Topic

On matters of gratuitiy and thievery...

If you weren't aware, I was the hostess earlier at a cubimal trading party. We traded cubimals and bags so that we could all earn the achievement, just as is done for music boxes, gems, and the like. Aside from some severe lag due to over 30 people showing up, and my own technical problems that caused people to be booted from my house twice, the party has thus far been a success with the exception of one or two small, yet highly consequential, actions on the part of a small number of people.

Innie came up with a brilliant idea, and I opened my doors to make that idea a reality. In the spirit of Glitch, I made food - as did countless others - so that we could share in a communal experience of joy and celebration and know that we contributed to the satisfaction of dozens of other Glitches. To help with their progress in this world. That's part of the wonderful thing about Glitch: that we can help each other - and are encouraged to do so - for a common and greater good in the hopes that we might learn to apply those philanthropic goals to our everyday lives. Glitch is a microcosm and a representation of what our world could become with some love and consideration.

However, there are a small number of individuals who arrived at this event (partly because their identities cannot be confirmed, they shall not be named) with the sole aim of circumventing progress and maligning the good intentions of this gathering. Several individuals had bags stolen - Djabril had a bag full of items stolen, and several cubimals have gone missing as well. As for me? I had all of my feeders and collectors taken from my animal pen - from my own home. Right under my nose, making me feel like a fool for trusting the individual who purported an air of respect by accepting the invitation.

Glitch is a community of sharing and growing. It is a community. And yes, things happen in real life communities that are not nice, just as they might occur in the Glitch world. But when it has been made explicitly clear that the intent of the party is to help one another, and individuals subvert that honest and good intention, it causes the character of the entire World to be compromised. This is only the Beta - imagine when the game opens up and, in potentially six months, we have thousands of users. If stealing property is already an issue now, I cannot begin to fathom the crisis it could become when the site is more populated by individuals who (on a general level) may not be as conscientious as we are. We, the testers, have grown into a strong and tightly-knit family of sorts. Our small group will eventually be dwarfed in size by those who join the game after it goes live. We have a crucial role in maintaining the character of the Glitch world by exhibiting good morals now and preventing the atmosphere and climate of the game to turn from one of generosity into that of selfishness and underhandedness.

The purpose of this thread is simple: if you stole things from the party and know you shouldn't have, we who lost our items to thieves would like them back. If you no longer have them, at least admitting to the crime would be a polite gesture on your part. If it was a mistake, no harm no foul - just own up to being the person responsible. And for those who took no part in this gathering and have only been party to my pleas, I urge you to remember that while you may refuse to acknowledge it, you have a personal responsibility to maintain integrity and honesty within this Game because everyone suffers from apathy in the end.

Posted 15 months ago by LitaPie Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Also in light of this.....I think its time the game made it possible for us to lock items like bags, so can put one down while we rearrange; without fear of someone walking by and taking it.  Also, the ability needs to be made for a homeowner make it so their feeders, etc. cant be picked up by others (just like we cant use their gardens). 

    This problem is only going to grow until the community no longer feels sweet and innocent. 
    Posted 15 months ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 to everything you said, LitaPie.
    Posted 15 months ago by Arii Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I of course agree and wish there weren't those kinds of total jerks in the world, but this happens pretty much all the time and they simply can't lock everything down AND allow the kind of creative play and sharing people want, too, so the answer is to don't invite people into your house unless you know and trust them.  

    Do these kinds of things on the street somewhere and at least only the items you put down are at risk of being stolen.
    Posted 15 months ago by Fleep Subscriber! | Permalink
  • (And FWIW I'm sorry that happened to you and these are the kinds of things I wish they could track in the logs and then SITE BAN those people from the world.  They don't deserve to be here.)
    Posted 15 months ago by Fleep Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Sorry about your loss, and thanks for the party. While it's no fun to be robbed, I feel that the freedom to pick up anything is amazing in games - even 'stealing' items players only mean to temporarily drop is an incredible example of this freedom. 

    I've become rich, and adopted a lifestyle of giving these days, but I had a good run at stealing things a while back (I was role-playing as a thieving pirate, Arghhh!) and it was great to be able to have such a cool option. It keeps things interesting all around, and keeps things from getting boring. It's nice to have a villain here and there to add contrast to the social side of the game. 

    I strongly wish to keep this freedom for everyone, without real consequences, such as banning. The only consequences would be social, such as people leaving notes warning about a thieving player and forum posts like this. Someone who steals a lot will eventually become disowned by the community, theoretically...

    With my strong desire to never eliminate 'stealing', I do believe it is crucial we are allowed to lock certain items in house, just like we can with gnomes, such as piggie feeders and meat collectors. Everything else should be fair game.
    Posted 15 months ago by Messy Monster Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I fully agree - that's why I didn't mention the food or drinks because obviously those are left with the intention that people will pick them up and consume them.

    It's more of the issue that bags with an individual's name that was on the ground right next to them (in a private residence) were stolen, as well as feeders that belong at a particular house. Items that clearly and obviously belong to a certain individual. I don't think "all or nothing" is the right idea here, but there definitely needs to be a discussion on how to address this issue. It's becoming an increasingly serious problem in some contexts and my concern is how it will affect the community at large when the beta closes and we go live.
    Posted 15 months ago by LitaPie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm so sorry to hear that this happened. :(
    Posted 15 months ago by Voluptua Sneezelips Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well, the Glitch team can track it, if a help ticket was created, because they can list all the conversations in a time period, both global and local, and the local for the perpetrators probably say "Soandso picked up a bag" or whatever ... so I mean, it probably can be tracked. However, it is very sad that someone felt the need to ruin an obviously otherwise good time by stealing. I would think it'd be easy if you dropped a bag with any items in it, another player shouldn't be able to pick it up. An empty bag, I can see yes as pickupable, but not a bag with items. I hope the devs try to fix this, or once we go live, it'll be a daily issue.
    I, too, am sorry to hear this happened. I hope the guilty come forward (because their guilt ridden conscience makes them do so!).
    Posted 15 months ago by Brekkana Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I guess picking up a bag would be a rational idea under certain circumstances- like if it's completely unattended and nobody's around. Seems like common courtesy, if you perhaps find an unclaimed bag and there are others nearby, to ask, "Is this yours? Does anybody mind if I take this?" And I really don't know that a party where people are dropping bags beside them with the express purpose of coming back for them in a few minutes- like in this case- is exactly a situation of "fair game".
    I don't really care about the bags themselves, really. They and their contents are replaceable, and while it's a massive faux pas to arrive at somebody's house and steal their equipment, it too can be replaced. I guess I'm a little bit let down, however. I thought that I was mostly playing with people who were respectful, intelligent, and above all, interested in the ideas of community and cooperation that so much of this game is built around. Obviously there are always a few bad apples, and I'm probably naive for being surprised, but doesn't make it any less of a middle-finger to others to act like that, though.
    Posted 15 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This issue has been brought up before, but it's worth bringing up again.
    Posted 15 months ago by Fokian Fool Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm sorry that this happened, but, unfortunately, it's bound to happen.  The only way to safely have a house party is to empty it of everything of value to you, putting any valuables in the cabinet, and to assume that everything else will be taken.  Trees might be poisoned, too.  The model homes and out-of-the-way streets are typically better party venues anyway, since no one gets kicked out when the host disconnects.
    Posted 15 months ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I sympathize with LitaPie but agree more with Fleep.  (I wasn't there but people have stolen from me before, and i have witnessed enough theft @ parties that I'm basically sickened by it and don't even enjoy being @ them anymore)

    Consider the fact that griefers will grief any and every way they can.  Just like we get fun out of sharing and caring, they get fun out of causing a ruckus and generally stirring up shit, stealing & trolling.  There is no way to change their behavior, by locking items, they will just use locked items against us. If the devs were to allow us to lock items to the ground, don't you think the griefers would just litter the world with 10 trillion paper cups locked to the ground? They are just evil pure and simple. Some people are good, some people are bad...

    Right now my friends that come into my house can't use my garden. That really bothers me because I would like them to be able to, and I would like to help my friends when i come over, but I do understand that the devs probably won't make this happen because if they did, then people you invite over could just steal your crops and replant strawberries, and then people will complain about that. If locks are to be put on they should be user selectable (on OR off)

    If they lock the feeders then my friends can't donate grain to my pigs, if they lock the collectors then I can't allow them to take some meat or milk when they need it.  It's just a vicious cycle of taking freedoms away from everyone, because a few assholes think it's funny to act like children and steal stuff...  
    Look how worked up we all are writing forum posts and raising our blood pressure, meanwhile the griefers are sitting @ home counting their spoils, laughing all the way to the bank...  

    Rather than asking the devs to block them from doing anything, we should be asking them to develop a feedback system.  We should then be turning to our wonderful community that we have here for help in giving feedback about these evil characters.  We should all have a feedback number just like on eBay.  Let the others in the community tag us with a thumbs up or a thumbs down (plus a comment?) and always show that as a number next to your name so that everyone who can see you or your name knows what sort of character you are...  
    Maybe they could even assign a weight to the thumbs up/down.  eg. if you have somebody like clare that is level 100 and has many many friends which have all given her a thumbs up so her feedback is say 100 or more, when she gives somebody a thumbs up or down it might count for 4 or 5, while a newbie character who doesn't have any feedback or friends or time playing the game wouldn't give/take more than .1 or .2 to someone's feedback score for their thumbs up/down.  
    When somebody knocks on your door and they have a negative number next to their name, save yourself some time and click block and deny them access to your home.

    Something additional that could be used to help thwart evil intentions would be moderators or mediators.  These special people appointed by TS would have the ability to see the street log (which items are being picked up by who, etc)  These mediators could then post in the public street chat or global chat which player was causing the problem.  Maybe they could make their name turn red for a day or a month.  We shouldn't let these few creeps hide in anonymity if they are ruing the experience of the masses.  Maybe the mods would even have the shared power to reverse the bad action, if more than one mod chose to reverse it or punish the offender.

    I'll go even one step further here.  (let me know if i've gone off the deep end) When i first read the description of Martial Imagination before we could actually learn it, I really thought this was going to be a weapon against griefers.  I thought the devs were going to trust us the community to help police things.  I thought that it would work something like:
    when people notice other people doing bad things @ a party they could use their skill to flag that person.  After enough flags from the rest of the partygoers eventually the flagged character would be either teleported to hell or jail or the moon or some sort of solitary confinement without chat and their inventory completely locked until they learned their lesson.  Maybe they would have to make some sort of apology note and get it accepted by three people (or the ones they wronged) then posted in a public place or something in order to escape imprisonment.  maybe we could even put them in a medieval stocks lol

    sorry for this extra long post  I might have to make some grammar corrections later :)
    Posted 15 months ago by IxÆoN Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The result is now going to be, instead of hosting open parties, I am creating a group that will be the only ones that are invited to these types of events. Its the only way to ensure people wont be stolen from....and then I cant promise. But at least I will have a true solid list of people that came.

    As to the feeders, milkers, collections.... They could lock the items themselves so that could not be picked up and removed, and still be used. They could created different setting levels for your home, your bags, etc.

    Just a thought.
    Posted 15 months ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Extra long posts are good. That's exactly why I posted in the forums. This discussion needs to be had now, before the game opens up. See where the community as a whole stands on the issue and recommend ways to the devs to try and remedy it based on our experiences in the game.

    It's this dichotomy between trying to encourage socialization on the game and having to deal with those who abuse that in whatever way, and for whatever reason, that make this such a difficult thing to deal with IMHO. Sure, you can say "oh just don't let people in your house if you don't trust them" but what if you have a large party like this? There has to be a way to relieve the anxiety and fear of worrying over your possessions without having it become a block to those individuals whom you trust to be in your home. I agree with the gardens thing as well - I'd like my friends to be able to use it if they should need it, but I also don't want someone (with whom I might not be as familiar) deciding to take all of my plots.

    Argh, I just felt frustrated by what happened, and I know others have been too, so I figured that I'd establish a platform for this issue to be heard.
    Posted 15 months ago by LitaPie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • What if whenever someone left your house, you would have to "show them out" the same way as if you were letting them in. Whenever someone comes to your house, you have the ability to invite them in or not, friend or stranger. So what if when people left your house, you received a dialog pop up to "show them out".

    In the box, a menu would appear showing items that the visitor may have picked up. If there is an item in there that is yours, you can take it back before showing them out, or let them keep it if that was the original intention.

    I feel that once Ur grows into a bigger community, a safeguard like this would prevent Glitchens from getting taken advantage by malicious players or ones that don't understand the nature of them game yet, and still allow for the positive style gameplay like intended. Just my thought:)
    Posted 15 months ago by Muncey Mango Subscriber! | Permalink
  • That'd get pretty tricky in a party situation, though- if you have to show each and every person out of the house, you're going to spend most of your time perusing the contents of their bags, and very little time actually partying or talking to anyone.
    Posted 15 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • what if it would only show items that weren't the visitor's originally. So, if they picked up an item that was dropped or placed in the house, it would pop up. If they didn't pick up anything, or traded to get new items, they wouldn't have to be let out.
    Posted 15 months ago by Muncey Mango Subscriber! | Permalink
  • As long as that doesn't extend to the drink, food, and whatever, maybe. In that case, you could probably get away with people who didn't pick anything other than that up just walking out, streamlining the process a little.
    Posted 15 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Instead of banning access to items across the board, perhaps there could be a 'safe' in your house that you could grant certain people access to? This could be time-limited and maybe one-person-at-a-time, so if someone did take something, at least it would be obvious who it was.
    Posted 15 months ago by Morticia Addams Subscriber! | Permalink
  • House permissions themselves could use some updating in the other direction as well - as it stands, you can't unilaterally grant anyone permission to your home (roommate/spouse/anything of the sort). I don't want my house to be just like any other street on the map, I worked hard and saved a hell of a lot of currants to own it. Customization at LEAST in terms of permissions would be a big step forward in security and in socialization. If group halls are ever going to be included (to my knowledge they will be?) then this system needs to be implemented in any case.

    I suggest that very specific items (feeders/collectors) get the item-specific locks as suggested above, but additionally that home owners can set 'limitations' on how many items guests can pick up - or perhaps an INTERVAL between picking things up. Tonight, over a hundred cocktails disappeared from my house because someone was greedy, but if there was a cooldown time, they would only have been able to take a few at a time. They would have been caught, while other people - everyone else - who were just taking them socially would have noticed no difference.

    I mean, don't the machines already have these item locks in place? The blockmaker, etc?
    Posted 15 months ago by Sir Poox Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Lita - thank you for opening your house to help many of us today.  I was dismayed that some people, but particularly you as the host had possessions taken. 

    It's easy to say dont invite people into your house, have these things out in the street, but then there is no way to protect anything from anyone who thinks its open for the taking. Some people just dont understand the concept of sharing. For the majority, todays party was a real community get together, with people sharing their new toys to help each other. I was so impressed with the patience and tolerance shown by many friends today, both old and new.

    One reason we are testing is find the hiccups, and show the devs what we can achieve. I really hope they take on board the issue of locking our items such as feeders, collectors etc so that we can grow our community.

    Like the electronic barrier at some stores, a warning if someone is taking something out that they didnt bring in sounds feasible, but, as it is now all they would have to do to circumnavigate that is to log out/refresh and when they return they are outside the house anyway.

    +1 Morticia - an area or room that isnt open to everyone who comes to visit. Seriously if I go to visit friends irl, I dont go charging off into their bedrooms to see whats there!
    Posted 15 months ago by Teena Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Argh! It is this kind of behaviour that causes little private groups to form, and forming tiny little cliques that assume everyone not in said cliques is ill-intentioned. Not good. 

    I can already see post launch- the tester will form a tightly knit group, and everyone else will have to have a conversation with someone in it, and then s/he will have to be approved by the admin to be allowed in said group. And anyone who is falsely thought as ill-mannered, or didn't have the guts to speak to frequent forum posters, will feel excluded. This is a nightmare situation and might have happened before.
    Posted 15 months ago by KitkatCat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • KitkatCat...because of what happened tonight, we have already formed a small group to prevent this type of thing again.

    Not ever what I wanted or dreamed of doing, but I'm sick of seeing people's stuff stolen because 1 or 2 bad apples can control their mouse clicking!  We work hard for our currants, no way do I want some selfish jerk to walk away with everything. That just isn't right.  I know this isn't what stoot had envisioned (the small groups), but until they fix the house permissions, I just feel we have no choice.
    Posted 15 months ago by Innie✿, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I heard of this incident today, I'm really sorry to hear such a thing happened at your party LitaPie. And to think I would definitely have visited, had I kept myself awake, it's awful to see such a behavior at another person's home.

    As Djabriil said, it's only common courtesy to ask around if you see an unattended thing such as a bag.

    I agree some stuff should be locked and I hope the perpetrators come clean.
    Posted 15 months ago by onizuka83 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I was one of the people who had stuff taken ( a cubimal bag and 4 cubimals). I truely thought all of the stuff would show up once it was all sorted out. I am an idealist, I know.

    I especially felt bad for the hostess and having her lovely hospitality rewarded by some scum(s) taking her household goods.

    My thought was that when you pick something up off the ground, that would appear in the local chat window. In most cases, that would be fine, as picking up grain off the ground is expected. But if it were personal goods, everyone there (including the owner) would see exactly what you had done.
    Posted 15 months ago by Kookaburra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Most games with housing have privacy personalization. You choose from your friends list who has access to what. The access button can be used from anywhere in the game so you don't have to be at home to change things or add people. 
    ''friend A can use plots, trees, feeders''
    ''friend B can use trees'' 
    ''friend C can use everything and access my storage''
    etc.
    Posted 15 months ago by Zira Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think the first and easiest thing to do is open up the logs a bit. It seems like in your house everything picked up should show in local activity. When we gain party mode, I'm hoping that the local activity shows who is doing what while it's active. Informing the community in this way would go a long way toward identifying these type of people. What happens after that is up to the community. And its a good way to test how open activity would look and be reacted to.

    Does anybody have any thoughts on my eBay style feedback number idea?
    Posted 15 months ago by IxÆoN Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Honestly Ix, I think it would be easily abused by the same individuals it would be meant to condemn for their behaviour. We all have access to the rating, you either vote for or against, nothing stops you from smearing someone of good character. It's far easier to lose ones reputation and standing within a community than to build one up. 

    I think of Gltch Mash. Though I love the concept, and think it is great fun, I see instances where people vote against an outfit- not based on outfit one vis-a-vis outfit two- but rather through manipulation of the honour system. What I mean by this is, voting against a particular outfit to drop its rating in the standings against a competitor whom is clearly outclassed rather than looking at both side-by-side and voting free of bias or agenda.

    The eBay rating system, if used as a model, would be an honour system. Yes, the idea of having characters of significantly high level/rank/popularity carry more weight with their own voting sort of addresses this. Not sure if it's enough though. We see where one can manipulate just about anything if one puts their mind to it. I like the vision, but try to see all contingencies.

    As to the OP, I'm sorry to read of the events that transpired, but am not surprised. It's a shame that we can't be trusting, and that if we choose to do so and let our guard down we are subject to disappointment and being taken advantage of. We know we live in an ego-centric world though. Until we (all) truly die to self it's something we have to contend with. Hate the sin, love the sinner as they say.

    tl;dr: The kettle is on the boil. Scones are fresh out of the oven. Made some devonshire cream. Anger is a secondary emotion. What we see in Glitch reflects what we encounter daily here irl. Both good and bad. Love each other-forgive each other.
    Posted 15 months ago by malo Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Allowing players to apply in-game punishments to other players is an absolute griefer's delight.

    Instead of stealing things, a group comes to a party and flags the host and several of their friends.  Or everyone at the party that isn't in the griefer group.  
    Posted 15 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Boy! Talk about a great thing being ruined by a few mean, unscrupulous players! Thieves are scum.

    fwiw, my suggestion would be to forgo open-ended invites for these type of parties. The hosts/organizers could form an invite-only group specific to a date/time/theme requesting RSVP. The host would then have the names of players who want to participate. The number of attendees could be controlled too. After the event, the group could be disbanded.

    As much as it is hard to accept, the glitch community reflects the real world wherein 99 per cent of folks are honest, kind and generous. But there will always be that 1 per cent that will cause grief.

    I am sorry you went through this, Lita. I hope your plea for the return of the stolen items works.
    Posted 15 months ago by GreyGoose Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I've been playing/testing Glitch since January and I've learned that there is a lot of thievery in Glitch, to my dismay :( I've not had anything stolen from me but have heard of people having things stolen. I decided early on that the only people I will trust completely are my group of close (online) friends that I've been friends with for over 5 years now. We let each other in our houses while not being home and have each other hold our bags with no reservation at all. But the Glitch world at large, I will never trust. Some people whose names I recognize as being Glitchins for a long time, but don't really know, I will trust them to a certain extent just because I know that if they weren't trustworthy they wouldn't still be in Glitch.
    I was at that party at Litpie's and saw the conversations that things were being stolen and felt bad for the people. I had someone I didn't know ask to see my Greeterbot cubimal and I reluctantly gave it to them to see. They did hand it right back so I was correct to trust that person :) But I don't think I would ask a stranger to hand over something even just for a moment. They don't know me and I don't expect them to trust a stranger. 
    I hate to say it but we just can not trust people we don't know in Glitch. It's like the real world, with so many people of different character that we will run into in any given day. 
    Posted 15 months ago by PittyPat is sad Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I also have a suggestion for parties of this nature in the future. 
    Everyone who shows up at the party needs to wait OUTSIDE in alphabetical order. When it's our turn we should be called into the house. That way there are no other people inside who may or may not be trustworthy. Unfortunately if we don't know people we have to treat them all as though they are untrustworthy :( 
    The other good thing about people waiting outside is that there won't be such a lag that some of us experienced.
    Posted 15 months ago by PittyPat is sad Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I already wrote a long message in the other thread, and I'd just like to offer to help people replace their bags. Trusting you guys not to abuse this, but if you have had anything missing, let me know what kind of bag and a general idea of what was in each bag. I won't be able to replace it completely, but I'll give it a try.  I don't mind doing this, because I've come to the point where I think I've gotten about everything I've actually wanted in the game, so if I could offer to help others achieve that, then I'm more than happy. Thank you, all of you, for being such good sports, and while we can't help the fact that others will try to steal things, we can all just stick together. +1000000 to everyone who tried to replace Lita's feeders. And if you accidentally took something and would rather not be named but would like to try to return it, IM me and I'll see about trying to get the bags to their rightful owners.
    Posted 15 months ago by Jia-pop Subscriber! | Permalink
  • there was no need for the feeders or collectors to be deployed.

    there was no need for bags to be on the ground.

    the homeowner can put feeders in a cabinet or keep them in inventory.

    the party-goers can keep their own bags in inventory until such time as they need to pick up the [in this case cubimal] bag.

    seeing as that no-one used a secondary avatar to steal the cubimal bag itself, this party could have been 100% thievery free if only for a small amount of planning and coordination.
    Posted 15 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks for those notes, striatic. We'll keep them for the next time. The fourth one, we solved after the first few, so hopefully it can be used again. If you feel like it, maybe the next one, you would like to help organize?

    For anyone else attempting this party, we could try to write up a guide on what to do and what not to do? I'm part of Ur Weekly (or supposed to be, sorry for not managing to scrap something up for the last one!) so maybe we can get it published, or a group for party guides!
    Posted 15 months ago by Jia-pop Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The ebay style rating things reminds me of something very similar and relative that may work in a game like Glitch. Glitch has a ton of the same attributes as a 2D sidescroller MMO, called Maple Story. In MS, you could vote up/down on players' reputations, which appears when you scroll over their name to see their level. Socially, people could only invite people with over 50 reputation points to parties, or something along those lines.
    Posted 15 months ago by Messy Monster Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Also in maple story, there is a slight delay, a few seconds, maybe 15-30 seconds after an item is dropped, before it can be picked up by another player. Perhaps something like that could be deployed here, at least giving a short amount of time where a player can change their mind about setting something down?
    Posted 15 months ago by Jia-pop Subscriber! | Permalink
  • jia-pop you can IM me whenever if you need advice, but i think you've received all the advice you need in this topic already.

    i am not a fan of the delay, because often something needs to be out of your inventory for longer than that while you're organizing, and organizing shouldn't be a race.

    what i would like is that the item would be locked from pick up so long as it is "at your feet" .. meaning that if it is highlighted blue from your touching it, and you just dropped it, only you should be able to pick it up.

    if you move out of the way, it would unlock.
    Posted 15 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Actually, that's a really good idea, striatic. Maybe suggest that in the ideas thread I've started? That would also help prevent a lot of this.
    Posted 15 months ago by Jia-pop Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think all major purchases such as machinery, collectors, feeders, cubimals etc. should be assigned a unique serial number when they are created so the thieves are not able to sell or use that item after their theft. Also there are several people here who have multiple accounts and use their "alter" account to do trolling or troll-like behavior. So it's hard to know who you can trust. Sorry to hear of everyones losses.
    Posted 15 months ago by Ramona Subscriber! | Permalink
  • it was overall a good party. i think there were 1 or 2 devious people who still have not been named to give them a chance to fess up before releasing their names to the Gltich populace as a whole. mistakes happen, we want to allow for them to be corrected before we deep-six someone's reputation. but let it be known, we know at LEAST one of the people responsible, and if they don't come forward and rectify the situation, i have no problem letting the community inflict punishment and/or isolation on the person(s) responsible.

    those things aside, i would LOVE to see something like a "treasure chest" with a single key to open it (so you'd buy it and get 2 items...the chest and the key). or something like a hotel safe where it's open, you put stuff in it, close it by setting a code, then open it with the same code. this allows mutlitple people to use it without a common code. so person 1 puts something in a "safe", sets the code to "1234". they then open the safe with the code "1234". then person 2 puts something in the safe with the code "5678". person 1 tries to open it with "1234", but can't. person 2 opens the safe with "5678". then person 3.....etc, etc.

    i don't think "locking" should be added to any item without some pre-requisite. like maybe a "security" skill based on engineering? maybe the "security" skill with a level 5 tinkering would allow you to make a "treasure chest" or even a "home alarm", something like that?
    Posted 15 months ago by audiomodder Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I very strongly disagree with a peer-based ratings system.

    I distinctly recall a day soon after I started at a new school as a foreigner, asked to please please please speak some french because they had never heard it.
    I said "Bonjour" and one child told the teacher I had sworn. Every single student in that class agreed with him.

    I don't think it is valid for general members to be able to tarnish a reputation. What if you say something other people strongly disagree with, so they decide to "downvote" you? If it is a case of stealing, then by all means let people working for TS with access to logs see that it happened and add a negative vote to them.

    Upvoting, I have no problem with. Someone gives you something or does something for you, sure, give them +1, but I see far too much potential for outright abuse of a Negative Review system. I also don't think that if it is implemented, that a low score should actually say anything about a person. Some people are not social, and thus have no chance to impress others into giving them points.
    Posted 15 months ago by Biohazard Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I strongly disagree with a peer-based rating system. It's very easily gamed by people (hell, it doesn't even work on eBay, let's be honest here), and it is the nuclear option for solving this problem. I do not want people to be able to vote me up or down based on whether I say hi or not as I'm passing through a zone, or whether I return a hug/random kindness that they decide to give me. Or even worse, people who vote based on whether they like my outfit or not.

     Player-based ranking is a dangerous and harmful thing, both physically and emotionally.

    Besides, these problems have relatively simple resolutions: Stow your stuff before inviting people into your home, and don't drop stuff on the ground outside your home. It's inconvenient and there are certainly technological things that can be done to fix those inconveniences (item swapping for example), but player ranking does not solve them, and will only serve to discourage players.
    Posted 15 months ago by Skwid Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think that it might be worthwhile to have a tiered "friend" system... As in flickr where family can see images that friends or the public might not be able to - perhaps "friends" could pick your crops but "acquaintances"would merely be allowed in to your party.

    Lita, Innie, Djabriil, please please please - don't let this incident (history of incidents) turn you cynical.  If I can help you by donating anything that's gone missing, please let me know.  To me, Glitch is partially a grand experiment, a social organism, and I fervently hope that it will prove that the positive social effects of like-minded people can overcome the griefers and trolls.  
    Posted 15 months ago by Wiggles The Fluent Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I hope that somehow the Devs will be able to make it impossible to take items from cabinets and pens in one's own Home. 

    Bags are a bit different.  If they were "locked" we could not Gift them.  The same goes for food and drinks.  Therefore, we need a way to "lock" some items while leaving others open for anyone.  I know nothing about coding, etc. so I don't know if this is possible.  Maybe a Lock option could be added to the menus.

    Don, I can understand the fun and thrill of being a Pirate but it is shameful that you would steal from others for your own pleasure.  I hope that after the fun you returned items.  Many MMOs do include a class of Thieves, Pirates, etc.  Glitch is not that kind of game which is one reason I enjoy it.  There are many other games where you can thieve to your heart's content.

    It might be that there were one or more new and/or young players who thought that everything was Free for the Taking and did not realize they were looting.  maybe they will return what they took but most likely not.

    I am very sorry that this happened.  The party was a wonderful thought and I see that trophies were won so the party was a success!  Thank you for your generosity!
    Posted 15 months ago by Brib Annie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Pffbt. Me? Cynical. It'll take a lifetime spent stuck in Palindrone for that to happen to me. ^_^
    Posted 15 months ago by LitaPie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have to say I find it very discouraging the lack of ethics with some people. I had a lot of things stolen from me when i was first starting out. I would not realize my inventory was full and once I harvested something or mined it it would go to the ground. It would not even be there 30 seconds while I was eating something to open a space someone would come along and pick it up. I can understand if things are abandoned and no one around, but there are times it's obvious the items belong to the person standing on top of them. This happened a lot when I was starting out and it was always someone at a MUCH higher level than me that did the stealing.... I just think it shameful that a level 20 or 30 something would steal from a level 1-3.

    I am not a level 18 and much better about keeping open spaces in my bags but every once in a while I accumulate a bit too much, and sad to say just yesterday I had a level 40 something steal from me. I was mining a rock, she came up and helped.. finished before me and took the larger amount then walked off. I finished and my mined rocks went to the ground. She walked back over and picked up my rocks and then poofed.

    I realize that there is really nothing can be done for these types that rather steal than work at this as a nice and friendly environment, and that locking every item we drop would counter some of the fun in the game. But i do think there should be locks and ways to NOT take things from other people's homes. You buy a home to drop the items you don't want to carry, you should not have to worry that anyone you invite into your home could take your things. And I don't think you should have to pick up all of your belongings before inviting people over. 
    Posted 15 months ago by Emlinel Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Shame on you, griefers. Shame on you for destroying this wonderful game for everyone.
    Posted 15 months ago by KitkatCat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • GOD will punish the bad guys. What comes around goes around. They are so ignorant they know not what they do. Sad but true.
    Posted 15 months ago by napabeth Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Don't blame the game...blame the player.  When you invite someone into your home you are trusting them to treat your home and its contents with respect.  Unfortunately griefers can and do take advantage of every opportunity to ruin your day. 

    Perhaps we need something along the lines of meeting/party rooms that you can rent for events.
    Posted 15 months ago by Pixelhack Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Personally, I'd much rather be stolen from repeatedly than stop trusting other players.
    Posted 15 months ago by chilirlw Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ Pixelhack - We don't have rental places (yet) but some parties are held in the streets or in one of the two model homes in Alakol.  I suppose it may come to having most parties in the streets.  Items will be taken then too but at least you will understand that anything in the street is open for the taking.  Also, in the streets or model homes you won't have to worry about losing personal items such as trophies, feeders, etc.
    Posted 15 months ago by Brib Annie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Not every patch of Glitch is sunny. There are bogs, there are Rook, there are jujus, and yes there are thieves. Not every step you take in Ur will lead you down the expected path, and all this…uncertainty (and sometimes serendipity) is part of what makes Glitch special. But by the same token, all of you are in charge of the world you're building, for better or for worse. If you live to steal bags and purp while guests are congaing at the latest shindig, by the time you realize a flaming martini tastes best when you've made them for two, there might be no one around to share it with. 
    Posted 15 months ago by Blanky Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "Personally, I'd much rather be stolen from repeatedly than stop trusting other players."

    *like*
    Posted 15 months ago by Ferond Subscriber! | Permalink
  • What Blanky has said! Besides, for every bad player I've met, I've met a TON of players that are so much fun! Everybody seems to have somebody else's back, not just in the party, but in global chat and just walking around the world! I've seen some amazing charity in game that lets me hope there are some really amazing people out there in the world, doing equally amazing things.
    Posted 15 months ago by Jia-pop Subscriber! | Permalink