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Player Accountability
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RPGDot Forums > MMORPGs General

Should players be in charge of making each other answerable for their actions in MMORPGs?
Yes
50%
 50%  [ 5 ]
No
50%
 50%  [ 5 ]
Total Votes : 10

Author Thread
Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
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Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada
Player Accountability
   

I'm working on an editorial and need some help. I would like to see what this community has to say about players being in charge of policing MMORPGs. What I am referring to regarding "player accountability" is the sometimes much demanded feature that gives players the tools to police the game themselves, to make other (evil? )players answerable for their actions.

i.e: Rick kills a newbie player that is 20 levels below his, and a flag goes up throughout the game that essentially reports his actions, which puts him on a black list of some sort. From then on, a certain kind of "police" player force can hunt that person down and make him "pay" for his actions by applying appropriate actions of their own.

This discussion aims to focus on the "policing" issues rather than whether or not a player should be made answerable for his actions. First, I need some statistics, so please answer the poll. Then, feel free to discuss.

Now, I'm not asking if players should be answerable for their actions, I'm asking whether you think players should be in charge of policing the game.
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Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 4:08 pm
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Ammon777
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Yes, but to a certain extent. I think game mechanics should also be employed. If we have a fair share of both player policing and rule-systems, it would go a long way in curbing griefing playstyles. However, i dont entirely trust players to do this correctly, so thats why i stress that game mechanics also have to have a major role. Hope this helps.
Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 5:17 pm
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Kiff
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I havn't answered yet Ekim. I think someone should be a policing force in the game, but I don't think the player CAN. If some way was availible to make it so a "player policemen" couldn't exploit it, it would be nice. Maybe Rick had a very good reason to kill that person 20 levels below them. Maybe he was greifing in a untracable way, and Rick is now the bad guy?? Another thing is, even if Rick is totally in the wrong I think players don't care enough. Someone should be the police, but I don't know if player community can handle even that small a responsiblity.
Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 5:20 pm
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Chekote
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I voted yes because it would cause complete and absolute chaos. I like chaos...
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Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 5:40 pm
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Kiff
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quote:
Originally posted by Chekote
I voted yes because it would cause complete and absolute chaos. I like chaos...


ROFL
Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 5:46 pm
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Ekim
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quote:
Originally posted by Kiff
I havn't answered yet Ekim. I think someone should be a policing force in the game, but I don't think the player CAN. If some way was availible to make it so a "player policemen" couldn't exploit it, it would be nice. Maybe Rick had a very good reason to kill that person 20 levels below them. Maybe he was greifing in a untracable way, and Rick is now the bad guy?? Another thing is, even if Rick is totally in the wrong I think players don't care enough. Someone should be the police, but I don't know if player community can handle even that small a responsiblity.

I guess that sounds pretty much like a no

I might have done well to add: In the state of things today. I'm not asking anyone to try to foresee the future. In the state of gaming as it is today, would you want players to allow to be their own moderators, basically, taking today's games as a basis, not the games that will eventually be coming out.
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Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 6:01 pm
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vaticide
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I think the question needs to be elaborated before I can vote. If you mean that players should be able to keep areas safe from people who tend to kill other players, thus roleplaying some sort of police or guard, then yes. If you mean should players be the ones to punish for things like exploitation and greifing then no. That would just add to the ways that players can be greifed and persecuted by other players even if they are doing no wrong. Taking care of those who don't play well with others is part of that monthly service fee paid every month. Sure some developers don't do a great job of keeping watch of the players, but they will find if they don't take care of it they will lose subscribers.

-vaticide
Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 6:09 pm
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Ekim
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quote:
Originally posted by vaticide
If you mean that players should be able to keep areas safe from people who tend to kill other players, thus roleplaying some sort of police or guard, then yes.

That's really just plain PvP. No, that's not what I'm talking about.

quote:
Originally posted by vaticide
If you mean should players be the ones to punish for things like exploitation and greifing then no.

That is exactly what I'm talking about
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Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 6:14 pm
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Kiff
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quote:
Originally posted by Ekim
quote:
Originally posted by vaticide
If you mean should players be the ones to punish for things like exploitation and greifing then no.

That is exactly what I'm talking about


Ok if thats what your talking about, then my vote is also a No. Players even today (lol) are too immature, players are vendictive, and greedy and will use any means availible to get ahead, and if they become a police they will use that to hold other players down, and gain ground. Yes I know its a shame but it's also a truth. If you give players a chance to control the actions of other player....OHHHHH....man that would be chaos.
Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 8:03 pm
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Val
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Odd, it seems to work just fine in ATITD.

In that game the players have complete control over the law system. It has yet to devolve into chaos.
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Post Mon Sep 22, 2003 9:19 pm
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MoonDragon
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I answered no, because under the current set of rules in your 'average' MMORPG, such a position will invite the same 'griefers' that you're trying to protect against. PKing the PKers is not a punishment. Refusing an 'evil' person social interaction of a MMOG is. This is why it works well in ATITD. You need an alternative form of a justice system. Your question, if I understand it correctly, calls for a current justice system that is then policed by players. And under those circumstances, I believe it would be bad.
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Post Tue Sep 23, 2003 1:48 am
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Ammon777
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Players should be able to enforce their local laws (township), but the manner in which they enforce them should be regulated by sophisticated programmed mechanisms. The design is the issue here, because every developer knows that players will take advantage of ANY situation. So the responsibility should rest on the designers to create mechanisms that allow player enforced laws but at the same time serve to regulate that enforcement. If there is a way to vote BOTH, then i would vote for BOTH -- a combination of mechanisms. Players shouldnt be robbed of their freedom, but at the same time they should be limited in their freedom within programmable mechanisms that encourage correct playstyles instead of taking it away from everyone due to a minority that would abuse it.
Post Tue Sep 23, 2003 2:36 am
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Ekim
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quote:
Originally posted by Ammon777
If there is a way to vote BOTH, then i would vote for BOTH -- a combination of mechanisms.

I'm not really interested in the mechanism, I'm interested to know if you would be for, or against any type of system that would allow players to take care of punishment towards "abusive" players themselves(and I use the term lightly because I know that the definition of this term could mean many things...).

So, plainly, in the simplest answer you could think, if the mechanics you described could be implemented in an existing game, would you be for letting players police their games: yes or no?
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Post Tue Sep 23, 2003 2:24 pm
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Ammon777
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Okey then, i vote yes, but within constraints!
Post Tue Sep 23, 2003 2:29 pm
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RedTiger
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quote:
Originally posted by Kiff

Ok if thats what your talking about, then my vote is also a No. Players even today (lol) are too immature, players are vendictive, and greedy and will use any means availible to get ahead, and if they become a police they will use that to hold other players down, and gain ground. Yes I know its a shame but it's also a truth. If you give players a chance to control the actions of other player....OHHHHH....man that would be chaos.


Kiff's right on the mark with this one. It's unfortunate but sadly true. There are probably more players these days that fit that profile than players who are really exploring the games beyond just getting to uber levels and killing by quantity. Giving that majority the option to police the game would be seriously chaotic and we'd end up with games that are nothing but street fights and looting, which will bore me to death in no time at all. I also agree with Ammon about making any policing based on game mechanics more than player intervention. If anyone could be the game police it should be the devs or someone who can basically act as a GM or something like that. I guess I'm a No.
Post Tue Sep 23, 2003 4:14 pm
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