 10 minutes so perhaps limit new accounts to one post every 30 minutes, that should not hurt the new players who are asking for help but would mean a spam poster would likely have been reported and banned before making the second post.

Uhm... EXCUSE ME??? I was new here on MWO's forums a few months ago, and I can tell you right now that flood limiting newbies to once every 30 minutes will drive people away from MWO before they have played much at all. When I first started out and needed rather speedy help, I kept up with the threads I started and got involved with every 10 to 15 minutes when I was able, and I responded to anyone's help as quickly as I could. Setting the Flood Limiter higher than 5 minutes will cause severe problems with the growth of the community, as some people check even faster than I do. NEVER suggest putting it at 30 minutes!

~Mr. D. V. "I think you're out of your mind, because your idea slaps the real newbies in the face!" Devnull

[Rogue Jedi]

Source Mystic, on 08 June 2016 - 05:02 PM, said:

Online Stock Exchange THAT IS THE TITLE AND IT NEEDS TO GO SEEMS THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT DELETE PLEASE THERE AR ALSO TITLES FOR ONLINE INVESTING AND BIT COIN ALL NEED TO GO ....... SO YOUR WELCOME ALL ARE POSTED FROM
****** SO MIGHT WANT TO BAND THIS GUY HE IS USING YOUR FORUM TO ADVERTISE
ALL THE POST ARE UNDER
****** IN NEW PLAYER HELP. DELETE WHEN IT IS CONVENIENT

just click report in the posts.

unfortunately name and shame is against the code of conduct so you may want to edit that post to remove the names as I did when quoting you.

[Scout Derek]

Rogue Jedi, on 09 June 2016 - 10:09 AM, said:

just click report in the posts.

unfortunately name and shame is against the code of conduct so you may want to edit that post to remove the names as I did when quoting you.

when it involves spambots, name and shame does not matter really, as they aren't truly players, but machines, applications. They don't deserve mercy.

[Alexander Garden]

We've made a small change to posting requirements for brand new accounts to help eliminate the bot issue, details here!

Procurator Derek, on 09 June 2016 - 11:46 AM, said:

when it involves spambots, name and shame does not matter really, as they aren't truly players, but machines, applications. They don't deserve mercy.

[TercieI]

Excellent, simple fix Alexander, thanks!

[Virlutris]

Good call Alexander.

Edited by Virlutris, 15 June 2016 - 12:21 PM.

[D V Devnull]

While I have to accept the change, I'm still of a split mind about it. It may cut off the spambots, but it also blocks new players from coming in to the forums for long enough to get workaround info that they may need. With the Forum Search being broken, there is no way they could just look for their fix, and now they can't post to get help while they're still installing. Sure, they can try to send you an e-mail, but have you taken stock of certain installation issues, such as what happens when a second Windows User wants to play the game from their own Windows Logon ID on the same computer? Last I checked, that hasn't been fixed yet, and I discovered a whole registry tree duplication is necessary. Just look back in time in the forums. Oh wait, you didn't fix the search feature yet, so that's not possible. I think I'm seeing a bit of a circularity here that's going to drive new players away from the game. Most new players have no will to spend the time necessary getting lost in e-mail hell to fix an install-level problem that shouldn't be present in the first place.

EDIT: BTW, if I hadn't been able to trudge through the forums on my own, I wouldn't be here now. My e-mail is less than half-functional, which could happen to anyone. I could never have reached support that way, just like could happen to many others.

~D. V. "Realizing the impact against new players... Looks like the 'clothes' are out with the 'dirty washer water'..." Devnull

Edited by D V Devnull, 15 June 2016 - 01:44 PM.

[TercieI]

D V Devnull, on 15 June 2016 - 01:41 PM, said:

While I have to accept the change, I'm still of a split mind about it. It may cut off the spambots, but it also blocks new players from coming in to the forums for long enough to get workaround info that they may need. With the Forum Search being broken, there is no way they could just look for their fix, and now they can't post to get help while they're still installing. Sure, they can try to send you an e-mail, but have you taken stock of certain installation issues, such as what happens when a second Windows User wants to play the game from their own Windows Logon ID on the same computer? Last I checked, that hasn't been fixed yet, and I discovered a whole registry tree duplication is necessary. Just look back in time in the forums. Oh wait, you didn't fix the search feature yet, so that's not possible. I think I'm seeing a bit of a circularity here that's going to drive new players away from the game. Most new players have no will to spend the time necessary getting lost in e-mail hell to fix an install-level problem that shouldn't be present in the first place.

EDIT: BTW, if I hadn't been able to trudge through the forums on my own, I wouldn't be here now. My e-mail is less than half-functional, which could happen to anyone. I could never have reached support that way, just like could happen to many others.

~D. V. "Realizing the impact against new players... Looks like the 'clothes' are out with the 'dirty washer water'..." Devnull

Fair points that I hadn't thought of.

Here's what I can think of to help:

Dear Newest Players: Please feel free to private message me here on the forums and I'll answer any questions you have standing between you and your first match within 24 hours.

Edited by TercieI, 16 June 2016 - 08:49 AM.

[Virlutris]

FWIW, forum search is working now about as well as it ever did, since they migrated it to its new IP.

[Elizander]

Procurator Derek, on 09 June 2016 - 11:46 AM, said:

when it involves spambots, name and shame does not matter really, as they aren't truly players, but machines, applications. They don't deserve mercy.

Actually some of them are people who are paid to seed forums for archaic SEO practices. It's a very mindnumbing and very boring job. :3

[D V Devnull]

Elizander, on 15 July 2016 - 12:41 AM, said:

<<<snip>>>

Actually some of them are people who are paid to seed forums for archaic SEO practices. It's a very mindnumbing and very boring job. :3

Still worth lighting them up for the Moderators to LRM to death.

~D. V. "Sadistic, I know... but anyone wanting to mess this forum up with spam deserves it." Devnull