G-15 and Bot policy

[Sylee]

Ah. Thanks, Boss! I can see how being able to add delays and such could be bad, bad, bad. I'll stick to my regular keyboard.

[DeathtoGnomes]

So according to Agra, its cheating, a rather anal opinion for something that can help someone who might have a physicial problem with their hands or fingers like Artritis. Sure it can be abused, what labor saving device cant be? Add-ons were helpful in the beginning too, but once one person abuses its convience and suddenly everyone who uses an Add-on is lumped into the same category of cheating. Guess no one will be boxing either, its cheating ya know.

[Rek]

Sounds kinda similar to the in-game macros you can set up to use multiple abilities with one key press (don't know if they exist outside EQ). Although that was limited to five lines of actions. If somebody wants to use this method because of a physical problem I'd let it slide. It does have the potential for abuse though, like boxing.

[Nybling]

Given that I have previous GM experience, I can say that for the game/company/product I worked on, that botting was a very specific offense. It was for people who were using 3rd party programs to play their character FOR them while they were not at the computer. If someone is doing that? I don't want them around. That is cheating. Someone using a macro key isn't cheating. Not to me anyway. can it give them an advantage? Sure, I guess it could, but in terms of First Watch I'm more or less concerned with not having guild members have software play the game for them. It just makes everyone look bad.

[Union]

In terms of a guild policy, it should be sufficient to say that adherence to any official rules regarding client exploits and/or 3rd party software will be strictly enforced. Beyond that, any philosophical stance one may have regarding macros, add-ons and gaming input devices should just be chalked up to personal preference. I think agra, in spite of his prescriptive tone, made it pretty clear that he was merely stating his opinion. Whether it's "anal" or not, is an equally subjective quantification. Different keystrokes, for different folks.

[eidos]

My opinion:
I agree with Nybling and Union.

True cheating is when somebody is changing the rules of the game to benefit his or her self and not others (such as developer-only "god" commands). To me, I judge a cheat by the intent and the methods used and not just a broad, pre-determined definition. I speak from experience and some may call me biased, but they are entitled to those folks are entitle their opinions.

I have used special UIs because the default ones were not built well, but once the game devs finally improved the default UI, I had no reason to use a different one. I have played games that allow players to make short macros and other games that give you levels for having an active subscription which only tell me that the designers are admitting to creating time sinks and ability rotations they expect players to deal with. Basically, I used mods in order to overcome poor developer designs that were intentionally getting in the way of the game. This is not to say that anything is permissible if you can justify poor design, but it does mean that making blanket statements does not really cover every situation.

As for the hardware issue, I do not see having a keyboard and/or mouse with programmable buttons to be the same at all to running a bot program. I own some of these "special" peripherals, like the G15 (not currently using) and I can say that they have never made me superior. Some MMOs are even designed to work with it officially. They just made a monotonous, repetitive task a bit easier and never in long chains because the situations could change at a moment's notice that pre-programmed macros could not solve. They are not the same as the bot programs that cause the most amount of concern.

If you want to talk a slippery-slope argument, we are already there when we are discussing that anything which gives you an advantage over someone else is "cheating":
Larger monitor resolutions allow one to can see more than others.
Advanced gaming rigs can render more graphic-intensive areas faster with a longer viewing range.
Faster internet connections have a lower ping allowing for better reaction times.
Even ergonomics such as sitting in a proper chair, creating a proper area and/or wearing anti-glare glasses also has an effect on a gamer's ability to play.
Using something like Vent/TeamSpeak/etc. when the game doesn't have a voice program built-in.
Playing in the same room with someone where you can see each other's screens.
Using Wikis, strategy guides, friends and/or tutorials to figure things out.

In the end, skill determines how good of a gamer someone is no matter what aids they may have. If you don't believe this, then take a look at some professional gaming circuits. They are usually only allowed basic equipment, but some are so good, you would swear that they are cheating when, in reality, they are just that much better than everyone else.

[Garmr]

In terms of a guild policy, it should be sufficient to say that adherence to any official rules regarding client exploits and/or 3rd party software will be strictly enforced. Beyond that, any philosophical stance one may have regarding macros, add-ons and gaming input devices should just be chalked up to personal preference.

That perfectly sums up my feelings on it, perfectly happy to abide by any rules the company sets forth.