Bot Reporting in MMORPGs: Boon or Bane?
May 17, 2009 by Joel Tan
Filed under Asian MMO, Atlantica Online, MMO-Etiquette
First, a word from our sponsor: A jerk who plays Atlantica Online for the sole purpose of annoying other players.
Do I sound pissed? Good, because I am. Some jerk used the in-game “Report A Bot” feature of Atlantica Online on Elphame, my wife’s Level 9x Axe character, while she (the avatar) was in a player versus player match. Good thing I was on hand to type in the code that would prevent the character from falling into ban hell.
Don’t get me wrong. A “Report” feature in a massively multiplayer online game like Atlantica Online is great. It encourages the participation of well-meaning players to rid the gaming environment of unwanted characters, particularly bots. Those who don’t know what bots are should read a previous MMOtaku post detailing the harmful effects of bots and botting in a virtual world.
Going back to the reason why I’m pissed … it’s because there’s nothing there to stop unscrupulous players from abusing the “Report” function. So what happens to those who are AFK, or those who have other business aside from staring at the computer monitor for hours on end? In Atlantica Online, when you access the “Report” function by right-clicking on a character and clicking on the word “Report,” the reported player must enter a four-digit code. Once the code is entered correctly and before the 60-second timer runs out, the reported character becomes safe from further intrusions into his or her credibility. But what if the player who owns a character can’t input the code because he or she is away from the keyboard? Can the system differentiate between a player that’s botting and a player that’s simply AFK?
To add insult to injury, my character, Cooky, was also subjected to some sort of a bot or hack check. At least, paranoia aside, that’s what it looked like. After one of Cooky’s PvP matches, her opponent was “seen” saying, “check negative,” or something to that effect. Perhaps the game moderators want to check under Cooky’s skirt as well, eh?
I plan to write NDOORS, developer and operator of Atlantica Online, and give their top honchos a good lashing.
Hello! Protect good and loyal players! Don’t punish us by allowing stupid players to abuse the very function that helps well-meaning players to clean up the mess that bots and hackers make.
