Friday, September 22, 2017

Avoid Even the Appearance of Botting

In highsec these days there's been a real hunger out there for the Code, and for deeper and more meaningful discussions about the Code. Have you noticed it, too? A few weeks ago, I wrote an entire MinerBumping article about one provision of the Code: Why Are Carebears Required to Say GF? It helped a lot of people, I think.

In today's post, I'd like to focus on another very important provision of the Code, popularly known as the "appearance of botting" provision. And it goes a little something like this:
Miners should strive not only to avoid botting, but to avoid even the appearance of botting.
Miners (and other PvE'ers, as we know it applies to them, too) sometimes ask: "Why do I need to avoid even the appearance of botting? Isn't it enough that I don't bot?" Actually, there are a lot of reasons why this provision is in the Code, and yes, it's vitally important that a carebear avoids both botting and the appearance of botting.

For starters, let's talk about practicalities. If you know that there's a host of armed, deadly, elite PvP'ing Agents descending upon the asteroid belts shooting all the bots and bot-aspirants... Isn't it a good idea not to look like a bot? There are negative consequences to making it appear as though you're a bot, and a Gallant would want to avoid those consequences.

To put it another way, it's a bad idea to give off the appearance of being a child molester, even if you technically avoid the crime of child molestation. It's the exact same thing with botting.

Another good reason to avoid even the appearance of botting is that it shows deference and courtesy to our Agents. Remember, the Agents of the New Order have made it their mission to root out the botters and expunge them from highsec. If you look a little bot-like, they'll need to investigate you, and that slows down the process of transforming highsec into a bot-free paradise.

As I first wrote many years ago, when miners look and act like bots, it makes it easier for the actual bots to hide among them. That's one of the many poisonous attributes of bot-aspirancy, in fact. As the conversation about bot-aspirancy implies, there's a gray area between bot-aspirancy and botting, and one tends to lead to the other. There's a similar problem with PvE'ers who give off the appearance of being bots: They tend to become more and more bot-aspirant. The bot-aspirancy creeps up on them--subtly at first, and then fatally.

That's another dangerous feature of bot-aspirancy: Where do you draw the line? Luckily, it's not up to a miner or a mission-runner or a hauler or some other PvE'er to decide. By the time they realize they might have a problem with bot-aspirancy, they've become corrupted. It's up to the Agents of the New Order to decide whether someone is behaving in a bot-aspirant manner or a manner that gives off the appearance of botting. Worried about an Agent being too tough on you? Then don't get near the line. Stay as far away from it as you can.

This brings me to one of the most common complaints we receive from recently deceased carebears: "I wasn't botting!" It's amazing how righteously indignant a carebear can get when "falsely" accused of botting. As if they're some kind of saint just because they resisted the temptation to download a bot program.

Here's the thing. If an Agent of the New Order accuses you of botting or potentially botting, you're already guilty. Maybe you're not guilty of botting, but you're certainly guilty of giving off the appearance of botting--otherwise the Agent wouldn't have accused you. Either way, you violated a provision of the Code. You're like the guy who's offended by being accused of murdering a school bus full of children because he actually murdered a classroom full of children instead.

I know that there are going to be some carebears out there who, even after reading all of this, will still have some misgivings about this provision of the Code. If you're worried about the rule being too easy to break, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe you'll decide to pursue some other career in EVE, one which doesn't run the risk of making you look like a bot. For example, maybe you'll become a full-time PvP'er, or even an elite PvP'er like one of our Agents (no bots have ever been designed for suicide ganking). In that case, you'll be much happier with EVE as a game and with yourself as a person. The CODE always wins. Always!

19 comments:

  1. "To put it another way, it's a bad idea to give off the appearance of being a child molester, even if you technically avoid the crime of child molestation. It's the exact same thing with botting."

    Jamey's moral bankruptcy knows no bounds, trying to equate botting with the RL crime of child molestation. It is his CHODE. slaves who have been caught and found guilty of RL Bonus Room shenanigans, not the miner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "You're like the guy who's offended by being accused of murdering a school bus full of children because he actually murdered a classroom full of children instead."

      Or equating RL mass murder of children to the appearance of botting.

      Isn't that amazing? The two examples they use allude to the RL depiction of children being molested and/or murdered, all to simply bolster their propaganda for a video game involving imaginary spaceships.

      Delete
    2. You two need a break.


      Not like the one from reality you just took, a break from all things EVE, you have become weak minded and diseased. It's time you removed that which makes you so frothy.

      Go elsewhere carebear, your ignorance of what's important can be corrected with professional.help.

      Delete
    3. So you defend child molesters and the murders of children.

      Your moral bankruptcy is clear for all to see.
      Go back to your rocks goofus, you will be paid a visit.


      Delete
    4. Funny how easy it is to 'trigger' the ag'ers into totally off topic tangents. I guess it's easier for them to spew over made up outrages than it is to provide a cogent on topic argument.

      Delete
    5. antiganking so easy to trigger because their moderator actually killed his infant child and then himself and they cant get over the fact that they are the toxic ones not code.

      never forget kalynn shardani

      Delete
    6. Somebody has been touched in the wrong places, I hope he got the number of that catalyst that rubbed his mining barge the wrong way.


      HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

      Delete
  2. Always!


    You guzzlers can stop beating your children and start crying now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do they know the difference


      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

      Delete
  3. Anyone else ever notice how the antigankers always talk about how gankers must be ebil and sociopathic and must like beating up "helpless" people because of some immagined psychosis, when in reality all the gankers (that I know) are well adjusted, out-going, friendly folk that try to help others and make EVE a better place.

    All the while, the ag scum spend their day skulking about, threatening honest players, abusing the petition system, cheering-on the most vile and demented among themselves, killing minors. WTF CCP, it's time to crack down on the true criminals, those that threaten our EVE family. There are interlopers about, and they mine in highsec.

    Do your part. A gank a day keeps the carebears away!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just one, I prefer a bakers dozen, let the miner rise to the occasion.

      Kidding, they never do.

      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Say no more. The good prof puts it so easily. Miners cannot understand this.


      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

      Delete
  5. There you go again crying to CCP, code carebear

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Its all they know how to do, I split a miners head open and literally a page of instructions on how to cry. I didn't even know they could read.


      HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

      Delete
  6. the CODE. always wins and always has good advice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now just paint that on the outside of a bullet, or artillery shell, or a nuclear bomb and hope they get the message just before they die.


      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

      Delete

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