How long should a GM give you to respond to "unattended gameplay"?

How long is the window to respond to a GM tell? An overnight operation or a multi hour operation, I understand that. Today in MPG on Phinigel, I was suspended 2 minutes and 52 seconds after a GM sent me a tell. Less than three minutes is now considered unattended gameplay? I use the rest room longer than that. In a place in MPG where everything see's invis and auto agro's you. Is someone supposed to gate out or camp everytime they use the restroom or do a quick chore or even alt tab out of eq? Less than three minutes seems ridiculous. I was alt tabbing out and doing random chores on a sunday morning/early afternoon while my GF was out, and checking back on 3 spawns every 15ish minutes, just trying to get some lightning cores to finish off my OoW smithing recipes. Sometimes I'd be later and my merc would kill them. I'm paying the merc my hard earned platinum, for something that gives me no exp. I checked back at 1:15 pm EST, They hadn't spawned yet... Oh well if they spawn while I'm downstairs my merc will clean them out, not a big deal right? WRONG. I stepped away to switch over laundry, my merc killed them and then at 1:24pm EST I returned to a suspension.

Have they ever stated how long a GM must wait for it to be considered unattended gameplay? Less than three minutes seems like they are cutting it short.

[Sun Jan 05 13:04:12 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist's corpse explodes into a sizzling cloud as its armor pieces crash to the ground.
[Sun Jan 05 13:04:12 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist has been slain by Vlivrib!
[Sun Jan 05 13:04:15 2020] Vlivrib begins casting Stealth.
[Sun Jan 05 13:04:15 2020] Vlivrib fades away.
[Sun Jan 05 13:04:49 2020] No one was interested in the 1 item(s): Muramite Noble's March Award. These items can be randomed again or will be available to everyone after the corpse unlocks.
[Sun Jan 05 13:05:05 2020] You have been charged a mercenary upkeep cost of 100 plat, and 0 gold and your mercenary upkeep cost timer has been reset to 15 minutes.
[Sun Jan 05 13:07:03 2020] Your guildmate Dochrai has completed Fletching (250) achievement.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:07 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist turns toward you, its eyes glowing through its helm.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] Vlivrib begins casting Bite of the Shissar Poison.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] Vlivrib poisons their weapon.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist tries to hit YOU, but misses!
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist tries to hit YOU, but misses!
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist is pierced by YOUR thorns for 281 points of non-melee damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist kicks YOU for 136 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] Gobantik punches a lightning warrior staticfist for 698 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] Gobantik punches a lightning warrior staticfist for 849 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] Gobantik punches a lightning warrior staticfist for 1662 points of damage. (Critical)
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:08 2020] Gobantik kicks a lightning warrior staticfist for 423 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:11 2020] a lightning warrior staticfist has had their liabilities pinpointed.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:11 2020] Gobantik punches a lightning warrior staticfist for 925 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:11 2020] Gobantik punches a lightning warrior staticfist for 875 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:12 2020] a lightning warrior staticfist is attacked.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:12 2020] Vlivrib is the victim of frantic stabs.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:13 2020] A lightning warrior diodite turns toward you, its eyes glowing through its helm.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] Gobantik punches a lightning warrior staticfist for 925 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] Gobantik punches a lightning warrior staticfist for 925 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] Gobantik punches a lightning warrior staticfist for 925 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] Gobantik punches a lightning warrior staticfist for 925 points of damage.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist is afflicted by poison.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] Your faction standing with Overlord Mata Muram has been adjusted by -1.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] Your faction standing with Riftseekers has been adjusted by 1.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] Your faction standing with Children of Dranik has been adjusted by 1.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] Your faction standing with Dranik Loyalists has been adjusted by 1.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] You receive 7 platinum and 3 gold as your split.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist's corpse explodes into a sizzling cloud as its armor pieces crash to the ground.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist is afflicted by poison.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:14 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist has been slain by Vlivrib!
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:16 2020] A lightning warrior diodite is afflicted by poison.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:18 2020] A lightning warrior diodite is afflicted by poison.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:18 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist turns toward you, its eyes glowing through its helm.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:19 2020] You receive 6 platinum and 3 gold as your split.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:19 2020] A lightning warrior diodite's corpse explodes into a sizzling cloud as its armor pieces crash to the ground.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:19 2020] A lightning warrior diodite has been slain by Vlivrib!
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:20 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist is afflicted by poison.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:21 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist is afflicted by poison.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:24 2020] a lightning warrior staticfist's jugular is gashed open!
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:26 2020] You receive 3 platinum and 3 gold as your split.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:26 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist's corpse explodes into a sizzling cloud as its armor pieces crash to the ground.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:26 2020] A lightning warrior staticfist has been slain by Vlivrib!
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:29 2020] Vlivrib begins casting Stealth.
[Sun Jan 05 13:16:29 2020] Vlivrib fades away.
[Sun Jan 05 13:17:28 2020] No one was interested in the 1 item(s): Lucidem. These items can be randomed again or will be available to everyone after the corpse unlocks.
[Sun Jan 05 13:18:21 2020] Serll tells you, 'Greetings, GM Serl here. Are you there?'
[Sun Jan 05 13:20:05 2020] You have been charged a mercenary upkeep cost of 100 plat, and 0 gold and your mercenary upkeep cost timer has been reset to 15 minutes.
[Sun Jan 05 13:21:13 2020] <SYSTEMWIDE_MESSAGE>: Champion`s Chest has been defeated by a group of hardy adventurers! Please join us in congratulating Canikbik along with everyone else who participated in this achievement!

(^ End of logs, suspended for 7 days)

I'm not asking for your opinion on what is / isn't unattended gameplay. I'm asking if they have stated how long you have to respond before a suspension.

Yes.

https://help.daybreakgames.com/hc/e...y-on-AFK-or-Unattended-Gameplay-in-EverQuest-

"If you need to be away from your PC for longer than a few seconds please move your character to an empty corner of the zone or log out completely."

How do you hit your shissar venom and pinpoint discipline from your bathroom?

That's the merc

Ah, so it is, my bad.

But that's still his problem. Killing mobs afk is still killing mobs afk.

Letting your merc afk kill a mob in 10 expansion old content? BAN
Macro*****ing a 70 man army on a truebox server? No problem
10/10 GM priorities

I don't know much about mercenaries because they didn't exist when I played before or any time I've spent playing now. But the idea they care enough to suspend someone afking with a pet (something I've seen mages and necromancers do constantly) but I still get to watch macaroni questers selling loot rights, the automated sirens grotto/sebilis farming and such isn't making me think that things are going well.

Maybe the GM just didn't like you personally.

Honestly I've never once heard of a gm just roaming around looking for abusers.

You almost certainly got reported, and probably there is more to the story even if in this instance you were only afk for a few minutes. Absolutely everyone that plays eq takes bathroom breaks. I've never heard of someone legitimately getting banned for that.

I guess you missed this part.

So just because they don't/wont/cant/whatever ban the guy on mangler means they shouldn't enforce any rules?

AFK killing is AFK killing. Could of set better spawn timers, could of put your merc on passive when you went afk. Could of invis'd and ran to a spawn point you had just killed.

My guess is the GM wasn't just there between the 3 minutes for the tell but had watched your merc AFK kill for 5+ minutes before he even sent the tell. And for him to even show up means someone else watched or heard about you AFK killing in the 1st place.

For the GM to show up you had to be reported. To be reported you irritated someone enough so they took the time to fill in a petition. So how long were you really afk killing...

GMs don't suspend you for a first offense all they do is kick you offline. So this is obviously not your first time getting caught. So i don't buy your story. They also don't always send you tells immediately upon arriving. So for all you know he was watching your toons for 20 mins. Based off your logs i'm gonna guess he watched you kill the mobs while AFK so that's at least 5 mins. Possible even the second spawn cycle of him watching.

So GM's do exist... /thinking face

I'm glad at least someone is keeping an eye on MPG now that its 40 expansions behind current.

Fish where the fish are devs Lol.

People automating can automate tell responses too. Level the playing field and make AFK killing not against the rules anymore.

That way macaroni users can continue to automate their full groups 24/7 like they have been for the past 15 years mostly without any repercussions and these dudes can AFK kill Grey cons overnight with their mercenary like they have been able to do the past 10 years.

Will save them a bunch of CSR headaches

thats pretty lame

Learn how to setup a afk with automatic /tells like the pros.

sometimes they will afk check you in /say

Yeah honestly a tell is a pretty nice courtesy these days. Sometimes they'll just coth you or kill the mobs you are on to see if you react and suspend from there.

Am I the only one seeing the elephant in the room here...he never proved he was only afk 3 minutes....he just said the GM only gave him 3 minutes and showed a 3 minute log transcript. This dude could have been afk for 10 hours and the GM knew it already by watching him a little before sending a tell. Expansion doesn't matter. I saw a guy afk for for 2 days and he could still be there for all I know, I was going to report him but realized I don't give a crap and didn't.

Oh the voice of experience chimes in!

As if the GM's haven't seen it all before.