04-19-2005, 07:47 PM
So, as anyone who has been on B-net lately can attest, it's a spam-filled mess. You can't sit five minutes in a channel without seeing "HR's for cheap. Go to diablo-scam-items.com!" ad nauseum. And when you enter a game, the level-1 spambots follow you: "Go to Goldfish's-d2.com and buy itamzz!" And they whisper you. Again, and again, and again.
Now in my entire D2 life I've installed one mod (Foxbat's lag reducer). I've never downloaded a bot or a hack or anything of the sort. I'm a long-term LL member, occasional poster, and I wouldn't ever download a Maphack or pindle-bot or anything like that.
But I'm sorely tempted by new reports that some of the spammer sites have developed a spam-blocking bot. That is, a handy little program that removes all whispers and messages containing any of a number of common strings, like ".com" or "items" or "cheap."
Okay, I'll admit that I was intrigued enough that I actually surfed over to one of the sites in question and looked it over briefly. It claims to be a bot that blocks messages according to certain strings (just as I had heard) and also blocks messages in color (yay!).
But I've got a few practical / ethical questions, and I thought I would run them by the group.
1. Is this a cheat? I don't _think_ it is. I can't for the life of me see how it gives me an illegal advantage.
(Actually, conceivably, maybe it would make life easier for me in a duel, since I wouldn't get spammed. But I don't duel. And that miniscule advantage seems pretty insignificant.)
I'm not looking for a cheat. I would like to stop the spam. Am I splitting hairs too much?
2. Is this a violation of Blizzard rules? Here, I think it quite possibly is. On the other hand, is this a violation that is likely to result in any negative enforcement? I don't see Blizz cracking down on the use of spam-blockers.
3. Can I trust these guys? Here, I'm kind of doubtful. I don't think I'll actually install anything, until I look at it's code (with my rudimentary skills), or unless/until someone I trust vouches for it.
4. Am I missing any obvious questions I should be asking here?
I'm interested in what the group thinks about this. I'm conflicted, myself.
p.s. Bolty, Gris -- I don't think that this post violates forum rules (does it??). If it does, my apologies. I'm not trying to advocate cheating, and I don't think that's what I'm doing here. You may feel otherwise, which is understandable -- this is an odd gray area that I'm a little surprised to be in, myself.
Now in my entire D2 life I've installed one mod (Foxbat's lag reducer). I've never downloaded a bot or a hack or anything of the sort. I'm a long-term LL member, occasional poster, and I wouldn't ever download a Maphack or pindle-bot or anything like that.
But I'm sorely tempted by new reports that some of the spammer sites have developed a spam-blocking bot. That is, a handy little program that removes all whispers and messages containing any of a number of common strings, like ".com" or "items" or "cheap."
Okay, I'll admit that I was intrigued enough that I actually surfed over to one of the sites in question and looked it over briefly. It claims to be a bot that blocks messages according to certain strings (just as I had heard) and also blocks messages in color (yay!).
But I've got a few practical / ethical questions, and I thought I would run them by the group.
1. Is this a cheat? I don't _think_ it is. I can't for the life of me see how it gives me an illegal advantage.
(Actually, conceivably, maybe it would make life easier for me in a duel, since I wouldn't get spammed. But I don't duel. And that miniscule advantage seems pretty insignificant.)
I'm not looking for a cheat. I would like to stop the spam. Am I splitting hairs too much?
2. Is this a violation of Blizzard rules? Here, I think it quite possibly is. On the other hand, is this a violation that is likely to result in any negative enforcement? I don't see Blizz cracking down on the use of spam-blockers.
3. Can I trust these guys? Here, I'm kind of doubtful. I don't think I'll actually install anything, until I look at it's code (with my rudimentary skills), or unless/until someone I trust vouches for it.
4. Am I missing any obvious questions I should be asking here?
I'm interested in what the group thinks about this. I'm conflicted, myself.
p.s. Bolty, Gris -- I don't think that this post violates forum rules (does it??). If it does, my apologies. I'm not trying to advocate cheating, and I don't think that's what I'm doing here. You may feel otherwise, which is understandable -- this is an odd gray area that I'm a little surprised to be in, myself.
