Tip.it Times March 7 2010

[lordkafei]

Two articles about advertising: one about corporate advertising and the other about player advertising.

 

I don't see all the fuss about the new lobby screen. It's not "in your face" at all. IMO, some of you are just a bit too sensitive on this matter.

 

As for the player-based in-game advertising, I find it lame that they won't let PMods mute spammers. Since this is not something you can really automate, it would seem that you would welcome a trusted human being doing this (and for free, mind you). Also, a longer ignore list would help (I filled mine up last week and am now deleting spammers to make room for new ones).

[blakdragon39]

If the first article was edited, there are some GLARING mistakes that were not caught. I would be willing to volunteer some time to proofread articles each week if that's what it takes. :P It would also keep me updated on runescape news while I was taking a break from the game..

 

Anyways about the article itself, yes I think bots are a problem, but autotyper bots aren't the real problem. It's so sad that people won't even play the game, they just want the bot to do it for them. What's the point? It serves no purpose... I really hope that Jagex can find something to do about it, and that the problem doesn't grow too severe.

 

On the second article, I definitely find the advertisement annoying. While I'm currently a free player, the vast majority of my runescape gaming is spent as a member. Members really shouldn't be subjected to that kind of advertising, especially when it makes logging in annoying. (The 4 buttons that look almost identical can sure throw you off if you aren't used to it). However, it's not like it's really a problem. Sure, people have to pay more attention to which button they click on, and sure free players are having members benefits shoved in their faces (and current members are too..) but it doesn't change the gameplay at all. Once you've logged in, it's no different. If they don't decide to remove it, that's there choice.

[uath13]

I dont see the huge fuss about autotypers, just always have your public chat on "hide" and eventually a pmod will mute them anyways.

 

 

You obviously didn't read the whole article :shame: . I even had a few of my P-mod friends try muting some of the bots on world 58 with no success. If they were even shut down at all they were back in action the next day.

 

I report the same ones almost daily & they're still there. It's like I'm beating my head against the wall... :wall:

[3hitm4g3u]

2nd one sounded like typical F2P whinning. "AMG we see Members advertising rant!@!@!"

 

Who gives a crap if you dislike it? You are playing for free, the least you should expect is a bit of advertisement.

 

This in regards to the second article. Get over it tbh.

[Great_one]

I dont see the huge fuss about autotypers, just always have your public chat on "hide" and eventually a pmod will mute them anyways.

 

 

You obviously didn't read the whole article :shame: . I even had a few of my P-mod friends try muting some of the bots on world 58 with no success. If they were even shut down at all they were back in action the next day.

 

I report the same ones almost daily & they're still there. It's like I'm beating my head against the wall... :wall:

Don't bother reporting them, it only wastes time that the employees could be spending looking at reports that they can actually do something about.

[sees_all1]

I can't type 150 wpm. I can't type the same line, over and over again, for hours on end, without making many mistakes. I can't keep my message on screen constantly. Autotypers are gaining a clear advantage to other players, and seeing as this is against the rules, should be banned. I would also like to see their main accounts banned, because they're the ones gaining the most from it.

 

 

As far as advertising and f2p goes, I don't care. I'm a career F2P player. You know whats worse than the "subtle" advertising they're using? The FunOrb advertising for members. It requires you to click through after every game you play. Oddly enough, this doesn't bother me either (I still play fun orb as a f2per...)

I also support the video advertisements. It takes me 45 seconds to hop worlds anyway, why not utilize that time to make money? The banner ads are the ones that tick me off, especially when they get ALL of my CPU usage, or ALL of my bandwidth. It disrupts my gameplay more than the video advertisements. I didn't mind the gnomecopters either - its not like they forced you to ride on one.

[jettrider]

I also dislike the membership buying ads for everyone. It doesn't apply to me and it's ineffective advertising. A much better strategy would be to place a sponsored ad on the general login page and then either a membership ad or no ads based on what version the user chooses. Or just store that information using cookies.

 

None of this solves the problem that the new login screen doubled the amount of clicks it takes to start playing (no matter what Jagex says, it has). But it's good that they're trying to earn more money and (hopefully) hire more developers.

[stonewall337]

I can't type 150 wpm. I can't type the same line, over and over again, for hours on end, without making many mistakes. I can't keep my message on screen constantly. Autotypers are gaining a clear advantage to other players, and seeing as this is against the rules, should be banned. I would also like to see their main accounts banned, because they're the ones gaining the most from it.

 

 

As far as advertising and f2p goes, I don't care. I'm a career F2P player. You know whats worse than the "subtle" advertising they're using? The FunOrb advertising for members. It requires you to click through after every game you play. Oddly enough, this doesn't bother me either (I still play fun orb as a f2per...)

I also support the video advertisements. It takes me 45 seconds to hop worlds anyway, why not utilize that time to make money? The banner ads are the ones that tick me off, especially when they get ALL of my CPU usage, or ALL of my bandwidth. It disrupts my gameplay more than the video advertisements. I didn't mind the gnomecopters either - its not like they forced you to ride on one.

 

+1

 

I agree with this man here.

[howbadisbad]

Tbh I could care less about autotypers and the adverts. Neither really affect me much. You just get used to them after a while.

[DragoenMage]

I don't really see alot of autotypers so i'm not going to coment on that.

 

The adverts on the login page are more my speed. People can wine and complian all they want about them, but face it runescape survives becuase of memberships which pay for content and severs and cool events like the new Big Ticket. People would never tell Walmart or Costco that thy couldn't promote themselves on thier websites, even flash games like Crush the Castle promote P2P versions of themselves. So why is everyone going nuts over an advert on a website for the owners of that website? the other point of slower log ins becuase of more clicks is just a weak justifcation of the moans over "thier advertising at me..." the time i've saved switching worlds more then makes up for the four, I repeat FOUR, secounds it takes me to click past it. while i will say the F2P is a great part of the game ad some people just don't want to be members the F2P section of the game is also the biggest recrutment pool for new members there is. I would even suggest that everyone play F2P before they become a member, but long time F2P players have to get over thier advertphobia and P2Pers need to get over losing four secounds to a login page.

[jettrider]

I don't really see alot of autotypers so i'm not going to coment on that.

 

The adverts on the login page are more my speed. People can wine and complian all they want about them, but face it runescape survives becuase of memberships which pay for content and severs and cool events like the new Big Ticket. People would never tell Walmart or Costco that thy couldn't promote themselves on thier websites, even flash games like Crush the Castle promote P2P versions of themselves. So why is everyone going nuts over an advert on a website for the owners of that website? the other point of slower log ins becuase of more clicks is just a weak justifcation of the moans over "thier advertising at me..." the time i've saved switching worlds more then makes up for the four, I repeat FOUR, secounds it takes me to click past it. while i will say the F2P is a great part of the game ad some people just don't want to be members the F2P section of the game is also the biggest recrutment pool for new members there is. I would even suggest that everyone play F2P before they become a member, but long time F2P players have to get over thier advertphobia and P2Pers need to get over losing four secounds to a login page.

 

I don't mind that they're advertising on that screen, I mind that it's bad advertising.

 

They could have used this update to make members look at another ad before logging in. Consider the percentage of people playing on members worlds to the number of people playing overall, I'd say that even those few seconds would bring in more cash than advertising membership to members. Besides, placing sponsored ads would remind members why they are members and perhaps give a slight incentive to remain a member.

[A0z9]

To be honest, I don't really mind some small adverts.

[cgc3039]

1st Article: Auto-typers and even very fast typers are annoying to begin with. Even player Mods annoy me because I can see their text when my chat is clearly set to "OFF".

 

Jagex need to really implement ways of making them obsolete. Maybe a sign, or maybe an NPC that, for a fee, deliver a message (isn't added to chat window) and you can see all the advertise things by clicking on them.

 

Place one at GE and maybe one for Player Own Houses, since these tend to be the most congested areas. Maybe even one for certain minigames. Only a suggestion of course, but much like world switchers, they need to make it unnecessary for them, not just ban players, as more will always pop up.

 

 

2nd Article: A benefits advertisement isn't really that bad. I can't compare it to days of old where you were constantly teased. Tried to pick-pocket? "Members only feature". Tried to use an item? "Members only feature". Talk to a Member's NPC? "Members only feature".

 

I'd kill for a button I'll sooner then later mentally ignore then all the past teases.

[A0z9]

 

2nd Article: A benefits advertisement isn't really that bad. I can't compare it to days of old where you were constantly teased. Tried to pick-pocket? "Members only feature". Tried to use an item? "Members only feature". Talk to a Member's NPC? "Members only feature".

 

I'd kill for a button I'll sooner then later mentally ignore then all the past teases.

 

Yeah, it's waaaaaay much better without the "members' only feature" tease. I really do support MMG for that.

[waheera1]

Both good articles I thought.

 

Autotyping: It's very annoying and people that do it deserve muting, but has anyone else noticed that there's no report option for "spamming" now? That alone irritates me. If someone is spamming I shouldn't have to call in a mod friend just to get them muted.

 

Advertising: I confess I've always doubted MMG as CEO. The year of updates last year disappointed me on many levels, and the number of huge bugs that have been created in game since he took over have noticeably increased from the previous 3 years I was playing before he came along.

 

With that in mind, I'm not really all that surprised to see that he's been talking rubbish again. On a professional level, he was wrong to publicly villify his predecessor and on a practical level he hasn't really delivered in the way he ought to have done. There is precisely no need for there to be seperate login buttons (as demonstrated by the previous login system which autodetected member status), therefore the new buttons can serve no purpose other than blatant advertising. Whilst you could argue it demonstrates good business acumen, it is a move diametrically opposed to MMG's alleged stance on advertising. I dislike it a lot, even as a member who knows that the statistical promises on this screen do not live up to the massive improvement from free play to members.

 

Quick note to those who dismissed the second article as f2p whining: You've missed the point. The article does mention how annoying it is etc, but it makes a key focus on the fact that MMG has gone back on his word and is now forcing free players to view advertising before login. The author wrote a well-balanced editorial on this and should not be slammed just because some readers are "really cool" and like paying for membership and have "1337 sk1llz" etc.

[Calebchiam]

Thanks waheera1 for sticking up for my article there :grin: . I fully agree with him, I'm glad he understands the point I was driving across with that article. To those that brush the article off as F2P player whining, I'd say that that's a very narrow way of thinking, and one that isn't really looking at the bigger picture here (which is that Jagex seems to be repeating what they did in the past one small step at a time and that MMG seems to be going against what he has previously "preached").

 

To clarify, I'm a free-to-play player 3/4 of the year, and pay-to-play for the rest of the year (I even have a total level of 2000+, so don't elevate yourself to a higher position because I'm a free-to-play player atm). Personally, I'm not the petty type to get thoroughly annoyed by a small (perhaps subtle) advertisement that I can click past in one second <_< . I don't approve of it, but that doesn't mean I cringe every time I login. I hope the editorial didn't come across as a complaint, because that really wasn't what it was about. Thanks.

[SwreeTak]

The Ad in Disguise article was a great one. I remember the gnome copters and the video ads. I thought it was a good thing since it gave F2Pers a good view of the P2P game, but now after I have read this article I realize that it might not have been good at all. Those who have decided to play and stay F2P is of course not happy with this update.

Still, I can understand Jagex. There would be no RuneScape if Jagex didn't make any money. However why not just advertise on the main site? It is truly as it say in the article that this kind of advertising destroys the gaming spirit. Not by that terribly much, but noticeable.

[X3EN]

Autotyping: there are people that manage to hide their autotyping, and tbh I have nothing against them. However, the GE autotypers are PROUD to use macros. They don't even care to hide the fact that they ALWAYS manage to make the same spelling mistake, ALWAYS manage to type 10 different ads in the same order, ALWAYS using same colors each time a specific ad is typed.

I would support banning such proud autoers, but, as we all know, mods don't have enough time for this, so they MIGHT (just MIGHT, which means rarely) ban an innocent player, who by luck is a community [bleep] whiner type. That will bring up the useless debate about "OMG mods always ban innocent people and now we have 50 times more autoers and no fair players!".

Back to the point, I really think that the "proud" autoers deserve a permanent mute. At least every such autotyper above level 60.

 

About the "hidden ads", I understand it as a COMPARISON between the gameplay/services offered. And I definitely agree that keeping them is a good idea, plus, it isn't wasting your time unless you are interested in the differences; unlike the lengthy video ads (actually, I wasn't playing by that time, so my comment may not reflect the actual experience).

[zotto]

Autotyping:

 

it is the only thing that annoys me when I play runescape. I do not see how autotyping is in the spirit of the game. Especially not when it is mostly used to advertise merch clans, who Jagex themselves labeled as acting against the spirit of the game.

 

And I just cannot see how Jagex couldn't make a foolproof rule against this sort of disruptive behaviour that can be used by moderators as a basis for action and will allow regular members to report accounts who exhibit autotyping.

 

Can't distinguish between autotypers and people who can type real fast? Just forbid typing the same cabbage 60 times per second. We don't all have ADD. If I see a message of something selling something every 15 seconds, there is plenty of time and opportunity to track this person down and interact with them.

[konzserwas]

I dont see the huge fuss about autotypers, just always have your public chat on "hide" and eventually a pmod will mute them anyways.

 

 

You obviously didn't read the whole article :shame: . I even had a few of my P-mod friends try muting some of the bots on world 58 with no success. If they were even shut down at all they were back in action the next day.

 

I report the same ones almost daily & they're still there. It's like I'm beating my head against the wall... :wall:

Don't bother reporting them, it only wastes time that the employees could be spending looking at reports that they can actually do something about.

 

Reports for macroing are checked by software, not people. They don't waste anyone's time.

[Nom]

Regarding the editing complaints, as editor I feel obliged to state that many of the mistakes present were actually addressed but for whatever reason slipped through the cracks when it was published. I didn't get the chance to review the final version before it was submitted.

 

Authors don't always take the advice of editors and there's nothing I can do about that.

[Imxset]

Towards the auto-typing article, I think it is garbage.

Nobody has a WPM that high. Not only that, to be able to type at that exact speed for hours and hours and hours without making one single mistake.

 

Hopefully they figure something out soon, because the longer they are in the game, more players will get lured into these scam merch groups and it leads to one big disaster.

[D. V. Devnull]

Both articles hit it on the mark this time. Well done, Master_Smither and Calebchiam!!! :thumbsup:

 

In regard to Master_Smither's "Powerless!" article, I as equally think that Jagex just needs to start cracking back down again. They can shoot first on this disruptive spam, and ask questions later, as far as I am concerned. There would be a lot less autotypers and chat-disrupting spammers in the long run, and that would be good for everyone. B)

 

As for Calebchiam's "Login screen - Ad in disguise?", all of Jagex needs to stick to Mark Gerhard's stance on the matter, and keep the ads out of the applet. Once launched into the applet, a player (doesn't matter if F2P or P2P) doesn't need to be worrying about "How am I gonna click past this junk?" while trying to even get logged in. They already get bothered enough (after login) about it by the "remaining credit" info box, where a link could instead be made to a feature comparison page back on the main website. Need anyone say more? :-s

 

~Mr. D. V. "Jagex needs to get back on-the-ball..." Devnull

[stonewall337]

Regarding the editing complaints, as editor I feel obliged to state that many of the mistakes present were actually addressed but for whatever reason slipped through the cracks when it was published. I didn't get the chance to review the final version before it was submitted.

 

Authors don't always take the advice of editors and there's nothing I can do about that.

 

Yes there is, don't publish the article. If an article is that bad, then it shouldn't be presented in the Tip.It Times.

 

i still stand by the belief that F2P'ers are whiners, if they complain about this single ad which appears when they are logging in. Get real, they need to pay for the game somehow. Part of that payment comes from F2P people who upgrade to P2P, and advertising P2P is part of getting them to do so.

[D. V. Devnull]

i still stand by the belief that F2P'ers are whiners, if they complain about this single ad which appears when they are logging in. Get real, they need to pay for the game somehow. Part of that payment comes from F2P people who upgrade to P2P, and advertising P2P is part of getting them to do so.

Do you realize that ramming P2P in someone's face is an easy way to make them NOT want to subscribe? The best online sales are most always made with reverse psychology. For those that aren't, it was done by being gentle. This method they've used is neither... LOL :lol:

 

~D. V. "You just can't force it." Devnull