Which law exactly are they breaking that makes it illegal?
Rules by mmorpg.com:
PLEASE NOTE: Manipulation of the hype-meter will result in the reset and disabling of this game's ratings. Examples of manipulation include (but are not limited to): creating multiple accounts in order to drive up the rating, developers encouraging fans to vote the rating to a specific number, and the offering of incentives for fans to vote up the rating (such as in-game rewards).
It's legal to ask your users to vote for you as long as you aren't giving people anything for voting. Also nowadays it's common to ask your users for votes, especially mobile apps do that a lot. With how common it's becoming I wouldn't even judge COE's actions unethical.
EDIT: I didn't notice that MMORPG.com's rule is only about encouraging people to vote to a specific number. In that case COE isn't even breaking the rule just by encouraging voting, and I'm sorry for critisizing MMORPG.com rule earlier. /EDIT
It's legal to ask your users to vote for you as long as you aren't giving people anything for voting. Also nowadays it's common to ask your users for votes, especially mobile apps do that a lot. With how common it's becoming I wouldn't even judge COE's actions unethical.
I think MMORPG.com's rule is outdated.
A rule, much the same as a law, is usually classed as being, out of date, or out of touch with modern 'things' in some way, when it becomes a personal inconvenience. And yes, i would most certainly class what they are doing as being unethical.
What your really saying, is not that MMORPG.com's rule is outdated, but that MMORPG.com's rule is inconvenient.
Hey folks, someone came into our IRC recently raising awareness of this thread. Here's what I posted just before they left the channel:
"Thanks for raising awareness. We encourage people to go vote on MMORPG.com, on all games, as a way to drive traffic to MMORPG.com. We never encourage people to vote high, and in fact, are always very careful never to tell people *how* to vote, only that they do."
If community members feel it's a 3, 5, 8, or whatever, they're encouraged to vote honestly.
And per the rules, in spite of having a system in place for granting community members a form of virtual currency, we have never, nor will ever, offer Influence for voting for CoE here on MMORPG.com. We believe in the spirit of the rules laid out by MMORPG.com. Which is, we feel it's fine to let people know they *can* vote here for their favorite games, but will never tell them how to vote, nor encourage them to vote a specific way, either through expressed or implied rewards.
Which law exactly are they breaking that makes it illegal?
Rules by mmorpg.com:
PLEASE NOTE: Manipulation of the hype-meter will result in the reset and disabling of this game's ratings. Examples of manipulation include (but are not limited to): creating multiple accounts in order to drive up the rating, developers encouraging fans to vote the rating to a specific number, and the offering of incentives for fans to vote up the rating (such as in-game rewards).
developers encouraging fans to vote the rating to a specific number, and the offering of incentives for fans to vote up the rating (such as in-game rewards)
Devs encourage voting but do not ask for any specific number, I myself voted a 7 just because that's what i think about the game.
Also, anyone thinking otherwise would just be salty on the game receiving good votes. I would remind you that Archeage and Black Desert also had a lot of high numbered votes... and look at them now. Vote rating in mmorpg is just to appear in the lists. The higher the ranking, the larger the font used for it, more will people notice it to learn about it, get interested and vote. Doesn't necessarily means the game will be good.
It is in the range of standard "follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook". Well - how (im)moral it is, especially today?
Not really, when you follow things on twitter your essentially getting a 'news feed' from them, and if you decide to do the same thing on Facebook, your essentially joining a group of people with the same interests, although both do tend to have something of a negative perception, particularly twitter. Thats not the same as attempting to manipulate a games scores through strategic voting.
They are not trying to manipulate by asking people to vote. I saw that months ago but I've never been forced or felt obliged to vote.
In fact I haven't yet voted. So thanks for the reminder whilst I'm on the site
It doesn't mean the score is invalid, but there will be a perception that the score the game has is not a credible one, and it will unfortunately be a perception that cannot be disproved.
My reason, I check updates and forums for CoE news daily. I play alongside my CoE guild who I met on the forums 2-3 times a week. I have even used to dream of CoE. ...
So my hype is high hence the score. The only reason it didn't get a 10 was because I have a few concerns about the scope
Signed Davan Drakenhoff ruler of Castle Drakenhoff the impenatrable castle made from cardboard
It is in the range of standard "follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook". Well - how (im)moral it is, especially today?
Not really, when you follow things on twitter your essentially getting a 'news feed' from them, and if you decide to do the same thing on Facebook, your essentially joining a group of people with the same interests, although both do tend to have something of a negative perception, particularly twitter. Thats not the same as attempting to manipulate a games scores through strategic voting.
fwiw - I actually generated that link and put it in the topic prior.
Visit the Chronicles of Elyria official site and the Official Wiki... an upcoming MMO from Soulbound Studios with real consequences to your actions. Finite Resources, WYSIWYG looting to player created and maintained maps and a deep modular crafting system. So much more that hasn't been said, ask questions! Post your thoughts! Spread the word of COE!
If you haven't yet, register with my referrer code on the official website: B0E240
It's not illegal to ask to vote. It even says so in the rule. HOWEVER, it is illegal to ask to vote for a specific number. It's encouraging people to check the vote tab and vote for themselves but not to vote for it to be a really good one, in fact, some guy could vote for a really bad rating. End of story.
Report the issue with this site and then we can see if the meter gets removed?
COE has been a recent supporter here,so i am guessing mmorpg will ignore it.
As to laws,most lawyers are not capable of upholding law,they are merely there to talk the talk.MANY laws are worded in a way that leaves way too much open for argument.
Example YES there is law about unethical marketing practices ,in some countries and different from region to region.However most all law involved is with actual sales,in this case no sale but DOES lead to sales with enough positive hype.That is the big problem with law,as i stated too much room for interpretation and since no real money is involved,nobody is going to start u pa law suit.
Now if the game was taking multiple thousands from some naive person,then yes perhaps some suit could be taken and lawyers might step in on behalf of that person and work for a % but highly unlikely.
None the less,i repeat YES there are ethical laws when comes to marketing.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Report the issue with this site and then we can see if the meter gets removed?
COE has been a recent supporter here,so i am guessing mmorpg will ignore it.
As to laws,most lawyers are not capable of upholding law,they are merely there to talk the talk.MANY laws are worded in a way that leaves way too much open for argument.
Example YES there is law about unethical marketing practices ,in some countries and different from region to region.However most all law involved is with actual sales,in this case no sale but DOES lead to sales with enough positive hype.That is the big problem with law,as i stated too much room for interpretation and since no real money is involved,nobody is going to start u pa law suit.
Now if the game was taking multiple thousands from some naive person,then yes perhaps some suit could be taken and lawyers might step in on behalf of that person and work for a % but highly unlikely.
None the less,i repeat YES there are ethical laws when comes to marketing.
It's OK for a developer to ask their fans to vote for their game here. What's not OK is if they ask fans to vote a certain rating or to vote for some sort of reward. Just saying "Hey vote for us at MMORPG.com" is ok.
Comments
Or do you mean unethical?
Either way, does it really matter?
PLEASE NOTE: Manipulation of the hype-meter will result in the reset and disabling of this game's ratings. Examples of manipulation include (but are not limited to): creating multiple accounts in order to drive up the rating, developers encouraging fans to vote the rating to a specific number, and the offering of incentives for fans to vote up the rating (such as in-game rewards).
relevant link
http://webchat.quakenet.org/?channels=#ChroniclesOfElyria
"classification of games into MMOs is not by rational reasoning" - nariusseldon
Love Minecraft. And check out my Youtube channel OhCanadaGamer
Try a MUD today at http://www.mudconnect.com/EDIT: I didn't notice that MMORPG.com's rule is only about encouraging people to vote to a specific number. In that case COE isn't even breaking the rule just by encouraging voting, and I'm sorry for critisizing MMORPG.com rule earlier. /EDIT
And yes, i would most certainly class what they are doing as being unethical.
What your really saying, is not that MMORPG.com's rule is outdated, but that MMORPG.com's rule is inconvenient.
"Thanks for raising awareness. We encourage people to go vote on MMORPG.com, on all games, as a way to drive traffic to MMORPG.com. We never encourage people to vote high, and in fact, are always very careful never to tell people *how* to vote, only that they do."
If community members feel it's a 3, 5, 8, or whatever, they're encouraged to vote honestly.
And per the rules, in spite of having a system in place for granting community members a form of virtual currency, we have never, nor will ever, offer Influence for voting for CoE here on MMORPG.com. We believe in the spirit of the rules laid out by MMORPG.com. Which is, we feel it's fine to let people know they *can* vote here for their favorite games, but will never tell them how to vote, nor encourage them to vote a specific way, either through expressed or implied rewards.
Owner/CEO of Soulbound Studios
ChroniclesOfElyria.com
Devs encourage voting but do not ask for any specific number, I myself voted a 7 just because that's what i think about the game.
Also, anyone thinking otherwise would just be salty on the game receiving good votes. I would remind you that Archeage and Black Desert also had a lot of high numbered votes... and look at them now. Vote rating in mmorpg is just to appear in the lists. The higher the ranking, the larger the font used for it, more will people notice it to learn about it, get interested and vote. Doesn't necessarily means the game will be good.
And I also agree on the does it really matter?
Thats not the same as attempting to manipulate a games scores through strategic voting.
In fact I haven't yet voted. So thanks for the reminder whilst I'm on the site
Signed Davan Drakenhoff ruler of Castle Drakenhoff the impenatrable castle made from cardboard
My reason, I check updates and forums for CoE news daily. I play alongside my CoE guild who I met on the forums 2-3 times a week.
I have even used to dream of CoE. ...
So my hype is high hence the score. The only reason it didn't get a 10 was because I have a few concerns about the scope
Signed Davan Drakenhoff ruler of Castle Drakenhoff the impenatrable castle made from cardboard
I just posted rules the poster was questioning.
Finite Resources, WYSIWYG looting to player created and maintained maps and a deep modular crafting system. So much more that hasn't been said, ask questions! Post your thoughts! Spread the word of COE!
If you haven't yet, register with my referrer code on the official website: B0E240
Not illegal.
They're particularly active in threads regarding KS projects and general posts regarding refunds, bannings, ToS violations, etc.
It's quite scary sometimes when you see how much people think they know...
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
COE has been a recent supporter here,so i am guessing mmorpg will ignore it.
As to laws,most lawyers are not capable of upholding law,they are merely there to talk the talk.MANY laws are worded in a way that leaves way too much open for argument.
Example YES there is law about unethical marketing practices ,in some countries and different from region to region.However most all law involved is with actual sales,in this case no sale but DOES lead to sales with enough positive hype.That is the big problem with law,as i stated too much room for interpretation and since no real money is involved,nobody is going to start u pa law suit.
Now if the game was taking multiple thousands from some naive person,then yes perhaps some suit could be taken and lawyers might step in on behalf of that person and work for a % but highly unlikely.
None the less,i repeat YES there are ethical laws when comes to marketing.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Signed Davan Drakenhoff ruler of Castle Drakenhoff the impenatrable castle made from cardboard