Why is everyone anon/roleplaying?

Discussion in 'General Gameplay Discussion' started by Sennen, Aug 8, 2016.

  1. Menko Member

    as has been mentioned previously in this post, the rp/anon tagging began to hide the discovery of contested raid mobs. also, in rare cases, people had to put these tags up to avoid obsessive stalkers. true story. the silly part is, both situations comprised a very small sample of the population. why it pervaded to such a large part of the gaming community is...kids like to be cool. years ago when i actually played this game daily, i asked quite a few people about this. in an honest moment, many of them admitted to me it was because...everyone else was doing it.
    Griffon Lady and suka like this.
  2. Sandyfoot Well-Known Member

    I had someone ask me about why I had Anonymous and RP on, and I told them that if I had it off, we would never be having the conversation.
    Seefar and Griffon Lady like this.
  3. Brienae Active Member

    I have all of my characters tagged rp but I also roleplay with them as much as I can. Since the days of Lucan D'lere being merged it has become more rare to find other roleplayers but I still try.
  4. xpsync Active Member

    Well there a few reasons to have it on i never thought of, but i still wonder how many have it on just cause they see others with it on and think they should too.
    Griffon Lady likes this.
  5. Arandar Well-Known Member

    Many healers and tanks have /anon on for obvious reasons: they don't enjoy getting random /tells from people they don't know asking (or in some cases, insisting) that they run a particular zone.

    An alternative to this, which doesn't exist in the game, would be a /dnd (do not disturb) flag option. It wouldn't hide character information from /who searches, but it would temporarily suppress all /tells, duel, group or raid invites sent to the character regardless of other settings. In terms of /tells it would be something like /afk, although the player would never see the tell. The sender would get a message back that says something like "Grumblefutz has asked not to be disturbed, please contact them again at a later time."
  6. Steelviper Active Member

    Like you said, /afk message would do the wanted reply to /tells, and for the other options, you can simply just go to Character screen - Options and check the Decline options for all of those to be automatically declined without you ever noticing the invites.
  7. Carni Active Member

    I do it for the most part simply to avoid being bothered. The people that actually know me know where I hunt and hang out, and can find me there.
    suka likes this.
  8. Lojaak Well-Known Member

    Weirdly enough, I hadn't been bothered much by randoms, but going into game right after reading this thread, I got an unsolicited invite to an agnostic. I'm now seeing the attraction of being anon.
  9. Tekka Well-Known Member

    I use the RP tag because I RP. In the past, I didn't use the Anon tag, so friends and enemies (IC of course) could find me. Then there was an Unfortunate Series of Events that led to the discovery that sometimes People Aren't Very Nice and will track you down to be jerks to you and your friends Out of Character.

    I got in the habit of setting the Anon tag for all my characters in lieu of starting and leveling a new guild to put my stuff in and just never got around to unflagging when the Problem Moved to Another Game.
  10. Jasonis New Member

    Like others have said, there used to be many reasons to be RP. Most of those no longer apply such as Raid Mob contesting, etc.

    Also as others have stated using the /afk "message", and turning setting on/off in options accomplish most of what you need to do. No need for Anon for this as many try to claim.

    I can see a small Minority of folks that would need to be anon for maybe harassment/stalking, but that is only a very few.

    Another small minority do it to RP (though most that are doing it for other reasons will claim this is why they are doing it).

    The truth is that most are anon to deceive. Yeah I know, you would never do that..lol!

    Examples of deception:

    Going anon so others will think you are a higher level (This is also ignorance in many cases too).

    Trading with your alt you do not want others to know is your alt.

    Backing up your conversation in chat with an alt.

    Not wanting people to know where you are for various reasons.

    Raising the bid on an item in the Auction channel. Seen this a lot lately by those that think they are so smart.

    Being obnoxious in chat and not wanting others to find you.

    Generally just not wanting you to know who they are and what they are up too.

    Another reason some go anon is they play a lot of PVP oriented games out there today, that make it necessary to go hide from the terrible community they have, or you get ganked while afk. No need for that is this game unless you are up to no good.

    Some are anon because they are young and think it is the thing to do. Kind of like driving your car with a Hoodie on, with the seat reclined, so you can not see anything. Both examples of thinking Incorrectly. Part of the hacker mentality culture that wants to hide behind chat (like an I phone), while they pretend to be what they are not, and suffer no consequences for any of their actions. A little rank there, sorry.

    A growing number are anon due to not wanting to interact with the above deceivers in any way.

    This became more common when the game went FTP. Draw you own obvious conclusions here.

    Pretty easy to determine why they are doing it, if you have played the game since launch on and off, and observe.
  11. suka Well-Known Member

    sometimes my toons will go anonymous if they just don't want to be grouped or found. I will always help people who ask, but sometimes i am not feeling up to conversation or grouping. on those days it is easier to go anonymous. some of my toons roleplay and so they use that rp designation to show it. can't help the pink name- i didn't choose the colors.

    i never, however, hide my toons from eq2wire. i send updates and connect my alts when i remember to do so. it isn't about hiding my identity. it is simply that sometimes, i really don't want to be found. the designations are there for a reason and no one should ever be made to feel that they are doing anything wrong by using them. if you want to find me, add me to your friend's list. and send me a tell. but one of the most irritating things i have found yet with interaction with other people is to get an invite from someone in another zone who is more than 50 levels below you. you figure it is a mistake so you click the invite off and they send it again.

    if i wanted to pl you, i would invite you to one of my sessions when leveling a toon. i don't pl most of the time- only if i need my toon to get up fast so they can go do a quest that benefits me in some way.

    also i don't mind being informed when people are setting up a group for a particular zone or mini-raid. but if i am doing something that i am deeply involved in, i don't expect anyone to get offended if i say no, i am busy today- maybe next time. and i like when they let me know next time. if you really want me in your group, plan it a bit ahead of time so i can know before getting involved. usually by the time i am in the game my day is planned out already. i tend to not do much on the spur of the moment.
    so yes, i use anon/rp and no i am not ashamed of it and i don't feel the need to change it
  12. suka Well-Known Member

    yes. and you can go to options on your character screen and check the boxes that keep you from getting guild invites and even group or raid invites. i don't check the group or raid invites because of my friends. i do check the one preventing guild invites
  13. suka Well-Known Member



    some of this doesn't make sense to me. like the stuff about your alt. first of all, that would only be an alt on a second account which technically isn't your alt- simply another toon you own. your alts are those on the same account. and therefore no need to hide them. and why would anyone care if i am trading with my other toon or not? i do it all the time. i box. i don't care if anyone knows that it is my other toon. no one can actually connect your main with any other toons you have including alts. unless you choose to do so on eq2wireless or any other place.

    how does anon work for raising a bid?? or being obnoxious? if they found you there isn't much they can do to you. no one can force you into pvp. and your name is there- that is all that is needed. people can look you up if they want to know more about you. you aren't really hiding.

    strange that you call people who don't want to reveal all of their privacy deceivers. that doesn't make sense either. i find it better not to try to judge why someone does something. i am sure they have their own reasons, and those are none of my business. i don't think they are trying to lie to me. they are just minding their own business and expecting the rest of the world to do the same.
  14. Jasonis New Member

    Let me help you make sense of it.

    - I want to be by myself and do things alone sometimes, so I understand that. My comments were about by people go anon.

    - My comments were not about me, or you. They are observation of why people go anon I have gathered through the years,

    - Your alt is a toon you also play, that is not your main, regardless of what account it is on. There is no technicality that links mains and alts to accounts. In other words, if you have say 3 accounts, you play the other toons regardless of what account they are on. Your main is Technically, the toon you as player, designate as the main, it is player based, not account based. There are those that like to pretend this is not the case due to being selfish, but that is the world today I guess.

    - There is no need to hide them in most cases, I agree, but these peeps think they need too. Again this is mainly due to selfishness. Like trying to box and hide it from others so you get more awarded loot, etc. People do have reasons to hide them as well, not going to plant these out here. Think Plat and exploits.

    - I box too, this is not about boxing.

    - Yes people can connect your toons. Not going to get into detail here, but relatively easy to do.

    - If you do not know how having an alt of yours in auction, raising a bid on an item another of your toons is selling works, then well, you just don't know I guess. It is done all the time. Again for selfishness and greed.

    -Nothing I had typed indicates I want people to reveal anything private. If people want to go anon for some privacy reason, seems good to me, but not what I typed or was discussing.

    - I have judged no one, I simply stated what some people do, that is reality not judgement. The media now a days seems to get confused about the difference between judging and stating actual observations, especially if you hit on subject they are fond of personally.

    - My comments were about why people go anon, not about it being anyone business. Lets try not to digress to much here.
    Griffon Lady, Terrance and Prissetta like this.
  15. Kuulei Well-Known Member

    I call BS too, you'd have to be so bad at your class that it would make people look to see why you sucked.:p
    Most don't warrant my attention to look and only when someone asks "how am I doing?" that I even bother to take time to look and give feedback.
    The most used reason for hiding profiles is to not share AA's for fear someone will copy a spec.
    Is it fear someone will use someone's spec and do better than the "owner"? I know some very good players that hide and others that openly share.

    I don't go Anon because it is far easier for someone to see I am in MC or SK or a raid zone and know I am busy than get spammed with tells / questions that may hinder my healing!:D
    Laiina likes this.
  16. suka Well-Known Member

    perhaps i don't know about falsely raising an auction because i simply don't do it. as for connecting accounts - even if i hit the show all alts on eq2u, they can't see the alts i have on another account. and i consider the two i box constantly as my two mains- one on each account. those who know me all know i box. i never hide it. nor is it anyone's business if i box. anytime i group, i make sure the group knows i am boxing because sometimes it slows us down while i am running both. to me, they are the only ones who have any business knowing if i am boxing. again, i never hide it. and one of my toons will always be set to decline.

    if you consider not wanting to be bothered at times selfish, then i guess i am selfish.

    i value my space and my time. going anon helps preserve it. most looking for my mains for help can still find them. all they need is the name and then send a tell.

    as for what others are doing, where they are, if they are farming, if they are trying to make plat, if they are driving up prices (i always set a limit on how high i will go) that is their business - not mine. if they want to be anon- that is also their business.

    if the devs didn't want us to use those when we play, they would take away the ability. to call people selfish seems kind of judgemental. some would call it getting the most they can from the game- again not a crime.

    your options are to not buy from them if their prices are too high and stay away from them if you don't like what they do. it is quite easy to tell when someone is boxing.

    meanwhile, i often am anon, i often roleplay, i help anyone who needs help, but if i don't feel like interacting, then i don't want someone telling me i shouldn't be able to "hide".
    Ridolain_Kirkwall likes this.
  17. Laiina Well-Known Member

    Hiding your profile makes even less sense to me than going /anon. Even if they do "steal" your AA setup or whatever - so what? And who is to say that yours is the best setup and that anyone would want to copy it? Most AA trees are either not all that important anymore, or basically cookie-cutter. I can look at a hundred different raiding scouts, and only a very few of teh AA are any different. As far as gear goes - again, so what? Even if they know what gear you have, they still have to find a way to get it and match it.

    It is like some people are hiding "secret stuff" that everyone knows or can easily find out.
    Prissetta, suka and Kuulei like this.
  18. Adevil Well-Known Member

    I agree with suka in that some of these don't make sense. Your following "explanation" didn't help any.

    Unless you announce it, how does anyone know a toon is your alt? It doesn't matter if the anon tag is on or not, no one can tell for sure. They can speculate, but they'll do that either way.

    I suppose if you have every single one of your alts in a one-player guild that everyone knows is a one-player guild, then you do have a point. In that case it's also a problem you created.
    Prissetta, suka and Kuulei like this.
  19. Estal Well-Known Member

    You left out a very big reason, force of habit, because back in the old days there where a lot more reasons to go anon than now.
  20. Adevil Well-Known Member

    How did I get quoted for something that was in one of Jasonis' posts, but in none of mine? I didn't even quote that part of his post.
    suka likes this.