At the minute we can all agree the community has a problem with rule breaking and it not being dealt with properly.

 

 

 

I believe this is down to two things:

 

New players not seeing the point in reporting as people get away with it

 

People thinking they get away with it as they only get black marks for most minor rule breaks if anything

 

 

 

This got me thinking if we found ways to encourage keeping to rules and publicly hinder and humiliate rule breakers it would definately have a positive impact upon the community.

 

 

 

So here's my idea(s):

 

 

 

 

 

Rewards

 

 

 

Reporting Rewards

 

At the minute lots of newer and a few older players simply DO NOT report as they think its someone else responsibility and not worthwhile.

 

 

 

How can we fix this? Simple reward people for VALID reports.

 

 

 

I suggest that each report you send that is accept as VALID earns you a point or ticket. Points/Tickets could be redeemed at an NPC located somewhere in the free world for a variety of rewards. Rewards could be armour, weapons, xp tablets, amounts of gp and such items nothing being cheaper than 10 points.

 

 

 

Sure this might increase invalid reports slightly, but it would heavily encourage newer players to report and HOPEFULLY once they out-grow the rewards being all that valuable (xp aside) they stillreport as they see it as a worthwhile thing to do and part of their responsibility as a player.

 

 

 

Keeping to the Rules

 

To give players who keep to the rules a reason to do so, for those that need it and help new players cotton on to idea that following the rules is good. I'd suggest a system of money rewards for time periods with no rule breaks.

 

 

 

Like so:

 

 

 

1 week - 500gp

 

1 month - 1k

 

6 months - 10k

 

1 year - 100k

 

2 years - 200k

 

3 years - 300k

 

4 years - 400k

 

5 years & every subsequent year - 500k

 

 

 

To ensure people didn't abuse this you could only receive each reward ONCE, breaking a rule after 3 months would mean having to abide by rules for a full 6 months to get the next reward.

 

 

 

This would make people follow rules more as many people, especially the younger ones, often get into mindset of behaving and being good doesn't get you the same attention or reward as a being bad and then being good. This would ensure all players saw a benefit to following the rules, while not being thrown masses of money for no reason.

 

 

 

Name Symbol

 

We all know sometimes following the abusive language rules and no advertising websites can slip peoples minds and many of the best players have once or twice had a message from Jagex over such matters.

 

 

 

So how about giving the select few who have the quality of never rising to bait and keeping their cool so they NEVER get a single VALID report to their name a reward for it?

 

 

 

I'd suggest some sort of symbol in bronze much like the mod crowns beside their name.

 

 

 

It may seem simple, but it'd mark them as an example of a perfect player and give new players more obvious role models.

 

 

 

Punishments

 

 

 

Make it Harsher

 

Well at the moment small rule breaks through to medium rule breaks will get you little more than a message from Jagex and the occasional black mark.

 

 

 

If people are going to feel the result of breaking rules this needs to be harsher.

 

 

 

Anything above a small rule break should get a black mark instantly and even small rule breaks should stack so that 3 or 4 result in a black mark.

 

 

 

This would curb some of the petty rule breakers for fear of getting banned.

 

 

 

In-Game Punishment

 

Many break rules purely as up to the point of a mute or ban they have no 'damage' to their gaming.

 

 

 

This should be changed, a wider and less tolerant range of in-game punishments should be introduced.

 

 

 

For example breaking a rule to do with chat, eg personal details, spamming, abusive language should get you an automatic mute, regardless of how minor. Of course not a perm mute, but a day or a week upwards should be imposed upon your account. If you abuse the chat you are stopped from using it - a much more powerful deterrent.

 

 

 

Anyone validly reported for luring or some other form of scamming should get a symbol above their head and a warning screen if you trade or follow them for a time period. Why? Well if you are trying to buy a whip and someone is offering it cheaply but then has this mark and the warning screen your going to pay more attention if you even decided to trade them at all. Marking people who scam like this means they would find scamming virtually impossible until they lost the mark, they'd see a consequence to their actions.

 

 

 

For the worst rule breakers, who are not worthy of a ban, I suggest adding a large cage with a viewing area or perhaps several throughout the world. Much like the black hole used to be, for those who recall it. It'd give an element of public humiliation to the worst offenders. The people placed in the cage would have to spend a certain time there before they were set free (time in hours), but the time would only count down when they are logged in. If they want their accounts back from the cage they HAVE to face the cage time.

 

 

 

All these ideas work to one aim: making in-game consequences for rule breakers that will make their rs lives temporarily if not permanently harder.

 

 

 

Outside the Game

 

Much like the named and shamed accounts in some news posts their should be a Wall of shame, present on the log in page.

 

 

 

This could be updated to show and name every single account that was banned or put into the cages. Making the public shaming of the worst rule breakers all the more visible.

 

 

 

Why?

 

The simple concept behind all this appeals to humans fundamental instincts.

 

The fear of humiliation and public shame combined with the idea of reward for good behaviour is what drives human nature and keeps most of us inside the law,so apply the same idea to the rs rules and it should cause more players to follow the rules due to fear of the punishments and pleasure caused by reward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So all feedback and ideas welcomed, I'll try to keep it updated according to public opinion.

 

 

 

Who supports?

The basic idea is good, but the rule-break rewards should not exceed 300k though

 

 

 

 

 

Why not make a 'viewing area' next to the fenced off area for rulebreakers., or maybe a prison in Lumbridge?

I disagree with them not exceeding 300k

 

 

 

After all YEARS free of rule break is quite an achievement even for the best behaved players.

 

 

 

And also think about if you have been playing that long you generally have reached stage where a 'cheap' weapon will set you back 900k - 2m

 

 

 

so even a 300k reward would lose appeal

for most people, it shouldn't be hard to not break rules. i like the idea though, just maybe keep it at the 500k point after you exceed 1 year.....

I think I like it. But I dont like that thing about getting money when you report rulebreakers. I know that you only would get the money if it was valid, but I still dont like it. Noobs could get rich just by stand by a yew tree on a f2p server and reporting macroers. Other then that I like it pretty much.

The idea of giving someone money for reporting is really bad, because people would just report all day, and the report system would be overwhelmed.

 

 

 

The rewards should be lowered for not having any rule breaks, because it is not hard to not break rules, and that would bring a lot of gold into RS, which we don't need. I have been playing since late 2001, and i have no blackmarks, and have never been informed that i broke any rules.

 

 

 

Having a symbol, like i said, is not hard, and a lot of people would have them, making it sort of pointless.

 

 

 

I agree on the abusive language, because it is an effective way to teach people.

 

 

 

The wall of shame would not work, because nobody would look at it, and it would be updated too often to be practical.

 

 

 

The fenced off area has already been done. It was called something like the black hole, and it was removed.

The basic idea is good, but the rule-break rewards should not exceed 300k though

 

 

 

 

 

Why not make a 'viewing area' next to the fenced off area for rulebreakers., or maybe a prison in Lumbridge?

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah make the basement in Lumbridge castle bigger and add a huge cage for the nooby rule-breakers. :-k

I like the rewarding for no black marks and the punishments for rule breakers.

 

 

 

But giving money for reporting will cause poorer players to report too much and over whelm the system.

i like this idea but it would create even more people reporting other people for no reason.

The idea of giving someone money for reporting is really bad, because people would just report all day, and the report system would be overwhelmed.

 

 

 

It is better to have an overwhelmed system that needs more staff assigned to it and catch many more rule breaks than having very few people report as they see no point.

 

 

 

I think perhaps the reward for that needs latering though as I see peoples point about get-rich-quick.

 

 

 

Perhaps it could have a point or ticket reward scheme where from an npc things can be bought including like gp, xp tablets and some armours etc mainly aimed at the f2p community. As encouraging them to report at that stage means they should carry on if they switch over to members

 

 

 

 

The rewards should be lowered for not having any rule breaks, because it is not hard to not break rules, and that would bring a lot of gold into RS, which we don't need. I have been playing since late 2001, and i have no blackmarks, and have never been informed that i broke any rules.

 

 

 

After reading responses I think they are fine up to the 1 year mark, but then it needs to stay at 500k.

 

 

 

Sure you says it easy to not break a rule, but if you take an overall view of the rs community nearly 90% of players have atleats used abusive language or advertised a website without thinking when agitated.

 

 

 

I alos have no rule breaks or black marks, but it does not mean everyone finds it so simple to follow rules. If they did we wouldn't have scammers etc.

 

 

 

Having a symbol, like i said, is not hard, and a lot of people would have them, making it sort of pointless.

 

 

 

Again its harder than it sounds to never break a single rule in your entire gaming life, people slip up and make mistakes. If this was implimented you'd be surprised how rare having the symbol would be (after the system had settled in)

 

 

 

 

I agree on the abusive language, because it is an effective way to teach people.

 

 

 

The wall of shame would not work, because nobody would look at it, and it would be updated too often to be practical.

 

 

 

The fenced off area has already been done. It was called something like the black hole, and it was removed.

 

 

 

From studying history crime & punishment I noted that punishments that fit the crime have the most powerful effect.

 

 

 

Also we all know black marks and rare in-game punishments are no deterant unless you do get full on banned.

 

 

 

I think giving scammers a mark for a short period so people will really avoid trading and/or following them

 

 

 

Muting ppl for a week or 2 even for a first time rule break of abusive language and other punishments appropriate to each rule will have a huge impact

 

 

 

I mean half the worst rule breakers openly admit they do it as they can get away with it. This needs to change they need to be shown that a blackmark is not getting away with it and they can be punished

 

 

 

As for the blackhole I know about that and just think how less wide-spread rule breaking was when that existed?

 

 

 

 

 

Well I gotta go out but theres plenty to think over and hopefully they'll be some more nice input when I get back so I can update the idea to be better.

 

 

 

Also anyone care to get this more support put a link in ur sig?

i like this idea but it would create even more people reporting other people for no reason.

 

 

 

Yes, but rewards are only given for valid reports AND it is against rules to spam the report system.

 

 

 

So anybody foolish enough to report others for no reason would not get rewarded as their reports are invalid AND they'd receive punishment for spamming the report system

nice idea but seriously - getting 500k or 1m for free just for not breaking rules is a lot of money. maybe only 5k at 6 months, then 20k and 1 year and 60k or 70k for two years. jagex can't give out hundreds of thousands of gp.

 

 

 

also, you have to be aware of the rewards to claim them. there should be somewhere you can go to claim them.

 

 

 

also, the login screen (right after you login, where it says "you last logged in from *IP*" and "you have x days of membership left") should have a new box that says "you have gone x days without breaking a rule" and if you have a prize waiting for you at the claim area it'll tell you that too.

I wouldn't mind, i've been playing for over 4 years and no blackmarks. People are never rewarded for not doing something wrong if they're just "good" but if someone who usually breaks rules decides not to for a while they get rewarded. I remember arguing with a teacher about this. Good times :lol:

you should never reward people for being snitches. thats that.

 

 

 

to expand a bit...if the new people see REWARD! report all abusers, they will report not only abusers, but anyone else they see in an attempt to get more money. runescape would become one big reporting war.

you should never reward people for being snitches. thats that.

 

 

 

Thats stupid

 

 

 

There is a difference between a snitch and reporting someone for breaking game rules.

 

 

 

If it was an all adult community sure it'd be snitching to report abusive language all the time,but where theres kids involved its a different matter

 

 

 

As for scamming etc etc there no way round it they should be reported.

The rewards should be level dependant (bronze short for a level three...)and for cash, it shouldn't be more than 10k. And over time, the cap should be 50k (100k for members).

You should just change the recently reported people to the recently convicted people as people report for stupid things sometimes.

Great idea it just needs some ajustments to make it fair.

okay updated it to look better and include the other ideas people posted.