Gaming News

[Slitherrr]

So did anyone see that story that was featured on AVault a couple of days ago? Pretty big effects, especially to MMORPG's, and since this is going to be a (kick-ass) MMORPG, it concerns us all, I'd believe... Here's the URL:

http://www.avault.com/articles/getarticle.asp?name=smurfs

Basically it concerns the effects of the suit against AOL by a bunch of volunteers... Personally, I believe that if you volunteer, you agree to the terms automatically, but evidentally there's a law that even if you AGREE to work under minimum wage, the agreement is void, which I don't get... Maybe so as not to take advantage of Mexicans or something, I dunno (No offense meant to Mexicans, by the way).

[Lordosis]

Uhhh, wow. That kind of stuff really pisses me off. It's not the government's business if someone likes a game enough to want to be a "volunteer guide". Bah. I could go off for hours on this, but I better calm down... otherwise I'll be too mad to get anything done the rest of the day.

I'm not sure how this will affect us in the long run. After all, everybody at Brick House Trading is a "volunteer" right now. So could we sue ourselves for damages?? :)

Hopefully, the Arcanity community will be relatively small, happy one that doesn't need to go sueing anybody. By relatively small, I mean that we don't expect a quarter of a million players since we're not going to spend $2 million on advertising like all the other MMORPG companies.

[Slitherrr]

Yeah, and it's strange too, because it's not just the government, it's the stupid people that were volunteers trying to take advantage of a situation and gain money at the expense of the comfort of everyone else... Sick system, needs a little revamping I believe, but till then, we gotta stay on our toes and do what we can.

[Cynycal]

AOL - The Party , Steve Case - Big Brother...seeing connection?...

[freejack]

I can't believe it has any grounds simply because of the definition of the word. I'm also sure these "volunteers" agreed to some sort of doc that contained the word volunteering. Of course the word "is" was recently subjected to a rigid definition so maybe they do have a case...


Originally posted by Slitherrr
So did anyone see that story that was featured on AVault a couple of days ago? Pretty big effects, especially to MMORPG's, and since this is going to be a (kick-ass) MMORPG, it concerns us all, I'd believe... Here's the URL:

http://www.avault.com/articles/getarticle.asp?name=smurfs

Basically it concerns the effects of the suit against AOL by a bunch of volunteers... Personally, I believe that if you volunteer, you agree to the terms automatically, but evidentally there's a law that even if you AGREE to work under minimum wage, the agreement is void, which I don't get... Maybe so as not to take advantage of Mexicans or something, I dunno (No offense meant to Mexicans, by the way).

[Kymeri mac An Iolar]

That is some article.I really wonder how this is going to affect mmorpg's.

[BelDragos]

Sounds like this was a good time to get into 0n-line gaming.

[Generic]

It looks like they have ruled the AOL volunteers duties as employment and it is indeed the law that an employee cannot waive his/her right to receive minimum wage for work performed.....and you are right it is a protection for employees.....

Sometimes a good law has bad applications....

[Kymeri mac An Iolar]

Yes this is going to affect mmorpgs. Alot of players had fun volunteering to help/guide/counsul young players.

[Generic]

I also do not agree with this application of the minimum wage law. I have volunteered numerous times myself and have never felt cheated and I would hate to see some of my favorite boards and pages go under because they had to start paying people and keeping records, etc.

[Kymeri mac An Iolar]

This is a case of volunteering gone bad and to make it worse they screwed not just AOL, but everyone other person that enjoyed volunteering. This is going to have a huge impact on many areas. I'm a RN and many hospitals have Volunteer Departments, retired persons who do all sorts of things in the hospital. Its great for them, they feels useful and rewarded helping patients and great for us, it freed us up for doing a job that didn't need a nurse or care tech to do.

[triangle]

i think that if the higher level players are given simular powers for use on lower level players then you wouldnt have to have to have a big customer base... this will not help those people who go around demanding help and who are obnoxus but it will help out the real players...

a corpse retrieval can be considered a type of quest and can reward experience. resurection of a low level character could give exp as well (limit to one resurection per hour to limit cheating) and can put up booths where people can wait and answer questions that are game related( as in where is that dungeon and how do you kill the cookie monster)... the booth might reward the people with money or something... the honor system can work.... :) i know for a fact that people have and will give game money to characters that answers questions and being guides to new areas... in EQ i made a lot of game money by showing players where a dungeon was or where to find a quest item....

if the game encourages this type of behavor then there wont be a need of free accounts and working for no pay... it will be part of the game and will not be work.

my two cents

[Edited by triangle on 11-10-2000 at 02:42 PM]

[Generic]

I for one will be part of the solution...as I am always ready to give support to new players and offer aid as needed whether I receive a bonus or not...

..the relationship and trust you can earn for a small favor at the right time is reward enough...and allies do not grow on trees....

..plus it helps everyone have fun and not get left out

[BelDragos]

That's one of the reasons I'm trying to set up my Guild. I think it would help all the players directly or indirectly. It depends in thier involvment.

[Generic]

We just need to make sure that the game is still fun for those who do not wish to join a guild. I have played in games where if you just want to make a go of it independently you are doomed to failure. The game gets all cliquey and it drives people away....

[BelDragos]

I hope to have the Guild offer thier services to everyone like the temples offer healing. If a party needs the services of a guild member they could come to us to "hire" someone.

[Kymeri mac An Iolar]

Aye, I have always taken a part of my game time to help new players, it adds a dimension to the game to help out or be a mentor to a new player.

[BelDragos]

The other members of the Guild might take on apprentices in order to teach the newer players. Have to think on the specifics yet.

[Dyson]

To avoid problems with survival for independant players, guilds could be encoraged to station themselves away from main areas of civilization. Regular folks who don't want to deal with politics can just become residents of their town for a "safe place," and that way, the Guild War Zone type areas are away from the common populace (ie, "don't go into the north desert- the the Bandits of Orglith control that area."). That sort of thing.

[BelDragos]

A temple could be concidered a religeous guild and what theives guild can survive away from a city not to mention a merchants guild.