Developers posts on forum

Ectar:   Man I'm getting all the bad comparisons today huh?    I'm trying to point out that for all everyone knows here:   These players may have already been sanctioned. The person or people who took the screenshots never reported the offence for whatever reason When these things were said again is unknown which goes back to the first point.   I'm also saying that if you guys want to report something - Here is how you go about doing that.  

Ectar:   Because if you don't. I can 100% guarantee you that nothing will happen.  You can take my word for that or you can disregard it but everyone else in the company will tell you the same answer. If it's not reported to us, then nothing will happen.

Ectar:   1) Telling me on the forums you've witnessed things in-game, still won't result in me asking the support team to investigate a player.  I've seen plenty of stuff myself in-game and each time I've reported it. I've not created a forum thread to say "did you see this?" because I know nothing will happen as a result of that. 2) As said on another post today - "Due to data protection polices and privacy policies we cannot disclose any information to you regarding another player's account which is not already available via our portal or forums."   I am in no way claiming that comments like this don't happen. Please stop putting words in my mouth. I am telling players that if we are being asked to investigate these situations they need to be reported to us directly when they happen. Everyone who takes those screenshots knows fine well what the procedure it and how to use it. We talk a lot about various things Xen, I know you don't see things my way and I know you don't have faith in our system.  It's not going to change anytime soon however and I can only advise you based on what I have to go on.    Comparing my comments to holocaust denial is quite frankly ridiculous and I'm lost for words that you could make such a comparison. That's possibly the most outrageous thing I've read during my time working on these forums and can only ask you to take a step back, calm down and chill out.  Bigotry or any shape and form along with any kind of religious/national/racial hatred is a massive massive pet hate of mine and something I will always do my utmost to stamp out. I quite simply hate it and hate people attacking each other based on differences like that.  To be accused of something as hideous as holocaust denial is totally out of order.  

Ectar:   It's not just up to the players. We will sanction and report players also but those reports have to be appropriate. For all I know any one of those screenshots were from 2 years ago and someone is just waiting for an opportunity to get someone banned again. The comments are bang out of order and yes, the players should be sanctioned.  In the same respect the people taking the screenshots and antagonising the offenders should also be reporting this through the appropriate channels at the time of the event, which WILL result in action being taken.   With over 150,000 players on average playing each night, we have to ask players to assist in reporting offenders as it's simply an impossible task to actively monitor all chat that takes place in the game. Remember also that chat is default enabled with a swear filter active.  

Ectar:   I'm not aware of what the in-game sanctions are for chat offences, much like the support team don't handle forum violations. I'll will be checking them out asap however.  Everyone says something they shouldn't at some time or another.  We can never be everywhere at once and we can't seriously be expected to visit all the image hosting sites out there, all our fansites or even just a few fansites to see what evidence they have at any given time.   

Ectar:   No the screenshots aren't enough. The in-game report taken at the time would be enough however.

Ectar:   I'm not to judge. But when players are clearly abusing the tool to downvote someone because they dislike a post they said, and then use alt accounts/ clan members/freinds/ random group of likeminded players to gang up on a player - that's not cool.  Trust me there is people who have 2-3 or even 10 or more alt accounts they'll log into to upvote themselves and downvote others. That's how obsessive people get about this system.   You can dislike a post or disagree with a post, that's fair enough. Getting a group of 20 players to use their 5 votes a day to downvote someone over the course of a week. - That's being both petty and childish and borderline bullying. -
"But it's just internet points..."
"They why bother wasting your time doing all the downvotes to that person?"   Bottom line It's because you want to try and flex some kind of power/influence over that player. It's a deliberate attempt to devalue something that some players may have pride in and feel it's worth something.  (You will never for example see a group effort to "lower the rep" of someone who has say -2000 points.  It's something always done to try and make another player look bad to their peers.   As well as seeing the individual upvotes/downvotes on a post. We can also see a player's entire upvote/downvote history.   It's pretty easy to see someone abusing the system or someone with an unhealthy obsession with using all their points for a specific player.

Ectar:   What evidence do you have regarding said comments and when they were said?  What evidence do you have that sanctions have not already been applied?   Please if you have further evidence of us taking "no action" against these reports, send an e-mail to worldoftanks_en@wargaming.net  with the evidence and I assure you this will be investigated. Note that cut and pasted screenshots hosted on an external website is not something we would accept.  

Ectar:     The message you should be sent should basically be (in very basic terms): "Thanks for your report, we'll take the appropriate action after investigation"   The results of the investigation is not something that is shared with players.   I'm sorry if you disagree with this but this has been discussed multiple times already on the forums and due to data protection polices and privacy policies we cannot disclose any information to you regarding another player's account which is not already available via our portal or forums. Much like we couldn't tell you if your friend recently bought a Tiger 1, how much gold you have your account, or when your premium time runs out.   Regarding  "Freedom of Speech" - You don't have that in our games or our forums.  You agree to abide by our rules when you join install/update the game and when you access the forums. If you breach those policies you will be sanctioned.  It's like that on various places you visit on the internet and it's like that in various games you play.  If you disagree with that your only option is to not play that game or use that website.  

Ectar:    No we would never watch/moderate games live. When you have on average over 150,000 players online/active in battles that quickly becomes and impossible task to provide appropriate coverage.  

Ectar:  

Ectar:   There is no other 2 ways round this and you can go round & round in circles all day.   If it's not being reported to us through the appropriate channels, it will not be sanctioned. Screenshots on external sites will never be used as base evidence as there is no context and especially no details of when something was said.   I am not sweeping anything under the carpet, I'm explaining to you how to deal with an issue you have, so that we can then take action and help you with that issue. If something is not reported to us through the appropriate channels then nothing will happen.  You have 2 options there. There isn't a door number 3 where you will get a different result or answer.   Again,  If you see someone break out rules in-game or the forums, report it and it will be handled appropriately.   Thread locked - Ectar

Ectar: It can be helpful as a guide for player opinions on certain subjects.  If someone agrees/likes a post, rather than say something they'll just upvote.  If they hate or disagree with a post, they'll downvote it.   Generally: High rep status is on accounts where people put effort into being helpful and entertaining/funny, their content is normally consistent and you'll see these people often on the forums. Low rep is due to posting content that many people disagree with, either due to having a different point of view on a hot topic, or setting out to upset and annoy other forum users.   There is multiple exceptions to this however and some people are either victims of clans/groups ganging up to downvote someone, or someone getting friends/clan members to upvote them to disguise their less that helpful nature.  Also someone can get hundreds of upvotes/downvotes due to a single post depending on the mood of the community at the time or the content. A funny/witty remark or image, a well written and informative observation, a controversial or opposite stance from the majority in a thread are some examples.   We don't show who upvotes/downvotes to prevent people PMing each other with things like "why did you downvote me?" etc etc.  It creates a nasty vicious circle.  This information is available to WG staff so we can see if it is being abused and if needed, we can remove the ability to upvote/downvote from players.    It's a guide but it's not the full picture. You can always easily tell by someone's posting history and what they say to quickly see their true nature despite what the upvotes/downvotes show. 

Ectar: Please read this post - http://forum.worldoftanks.eu/index.php?/topic/402795-silentstalker-ftr-should-be-sanctioned/page__st__180#topmost There is no need for multiple topics about the same issues and we don't need everyone to create a new thread just to get their point across.   - Ectar

Ectar:     When it comes to sanctioning players of our game, we will only take action based on content which takes place either on our forums or via our game client. Our rules and guidelines for our official forums and game client are not enforceable outside of the boundaries for which we are responsible. The content needs to be either reported by a player through the appropriate channels, or witnessed by a Wargaming member of staff and reported via the appropriate channels.  Content from players on external websites is not something we have any control over nor is it something we try to influence (unless it's something that has legal/copyright/ issues which is a totally different scenario/process/department).     Players who host and maintain fan websites and forums are ultimately responsible for what content those sites contain. If you have an issue with that content I can only recommend that you contact the site administrator or moderators of the site in question.  As an example I myself post on reddit and also Wotlabs where I accept I am a guest and would never dream of telling the moderators there what to do. Those sites are not Wargaming.net official domains and the content within them is not something we are responsible for.   In the same respect, we will not use edited screenshots hosted on external websites to sanctions players. A single conversation can easily be made to look like 5 different comments/examples and the entire context of the conversation is not present. Another issue is that a screenshot can easily be edited by someone with a little skill. This is why whenever a player is reported, our support team will be checking the full in-game chat logs to verify what was said, when it was said, and who said it, before any action is taken place.   If you see someone breaking our rules which we have in place for our forums and in-game client, REPORT IT TO US.  Hosting/posting the details on an external site will not result in action being taken. Much like how we won't sanction a player for comments they make on social media sites like Youtube/Facebook/Twitter or on fan forums, player blogs and websites etc.   I'm now going to close this thread as it's decending into a flame fest.  Please understand that Wargaming.net do not and will not monitor and police external websites nor will we try to apply in-game sanctions on players for actions taken outside of our forums/game client/official websites.   - Ectar  

Ectar: Find some cover and support a push, or find a hill and exploit the gun depression.  You can shoot from some amazing angles with the Cent 7/1.  It's my "go to" tank when I want to farm up some free exp along with my Tiger.  It just puts out steady reliable damage.   Be careful not to be caught out pushing a flank, it gets ammo rack damage pretty easy, normally at the same time as track damage.  I've repaired tracked quickly out of pure reaction to then sadly find out my ammo rack is damaged. 

Ectar: Awesome!

Ectar: Updated MM table with 9.1 info

Ectar:   Very busy but lots of fun. This summer has lots of different projects to get started on and be involved with. I also get to do a bit more forum time until we have replacements for iScending and Dakiras.  It's nice to be able to chat to everyone again. :)

Ectar: You win some you lose some wongman66.  As a tier VI td in a tier VIII match your impact isn't going to be much so in matches like that you can only play to your tank's strengths, pick your targets and look for tracking shots on the higher tiers, and hope your team carries you through.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

Ectar:   Very good advice, I should have been more specific with the ramming. It's only a viable tactic in certain situations but oh boy is it effective.  I tend to only do it near the end of matches or where I know I can ram one tank for a kill and then shoot another, or ram for the extra damage then pull back and shoot for the kill.  The E-50M is even better at it but then it's even better at sniping and it doesn't have the lower front weakspot.

Ectar:   M103 is an awesome tank, as it the Jagdtiger and Foch.  Personally I'd take the E half hundred ramwagen.  All of them lead to great tier X tanks and they each play pretty differently.   M103 - Is a good supporter/frontliner it trains you well for E5. The top gun if you decide to go for it is the same as the E5 so you'll know what it's capable of. Jagdtiger - Is all about sitting back and shooting what your team spot. Don't forget to protect the lower glacis plate as people will aim for it. Don't forget your repair kit/extinguisher combo. Foch - Can be played as an assault gun, it's a good TD to play aggressive in. - Watching Circonflexes play this tank recently really showed what it's capable of. T54E1 - You really need to make the shots count. I'm playing it now and it's a bit of a shot magnet as people sometimes think you're a T57.  Don't be caught on the front lines with this as your main job is finishing tanks off, or bringing people down for a team mate to finish them. E50 - Ram, ram ram ram and ram again.  This tank can be played as a mobile sniper or as a back up battering ram. It has outstanding accuracy however it sadly doesn't have the gun depression to rival other mediums but you'll soon adapt and learn new places to shoot front.

Ectar: Looking forward to meeting everyone at the event, can't wait to visit Bovington again!

Ectar: I feel for Arctic Region people just need to relearn the map. I've played it twice from the east spawn and enjoyed it.  Previously I felt it was too static and predictable with the tactics and ended up as 2 bottlenecks with no real variety or ability to adapt.  If you were east spawn and the heavies didn't go south for example, it was GG.  The west team had an easy ride right into the base. The middle area was a dead zone that no one ventured into (unless you were a crazy scout or very fast medium).  Now the map has multiple ways for tanks to relocate in cover and provide shots from new angles forcing players to rethink their tactics.  Remaking or adjusting a map shouldn't have people playing the map the same way. If that happens the adjustment doesn't work.     In short, it's not the old map so don't try to play it that way.  Learn the new terrain and take advantage of it!

Ectar:   The game is full of variables. The only thing you can carry from one game to the next is you (unless you're platooning then it's you and your friend or friends).  You should always be looking to do your best because *you* know what *you* are capable of.  Sometimes your team mates will have your back and other times they'll die before you do. - That's just the nature of the game. If you want to improve in this game the only way to do that is to keep playing, but you need to play smart. If you're grinding a tank and the going is tough, swap it out every 4 or 5 matches for a tank you love playing.  If you have a loss streak of about 5-6 games, stop and take a break. Surf the web, go for a stroll, watch a TV show or movie, read a book... Basically do something to snap out of the "I must win this battle!" mentality.  Having a loss streak in a game like World of Tanks is liking going "full tilt" in a game of poker.  You start to play reckless and take silly risks as you're obsessed with trying to get a result. What you should be doing is playing smart, patient and not playing into your enemies hands.     Like any game you play, World of Tanks should be fun.  If for any reason you're not having fun then take a break and clear your mind. Playing in a bad mood just builds and builds and then next minute you're cursing at someone in chat for something relatively minor or something that you have zero influence on.  - Don't be that guy.   If you're outnumbered or left alone on a flank, don't get mad.  Give the enemy tanks hell and always ALWAYS go down shooting. Never have a "I give up" attitude and please never deliberately drown yourself if the match looks bad. Damage = credits and exp and you should always be looking to get the most you can from each match.

Ectar: English only servers are not going to happen. I'm closing this thread as topics like this always descend into nationalist comments or people get a little bit too worked out and go off on a rant.  Even if everyone spoke the same language on a server it doesn't mean people will pay any more attention to what you say.   - Ectar

Ectar: Hi guys, this is something we've passed on but I can't make any guarantees it can be added before the World Cup is over. 

Ectar: Probably be picking up the Comet myself this weekend. 

Ectar:   I remember giving my little cousin "the football talk" about not chasing the ball and remember his position. Lad turned into a cracking footballer and pretty decent goalkeeper too.

Ectar:   Tanks that are not commonly available, will remain unavailable.  Things like the MTLS or PzII-J for example are not tanks that are planned to be sold in the gift shop.  If you're looking for just the tank on it's own then all of them are normally available via the store - https://eu.wargaming.net/shop/wot/vehicles/.  If the prices are too high for you then those tanks are also sometimes discounted in-game.   Those tanks are not going to be discounted via premium shop offers as it then makes any gold package redundant. (For example why buy gold when you can buy 5 discount tanks which would give you a greater gold return as you already have the tank). 

Ectar:   There is limits to what can and can't be offered without having situations where other packages become pointless because it's easier for example to buy a package over and over profiting from the tank sale. The premium shop is never intended to be a discount shop, it's simply an alternative way to purchase things.

Ectar: Moving topic to Soviet Medium section - Ectar

Ectar: In future please use the in-game report system. This isn't the place to discover what's racist or what's not. If you're offended by something report it to our CS team who will take the appropriate action.   Topic closed.   - Ectar

Ectar: This was covered in the announce article -    IMPORTANT: Once the event is over, any and all experience left on the T-62A SPORT tank will be automatically transferred to the Soviet Tier I light tank, the MS-1. The crew will also be placed in the barracks – you can dismiss them or retrain them for another vehicle.

Ectar:   Also the sound of the turret turning/tank moving sounds different when in sniper mode. I think it's pretty cool.

Ectar:   I didn't, I said a topic like this attracts those types of players.  Please re-read my comment.  As you're the person who created the thread I will lock it at your request.

Ectar:   If any message for a forum sanction says "I personally feel" then I find that very hard to believe.   In almost every appeal case I've read the forum sanction was justified and the offender knows fine well what the rules are, they just feel that for whatever reason they shouldn't apply to them on this instance and they should be allowed to say what they want.   Regardless of any system and unless we listed every single offense/swear word and their context, moderation will always have an aspect of judgement from the person handling the case.  If you disagree with that, it's why we have an appeal process. It's never something that will be up to a "public vote".   There is also a big difference between a moderator feeling personally offended and people setting out to offend said moderators and then acting all innocent when being called out on it.   They do a very difficult job and topics like this don't help in any way, it just brings out the people who feel wronged, most of which know fine well their forum conduct isn't something that can be described as "Never troll, always helpful, doesn't insult" etc etc.

Ectar:   Correct, and the moderators have rules and guidelines to follow, to help them with that.  We don't want moderators or community team members to just make up their own rules.

Ectar:   Basically yes, that's why the moderators and community staff are here. Enforcing our rules isn't done by a vote system I'm afraid. If there is anything moderators are unsure of it's either discussed amongst them or the community team members are consulted for guidance.

Ectar:     It's only just started. Try platooning with 2 friends and then seeing the difference.  The "forumites" in-game channel always has people looking to team up.

Ectar: Thought it was good fun but didn't appreciate the team mate I had who kept shooting the ball back to our own half and blocking his team mates!  Think like football and don't think like 3 people chasing a target! You can do some awesome passes and dribbling 

Ectar:     I apologize, my advice was for the player who had the issues, not someone as experienced as yourself. Sadly we can't always ask every player what their level of PC knowledge is before assisting them, not can we always have staff available who have over 20 years experience of dealing with software/hardware and have the same level of technical knowledge as you have yourself.   For each player who has an issue, the problem is more often than not unique and there is various different questions to be asked and avenues to explore in order to resolve the issue. If you wish to go through a fault diagnosis with Dont_Stop, be my guest I'm sure he'll appreciate the help. 

Ectar: If you haven't done so already, please also contact our support team who can help you.

Ectar: For stuff like this, please use the in-game report system.  - Ectar

Ectar: If 70% of the forum wanted me to change my name, that wouldn't mean I change my name.   If a name is against our naming policy then it will be changed. All WG staff have to pass name checks including our moderators if a name is inappropriate it gets changed.  The name you're referring to isn't something that will be changed. We've been through this situation multiple times and name changes don't happen because of how many people vote for it or not.

Ectar:     Well you can always not play it instead. That's why we've made it optional and something that doesn't require lots of people to play.