User talk:Regina Buenaobra/Archive Community and Website/Jun 2009

Whats wrong with XTH?
This is the second month there have been "problems." I'm not trying to be rude, I am more just curious as to why the XTH is a big hassle? -- adrin  21:26, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Trying to connect two huge databases, both of which are updated regularly with new entries, and with possibility of conversion problems? It sounds like this is not an easy thing to automate... -- [[Image:User_Alaris_sig.JPG|Alaris_sig]] Alaris 01:02, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Also keep in mind that they had just changed the way we make our predictions. I had already assumed there was going to be problems because of that alone. Bugs happen.--Pyron Sy 01:09, 21 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm not permitted to go into the intricacies of XTH, but from what I understand, the code is complex and keeps throwing up unpredictable errors. There's a lot of discussion here about these specific issues, but also broader issues about the XTH. It's still in flux at the moment, though, so I am not allowed to discuss those in public. -- Regina Buenaobra [[Image:User_Regina_Buenaobra_sig.png]] 19:23, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * You should try a hairball management product. It really helped with my cat who was throwing up unpredictable stuff. -- [[Image:User_Alaris_sig.JPG|Alaris_sig]] Alaris 13:56, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * If only it could be so easy. ;-) -- Regina Buenaobra [[Image:User_Regina_Buenaobra_sig.png]] 17:41, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Good luck with it though! -- [[Image:User_Alaris_sig.JPG|Alaris_sig]] Alaris 18:08, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
 * That's fine if you're unable to give answers. Thanks for the response regina. -- adrin [[Image:User_adrin_ecto_sig.png]] 03:13, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Elite Fan Sites
Are they even checked for content? Some (namely Guild Wars Guru) have administrators that defend buying in game gold for real life money, promote scamming as a source of income, and otherwise encourage behaviour that is clearly against the EULA, and ruins the play time for others. --The preceding unsigned comment was added by User:82.182.99.140 (talk).
 * Yeah, you have to cite your sources if you're attempting to change the site's status.-- Shewmake 17:15, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * He asked a question and provided reasoning for asking it. Not trying to change anything (yet).  Though this issue has come up in various places now about GWGuru's Elite status, about their admins and the malware infesting the site (and anyone who uses it).  [[Image:User Rose Of Kali SIG.jpg]]Rose Of Kali  17:35, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I must be oblivious to it. o.o Then again, I'm not on Guru a lot.-- Shewmake 17:39, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Ya, except malware on ads can't be helped, they aren't in control of the ads displayed, and that has a chance to happen anywhere with ads if you don't take proper precautions and none of the stuff this guy accuses GWG of have I ever seen, and I'd definitely like to see his sources there. DarkNecrid 18:08, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I would agree with citing sources when saying things like "Some (namely Guild Wars Guru) have administrators that defend buying in game gold for real life money, promote scamming as a source of income, and otherwise encourage behaviour that is clearly against the EULA". As an administrator on Guru, I take that personally. It's been said repeatedly that if you have a problem with GWGuru, you should take it to Inde, the site administrator via forum pm or email. You can find all the contact information you need here.-- Wyn [[Image:User Wynthyst sig icon2.png|19px ]] talk  18:23, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * GWG's admins (I guess it's Inde) is NOT defending RMT/gold-selling, she's merely pointing to an aspect of the discussion that is overlooked by most. Anyone who knows her (I bet the OP doesn't) knows that she's one of the most positive contributor of GWG and a great person. Regarding the malware, GWG uses Googleads and it's a well known vector of attack, the admins clean a lot of the nasty ads when they're reported. Fril Estelin 18:42, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * "I also, nowadays, fail to see how buying Gold to get ahead of your fellow player is any different then these new micro-transactions that have been introduced in so many MMO's, including Guild Wars." http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10384645 for one sounds like someone defending gold buying to me. If you want more just look through old threads where people ask if they can be banned for scamming, its almost guaranteed one of the administrators will say people aren't banned for scamming.   What is the point in bringing it up with the administrators if the administrators just ban people who bring it up? The problem I have isn't with Guru, its with ArenaNet's status of sites that are run to hurt the community, not help.  Giving Elite Status to a site that promotes these activities makes it seem as if they are condoned by ArenaNet. 138.100.12.108 19:00, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * That is a pretty weak example and I would not read it the way you seem to. Honestly, I doubt Anet has checked up on the majority of the fansites recently, and Guru is established enough in the community that if this is the best you can find then it probably isn't worth the fuss.--67.240.83.137 19:11, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I read Inde's comment as pointing out something that seems a little hypocritical on ANet's behalf, not justification for doing something illegal. She may be trying to encourage ANet to change their stance on gold-selling, but she was not encouraging buying/selling gold for real currency illegaly.-- Shewmake 19:17, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Nowhere did I state what my opinion on any subject concerning this was. Shewmake, I assure you I was not trying to encourage anyone to do anything. I was pointing out different aspects of an argument and paralleling them to something happening real-time in relation to Guild Wars. Forums are a place for discussion, encouraging debate and different viewpoints are always beneficial to a well-rounded discussion. Nowhere did I state "this is my opinion" and I don't honestly see how my statement could have been so poorly misread. I also have no idea what scamming thread or posts you are referring to OP but Guru doesn't support or encourage scamming and has no official opinion on what may or may not get you banned. Since we always encourage these type of problems to be addressed by the proper people, namely NCSoft support.  Regardless, this is not the place to engage in such discussion so I encourage you to send your complaints or concerns to myself on the Guru forums and I can address them there. Inde 19:35, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I have no complaints. My interpretation of your statement may have been wrong, but it definitely was not arguing against you. =) As I thought it was pointing out an inconsistency between ANet's rules & micro-transactions, I also thought that you would want this inconsistency to be fixed somehow. Your statement definitely should not be cited as encouraging illegal actions, and I think the IP-user has no efficient evidence against GWG.-- Shewmake 19:49, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Ah, and that's where I incorrectly made an assumption. Your wanting this inconsistency to be fixed (if you do) should have been left as that; you never said that you wanted it to be fixed by legalizing buying/selling gold. Sorry about that, Inde. :)-- Shewmake 19:54, 30 June 2009 (UTC)


 * 82.182.99.140: If you have concerns about how Guru admins promoting RMT, I'm open to hearing them, but I need to see something more concrete. The post linked above doesn't quite qualify, as it's a meta discussion about RMT rather than promotion of gold-selling.
 * As GW Guru is a third party site, ArenaNet does not exercise control over their moderation practices or policies. Of course, we want to encourage healthy, positive community spaces that contribute to making the larger Guild Wars community a great place. But you have to keep in mind that not all Guild Wars communities are the same, and not all players will find all GW communities to their taste. People are diverse and so are communities. If you disagree with how Guru runs its community, please discuss it with the moderators. If you're dissatisfied with the atmosphere there, there are other fansites that may be more in line with what you want and expect from a fan community.
 * On the malware issue, there's not a lot Guru can do to control the content of the ads served until after the fact. We've been in contact with them each time there are issues and complaints. It doesn't help either Guru or ArenaNet to be associated with malware. Inde and the other admins have been responsive and have generally addressed the issues in a timely manner. -- Regina Buenaobra [[Image:User_Regina_Buenaobra_sig.png]] 19:56, 30 June 2009 (UTC)

The real sneakiness about Malware is that some sites trigger the DL'ing of MORE malware even when those websites don't have anything to do with the original Malware (IE: it's usually a DNS hijacking, "Google.reference" worm, or compromised port issue). And in those cases, the Malware is buried DEEP in your HD and the only way to get rid of that particular "strain" is with Combo-Fix (which is like removing a wart with a Power-Sander and shouldn't be attempted by average computer users anyway). OTOH, if Guru is "enabling" (and I'm pretty damn sure they are with that built-in AdWare JAVA H4X of theirs) the 3rd party Malware hosts / advertisers then it's MORE than just an open-port issue for Guildwars fans, it's collusion and their eligibility as a fansite should be tossed out immediately. All that other noise about RL-currency trade and other pseudo-moral shenanigans doesn't even compare to compromising the user's security (LOL FACEBooK) so I don't even think that particular kettle of fish is worth Regina's time TBH and will only lead to stupid amounts of drama... -- ilr  21:22, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * While I like conspiracy theories as much as the next user, *sigh* we are doing nothing of the sort. We have reduced our ads to all but a single provider to try to combat what happened to us and many other websites over the last several months. Inde 21:43, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * What that actually means is that you do not have a single provider (googleads). 99.142.46.39 21:57, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Case in point: Anything that's linking to 3rd parties through intrusive Java scripts is a Security risk. That damn Forum is like a MineField somtimes. -- ilr [[image:User_ilr_deprav.png]] 22:32, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * The GuildWiki on Wikia uses google ads, and I've never had a security warning from there, even though I practically live on that site. I sometimes visit the price check threads on Guru, and my Avast! freaked out a few times already when I was trying to click my way to those threads from main page.  That's enough to put me off for good, unless I really really really need to know a price and can't find it asking in-game.  I have the weapons and minis threads bookmarked now, so there are fewer pages (and ads) to load in the process.  [[Image:User Rose Of Kali SIG.jpg]]Rose Of Kali  15:57, 1 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Or, you all could just use firefox and get the add-on that blocks ads on websites. /done (Satanael 17:29, 1 July 2009 (UTC))
 * Too much trouble. I just don't go there, problem solved, it just added to the "naughty" list of game-related (not just GW) websites my husband and I don't visit anymore except in very special circumstances.  And why would an "elite" website be limited to a single browser with a specific add-on that has nothing to do with the website itself?  Not very elite.  They should ask Wikia how they set up/filter their ads and do that, would save everyone a lot of trouble.  [[Image:User Rose Of Kali SIG.jpg]]Rose Of Kali  19:56, 1 July 2009 (UTC)
 * The only safe option is for the site to run no ads (and they won't make any money, so the site closes unless if the owner is rich) or for the users to use safer methods of going across the net. Even Google Ads is prone to attacks. Not a problem with Guru but with the fact that no Ad system is 100% safe, but then again few things on the Internet are. FireFox is one of the safest browsers, and combined with AdBlock & NoScript is the only way that can guarantee your 100% safety on the Internet no matter what. Considering you can set FireFox up in less than 10 minutes (it even imports all your bookmarks from IE!) and download both addons in less than 5 (taking into factor you don't have the links off hand), I doubt that 15 minutes is too much trouble for the ability to guarantee you won't have to be attacked, not just from Guru, but from pretty much every website out there since any website is a liability to you, even the most popular ones, is worth it imo. IGN, FoxNews, MLB, E!Week, and DigitalSpy were some of the websites targeted by the same Ad virus that affected Guru, you should protect yourself from such stuff...they're very common. DarkNecrid 21:06, 1 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Just having Firefox doesn't stop the Port Tunneling wurms (infesting some of these ad-servers) unless you make it the Default browser and completely hault all cookies/requests or scripts that sneak past it and execute through the internet explorer & mail shell. In most cases, people don't even know they've contracted these components b/c many of them are also built to intercept the updates for your Anti-Malware programs that were meant to catch these components in the first place.  And yes, some of them literally target all Google functionality as well and disguise themselves as your own system processes.  I'm not saying Guru can't advertise and still be an official fansite, I'm just saying that they're way over the top on scripted advertising and they need to dial it the hell back b/c it aggravates the already compounded problem I just explained above which in itself has become one of the biggest money laundering schemes in internet marketing history (and most people don't even know they're taking part in it!). -- ilr [[image:User_ilr_deprav.png]] 23:37, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Unexplored Tyria Areas?
Hey Regina,

I was bored and explored a bit on the european site of GW, and then I saw the Discover Guild Wars thing and tought, heck, lets check it again, maybe I find something interesting.. Funny enough I actually found something interesting, when you click on a random chapter on that page and then click the: "join the adventure..." button you get to see a page listing some features of Guild Wars, like the proffessions and also the maps of that chapter. Now, when you click on Eye of the North on the top, the prophecies/tyria map expands, not only to the north.. but also to the left and right! Now that started to get me wonder wether Eye of the North was intended to be even larger than it is now, could you please give us some more insight to this? oh and for your convinience here's the link: http://en.discoverguildwars.com/ I hope you're able to answer this question! Dutch Sunshine 21:11, 28 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I see the image you're talking about. If you look at the east and west edges, you'll see that there's no detail or structure. It looks to me like the Tyria map was extended by the site designer to fit the aspect ratio of the image. --[[Image:User mrsmiles tinysmile.png| ]] MrSmiles 21:34, 28 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I see what you're seeing, and I agree with Mr Smiles, I think the image was extended but you'll also notice that the left and right sides are greyed out. 000.00.00.00  22:43, 28 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Interesting site, in that none of the in-game Dervishes are actually that well Endowed. except mine maybe . I attempted to extract that map to zoom-in on it but not even UnPlug was able to locate it.  But the fact that those edges are oddly "whited out" leads me to believe Smiles is quite right... everything to the east and west just looks 'shopped and I should know having seen quite a few shops in my time -- ilr [[image:User_ilr_deprav.png]] 01:27, 29 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Well, what smiles says is what I tought at the beginning too, but it does seem pretty real.. also if it is shoped as you say Ilr, then why bother making a natural coast border(top-left).. Dutch Sunshine 12:56, 29 June 2009 (UTC)
 * When you have to mix the three maps, you only have two choices. Do not show the areas in between (i.e.: with clouds or war fog) or make them up. What I see is that the skill count is wrong. There are more skills if you count PvE ones, and less if you don't count them. Mith[[Image:User MithranArkanere Star.png]]Talk 13:38, 29 June 2009 (UTC)


 * O RLY? ...Hate to say it, but EU gots a Franken-Map! -- ilr [[image:User_ilr_deprav.png]] 00:35, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Still doesnt look photoshoped to me..62.133.217.213 08:57, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
 * The one in the left looks like an uncovered map. The one in the right looks covered. There are some places that change shape and/or color when you reveal them. Mith[[Image:User MithranArkanere Star.png]]Talk 12:45, 30 June 2009 (UTC)


 * The oddness about the map has to do with website design, and not unreleased or undeveloped bits of GWEN. :-) -- Regina Buenaobra [[Image:User_Regina_Buenaobra_sig.png]] 00:12, 1 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Right! The purpose of my comparison was to show that some Proportions themselves had been distorted, truncated, and "blended", not just that the Color or Terrain was "off". -- ilr [[image:User_ilr_deprav.png]] 01:15, 2 July 2009 (UTC)