What Pirul said is correct. The methods that are not possible with razor are subject to the attended verification system. While these actions don't technically fit under that system, it was available to track them against abuse. Item ID historically has always been able to get information from items, even house signs. It also requires line of sight to the house sign and the fact that you have to be alive. And while it can be macro'ed, it can also be stopped by other players. Forcing people to attend an item identification macro, even one targeting a house sign, would fall under the classification of tedious punishment to serve a dubious purpose. Players are going to get the same information, one way or another. This change would be roughly the same as randomizing the time in which a house is in the IDOC phase. The end result of the situation would be unchanged, you would simply force all players to spend more time camping house decays... Would this change who has success at a house decay? No. Would this have changed the original post in this thread? No. The only change would be removing a clever method that players have available to them, should they want to check a house sign, while doing other things. If players want to setup a macro, to try to time house decays, using item id, and then allow it to run then they can be easily killed and lose out on having a timer on the house. Allowing this to be done, without monitoring, does not magically transport items from decayed house, into the macro'ers possession as some people seem to be asserting. If you do not approve of players running a macro like this, then kill those players. If they are unattended as much as everyone claims, then you deny them timers on the houses they are watching. Being able to click a house sign, as a ghost, unattended, and get a perfect timer every time. Is however an example of unfair play, as you would have to be using an unapproved 3rd party application to accomplish this goal. Rather than razor. Which is why that is tracked.
If you are not doing things IRL because of the game, then you have bigger issues than and AFK gump on the Item ID skill or randomized decay timers.
It's pretty simple really. I don't camp screens because I have more enjoyable shit to do in game and real life than sit around waiting to pick up people's offal. Get good.
I got the half joke and I think Pirul was just making some commentary on people that do actually neglect important things in life to game. I've definitely taken days off of work for games (mostly release days) but I also get paid time off and use it however the hell I please.
I have, and I am no better for it. I will not schedule UO into my day anymore, unless I have to trade. I will get on when I can. Who to then?
Sorry @Chris, but I think leaving an AFK'able bot process that causes this much grief to the shard and has helped build so much wealth is a mistake. Your mistake to make, though. Now, where is my moat?
No, the mistake is assuming there's favoritism in leaving a mechanic in place that he himself used thoroughly on a prior shard when he was a player. Insinuating staff favoritism and accusations such as this should call for an immediate forum ban for spreading lies about administration and potentially hurting the shard. It's really a shame that people think that about him when he's spending countless hours providing this playground for us out of his own pocket. Yes, I see you donate as well, but he's still running in the red every month and I'd burn your forum account to the ground if you made any baseless accusations about me, if I were in his shoes. TLDR, pony up some evidence or stuff it.
I don't like the argument that it wouldn't change the outcome of the OP's situation to make the process not automated. Of course it would. It's absolutely obvious. An organized group of ~5 people can't commit to being on at all times in a 17 hour window. So if they can't automate the process and pinpoint an exact timer they'd have to put in 5x the manhours to the OP's one body if they were hellbent on winning everything at an idoc. It would be terribly inefficient to try to do so. So in the situation of a nearly worthless idoc the OP would have a pretty good chance at success camping it since 5 wealthy vets aren't going to put a combined 50+ manhours into camping for low hanging fruit. Although ofc it won't ever change and it won't ever affect me. But I don't think the 'they'd just win anyways' is a worthy defense. I think the op made a pretty good case for era mechanics in this situation.
Is it so unfathomable that the staff would have some sort of favoritism towards people who played here 4 years actively vs people who started last week? Ban me if you want, I don't think criticism should be punished with silencing. But nice to know given the slightest of power you would exercise your fascist fantasies.
It's not criticism if you're making accusations of favoritism. Saying you don't like something for X reason is totally fine. Saying something is one way because the staff caters to someone else is basically being a punk. Pony up some evidence or save your paranoid delusions for circle jerking with your friends.
An accusation would be saying Telamon gives IDOC times to IDERP or something in that line, which would be stupid to say without evidence. Saying Telamon caters to the veterans is an observation and a personal one at that. What kind of evidence do you want me to pony up? I don't have a secret recording of Telamon saying I hate new players placing houses. But there are circumstantial coincidences where I feel free to speculate on. Whose idea was it to introduce moats and courtyard cleansing? Does that cater to the new players or the players with keeps and fortresses and players who run the housing market? Change to tracking which I disagree with completely nerfed a lot of peoples ability to combat IDOCers by making it impossible to track the IDOC timers and kill them. Right in this topic Telamon is defending why item iding unattended is OK. I like playing in this server but I have disagreements about how things are managed sometimes. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the hard work Telamon puts to this place. Everybody is complaining about how we are burning off counts on 3 accounts and how we should be punished for it. I feel safe that there won't be any changes to that because I feel Telamon caters to my interests as well. I believe this place gets shaped by the people who actively play in it. This doesn't mean I will not criticize the shit out of Tamers having 8 population slots and triple boxing with 6 dragons and 3 mares.
You said he won't change it because he's playing favorites to the dominant IDOC group. I understand you're trying to mince words to make it seem less accusatory but it was and you're backpedaling. I criticize a LOT of things he does or has done but I've never said he's taking actions because he is catering to any particular person or persons. He has his preferences and people aren't one of them. If they were, I'm sure we'd see a lot more crazy shit around here. lol