Change the "do not accept aid" etc. messages

[Nectaris]

What I wish is that the default would be something less strong, like maybe what we have now, and have a third option that definitively tells people you don't want help. As it stands, because not everyone is on the forum and is not well versed in the account options, there is always some doubt in the minds of helpers that you really do in fact want help, but just don't know how to change it to say that you want it.

 

Even if you change it to something stonger, like directly saying you don't want help, I don't think it will help much if that becomes the default. Until you have to change it to say you really are sure that you don't want help, people will make the assumption that you don't know how to change the setting and help you anyways.

Edited April 8, 2011 by Nectaris

[Fuzzbucket]

I think "this player is requesting aid" would stimulate viewbombing.

 

"Oh look they want me to put their stuff in fan sites..." I think accepting aid is enough. But yes - something more direct for not accepting would be good.

[Sadako]

I'd like to reiterate that the whole message is unclear, and if it is changed, it really should be changed to something that indicates exactly what it is that is not allowed.

 

"Do not give aid" just simply does not obviously mean "do not post this egg anywhere without permission."

[Obscure_Trash]

(The owner of this egg is accepting aid from others.)

(Please note that it is against the site rules to give aid to a user without their permission.)

(The owner of this egg is not accepting aid from others.)

 

?

[Fuzzbucket]

(The owner of this egg is accepting aid from others.)

(Please note that it is against the site rules to give aid to a user without their permission.)

(The owner of this egg is not accepting aid from others.)

 

?

Thing is that - for the totally inexperienced - nothing so far actually says:

 

DO NOT PUT MY EGGS AND HATCHIES IN HATCHERIES OR FAN SITES and do not click on them lots, either, OK ???

 

That is what people NEED to grasp.

Edited April 11, 2011 by fuzzbucket

[bbik]

Thing is that - for the totally inexperienced - nothing so far actually says... That is what people NEED to grasp.

Seconded. From personal experience, even. I know I was reluctant to check/uncheck that funny aid option back when I first started, because I couldn't figure out what the heck "aid" was, or what would happen if I said I wanted it. Sure, I knew there were fansites around (I found them before I ever found an egg of my own!), but that didn't seem like it would tie in with "aid" -- after all, fansites are separate, but the aid option is right on DC, so aid must be some feature of DC itself!

 

For that matter, should "aid" be explained in the elusive help docs, too?

[FireAngel73]

Thing is that - for the totally inexperienced - nothing so far actually says:

 

 

 

That is what people NEED to grasp.

Yeah, I want something that's a little mean, even. I really want to get it across that, "no, I do NOT want you anywhere near my eggs." And also, "I know what I'm doing so stop being so condescending and back off."

 

It needs to be a deliberate message, not a default, and it needs to clearly state that this owner will bite.

Edited April 11, 2011 by FireAngel73

[LadyLyzar]

Something that yells at other players is way over the top. Remember, most people think they are doing you a favor. Shouting at them is not necessary.

 

How about simply this:

 

"Do not post my dragons without my permission."

 

I also feel this message should appear on your /username page, and not just individual dragon pages. Because, if they happen upon your /user page and see low view eggs, they may try to give you a hand without ever seeing said message.

[Fuzzbucket]

Something that yells at other players is way over the top. Remember, most people think they are doing you a favor. Shouting at them is not necessary.

 

How about simply this:

 

"Do not post my dragons without my permission."

 

I also feel this message should appear on your /username page, and not just individual dragon pages. Because, if they happen upon your /user page and see low view eggs, they may try to give you a hand without ever seeing said message.

Do not post my dragons anywhere without my permission ?

 

But I was just trying to say excatly how specific it needed to be, not suggesting that as suitable wording - sorry !

[Voxezi]

Please ask before you post this owner's eggs or hatchlings.

Do not, in any way, even think about putting put this owner's eggs or hatchlings on sites

This owner would not mind if you placed their eggs or hatchlings on sites.

[HeatherMarie]

Love that wording, Voxezi.

 

Although, the first one might need a bit more specifics... "Please ask this user for permission before you post their eggs or hatchlings" or somesuch. Because I've run into people who think that if one random person agrees that it's okay to post them, then it's okay, and they don't need to hunt down the owner.

[bantymom]

As I see it, two messages should be enough.

 

First, the more choices there are, the more chance there is for splitting hairs. If something isn't absolutely necessary, it isn't necessary.

 

Second, "Please ask this user for permission before you post their eggs or hatchlings" would not work in many cases, and certainly not as the default, because not everyone is on the forum and not everyone's forum name is the same as their scroll, so how would you ask permission?

 

My suggestion would be:

 

1) The default as is, "This player is accepting aid from others," or whatever it is now.

 

It is short and clear to those who know what aid is. If someone is so new that they don't know what "aid" is, I don't really want them mucking about with my eggs even if I am accepting aid. Explaining what aid is would only add to the confusion and encourage too many people to try to help. As far as it goes for getting assistance when needed, it seems to be doing the job.

 

2) "Do not add this egg anywhere. It is against the TOS to give aid without permission."

 

The first part is very clear about what you don't what to happen. I wrote "this egg" because it appears on the view page for a single egg. I think it helps to underscore that this is not just a general request, but a specific instruction. I added the second part to soften the language and to put the weight of the TOS behind it. I would also recommend that the first sentence be set in bold type for emphasis.

 

With respect,

Bantymom

[Fuzzbucket]

Some people won't know what "do not add this egg anywhere" means. Trust me - tragically, I know this. I have an incredibly stupid friend I introduced to the cave recently.... "Hatcheries or fan sites" needs spelling out.

[TPishek]

Maybe "do not post this egg anywhere"? As forum sigs can be used as well as hatcheries, with as lethal (or more) effect....

[HeatherMarie]

.... Now it's getting complicated. lol "post" often is taken to mean forum-type posting, and "post" alone might not be seen as meaning hatcheries.

 

"Do not put this egg on any websites", maybe?

 

I definitely like the specification of *what* not-helping mean, ie, not putting the egg anywhere.

Edited April 23, 2011 by Marie19R

[Fuzzbucket]

"This owner does not accept aid. Please do nothing to try to help their eggs or hatchlings grow - it is against the rules."

 

??

[HeatherMarie]

Oh I like that one! Says the thing about aid, and then explains what that means... I like the "do nothing", very clear.

[Lagie]

"This owner does not accept aid. Please do nothing to try to help their eggs or hatchlings grow - it is against the rules."

 

??

That works!

[libby2999]

I like the warning that exists now, but I also agree that we could use a more direct "and btw, this user hasn't given you permission to help them, so gtfo." Or other words to that effect.

Second this. exactly what i would have said, im just to lazy to type it out. HAY!! im sick of easter! gimme a break will ya! lol, happy easter btw! Hippity Hoppity!

 

(why the heeps did i say 'hippity hoppity'?)

[ferdelance]

I would agree with this as well.

I agree, as well. When I was new to the site, I didn't really know what "aid" was; nor did I understand that that statement meant the scroll owner whose dragons I was viewing did NOT want aid -- I probably assumed that whether or not you wanted aid was something you had to find out by checking a profile or PM or something.

 

"It's against the rules to give aid in X case" doesn't convey that the page you're looking at falls into X case; it suggests that you're supposed to find out somehow.

 

 

[DarkMark3]

I strongly agree.

 

I had a hatchling once that I was planning to trade, and then, I noticed that it grew up, sombody decided to ER it just because they could

 

Although, this may not entirely work

 

It could be, "It is against the site rules to give aid to somebody with a hatchling or egg without permission, seeing as this user has decided not to accept aid, do not post this egg or hatchling in any htcheries"

 

Though, if there was a way to hide the code from everybody except the user who owns the dragon, so perhaps have it broken up with %s, and have the code under the name visible only to the owner.

[chariset]

Eh... I'm sort of with you, but I think it's the owner's responsibility to look out for his/her own dragons.

 

If you absolutely do not, under any circumstances, want an egg to hatch/hatchie to grow up, just fog it.

[HeatherMarie]

Eh... I'm sort of with you, but I think it's the owner's responsibility to look out for his/her own dragons.

 

If you absolutely do not, under any circumstances, want an egg to hatch/hatchie to grow up, just fog it.

The problem is rarely about not wanting the dragon to "grow up". Sure, that's been mentioned in this thread, but it's not the only reason we want this changed.

 

Yes, it's the owner's responsibility to check on their dragons and fog them if need be. But if a dragon is *always fogged* except the few hours that the person can be online (because not all of us can be online constantly), how is it going to get the stats it needs to grow up?

 

The fact that it *says* that it's against the rules to give aid, means that it's *not* just "the owner's responsibility". It's also the other user's responsibility, to *not post dragons* when that message is there. The fact that many people don't understand the message the way it's worded, and break the rules without realizing they are doing so, means that this *is* a problem. It's not just people being lazy or not wanting to fog their dragons, it's users who don't know better making dragons sick because the text isn't clear.

[Sadako]

Whether it's an owner's responsibility to look after their eggs or not, there is already a warning saying not to help people without their permission -and that is worded unclearly. The suggestion here is to make that message more clear. The issue isn't whether we should have a message like that in the first place, but whether it should be understandable at a glance.

[engelina]

this, so much this: re-word that message to something clear, like do not post if you are not the scroll owner or something like that.

 

 

for weeks i have been having someone post my dragons unasked as soon as they hit 4 days.. i got over 400 dragons, i can raise them myself!! Its annoying me more and more. today, i was just in time to freeze a spring hatchie i wanted frozen, but just was waiting for it to gender!

 

not to mention the eggs i barely fogged on time because they suddenly got a lot of views..

Edited June 21, 2011 by engelina