Hey all- Tom Krochock aka TK here. For those that don't know me, I post a lot on Twitter but not often in here/discord.
Dave, Thank you for making these proposals. Like, seriously. Something similar has been on my mind for months. I think it's very important that this vote goes though, even though it may not seem like a big deal to some people.
I think the power of the team taking a formal stance on botting could be a major galvanizing force for the community. And the beauty of this proposal is that they don't even have to formally declare it themselves. The TOS will do it for them.
In my 2 years of playing the game, my biggest issues have always been with botting. It's not uncommon for me to quit battling out of frustration 1-2 times a week because of bots. And then usually what happens next is that I get pretty profoundly sad, because I realize that many other people experience these same things and choose not to stick around because of it.
These proposals of finally getting some kind of formal stance against bots/battle helpers into the terms of service may not seem like a big deal, but I believe it's an important step that will help to create the decentralized haven that the team wants while also plainly stating that there will be restrictions on the expectation of bot use because we can't ever expect the bot to play fairly.
I believe that as part of our definition for "Anti-Bot Measures," We should also be getting creative about designing specific advantages for human players. If the humans don't have enough advantages against the bots, let's create some more.
I have some ideas about how to make things more human but I don't know if it would take away from the other things they are doing and I am not sure if now is the right time to discuss them with everything else that is on their plate.
Thanks for your response! I would consider it more of a brainstorming session. They don't have to commit to anything but I'm thinking let's at least start having the discussion. I don't think we should rely only on the team to solve this, and we could actually make some really cool/inventive contributions to this within the community.
Awesome to hear TK! Thank you for taking the time to not only express your thoughts, but to give your own personal experience. That's helpful in my opinion.
I completely agree that the incorporation into the Terms of Service is a very big deal and its a necessary step to end this loop where nothing gets done.
Thanks again for the support and I hope it passes. I too share your sadness when people leave over this issue.