IDEAS FOR RYZOM

So, its been a while now and most of us use Megacorp regularly to keep in touch with Guild.

The concern I raise is one which a lot of people have also voiced to me too when discussing Megacorp. Namely: we do not know who is reading the Guild chat out of the players in the Guild list.

So the proposal and idea is really simple and comes from someone who doesn't particularly understand what would be involved in implementing it if at all:

- Just like we have an indication of Online players in the game under the Guild Info window, can we have another column for the indication of Online players in Megacorp
- Failing the above, an indication of online Guild players in the external Megacorp website

This is more than paranoia - its creating an environment of doubting new players who, in my Guild, we spend a lot of time and effort with to integrate into the game for them to turn out to be alt "spies".

Is this idea at all possible to implement? And do you all agree it is fast becoming an issue in game?

I don't think spies are the whole issue here.

Sometimes people are watching on their phones because they can't play at the time. Sometimes they talk and sometimes not. I tend to say something like *lurks* to let people know, but I could conceive situations where I wouldn't want to say that.

Some dread coming online because they're being pressed to do something they're not ready for within their own guilds (don't ask :p).

There are all sorts of reasons for these things. Privacy has both pros and cons.

If I turn this around, why would we make the online presence for megacorp available and what would we lose by doing it?

There are codes in game where you can toggle who can and can't see you, such as "guild only" or "friends only". Would you not ask the same for Megacorp?

Actually, that is exactly what Elvanae is asking to have. /a showOnline (see this post) does not hide your online status from your guildmates, ever.

Elvanae simply wants to know whether guildmates are lurking via Megacorp.

ok i've been reading this since if was first posted, here's my thought:

when someone is offline in your guild and you press "g" (default) you see a little computer with a black screen, then someone in your guild is online and you press "g" (default) you see a little computer with a blue screen,
i propose that if someone is logged in to megacorp.io and you press "g" (default) you would see a little computer with a yellow or red screen.

seams like a simple fix to me. (if...)


just my two dappers.

I think this is an important issue that needs addressing. At least before hand inviting new players was no issue as they could only see your chat when they were logged on. Now people can make new players to join guilds then just sit back on megacorp to view their chat.

I am almost dead certain some players have found a way to continue using megacorp even when kicked from the guild, a bug which was reportedly fixed. A platform where you can view everyone who is viewing your guild chat via megacorp would be invaluable.

+1 for the idea

There should be a timeout forcing people to relog into Megacorp, or even a permission level to view guild chat via Megacorp

Simple example, I am in guild ONE, log into Megacorp, leave guild ONE.
Join guild TWO, login to Megacorp in another browser, leave guild TWO.
Join guild THREE, login to Megacorp in another browser and YAY!

Now i can see guild chat for three different guilds. Being that I am a linux user and reboot about every two years i can leave those megacorp tabs open, as long as i don't have to relog into Megacorp i'm golden.

+1 for the idea

Megacorp is a great idea and i love it, would be wonderful to plugs these holes so I can continue to use it.

We would lose nothing.

I would say that Megacorp in fact gave a vast and uncontrollable freedom and access to Guild Chat that we do not have in game since we do not know who is accessing it.

In game, the freedoms of privacy that we have are, I think, very well thought out so I do not see why they should not be mirrored in Megacorp.

Like I mentioned above, it leads to an environment of distrust especially regarding the newer members because unfortunately there are a lot of people who are willing to exploit the fact that we cannot know who is viewing the chat log.

What Talk suggests is what I would like to see.

+++++

 You can never turn visibility off for guildmates though Emi.

Now.. If i'm not mistaken, there used to be a different online symbol for those players in different servers than the one you were in (iirc blue for the same server, green for others), if there isn't the power/will to implement a new alternative, perhaps we could asume Megacorp was such other server and hence distinguish between online players and players sneaking from megacorp; Of course there is a chance i am but its still a good idea :P

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It can get really frustrating when you need to keep worrying that someone might have infiltrated the guild you trust and enjoy your time with...

Yes, some of us like to check in during breaks at work.

I don't like the implication that I am a spy/mole for doing so though, and I fail to see how Megacorp really makes matters worse when it's possible to just run multiple clients and set flags. Mole alts exist whether you see them or not, so unless there is also a way to track by address to see who is an alt for who by seeing which toons run from the same physical location (MAC address wouldn't catch those who use multiple systems), this really wouldn't help from a guild security standpoint.

That said, when I'm at work, I am minorly annoyed by not being able to see which of my guildies are on, or see when they come and go. So I think such an indicator would be a good idea, but not for the reasons some of the paranoid people here think.

Yes, paranoid; if it were prudent caution then you would suggest measures that actually enhanced security. No alterations to Megacorp will cover for shortcomings in the recruiting practices of guilds, but likewise, if guildies cannot trust each other (including their new recruits) then what is the point of having guilds in the first place? While such "Online" indicators would enhance the overall chat (whether in-game or via Megacorp), I don't see them doing anything for security.

Despite what I've written, I personally have no issue with Megacorp as it is and I actually helped push for the /a showOnline option.

Gidget actually points to the crux of the issue: Trust. Guilds that recruit every homin without a second thought (as most guilds tend to do) will always be prone to spies. Spies that earn the trust of a guild before joining will always find ways to spy on their "enemy." So, while knowing your recruits well will prevent the casual spies, those who are determined will earn your trust and join your guild anyway.

That said, spying is a valid aspect of the game. Can you imagine a world like Atys without spying?

I don't exactly like what happened with Asylum but what happened is exactly what I would expect: Marauders infiltrated a well known and powerful guild. They seduced members of the guild into believing Marauder history. When they had enough movement, they broke the guild—whether breaking the guild was the intent or not is irrelevant. Perfect Marauder tactic. I've seen Karavan do similar things over the last 10 years. Kami spies tend to sit in the background and soak up all the information they can.

Spying, real spying, tends to break things when finally revealed. Why? Spying requires lying, simple as that.

Measures that actually enchanced security?

I have no issues with the privacy settings in game. The maximum we can do is appear offline to everyone else but for the guild. Why can't this be reflected in Megacorp?

As for the trust and just blind inviting players, that's not how my guild personally operates which is why I raised this issue. I spend the time and effort to help the member who then goes off the radar. At least in game, if they wanted to spy on the guild chat, they would HAVE to be online. Megacorp makes it TOO easy for those people to get away with doing this without putting in the effort of running a toon online.