Stormbringer

That's fine, ExHaran, if it works for you. The limitation is, as you say, people who use more than one account or delete their avatar and recreate it to continue to harrass someone. If the acttion is something trivial, cold partner requests for example, most people just decline the first, possibly decline the second and use ignore on third. The person ignored might log off and log back on again as an alt and do the same thing. That is deliberately causing annoyance. If on being ignored again they do the same, that becomes harrassment and is against Terms of Service. From what other people have said I believe this sort of thing does happen and the correct action would be for the moderators to consider banning the person behind all three avatars, not just ban the last avatar. In my example ignore is not working.

I think this is an important point. If somebody behaves in a manner that is offensive to another then thay have the right to report the person causing offence. They also have the right for that report to be taken seriously by the moderators and action taken that is appropriate.to the nature of the offence and the frequency of that offence being caused. It doesn't matter whether anybody else considers the offence trivial or not, if somebody is offended by something someone has done to the extent they decide to report it, or use ignore, then that behaviour is offensive. This thread is being taken up with posts about whether or not the new ignore feature is fit for purpose. There is at least one person who is concerned that it is not, two if you include me. I have not yet seen any counter argument that it is sufficient, although one poster has said that they are happy to keep using the ignore on any one person who tries to get round her ignores. It shouldn't really be neccessary to ignore someone more than once. I raised the question of whether the report system is any better. Both ignore and report are the only tools users have to avoid 'unwanted attention'. From time to time we are told, on the splash screen, that Ignore is the way 'to avoid unwanted attention'. If that is the case then it should work, as should report.

If ignore doesn't work properly an alternative is essential. Nobody is saying they don't use ignore, so no laziness is involved. What some people are saying is that the ignore in the new version is insufficient. I am asking if the report system is any better? Are you able to answer that question?

The report system requires the moderators to act effectively on the reports they receive. Twiggy's post suggests that she doesn't think they do. Based on other posts I tend to agree, I remember reading in another thread that said that some people only 'get a slap on the wrist' for breaking the rules. If this is actually the case then it is all the more important for the ignore feature to be as robust as possible. Has there been any statement on this from the moderators? I recall one saying that the ignore will be avatar only and another saying the developers will make it work. Has there been anything since those?

Why, I ask, are there a few people here who show such aggression in their posts? I would have thought this thread whould be about the good and bad things about the new test version. Some people think, as I do, that the new ignore is not up to the task. Some people think that those who think that way are taking the game too seriously. All games have rules, those rules are there for a purpose and should be enforced. Rugby, for example, the rules ar enforced by a referee so as to reduce the risk of players getting injured. Chess has rules, enforced by a referee, to ensure the game is played fairly and correctly. 3dx Chat has rules, enforced by whom? 3dx Chat rules forbid harrassment, abuse, racial abuse, amongst other things. Without an adequate ignore feature how can people be prevented from doing this without on-line moderation? Does the report system work? I don't know but from what people say here I'd have thought not. The same complaints keep cropping up time and time again in the forums with fingers pointing to the same few people. I've tried out the test version and find it doesn't really offer any advantages to me over the old. Maybe it's a little smoother, that's about all. I've had no reason to test the ignore because I have not been harrassed. That doesn't mean to say that it doesn't happen. I'm sure it does, and I think a proper means of reducing it is important.

With regard to colds - one sign of insanity is to keep trying the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome the next time.

Thank you for explaining that so well, Alex. I can now fully understand Twiggy's concerns. Am I right in saying this, if we assume somebody wants harrass another all they need do to to get round the ignore is to delete their character and make it anew?

I've gone back through a few pages of posts and can't find any posts of Twiggy's that are actually hurling insults at anybody. Maybe they occurred earlier. She has every right to make the points she has, to my mind they are quite valid. In fact as valid as the points made by those who say that, although they are informed by her knowledge, they remain conjecture. Every single one of us is making suppositions based on our own experience. The only people who have the answer to the issues discussed here are the developers. I think she has every reason to feel frustrated because it appears that some people refuse to accept her points even when it is supported by evidence. As I see it, and understand the arguments here, there is a risk, very real to those who are concerned about it, that the people who use alt characters to harrass people will find it easier unless the ignore feature is account wide. The developers know whether or not it will be or not, although I did find a post that suggested that it would be avatar only. The arguments for and against an avatar wide ignore is important. I am in favour of an account wide ignore because I believe, from what people have said, that there is a small group of people who use alternate characters to harrass people. Should I become one of their targets, I would like my ignore to be as effective as possible. I would like to see as convincing an argument against it. I haven't seen one yet. If the developers are making it so that there is only one avatar slot for each account then the situation will be equivalent to how it is now. In this instance a feature to hide your on-line presence would be useful to enable uninterrupted building, private time with specific friends etc. The other issue is that of Pandora and it's access to 3dx Chat data. Ignoring the data protection issues, if I chose to play as George Clooney then that's my right to do so providing I do not use the character to offend people, break the rules or pretend to actually be George Clooney. I would consider it a bit peculiar that somebody would want to play that character, it is their choice if that's what they want to do. Outside of 3dx Chat the choice of character means nothing. Pandora arose because some people wanted to check up on people they were involved with, that in itself says that a few people have knowingly misled people when entering into one to one relationships in game. Like many people who have posted, I would like to know more from the developers about their plans.

Does it really help to try to ridicule what Twiggy has said? She has a point. She is concerned that the new ignore feature won't be as effective as the current one and, to me, she seems concerned that Pandora could be adapted to access avatar data in the new update. I think these are good reasons to be concerned. Other people who have responded to her also have a point. Most of the recent posts in this thread are conjecture. The only people who really know are the developers. In that sense nobody really knows but, by discussing it, the delevopers will get to know the issues that concern users. For myself, I don't think a very few days test will have been sufficient to reveal all bugs. I suspect that the test server was taken down because a major flaw was revealed and it will come back up again for further testing once that has been rectified. I don't think the developers have to say what they are doing in any detail, for security reasons, but I do think they could give us a lot more information about how the project is progressing. Will there be further testing of the new server? When is it going to happen? That sort of thing. Possibly even that they are taking in to account concerns about data security.

Is there any news about when the test server is going to be up and running again?

I can see why some people get annoyed by colds. it's a bit disresectful, it doesn't show interest in that person other than for one thing. If you go to a cold room you're indicating that you might accept a cold invite at that time, that's cool. Not in my bag, but OK for some.

I wonder why a topic that has been dormant since 19th January 2014 should come active again on 6th August 2018. People use alts for many reasons. It seems, from other threads and posts, that a few people use alts to cause trouble. Alts aren’t the problem, although I do like to know who i’m talking to.

There’s no need to shout! I don’t get what you’re trying to say. Cold rooms allow colding, everybody who goes there knows that. I prefer to go to a room where you are welcomed, where there is some conversation. Which is why you won’t find me in a cold room. Cold sex is cold, sex with someone you know is better imho. There’s room for most things in the game, so whatever floats your boat, just don’t expect me to join in if it doesn’t float mine too.

I expected Stormbringer to have been taken. I'm glad it wasn't as I've been a long time fan of both John Martyn and Deep Purple, so that's why I chose my name.

I'm not sure the OP is saying that cold rooms should be stopped, only that there could be a better way. There's room in the game for many different ways of playing. They're all 'right' ways, providing they don't break the rules or show disrespect to anybody, Speaking for myself I find colds rooms slightly insulting, the room owner is making little effort to get people getting to know each other. It's rather like saying that the peope aren't that important in a sexual encounter, I don't get that. I think that people visit these rooms on the promise of sex which, in my experience, never happens. I respect the effort some room owners make in building a room, providing a DJ, organising events and going to the trouble of making people feel welcome. I wonder if people stay longer in rooms where something is happenning than in cold rooms.

https://youtu.be/meFag0HtrFw