Hiding from justice
by Mike Schramm 
Nov 25th 2007 at 3:30PM
Mesta on Eldre'thelas has an interesting tale of woe over on the forums: he had someone within his guild ninja a few items from the guild bank, and then they discovered the next day that the guy had "disappeared" completely-- he not only didn't appear on their server, but he didn't show up in the Armory, either. Metsa thinks name change, and that appears to be the likeliest scenario-- not a lot of reason to ninja valuable items if you're just quitting the game with them. So it looks like yes, name changes will simply let ninjas run free.Blizzard's official response in the thread is pretty apathetic-- Bornakk basically says that you've got to be careful about who you let into the guild bank ("l2bank," essentially). Over on Massively, we recently posted about something called "MMOrality"-- the idea that players uphold a social code in game. But that's all based on each player having their own identity, and the premise that if someone does something wrong, you can hold them responsible for it. But these paid name changes, it seems, takes away that little bit of justice-- if we can't hold players responsible for their actions at all, we can't enforce MMOrality in any way.
Blizzard still can-- obviously, they know who's who even if names get changed. But just the same, I'm not sure if players should necessarily have access to name changes-- the majority of people who change their names have legitimate reasons for doing so, I'd guess, and it's a shame to let the few ninjas ruin everything. Is there a way we can allow players to pay to change their identity while still making sure those who break the "MMOral" laws are held responsible for what they do?
Filed under: Items, Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Guilds, Odds and ends, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
NgC Nov 25th 2007 3:51PM
A good solution to the ninjas would be to have a week long waiting period from when a name change is ordered and when it actually gets changed. Also, during that period that specific character could be unavailable for play. I suppose ninjas could get around this using some clever mailing, but it's still something to slow them down and help bring them to justice!
Jamesisgreat Nov 25th 2007 3:57PM
Why not have a list on the official site listing old characters names, and what they've changed it to?
Surely the only legitamate reason someone would change their name is because they regret calling themselves 'Cooldrood' or whatever and want to change it to something a little less retarded. People like that would have nothing to loose from people being able to find out what they are now called.
Camaris Nov 25th 2007 4:08PM
Wait.. can't you still just report someone under his old name? Or is there some vigilante in-game reason to catch this guy?
rick Nov 25th 2007 4:41PM
Um, to quote from the FAQ on paid name changes:
"What about my guild and my friends?
Your character will remain in your guild, and you will remain on all friends lists for people who had added you. The only difference is that you will have a new name, so you should let your friends and guildmates know it's you.
Can people use this feature to get off my ignore list?
No. Characters whose names are changed will remain on your ignore list, but their names will be updated automatically."
So this person wasn't on ANYONE'S friends list? Hmm...
Green Armadillo Nov 25th 2007 4:11PM
People act like ninjas changing names is a new feature. In fact, it's been available since paid server transfers launched (just go roll a level 1 with your name on the new server before doing the transfer, and the incoming character gets a forced rename). The only difference is that now, if someone changes names and doesn't change servers, people who had them friended/ignored/guilded get the new name info.
If you wanted to verify that a paid change of some sort occurred (as opposed to ninja+cancel), try /friending them now. If they actually changed their name, the old name is locked for 90 days, so it won't be possible to /friend them or make a new character with the same name. I believe the paid transfer service does NOT lock names once the character in question is off the server, so that may be one way to try and distinguish what exactly they did.
Delilah Nov 25th 2007 4:33PM
@2, having had small encounters with being stalked on WoW, if I still played those characters I would want to be able to namechange them without having a big sign saying "THIS IS ME" that would ruin the point of changing my name. A list like that would be that big sign.
theremover Nov 25th 2007 5:29PM
IMO there should be public notes somewhere, like on the armory, that shows recent name changes for a limited amount of time. Name changes should be for people who really don't like their name. Not anything more, and not anything less.
Wildhammer Nov 25th 2007 5:43PM
There should be a time period in which you have to wait before your name is changed. Then they can implement some perma-ban animation with a Hammer of Justice crashing down on them if they're reported. =P
Kyr Nov 25th 2007 5:56PM
1)Add "previously known as [Oldcharname]" in fine print to tooltip
2)???
3)Profit!
Grendalsh Nov 25th 2007 6:05PM
Charge a fee for character changes (server, name)? Meh, some cash and insta-jerk.
Require an in-game quest chain that requires time and effort to complete? Suddenly the insta-jerks are too lazy.
If you want to be a goldfarmer or ninja someone's bank, $25 is small change. But if you have to personally grind a questchain for a couple hours/days on top of the fee.. then only the folks that REALLY want to change will. If you're in it to steal someone else's loot, yer probably not willing to invest your time.. otherwise you could just get the dang stuff yourself in that time.
Shadowisp Nov 25th 2007 6:29PM
There needs to be a "Name Change Register".
If someone changes there name and we need to locate them, how else can we... we all look the damn same. Its not RL where you can recognise people by thier faces etc , or are still required legally to provide all previous names when applying for stuff.
Burg Nov 25th 2007 7:02PM
A lot of people are asking for a feature to be able to see what the person's previous name is... but what I want to know is: what are you going to do with that information? Other than basically just shouting "so-and-so is a ninja!" from the rooftops, there isn't anything you *can* do about it. What, you're going to go beat them up in RL or something?
René Nov 25th 2007 7:55PM
Burg (#12) has a good point. You can't do anything else than just ignore the jerk. Sure, if they exploited some bug like the bank permission bug we learned about this weekend, Blizzard might do something, but otherwise, they won't. In fact, Blizzard sees in-game fraud and stealing as a contribution to the realism in the game.
Would be nice though to have something like an in-game prison that the character has to spend in after being dragged away by npc guards and sentenced by an in-game court. Contributes to the realism as well... (all you rogues: beware!)
hpavc Nov 25th 2007 10:25PM
Ninjaing items from a guild bank is somehow a problem, they should have not let that person take items ... I am not sure where Blizzard comes into play here. If the bank was flawed and let him doing when he wasn't in the guild, the right rank or something ... but oh well.
Fletch Nov 25th 2007 10:47PM
To be honest, there aren't really any "legitimate" reasons for name changes. People need to learn a little individual responsibility and not choose stupid names to begin with. Other than that, it's just the ninjas.
Kadaan Nov 26th 2007 1:06PM
@15 I'm no ninja, and I've used the name change feature.
I made several alts before settling on one and getting it to 70. My "main" name that I use was stuck on a level 15 druid. Deleting the druid and paying $10 to re-name my level 70 was well worth it to me. There was nothing wrong with the old name, I just wanted "my" name on my main.
Jeccius Nov 26th 2007 7:49AM
I've just helped start a Guild on the Alliance and one of our main worries is exactly this; so we are playing it carefully. We're setting up 3 tabs, and giving full access to the first with q mats and trade material and making the next few tabs viewable but not accessable. If anyone needs an item on there they have to be an approriate level and able to proove they can use it then one of the Guild Admins will send the item to that player. Tis a non-trustworthy process, but it's there to avoid the art of the ninja.
MIrina Nov 26th 2007 8:15AM
This is why I only have Officers and the 2 Raid Leaders as having the ability to withdraw from the bank. Not that the "Guild Bank Bug" doesn't have me a *bit* worried...
"Request for Item" for anyone who wants stuff out of the guild bank FTW. Also a great tracking tool as to what stuff is being used for.
Rhywolver Nov 26th 2007 9:30AM
Add the person to a friendlist or ignorelist on an alt that has no one on this lists at all. Best way to track them.
Kadaan Nov 26th 2007 1:02PM
Losing a few items from the bank is well worth it to get rid of a player you obviously don't want in your guild anyway.
In my guild we have 2 tabs for members to withdraw from. Consumables and random drops. The rest of the tabs are view-only with more costly items and raid stuff, which must be requested. I don't understand why guilds don't restrict withdrawals. The main benefits to a guild bank imo are 1) No more bank alts only usable by 1 person and 2) Guild members can view what's in the bank without someone having to keep an updated list. I agree with Blizzard, L2GuildBank.