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CCP Response Regarding SOMER Blink Concerns

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Citricioni
#521 - 2014-08-21 11:49:40 UTC  |  Edited by: Citricioni
Medalyn Isis wrote:
Shinnyo wrote:
So now that he's banned, can CCP give us an idea of how much ISK and ships were removed from the game? :D

This is what I am interested in.


about 74687468746874638746874isk in limited issue ships
and
about 65464684683463846346341isk on wallet -.-
Medalyn Isis
Doomheim
#522 - 2014-08-21 11:52:47 UTC
Aryth wrote:
What a satisfying week. Thanks CCP

*gets ready for the train of goonswarm acolytes which are going to be gleefully gloating all over this thread."

This must be an early christmas present for you guys.
Medalyn Isis
Doomheim
#523 - 2014-08-21 11:55:15 UTC
Flamespar wrote:
It's a shame that issues like this seem to so completely co-opt the attention of players. Personally I think CCP has bigger issues to deal with.

Indeed, I never saw this much fuss made over the drone avionics skill fiasco, something which was a much higher priority than this internet drama.
Loki O'Grady
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#524 - 2014-08-21 12:04:07 UTC  |  Edited by: Loki O'Grady
Citricioni wrote:
I think an official version of "SOMER Blink" would be the most appropriate variant ...


Just like other OOG tools like EveMON and EFT, there is no need for CCP to come up with a replacement to Blink. There are probably a dozen replacements already being developed. Somer has already shown us just how much isk people are willing to gamble away - you could fund an entire alliance with the amount of profit that is raked in.
Jake Rivers
New Planetary Order
#525 - 2014-08-21 12:05:06 UTC
Well done CCP and CSM!

Senex Legio
Mia Pawsaldo
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#526 - 2014-08-21 12:09:26 UTC
So finally got to the end of this thread after reading it all.

Incredibly entertaining, as it was mostly full of grr goon tinfoil hatters, people who don't read and people who don't know what RMT actually is.

Some posts gave me a down right giggle, CCP Falcon's fifty shades of dumb comment was a highlight.


But thanks to the CSM and CCP community team for getting this sorted quickly and correctly.
Sirinda
Ekchuah's Shrine Comporium
#527 - 2014-08-21 12:10:01 UTC
My likes and upvotes. All of them.
Bobmon
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#528 - 2014-08-21 12:11:13 UTC
With Somer Closing down I would like to point out that there are other sites too that you can use to make lots of isk!

For instance our dear Advertior: iwantIsk.com

@BobmonEVE - BOBMON FOR CSM 12
Darbarmic
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#529 - 2014-08-21 12:15:03 UTC
SOMERBLINK created a huge amount of plex sales , from which CCP has been the main benefactor. Plex sales , which wouldnt have otherwise arisen , simply through the content SOMERBLINK provided , wether it be good or bad.

Will CCP be willing to disclose the real money revenue they have enjoyed as a result of SOMERBLINK's content , providing full tranparency, care and concern, and perhaps reimburse the gambling addicts among us . Or possibly fund a gambling rehabilitation program from those proceeds.

Who is really being protected here , the game, the players or the bottom line .
Enaris Kerle
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#530 - 2014-08-21 12:20:47 UTC
Darbarmic wrote:
Plex sales , which wouldnt have otherwise arisen

A bold claim. Care to show any data to back that up?

Darbarmic wrote:
perhaps reimburse the gambling addicts among us

Why would they?

Gallente born and raised, and tutored as a pleasure slave and courtesan to the exotic tastes of the Amarri court. Jade's career veered violently off course when a diplomatic envoy's transport was blown to pieces in mysterious circumstances and she was rescued from the escape pods by the enigmatic genetic mastermind Athule Snanm.
Abrazzar
Vardaugas Family
#531 - 2014-08-21 12:22:08 UTC
Darbarmic wrote:
SOMERBLINK created a huge amount of plex sales , from which CCP has been the main benefactor. Plex sales , which wouldnt have otherwise arisen , simply through the content SOMERBLINK provided , wether it be good or bad.

Will CCP be willing to disclose the real money revenue they have enjoyed as a result of SOMERBLINK's content , providing full tranparency, care and concern, and perhaps reimburse the gambling addicts among us . Or possibly fund a gambling rehabilitation program from those proceeds.

Who is really being protected here , the game, the players or the bottom line .

There is absolutely no way to proof a single PLEX was sold due to SOMER which wouldn't have been sold otherwise. It's all incidental claims. There are no numbers, no comparison and no verifiability. All statements like these try to do is displaying SOMER as a godsend for EVE and CCP being stupid for destroying it.


To me it merely shows what bottom tier opinion manipulation is utilised by SOMER and consorts.

Sovereignty and Population

New Mining Mechanics
flakeys
Doomheim
#532 - 2014-08-21 12:31:40 UTC
It is nice to finally be able to place a face/faces on all the gambling adddicts though.

We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.
Han Ostus
The Grey Eagles
#533 - 2014-08-21 12:32:14 UTC
I've been asking myself, if SOMER was actively encouraging players to spend real money on PLEX to convert into ISK (through them), and then gamble it away on their website, couldn't you make a case that this subjects them to gambling oversight bodies? I.E. wouldn't they need a gambling license?
CCP Falcon
#534 - 2014-08-21 12:43:42 UTC
Chribba wrote:
I'm happy to see that CCP and CSM have managed to get this resolved so quickly. While it always sucks to see it coming to actions like this I am glad that a stance was taken and violators punished properly (unless there's shady stuff that we don't know of... hope not [*not fully recovered my bitterness from last year]).

Thank you for the update.

/c


No shady stuff, and the reprimands issued are the same as any other player of EVE Online.

The only difference in treatment is the fact that we've publicly spoken about these reprimands, due to the fact that this is a large scale issue that potentially affects tends of thousands of our players.

Hope this answers your concern. Cool


CCP Falcon || EVE Universe Community Manager || @CCP_Falcon

Happy Birthday To FAWLTY7! <3
Garai Nolen
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#535 - 2014-08-21 12:44:09 UTC  |  Edited by: Garai Nolen
Hakaari Inkuran wrote:
I'm more wondering why it took players to bring the issue up in the first place. CCP was perfectly capable of visiting the site and looking at the new promotion (literally all they had to do was look at it), do they not keep close tabs on their affiliates?


... Somer is not and never has been an affiliate of CCP. They are a player in EVE, like any other. Period.

Markee Dragon, on the other hand, is an official 3rd party time-code reseller for CCP with an actual business relationship with CCP (except they don't call it a time-code now but, whatever, haven't had coffee yet and I'm not looking up the new name :)

Somer was an affiliate of Markee Dragon under whatever affiliate program Markee has, completely independent from CCP.

THERE IS NO BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOMER AND CCP, other than as a generic player governed by the EULA. That's kind of the point. When the community reported a player they believed to be violating the EULA, CCP investigated and took action as they would in any other case with any other regular player.
ExplorerAlTNewb
Wormholes WH
#536 - 2014-08-21 12:44:46 UTC  |  Edited by: ExplorerAlTNewb
Jonah Gravenstein wrote:
BigSako wrote:
So, technically EvENews24 and TheMittani are both RMT-ing, right?

ISK -> Writers
Writers -> Articles
Users read Articles and see advertisement on website
Mittani gets money for advertisement

http://i.imgur.com/i6L5GGY.png

just my .02 ISK.

Paying ISK to writers for articles and opinion pieces is explicitly allowed by CCP, as long as they're Eve related.
Monetisation of websites via ads is also OK with CCP as far as I know.

What isn't allowed is offering an ISK/ingame incentive to buy ETC/GTC from an affiliate, i.e. buying the resulting PLEX back at an inflated ISK price, when that affiliate gives you a RL cash kickback for every sale.



.. its not just EVE Related. http://imgur.com/sCn0H1u


The scenario is basic, certain 3rd parties use ISK to pay EVE Players to create EVE content & services....

This is supposely OK"ed

And one (possibly more) of the 3rd parties uses ISK to pay EVE Players to create content & services that have nothing to do with EVE Online.

This hasnt been answered, and will most likely get ignored unless more focus is shined on it.

Multiple CSM are a part of the "entity" that is doing it so they will deflect away from this. There is also the forum crashers & non sense wing working at odds ends to cover up / jam up everything as best they can.
Derrick Miles
Death Rabbit Ky Oneida
#537 - 2014-08-21 12:58:54 UTC
ExplorerAlTNewb wrote:
Jonah Gravenstein wrote:
BigSako wrote:
So, technically EvENews24 and TheMittani are both RMT-ing, right?

ISK -> Writers
Writers -> Articles
Users read Articles and see advertisement on website
Mittani gets money for advertisement

http://i.imgur.com/i6L5GGY.png

just my .02 ISK.

Paying ISK to writers for articles and opinion pieces is explicitly allowed by CCP, as long as they're Eve related.
Monetisation of websites via ads is also OK with CCP as far as I know.

What isn't allowed is offering an ISK/ingame incentive to buy ETC/GTC from an affiliate, i.e. buying the resulting PLEX back at an inflated ISK price, when that affiliate gives you a RL cash kickback for every sale.



.. its not just EVE Related. http://imgur.com/sCn0H1u


The scenario is basic, certain 3rd parties use ISK to pay EVE Players to create EVE content & services....

This is supposely OK"ed

And one (possibly more) of the 3rd parties uses ISK to pay EVE Players to create content & services that have nothing to do with EVE Online.

This hasnt been answered, and will most likely get ignored unless more focus is shined on it.

Multiple CSM are a part of the "entity" that is doing it so they will deflect away from this. There is also the forum crashers & non sense wing working at odds ends to cover up / jam up everything as best they can.

If you have reason to believe a specific site is breaking CCP rules you should send an email to security@cppgames.com with your concerns, not air it out on the forums publicly.
Darbarmic
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#538 - 2014-08-21 12:59:03 UTC
Abrazzar wrote:
Darbarmic wrote:
SOMERBLINK created a huge amount of plex sales , from which CCP has been the main benefactor. Plex sales , which wouldnt have otherwise arisen , simply through the content SOMERBLINK provided , wether it be good or bad.

Will CCP be willing to disclose the real money revenue they have enjoyed as a result of SOMERBLINK's content , providing full tranparency, care and concern, and perhaps reimburse the gambling addicts among us . Or possibly fund a gambling rehabilitation program from those proceeds.

Who is really being protected here , the game, the players or the bottom line .

There is absolutely no way to proof a single PLEX was sold due to SOMER which wouldn't have been sold otherwise. It's all incidental claims. There are no numbers, no comparison and no verifiability. All statements like these try to do is displaying SOMER as a godsend for EVE and CCP being stupid for destroying it.


To me it merely shows what bottom tier opinion manipulation is utilised by SOMER and consorts.


It is common knowledge , unless you are trolling this topic.

i can provide proof only of plexes i have bought myself for the purpose of playing BLINK.

Order Date: 2014-08-03
Reference: 262676 Markee Dragon Game Codes
RECEIPT
Sold To: xxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx
xxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com, 0xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Qty Description Price Amount
2 Eve Online 2 Plex
These codes have a new redemption process. No longer can they be redeemed in game. Please use http://www.eveonline.com/activate to create your PLEX. Fly Safe! 34.99 69.98
Paid By: PayPal Subtotal: 69.98
Tax: 0.00
Shipping: 0.00
Total: $69.98

Special Instructions

Software Registration Key(s):
Eve Online 2 Plex:
C9BXSJ5SZSHG4KY9NHMPPKGLV
Eve Online 2 Plex:
C9BXSNREEYERTZAM2LYVX7U8S

Markee Dragon Game Codes
Hereford, AZ, USA 85615
support@markeedragon.com
(512) 666-7740

For security purposes we have tracked your IP




I have many of these .

plz stay on topic, rather than have me try to prove what i have said .
Felicia Tennyson
Tennyson Court
#539 - 2014-08-21 13:31:18 UTC
I can't speak for individuals such as you who bought plexes for the purpose of playing Blink, what I would've assume then is that the more people spend time to play casino online, they spend less time playing spaceships online.

Maybe this explains why the PCU peaked out about 3 years ago and declining ever since somercasino online grew bigger and bigger. The space is already empty, don't make it emptier by only using Eve client as a wallet storing your in-game currency and facilitate ISK transactions and actually spend more time play on the casino website, it's hurting the game environment more than helping (since you are really not playing spaceship online but casino online).

you may as well make EveCoin with EveCoinWallet and join the bitcoin wagon and go gamble with plenty of bitcoin casino and pokers around the cyberspace
Rroff
Antagonistic Tendencies
#540 - 2014-08-21 13:34:19 UTC  |  Edited by: Rroff
Garai Nolen wrote:
Hakaari Inkuran wrote:
I'm more wondering why it took players to bring the issue up in the first place. CCP was perfectly capable of visiting the site and looking at the new promotion (literally all they had to do was look at it), do they not keep close tabs on their affiliates?


... Somer is not and never has been an affiliate of CCP. They are a player in EVE, like any other. Period.

Markee Dragon, on the other hand, is an official 3rd party time-code reseller for CCP with an actual business relationship with CCP (except they don't call it a time-code now but, whatever, haven't had coffee yet and I'm not looking up the new name :)

Somer was an affiliate of Markee Dragon under whatever affiliate program Markee has, completely independent from CCP.

THERE IS NO BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOMER AND CCP, other than as a generic player governed by the EULA. That's kind of the point. When the community reported a player they believed to be violating the EULA, CCP investigated and took action as they would in any other case with any other regular player.


Hmm no business contract existed as far as I know but CCP promoted them (i.e. on the login screen), helped them with promotions and events, etc. the relationship between them certainly wasn't the same as a generic player.

Jonah Gravenstein wrote:
carbomb wrote:
I might be wrong, quite often am but this seems to me that someone at ccp signed off on this without reading it properly. Someone higher caught it after the scheme had started and called a stop. Somer in protest posted copies of the conversations showing the given consent and rather than admit that they f**ked up, ccp digs a breach of service out of their pocket and bans somer.

just saying
Someone in sales, who should have passed it to legal but didn't, signed off on a proposal that was worded in such a way that it appeared to say one thing, and meant another, thus obscuring the true intent.

TL;DR SomerBlink attempted to pull the wool over CCP's eyes, and failed due to those pesky Eve players.


Did you actually read the proposal? because if what CCP got was word for word as posted by Somer its pretty clear as to its intentions - if Somer intentionally side stepped CCP procedure to get someone to OK it under another pretext, etc. then that is another matter and one I have no info on.