1. Hello!

    First of all, welcome to MapleLegends! You are currently viewing the forums as a guest, so you can only view the first post of every topic. We highly recommend registering so you can be part of our community.

    By registering to our forums you can introduce yourself and make your first friends, talk in the shoutbox, contribute, and much more!

    This process only takes a few minutes and you can always decide to lurk even after!

    - MapleLegends Administration-
  2. Experiencing disconnecting after inserting your login info? Make sure you are on the latest MapleLegends version. The current latest version is found by clicking here.
    Dismiss Notice

Notice Regarding voting, vote abuse, and GTOP

Discussion in 'MapleLegends Announcements' started by Kimmy, Jan 29, 2019.

  1. Kimmy
    Offline

    Kimmy Administrator Staff Member Administrator Game Moderator

    10,963
    10,998
    551
    Sep 9, 2014
    The Netherlands
    5:31 PM
    Moderator Post
    Note: Long post approaching. We really appreciate it if you read all of it before commenting.

    Hello,

    When it comes to the voting system as a whole I have expressed a lot of opinions about it in the past. Some publicly, some internally. Overall, I think the whole voting system being as popular as it is, is something I see as a bad thing for the community. However, this is something that happened in 2008, and unfortunately GTOP has been dominating google results so badly, that it's a very negative thing as a server not to do it.

    When it comes to servers using the system it is almost always the same way: You can vote, but you cannot vote multiple times on different accounts.

    The reason why this is set in servers is because usually voting gives rewards that benefit your account. The usual case is Gachapon Tickets, where in some servers the Cash items can be traded. This means that one may vote, buy AP resets, sell those AP resets, earn mesos.

    This creates the term 'Vote2Win'. The reason why its called Vote2Win is because one may go inactive for months, but keep voting in the background. Once the user is back, he uses all the farmed cash to earn a lot of mesos. This is gaining mesos by not playing the game, and thus can be seen similar to pay2win (paying real money for in-game currency, and not by playing the game).

    Vote Abuse

    Vote Abuse is a term created in the MapleStory Private Server community where one votes multiple times as one person. Because voting gives benefits, servers usually apply a rule that one may only vote once a day. If they happen to do it more times, they are breaking the rule, thus are vote 'abusing'.

    The Inconsistency Around This Rule

    The problem we have personally with the whole vote abuse rule is how inconsistent its handled. Furthermore, it's extremely confusing for people new to the private server scene as to what this rule even means.

    On top of that, GTOP actually permits voting on multiple connections, as long its not by VPN or Proxy.

    Thus, having the rule exist is bad for the server in every single way, besides trying to balance an already flawed system.

    To re-cap

    - It's confusing for new users to understand what the rule is about
    - It cannot be consistently moderated because of family members, and other reasons
    - The game keeps tell you on different accounts that you may vote, even though that's not allowed
    - Some get banned for it and some don't
    - Disallowing something that GTOP allows means gaining less votes on purpose (which affects our rankings on GTOP)

    'White listing'

    A different method to deal with this is some sort of 'White list' where users post their in-real life pictures to prove themselves they are different people, which then allows them to vote multiple times.

    Besides me believing that's a horrible thing for a user's privacy when playing a Private Server, there's also flaws in this system:

    - One may just call his brother/sister for a one time picture even though they don't even play the game
    - Any staff member having access to those in-real life pictures may do anything they want with it
    - The above also stands if the place where those pictures are getting posted gets breached into by a hacker

    Thus, when people approached me with this idea in past to combat vote abuse, I have completely rejected it. I would never want such system in place, since privacy is of huge importance to me.

    What we always did in MapleLegends instead is allowing people to vote. If someone was playing together (brother, sister) we allowed them to vote as well, as long they are different people, which we have multiple ways behind the scene to find out

    Of course we KNEW this is flawed, which is why we try have the least vote2win items as possible. Gachapon Tickets from Cash Shop were horribly nerfed, Cash items could not be traded, and so on.

    We still had harsh moderation in place in case people try to vote abuse, and banned those users. However, we can admit from here that even those systems had flaws in them. We are not going explain how, but it wasn't perfect.

    Like I've explained earlier, consistent moderation of Vote Abuse is technically making your server lose legal votes (like I said, allowed by GTOP). So, in my eyes, the rule is bad for the server, for people that don't understand it, for people that get banned for it, and for those that get away with it by not getting banned. Not a positive thing in every single way possible.

    The Final Steps Removing Any Kind of Vote2Win

    For a long time I already wanted get rid of the rule completely, due to mentioned issues. However, one thing we needed make sure before we do, is the complete removal of Cash Gachapon Tickets.

    When we introduced Gachapon Tickets by drops this Christmas we received almost only positive feedback. Of course the items you gained were still awful (the rates were based on the Cash Gach), but that can be improved on when they are completely gone from the Cash Shop.

    This is now done and Gachapon Tickets got re-introduced with improved rates. This conclusion once again led to a lot of positive feedback, since in the end, making this change on a soon 4 years old server is a very difficult choice. Of course not everyone will like the change, but that's with everything unfortunately.

    Removing the Rule (Trial Stage)

    Now comes the conclusion of this story, which is another difficult change on a soon 4 year old server. We want to give multiple voting (on different accounts only, not single accounts) a try. Yes, it's a very scary trial, but we want give it a shot. We are completely aware this gives people the ability to wash multiple accounts at the same time. However, in the end it's still spending the same amount of votes as before, since you cannot transfer cash items to different accounts and you still can only vote on one account one time, or one time on your second account.

    v0.62 passed the 10 years mark a few months ago. MapleStory is becoming a very old game. Yes, people are slowly moving on to different games, and starting on MapleLegends is seen as a huge drag compared to other servers sometimes.

    We are aware this change makes some things related to voting take less time. I personally believe that if perfectly balanced, this is better for the server. Each account still takes the same effort, but you can now do multiple accounts at a time, which makes it overall a less tedious process to get ready in MapleLegends when it comes to vote things (washing, for example).

    With this trial however, we want to make it clear that we reserve all the rights at any point of time to re-implement the vote abuse rule if we feel we missed on something, or are overall not happy with the results. Also, using any mule accounts to abuse anything related to voting, such as SMEGA abuse, may have a harsher punishment now. Please don't send inappropriate SMEGA's.

    We hope you, the community, support our decision and provide honest feedback once we start the trial. Thanks for reading through this long post, and happy Mapling!
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2019
    • Agree x 13
    • Like x 6
    • Great Work x 5
    • Disagree x 2
    • Funny x 2
    • Friendly x 2
    • Useful x 1
    • Creative x 1
  2. akashsky
    Offline

    akashsky Horntail

    2,034
    851
    495
    Jun 10, 2017
    Male
    United States
    9:31 AM
    Disparity
    Corsair
    200
    Pasta
    I couldn't approve more.
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
    • Funny Funny x 2
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
  3. VintrosaBarn
    Offline

    VintrosaBarn Slime

    16
    11
    35
    Jul 7, 2015
    Male
    Sweden
    5:31 PM
    VintrosaBarn
    Hero
    184
    Nebula
    Is this trial in effect right away? So i can vote on more acconts now?
     
    • Funny Funny x 2
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
  4. OP
    OP
    Kimmy
    Offline

    Kimmy Administrator Staff Member Administrator Game Moderator

    10,963
    10,998
    551
    Sep 9, 2014
    The Netherlands
    5:31 PM
    Moderator Post
    Yes.
     
    • Funny Funny x 2
  5. yukkichan
    Offline

    yukkichan Timer

    110
    198
    125
    Oct 3, 2015
    Female
    12:31 AM
    Do I get unbanned then?
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
  6. OP
    OP
    Kimmy
    Offline

    Kimmy Administrator Staff Member Administrator Game Moderator

    10,963
    10,998
    551
    Sep 9, 2014
    The Netherlands
    5:31 PM
    Moderator Post
    The Terms of Service mention that any kind of rule change is not retroactive. I am sorry.
     
    • Funny Funny x 2
  7. Precel
    Offline

    Precel Zakum Retired Staff

    1,797
    247
    460
    Nov 13, 2018
    Male
    12:31 PM
    Precel
    Priest
    100
    Spirit
    Question, how many accounts will you allow voting? Post says multiple with no specific number.
     
    • Funny Funny x 2
  8. OP
    OP
    Kimmy
    Offline

    Kimmy Administrator Staff Member Administrator Game Moderator

    10,963
    10,998
    551
    Sep 9, 2014
    The Netherlands
    5:31 PM
    Moderator Post
    There's currently no limit. However, please be aware that using any kind of proxy or VPN is NOT allowed by GTOP. If we get complaints by GTOP and your nickname is linked from the illegal votes than something may happen to your account as a punishment.

    Mobile phone data, school places, and your home connection are all fine.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Great Work Great Work x 1
  9. Soniii
    Offline

    Soniii Mixed Golem

    167
    50
    173
    Apr 10, 2015
    Female
    Chicago, IL
    9:31 AM
    ImSinXD
    Night Lord
    200
    Beaters
    This is great. Feelsbad for all the people who got permed for vote abuse. A moment of silence for yukichan MonkaS
     
    • Agree Agree x 4
    • Funny Funny x 1
  10. KurayamiLove
    Offline

    KurayamiLove Skelegon

    951
    753
    413
    Mar 15, 2015
    Male
    Nautilus
    5:31 PM
    KurayamiLove/Nagrom/Amatista
    Buccaneer
    69
    Halcyon
    "What we always did in MapleLegends instead is allowing people to vote. If someone was playing together (brother, sister) we allowed them to vote as well, as long they are different people, which we have multiple ways behind the scene to find out"
    Dem Kimberly hacked our family books.
     
    • Funny Funny x 3
    • Great Work Great Work x 1
  11. MrPresident
    Offline

    MrPresident Capt. Latanica

    368
    127
    278
    Dec 19, 2017
    12:31 PM
    MrPresident
    Spearman
    200
    Why is it multiple accounts only?
     
    • Great Work Great Work x 1
  12. ProTato
    Offline

    ProTato Windraider

    490
    154
    301
    Jun 27, 2017
    Canada
    9:31 AM
    SweetTato
    Night Lord
    166
    Honor
    I don't think we can vote on the same account even if we want to because the button is disabled after you vote for the day MapleF3_Origin
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  13. OP
    OP
    Kimmy
    Offline

    Kimmy Administrator Staff Member Administrator Game Moderator

    10,963
    10,998
    551
    Sep 9, 2014
    The Netherlands
    5:31 PM
    Moderator Post
    Because if its a single account one that has access to more connections may still have a faster way to complete a character vs other people with less connections. Of course you can also use that argument towards 'more accounts', but at least that way each account still need spend the same amount of votes to finish his character, which equals to same amount of days if it's 1 time each day. Furthermore, GTOP disallow any voting from each user name in a 24 hour period, which is one of the many things they actually do check.
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
    • Great Work Great Work x 1
  14. zomerbrieje
    Offline

    zomerbrieje Snail

    1
    0
    0
    Jan 21, 2019
    5:31 PM
    I approve! As a new player I can wash my main and my alt on 6 months instead of a whole year ^^
     
    • Informative Informative x 1
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
  15. MrPresident
    Offline

    MrPresident Capt. Latanica

    368
    127
    278
    Dec 19, 2017
    12:31 PM
    MrPresident
    Spearman
    200
    So now instead of vote2win it gets turned into mule2win. If gtop disallows it though I guess that’s the reason. Any chance my sair and drk can be put on seperate accounts now f3
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
  16. hsmule5430
    Offline

    hsmule5430 Slimy

    232
    18
    225
    Aug 3, 2017
    6:31 PM
    Thief
    strongly disagree
     
    • Funny Funny x 3
  17. ngrman
    Offline

    ngrman Stone Golem

    119
    22
    135
    Jun 4, 2017
    Female
    Brasília
    12:31 PM
    Seems good,
    I feel something should be done with owls, maybe increase the price or limit the purchase of them.
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 2
    • Agree Agree x 1
  18. OP
    OP
    Kimmy
    Offline

    Kimmy Administrator Staff Member Administrator Game Moderator

    10,963
    10,998
    551
    Sep 9, 2014
    The Netherlands
    5:31 PM
    Moderator Post
    Not really any benefits since it still takes same amount of votes. Yes, it's true that it now takes less months to get whatever many characters washed, but I personally see no challenge in waiting every 24 hours on GTOP for 6 months straight, if not more, while the user is not playing at all during that time (is the case for quite a few people). If the wait is less, they can quicker get into the game, while technically it being the same amount of votes, since you can only vote once each account still.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  19. MrPresident
    Offline

    MrPresident Capt. Latanica

    368
    127
    278
    Dec 19, 2017
    12:31 PM
    MrPresident
    Spearman
    200
    The problem is for people like me that have 2 “mains” on one account. They get no benefit from this versus people that have 1 character per account who can now wash twice as fast as I can. Fortunately my drk is already washed so it’s not that big of a deal but that’s where my comment is coming from.
     
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
    • Funny Funny x 1
  20. akashsky
    Offline

    akashsky Horntail

    2,034
    851
    495
    Jun 10, 2017
    Male
    United States
    9:31 AM
    Disparity
    Corsair
    200
    Pasta
    Maple has always been mule2win, even before this change. And why would you put two characters on the same account when you know can only log in on one at a time?
     
    • Agree Agree x 1

Share This Page