Spammers were around way before ftp. If requiring a sub didn't stop them then, it won't stop them now. You know what stopped the spam? The spam filter. I honestly don't even know if spammers exist anymore because the spam filter has been doing a bang-up job of keeping them off the radar, since before ftp was even mentioned as a distant possibility. EQ's main draw is its community. It seems counterproductive to offer a free trial that excludes new players from chatting with said community.
You are right they where around before ftp, however that doesn't change the fact that being able to create unlimited free accounts to be able to spam with is so much easier then creating an account that has to have been paid for which is one of the main reasons for the chat limitations on free to play accounts.
Actually, the worst spamming occurred when SoE offered the free tutorial and level 1 toons in gloomingdeep would spam the live servers. The spam filter didn't help much as they just made another free tutorial account to spam. People whined about letting free accounts on chat channels, suggesting that chat be limited to newplayers until level 20. So now we have come full circle. Personally, I am against any free account having access to anything other than newplayers. The spam at the time was horrible.
You know what else sucks? A2 merc restriction. With all these cripples attached to the accounts, you really think they're going to play them to 85?
75, the Warrens J5 can be done if you have powerful friends, and F2P is still really a come along to allow folk to stay in touch when their focus is on school or family or to get into the game until one decides if they want to play or just investigate.
There better be new players, a lot of folk have been playing long enough to have kids who should be addicted to EQ and if you haven't addicted them- what kind of parent are you?
I really havn't seen any spam issues, other than people with serious accounts on other servers trying to sell the ultra-rare drops. For the most part general is filled with people with various questions, or opinions I may or may not agree with but not with spam. I don't see the big deal.
Doesn't that show that restricting F2P from general works? Along with the spam filters, but both may be required.
That you never have to see the people who quit because EverQuest is a sad lonely place is not proof that excluding those people from the player community "works". As has been repeated here several times, savvy users (which certainly include plat sales spammers) can circumvent the chat restriction anyhow. It only affects, and certainly hurts, legit gamers.
That's not true at all. It would appear that it works against spammers, as they are now rare. It may also restrict genuine F2P players, but that is an entirely different matter, albeit with the same cause.
I think the right click the name, report as spammer, was the most effective innovation yet. When it has been abused, I just right click, 'not spam' the person.
