Ripped off by a bot

I think it is an combination of both.

Yes, people have to be educated. People should learn to look what is happening on their screens (9 of 10 watch their keyboard instead of the monitor). Read messages and warning-popups. Don't press "ok" or "cancel" without really knowing what you are doing... and not being afraid to ask for help.

But indeed, when a program can be made in way that it helps people to avoid mistakes (without turning the program in to a monsters that asks 100 questions for every small task) then yes it should be done.

Morwen.

I like the idea from the other thread.

Make it so by defualt your listing does NOT show up on the land search page. Therefore you are safe from the bot for these person to person transfers.

You would have to actively check off the "Put land on search" option for it to show up on the search

This would dramatically reduce land swooping. And it would be equallly effective against Bot and human swoopers

Why must a land sale be immediate? Why can't it be set up like this: You put your land for sale at $XXX, all the are you sure messages pop up. The first claim on that land geneartes an IM and an Email: So and so wishes to purchase your land at $XXX. Do you wish to proceed? If in world you click yes. If not your email has a link to acknowledge the sale. It could have a time limit, 12 or 24 hours maybe, at the end of the deal automatically goes through. This is just an Off the top of my head idea...someone ca come up with a better one I'm sure. It just seems that the LL "Hands Off except when it causes us grief" policy favors predatory business practices over the average resident. In my opinion.

Why overcomplicate matters? A simple checkbox to set land to show in search takes care of the matter in one easy step. No need to mess around with timings and IMs, it either works as normal after you tick the box, or doesn't go in search if you don't.

Why waste time fixing something that really doesn't need to be fixed? If that check box for search is done, then people will whine that no one can find their plot and it won't sell.

It obviously does need fixed or land swooping would be less common.

They might complain their plot doesnt sell - but they wont be getting ripped off.

I put this idea on the community vote a week or so ago: Prop: 3162

Not many voters though lol

Then I will step away from ownership of the idea.........Send your cards and letters to Denise. (Sorry, Hon)

lol, I am just happy i'm not the only one who thinks it's a good idea.

I do like the idea of having a choice whether to advertise the land for sale or not as well )

well sl just must plain ol suck, every single peice of the server software is made from totally open source, most internet radio is made off of open source standards

IBM pc's wouldnt even be around these days, becuase unlike the tandy, the apple, and the litterly hundereds of other platforms that you have never heard of the pc's hardware interface and standards were open source

80% of the internet runs on open source, it just keeps on going from IRQ's to jpg, tga mp3, open GL, html, xml basicly basicly all of moderen computing

but yea your right it was much better when everything was closed source, when there was 300 different computers running 300 different operating systems, that couldnt communicate between eachother WITHOUT having another "translator" computer, back when comp-u-serve would only sell you the information they wanted you to have, and pc prices were nearly 3x as much

MIRCOSOFT ROCKS, ps they use and distrubuite open source software too

You do realise that someone taking that 20$ would be stealing? My car where I live has to be parked on the street. That doesn't mean it's legal for someone to take it.

Idiotic analogy.

And for the OTHER idiotic analogy someone used about land deeds in RL. Same thing. You can't just grab onto someone's title to their home, sign it, and say "Too bad so sad, it's mine now". Nuh uh. Don't work that way. The seller HAS TO AGREE to it and there aren't fucking bots teleporting around town in RL either, so I think it's a bit unreasonable to expect people who are fairly new to SL or the land market to KNOW about bots. As someone else mentioned, it's about psychology, and therefore, people expect dealing in land to be more like RL.

Furthermore, if I make a mistake in a classified ad or something in RL, 1) I don't have to sell that home to the first person who shows up at my house, 2) I am under no obligation to sell it at that price, and 3) I don't have to worry about some bot swooping in and taking it.

And for all you smart people who point to the knowledge base - does it say that there are landbots? Does LL EVER warn people who are investing RL $$ in their product that their are automated systems like this in place? I think we all know the answer.

Whatever, I hope some of you jerks feel oh so smart hammering on someone after the fact. You must have low self esteem in real life to have to act like such smug jerks to someone who made a mistake, on a forum.

The SL learning curve is pretty darn steep as online MMORPGs go - the standard most newbies have to measure by - without littering the SL platform with nasty little booby traps like this that can be quite expensive when they go off.

Yes, people should be careful. Unfortunately, people do make mistakes. Unfortunately they are not blessed with instant omniscience when they leave Orientation Island. I'm a great believer in caveat emptor - when the emptor can know what to caveat. Otherwise, he or she is just being sucker-punched. People who come to SL deserve better than that.

So does SL.

Yeah the website is kinda wonky. I usually have to go to the home page after I have logged in and then press the log in link from the home page to get it to recognize that I am in fact logged in. Then you can search for VWR-431 and the vote option should be enabled.

The public issue tracker is still in beta but i think they are watching that more than the old feature voting tool.

I must say you are showing here a very nice attitude yourself....

Morwen.

I tend to agree with you, but it is not with MMORPGs only. The use of computers in general asks to be careful.

A firewall windows pops up? Just press "cancel" or "ok"? No, read what is the window warns you for. Ask help if you don't know what to do.

Then such an annoying window saying "Updates are ready to install". Just push it away?

I could mention many other examples. It is not about making mistakes. We all make mistakes. It is about how easily and with a little effort many mistakes could be prevented...

Yes, it is an learning curve... one that never stops, but one should be open for it.

Morwen.

Maybe I am tired of reading AFTER THE FACT, patronising posts in which people repeatedly tell the person who KNOWS they made a mistake, and in fact prefaces the complaint by stating they are aware that technically it is their fault, that they made a mistake.

It's inherent to the conversation that they know that they did. They realise it by the time they post about, so it's 100% unnecessary for people to spout off about it ad nauseum, as if they are so damned smart. So I suppose that the reason people keep doing it is purely out of ego building.

Well, I leave that conclusion only to you.

Morwen.

I haven't heard anyone say that they're not open to it.

It's about more than a mistake. It keeps constantly happening so LL should, in good faith, and if they care at all about their customers, augment the process so that it is more difficult to make a mistake.

Obviously the system is flawed, and I get sick of smug people simply stating "It's your fault, deal with it!".

Now that there are bots on the scene, it will be happening more, and LL enabled these types of systems so they have a duty to put up fashing red signs, if that's what it takes, and to tell their customers when they are creating their accounts, that some residents are allowed to run land and prim scanners. If they're gonna allow this crap, the least they can do is to make it very clear to the new user that these things are out there lurking.

It's bad enough that LL has set SL up in such a way that markets can be dominated by lazy people using bots, but for mom and pop who aren't even in that market to have to take it in the rear, it's wrong.

Can you imagine if tomorrow, the world's stock exchanges started letting bots bid on the trading floor?

This bot situation is so far beyond unethical it makes my head spin.

Oh thank you for allowing me that.

It was not about allowing... it was that the remark for your account completely.

Morwen.

I never claimed that the OP wasn’t open for it. But making a mistake is one thing (and as said, we all make mistakes and I made a lot worse ones), but calling it a “rip off” while it was not, is another thing.

Concerning bots… welcome to the world of MMORPGs. There will be always be bots, griefers, exploiters, macro-users and what all not more.
I like those or even agree with them? No way, I dislike them as most.
And all are screaming SL allowed that… OSI/EA should have done so… NcPlay didn’t do that… SOE screwed that…
It always the same… those bad bad “game” companies, who all do nothing for their (paying) customers. That is getting tiresome as well (and for those who look closer, can see that things are done).

Oh and you should know what kind of “scanning software” is already used in RL stocks. The time of sweaty stressed out men running around to make the big hit is disappearing quickly.

Morwen

Right, and that would be because *I* said it. Are you confused? I wasn't speaking in anyone else's place.

I think that it's totally juvenile and not one bit constructive to smugly rub someone's nose in the fact that they made a mistake, especially when they acknowledged that fact, unsolicited.

Are you taking this personally Morwen? It wasn't directed at you really, you seem able to debate the issue without being a jerk about it. It was directed at those who say things like "Duh!", and who come up with utterly ridiculous and flawed analogies to suport and indeed enable people who are taking advantage of others, FOR A LIVING!. It is NOT CONTRUCTIVE, and in no way does it help the situation, so I am left believing that certain people get off on the ego boost provided by guttersniping while enjoying relative anonimty.

I think it's childish and immoral. YMMV.

Well, you made the point... one then wonders why you would, if you didn't feel as such about the OP. Shrug.

"Rip off" is entirely subjective. I can go willingly pay 250$ for some sneakers, and a friend may say "Wow! You sure got ripped off!" The OP feels it was, and I happen to agree. You don't. That's life.

I've been playing online since about 1994, I have a clue. I just don't feel it's necessary to adopt a defeatist attitude about it, never have, and never will. Shady people do shady things everyday in RL, shall we just throw in the towel there too?

See my paragraph above concerning "throwing in the towel".

There is still a human point of contract that has to deal with the info the scanning software reveals. A point of contact, and that is what is entirely missing here in SL. RL land sales do not work this way, so it's no wonder we're running into this issue in SL.

I'm with morwen on this one.
If there was an admission that a mistake was made, why the need to call it a "rip off" in the title. If the OP (or their fiancee) was taking responsibilty, then they would not be placing blame elsewhere. How is anyone to learn from their mistakes if they do not truly admit to them in the first place?

Fact is, there is information available in the knowledgebase about how to sell land to a specific user without losing it to somebody else. There are forums available where questions can be asked. To blindly stumble into selling land without understanding what you are doing is asking for trouble.
The reason this needs to be hammered home? Bots are not going away. "evil" people on the lookout for a quick buck at someone elses expense are not going away. The OP asked "Is there anything that can be done to avoid this in the future ?", the only thing that can prevent this is to realise that some people out there are just waiting for you to make a mistake, and to educate yourself before messing with land and other things.
Ranting away and blaming the bots will not make them magically disappear. Realising your mistake and not making it again will mean you probably never see another bot.

Do you really believe that they don't now realise and that there is probably a 99.999% chance that they will never do it again? So what is the point of repeating that over and over, and complaining about people complaining? It takes two in these situations, one to make a mistake, and another to take advantage of it, so both parties bear responsibilty to some degree.

I'm beginning to believe that some just do not want people to be posting about it.

That's just too damned bad, control freaks. It's an issue that will be talked about. ZOMGWTFBBQZORZ HE SAID "RIPPED OFF!" Crime of the Century, I guess, and obviously more of crime in some people's minds than being a lowlife, swooping people's land.