Quarterlogging "DM/Admin input favored, Player input welcome

[caldura firebourne]

To define before this starts so there is little confusion: Quarterlogging, the act of holding one of the limited player ownable shops/quarters/guildhouses and making little or no use of them through logging in to refresh the ownership timer. Overpricing goods so the shop is always full, or other various tactics.

TLDR; hoarding properties for the sake of hoarding properties thus limiting the use of these properties by other interested factions/players

1st of all, is this reportable?
2nd, is it something easily confirmed or denied as being done?
3rd, is it too time consuming/tedious/difficult for DM's to moderate?
4th, is it actually something that needs addressed?
5th, what is the best thing we can do as players to address this?

My own take on it is...

1. yes it limits mechanically what other players can do for their fun out of selfishness or spite, and perhaps sometimes ignorance, in some cases properties I see quarterlogged are in areas out of the controlled area of the player run settlements, and thus immune to player action

2. I have no idea how it can be confirmed as I do not know what the DM's see in their logs, or how difficult it is to sift through the raw data

3. I would assume it wouldn't be a very fun part of a DM's job, as it does take time and patience, and a willingness to be the bad guy and take something from another player for the sake of the rest of the playerbase which adds to an already full and likely frustrating plate in front of the DM's we have

4. My own opinion is yes, it needs addressed, tactfully and patiently, as I don't believe every "quarterlogger" as seen by the players is how they will be seen by DM's who have a more accurate "I assume" depiction of who logged on when and for how long, and did they make good use of their property or just silently refresh it before logging back off.

5. it's not easy as a player to "Tattle" on others, but I believe fixing the issue with quarterlogging is a better solution than asking for more and more storage or housing for players without, sure the server is growing, but I think there are more than enough properties to go around, and they should be a semi valuable commodity, or symbol of status for those who put the time and effort into acquiring one, so long as they continue to put the time and effort into making it worthwhile to have instead of just a glorified extra inventory bag, and the more players who report quarterlogging should "in theory" give the DM's a more accurate view as to who is actually doing this, and who just happens to be at an unfortunate timezone

Discuss, politely please

[Baron Saturday]

There's really nothing to discuss. This topic has been brought up a dozen times or more, and the answer is always the same: If concerned, report it.

[Giftstoff]

If its being brought up again, its likely still an issue. Times are changing, and so are policies.

Personally i'd like to see a drastic increase in shop rental prices. Right now they are a complete joke, a few hundred or thousand gold per RL week. If higher profile shops had high rental costs (As they should and would IC, like any market) then it would go far in countering anyone sitting on an empty or unprofitable shop.

[MoreThanThree]

>implying we should commit the immoral act of letting new characters into the housing market

[MalKalz]

This thread isn’t going to go well in the long run. So I’m going to answer the questions above now and request that I be monitored. This could have just been sent as a PM to the DM team.

1) Yes, it can be reported. We look into every report that we get, and can actively check into quarters to see their use. Though please be reminded while you may not see someone online, it does not mean they are not - they could just be in a different time zone.

2) Yes, it can be easily confirmed with the resources we have at our expense.

3) No, it is not necessarily too tedious. We can actively check into quarters and their use, and address all concerns regarding them. However, this does take time and effort - one to look into and one to be able to speak with the player who owns the quarter or observe their playtime. But, it’s not something that is a bother to us or a waste of our time.

4) That is entirely hard to generalize as each owner is a different case. Some players just do not get the opportunity to play as often and then there are cases where people just hold onto quarters forever, but still use them. There are too many scenarios to list but the cases in which there is an issue, it can be addressed appropriately.

5) The best thing to do as a player is report it. If you feel something is being held without roleplay, please notify us. Give it some time before the report; however, bring it to our attention and we will address it accordingly.

[caldura firebourne]

I certainly could have sent it in a PM to the DM's but I had a few reasons for posting it publicly for discussion

one of the biggest complaints I hear around the issue as a player is the perception that the DM's don't seem to do anything about quarterlogging, a notion I would like to dispel, which I think your answer covered alot of that in clarifying what a DM does in these situations, and some of the reasons they may decide to do nothing

another reason was to encourage the playerbase to take more notice of the issue, and decide if it's something worth combatting or best left ignored

I'm aware it's a controversial subject, and I did my best to guide the thread along a productive path, but if it becomes in need of a lock, I can understand why.

[Dovesong]

Also just because you, the reporting player of whatever issue, don''t see what you consider "action" by the team, please please please remember they don't share everything, because it's a matter between them and the reported player. It doesn't mean the team doesn't care or isn't listening. It's simple respect for other players and their privacy is all.

Just a hopeful reminder.

[Queen Titania]

Also as reference, we get extremely few quarter hogging reports.

If it is happening, report it. Just remember that it might very well be a case of clashing timezones, or casual player times, or you might very well be right, and then the player starts making use of it or sells it as requested.

But as stated, we don't publicize actions post-report.

[I sung of chaos and eternal night]

Hi! As somebody who reported quarter-logging before, I feel bad about my current situation. Months ago when I realized that I had no time to play, I put Sabae's old quarter up for sale and let it go. A few weeks ago, I thought that I would have enough free time to invest in the game again! I took as much time as I could to play and arrange a sale. Unfortunately, it was not nearly as much time as I thought I would have and it's definitely not enough to play.

I recognize that my action, boiled down, will be aptly construed as quarter-logging. Even though I would like to keep a quarter and have a place to put my character's things, I understand that an active player would appreciate and use it more. I also realize that without better time management I will indefinitely be unable to play. With that knowledge, I am hoping to log in for a few minutes when I get home from work today to put the quarter up for sale.

With that in mind, I can only echo the prior statement: if concerned, report it! (:

[The GrumpyCat]

I feel this issue has been adressed. If you think someone is hogging a quarter, - then report it.

If you find yourself logging in just once a week, for months on end, - then consider releasing your quarter so another can have fun with it - or at the least maybe downsizing if you own something very large. It's good to see property circulate hands, so different people can have fun with what's available.

That said - with the issue answered, I'm locking this topic.