Option to hide progeny

[StormWizard212]

If viewbombing is the main concern that's being addressed with this, then I'd prefer to see another approach to dealing with that issue. When it comes to viewbombing, people always seem to make suggestions to limit current features, which I'm really not fond of at all. If I'm used to playing a certain way and viewing a certain page for whatever reasons, I'd find it really difficult if suddenly that was taken away and I had to readjust. Especially when the problem is being caused by a small margin of the community, but this 'fix' would affect a larger range of players who are actually good/fair/etc.

 

So the main reason I'm against this is because I don't think that limiting a feature that ordinary players can potentially enjoy is the best way to fix a problem caused by just a few people. In the case of viewbombing, instead of limiting the ability to find the egg in the first place, I'd prefer to see a system in place that deals directly with the issue. For example, a setting you could turn on that automatically fogs your dragon if you get a certain amount of views in a certain amount of time, or something like that.

 

As for the harassment, there are always going to be greedy people who spam inboxes with begging. I don't think that's ever going to change. Hell, I got a PM just last week begging me for dragons that I didn't even have. And another one asking to gift them something. So I don't think harassment is coming from features like this and I don't think that turning it off would really be a solution. I think the best thing you can do is block the user and PM a mod if it becomes extreme or you want help dealing with the issue.

 

I can't remember who said it, but there was a post in this thread that mentioned feeling kind of isolated in your own scroll and not connected to any others, and that's something I'd worry would happen if features like this became available.

 

Sorry for this being so long winded. >.<

 

Edit: Ixikett, sometimes when you grab something from the AP, the previous owner has added it to fansites to get it views already, which is why you might see the numbers going up. So with AP catches, there's not always malicious intent behind it.

Edited March 12, 2013 by StormWizard212

[Fuzzbucket]

It's not JUST deliberate viewbombing. there's also people looking to see what they want you to breed for them - it can mount up. When I recently posted an offer for trade, loads of people went to look at the egg and then carried on to look at what else I have - as I do say I will breed for free. I got a couple of hundred views from those visits in a matter of hours. I was fascinated - but I can also see it could be a problem.

[RainDear]

As fuzzbucket says, just because you're getting more views than you're used to, or an egg has gotten sick, it isn't necessarily view bombing. New releases, having an unusual egg on your scroll, events, having a trade offer up, even just being more active than usual on the forums can all contribute to getting more stats than you normally get.

 

As StormWizard said, AP catches may have been added to hatcheries by the previous owner and still be on these hatcheries when you catch them.

 

In my experience, actual view bombing results in thousands more v/uv than usual, while most other of these things result in hundreds more than normal. If I am getting up to 3 times the number of v/uv I'm used to, I attribute it to more traffic in the hatcheries (new releases, events) and am more careful about watching my scroll. Over that, I suspect malicious intent and guard my eggs/hatchlings by fogging when I am not there, checking often to see how fast views are accumulating when I am there, so I can fog quickly if there is a problem. In extreme cases, fogging til hatching time then ERing, repeat for hatchling/growing time, is an effective way to protect yourself.

[Ixikett]

Raindear and stormwizard, the issue wasn't that the hatchling I got from the AP was view bombed. The issue was all my other eggs and hatchlings on my scroll got view bombed and became sick in a very short amount of time after I picked up the AP hatchling. The AP hatchling never got sick and was fine. And the other eggs and hatchlings were offspring I bred from my dragons, not other users. I did catch it in time and managed to fog all my eggs and hatchlings.

 

And what I support is an option to hide hatchlings and eggs in a way so they do not display on the scroll when other users view your scroll. It would basically be like the option people have to hide adult dragons on their scroll, so that adult dragons are not displayed when other users view your scroll. This way, they are not fogged, so the user who has the eggs and hatchlings could still post them but no one going directly to your scroll could find the codes and post them. This would help users avoid having their whole scroll view bombed if they choose to hide eggs or hatchlings from being displayed on the scroll.

[Pokemonfan13]

I don't think the hide progeny option would help you. What you need to do is hide your scroll name if you want to prevent things like that from happening again.

 

The person who missed the hatchling went to the hatchling's page and saw your scroll name linked there. They used that viewbomb your scroll. Without that link the person wouldn't be able to find your scroll and they could only bomb the hatchling.

[Ixikett]

True, it wouldn't help the one hatchling or egg that was taken from the AP, because that hatchling or egg would still be able to get view bombed since anyone who clicked on that hatchling or egg in the AP would have access to the code for it.

 

However, I don't see how it wouldn't prevent view bombing for the rest of the hatchlings or eggs if they are not displayed on the scroll. Unless they would still gain views from scroll views when not displayed on the scroll.

[Thuban]

Clarification:

 

Hiding growing things on the progeny would NOT affect you getting views. It is NOT fogging the egg/hatchy, it is not doing anything to the egg/hatchy. All its doing is NOT listing it on the progeny page until it grows.

 

Reason: because people DO stalk progeny pages to find out who got the 2nd gen most recently bred from the current high demand dragons. If the babies dont show up until grown.. it provides the user recieving it a bit of privacy, until they announce on their own that they got it. It slows down unwanted pms requesting babies. Yes, turning off scroll name helps.. but if the egg cant be tracked because people dont know it exists.. yay?

[Fsaber]

Hiding something on progeny in reality doesn't helps anyone. Except rare owners. To hide their breeding activity. That's all. You're irritated with that fact that anyone can view them now?

Hide your name from egg view, hide anything on scroll. stop reading PMs. - in that way you will not be disturbed.

You're still not satisfied? Then stop it. This game is not yours.

/me had shimmer viewbombed to death. and i'm still not complaining - it was my duty to protect him.

 

[Fuzzbucket]

Hiding something on progeny in reality doesn't helps anyone. Except rare owners. To hide their breeding activity. That's all. You're irritated with that fact that anyone can view them now?

Hide your name from egg view, hide anything on scroll. stop reading PMs. - in that way you will not be disturbed.

You're still not satisfied? Then stop it. This game is not yours.

/me had shimmer viewbombed to death. and i'm still not complaining - it was my duty to protect him.

As I already said - sometimes people will view a scroll for entirely other reasons - and then the views clock up. Not malicious - and very much part of the game. I say I breed for free and people trawl through my scroll to see what they want. That can get my growing things too many views, by accident. By good, nice game players.

 

I don't want to hide my whole scroll, as then players cannot see what they would like to ask for. I would like to be able to hide my growing things simply to protect them while people look at my adults.

 

I am not IRRITATED that people can see my stuff. I read my PMs; I like PMs. I like to breed for people. What you suggest I should do would make that pretty hard.

 

I certainly would get sick of PMs if people had to PM to ask if I had - say - 2 4th gen even red PBs that aren't related to any of theirs to breed together. If they can PM and say can I have a red egg from jennifer and paul - that means I don't have to go LOOK; they can choose.

Edited March 13, 2013 by fuzzbucket

[StormWizard212]

As I already said - sometimes people will view a scroll for entirely other reasons - and then the views clock up. Not malicious - and very much part of the game. I say I breed for free and people trawl through my scroll to see what they want. That can get my growing things too many views, by accident. By good, nice game players.

But that's not going to be solved by hiding progeny. Viewing progeny probably isn't that common when it comes to all the various ways a new dragon can be viewed (hatcheries, scroll links on the forum, etc).

 

If you want to hide your growing things and people are viewing your scroll all sorts of ways, then the only option you've got is to fog them. And I personally don't see why that's an issue - I used to keep all my dragons fogged until they were ER and then viewbomb them so they'd hatch/mature. Worked fine for me.

 

From what a number of people are saying in this thread, it sounds like the problem and the solution aren't really that connected. I'm not saying that there aren't people out there who stalk rare dragons to see who got their offspring, but it just seems like the majority of people have other things they're trying to solve that aren't really related.

 

And I'm not trying to create any problems here, but I just want to present this scenario: The owner of a CB prize dragon breeds its first 2nd gen offspring and trades it to someone. The person who receives it doesn't allow their username on the dragon page and they fog it as soon as they get it to stop views going up too rapidly. Is there still a problem? I might be missing something, but to me, it looks like the problem that this progeny hiding tool would fix is something that can already be achieved with the features we've got. For even more security, they could hide their scroll entirely, or their adults.

Edited March 14, 2013 by StormWizard212