We've covered quite a few details on how the Spam Prevention Tool works in World of Warcraft and how to maximize its use when reporting spammers. Blizzard Poster/ Forum Moderator Nethaera has posted a short FAQ with some details on the new Squelch feature included in the tool.

First and foremost, what happens when you report a player for spamming you? Well, Nethaera basically said that the player you reported is automatically squelched for the rest of your gaming session. This means that he/she will be ignored even when you change characters. A report will be sent to the GMs for review. Appropriate action will then be implemented depending on the situation.

Another feature that was discussed is using this to report mail spammers. Nethaera gave word that reporting these players is similar to the chat reporting. Just click on the"Report Spam" option and you will automatically ignore all mail from the said user. If multiple reports are given by different players, then all mail from the said player become temporarily invisible until the game masters have reviewed the case.

The spam reports are limited to five per player over a 24-hour period. In addition, it is only possible to send reports at a rate of one per minute. I assume this is to prevent the use of this tool as a denial of service weapon on WoW with spammers just flooding the accounts of the GMs with multiple reports. The same reporting restrictions apply, i.e. you will not be able to report any players on your friends, guild list or yourself.

That said, we encourage everyone to actively use this tool and help rid WoW of the common enemy we all face: spammers. After that we can go back to ganking each other. For now though, let's just keep "ganking" these spammers by sending in reports. Be sure to keep checking back here for more updates on World of Warcraft.

 

The spam protection tool in World of Warcraft Blizzard recently implemented has received mixed responses from players. While some say that it has been working very well, others claim that it hasn't worked for them and thus have decided to stick with the popular add-on SpamSentry.

Most users on the forum however were reserving their comments until a few weeks have passed. It's great that some players are willing to stop sending out negative comments until they've completely evaluated the tool. This streamlining of the spam reporting is already working now but we should expect to see major results in a couple of weeks. Of course, we have to consider that the spammers have been adopting and changing the modus-operandi to get their much-hated spam out so it might be longer.

Blizzard Poster/ Forum Moderator Drysc gave some information causing much cheering from those in the forums. He said that "Also, as of 2.1 trial accounts can no longer whisper others unless they have been whispered by that player first, or they are on that player's friends list. We obviously didn't want this information known before the patch was released."

Well, this move by Blizzard was called by one user as "laying the smackdown on spammers" and we agree with him. It's nice to see that Blizzard's been doing what they can to lessen the spam on World of Warcraft. Be sure to keep checking back for more news on World of Warcraft.

 

Spam is the enemy of every World of Warcraft player on any server. We have reported before that Blizzard has seen it fit to add some spam protection to their game and it has gotten a mixed response from players. Some have reported that it works well while others find that it's not very efficient.

Reporting spammers is rather simple. If the player is not on your friends or guild list, you can report a player for spamming by right clicking their name in the chat box and selecting the Report Spam option. Forum Moderator Blizzard Poster Drysc has given word that this tool should ONLY be used for spammers.

Do not use this option for other reasons such as people who send inappropriate comments, etc. He warns players that using the Report Spam for any other reason may result in your report "not being reported properly." If players wish to report any problems, they should still use the "normal reporting process."

Be responsible when using this tool. Hopefully, if enough people use it properly, spam can be minimized if not outright stopped. Be sure to check back here for more news on World of Warcraft.

Back in January, we reported that certain World of Warcraft players are exploiting a gold farming bug related to Jaina Proudmoore. We're not certain f the bug has been fixed already but what we know is that spamming inside the MMO video game is still very active and is currently causing problems.

Here's the thing: Drysc recently posted updated PTR notes that had new spam-prevention features. Message throttling will be activated making it impossible for WoW players to send large amounts of text at one time. Aside from this, the reporting abilities were also updated:

• Players will now be able to report chat and mail spam with the click of a button. A "Report Spam" option will now be available by right-clicking on a player’s name in a chat channel, whisper, or mail. Using this option will quickly and easily report the player to our in-game support department for review.
• When you report a player, he or she will automatically be added to your ignore list for your current session. You won't see any chat or mail from that player until you log out and back in.
• These tools function on a per-account basis, meaning that reporting one character on an account will ignore all chat text and mail from that entire account until you log off.
• You will not be able to report players on your friends list or in your guild.

But the thing is, these abilities require players first to receive spam from an account before they can ignore it. Some players argue that if Blizzard does intend to put an end to this, what it should have done is turn off whisper level ranges. Forum administrator Nethaera argues that these are not the entirety of what Blizzard has planned.

The above mentioned features, as well as other changes, with the upcoming Black Temple patch.

 

A lot of talk has been thrown around regarding the implementation of VoIP in Blizzard's World of Warcraft; VoIP (Voice Over IP) should allow users to communicate via headsets in the game. Ok, for those freaking out that it's already being done, I know that, but some WoW players are concerned on how exactly Blizzard is planning on integrating it with the game.

The benefits of VoIP cannot be understated in a raid. Just the ability to shout "I need a heal" and getting it done is worth using it. However, this brings another problem that is prevalent in the game: gold spammers. Some players have expressed fear that the addition of this feature will give gold spammers another way to spam players. Well, I don't think so. If Blizzard has the foresight to put a mute button, then you're pretty much safe. Another thing, if you party with a gold spammer, you can simply kick him out, job done.

Despite all the paranoid people blabbering about the dangers of VoIP the prevailing thought among most players is that this is good for the game. I personally think that adding this feature will definitely make life easier for everyone.

 

Staying ahead of the game, Blizzard takes a swift under-blow to reduce the number of unwanted, repetitive spam every player gets when they log into the World of Warcraft. Oh wait - at least they hope to try. Although many of the features for the spam-prevention measures are actually spam reporting abilities, they did include a certain message throttling mechanism to cut down on spam.

The upcoming fixes have been announced to go into the live realms together with the 2.1.0 content patch, so treat these new additions as amendments to the full patch notes of 2.1.0:

Reporting abilities:

• Players will now be able to report chat and mail spam with the click of a button. A "Report Spam" option will now be available by right-clicking on a player’s name in a chat channel, whisper, or mail. Using this option will quickly and easily report the player to our in-game support department for review.
• When you report a player, he or she will automatically be added to your ignore list for your current session. You won't see any chat or mail from that player until you log out and back in.
• These tools function on a per-account basis, meaning that reporting one character on an account will ignore all chat text and mail from that entire account until you log off.
• You will not be able to report players on your friends list or in your guild.

Message throttling:

• Players will no longer be able to send large amounts of text at one time, filling a chat screen with a repeating message, large blocks of gibberish, or text that could disrupt an entire conversation. This throttling, along with the new chat-reporting feature should make it much easier to keep unwanted text off your screen before it becomes overwhelming.

If you're from the Horde and ever in the Darkshore area in the World of Warcraft's Kalimdor, you might have encountered the "Darkshore Under Attack" spam. It basically started late last year (or maybe long before that) and still the spam continues.

For those unfamiliar with the said issue, here's a bit of a primer. Darkshore is an Alliance-controlled area, though for some unknown reason trolls have been placed in one area. Whether they'll serve a future purpose is still unknown, though the spot can't be reached as for now. Some players use exploits (read: not standard methods) to get to that spot, causing the spam.

A concerned player, Maha from the WoW Forums reported an incident when he got the message and asked a GM whether the Troll area in Darkshore was a "GO or NOGO area". The GM was unfortunately not able to tell for sure so Maha looked it up on the Forums. After a bit of a runabout, there was some misunderstanding about the issue. Anyway, Blizzard poster Pavonum addressed the issue. He apologized for the miscommunication and encouraged Maha to continue reporting such events:

You are welcome -- nay, encouraged -- to bring such messages to our attention, as they are indicative of... creative traversal of in-game terrain, so that the Game Master assigned to your petition may look into the issue accordingly.

Let's hope players stop all the "creative traversals" so as to stop the spam. Stay tuned for more updates from the World of Warcraft.

There is currently an on-going World of Warcraft (WoW) exploit that concerns teleporting and the MMO video game's macro. We're pretty sure some of you have used this before but don't worry, we won't tell Blizzard Entertainment. But the thing is, this creates an unfair advantage for the others.

To those who have been playing it fairly and have no idea what exactly this exploit is, here's how it goes: When you write and spam this certain macro, it will ultimately confuse the computer of anyone standing nearby because it will assume that the "spamming-macro" character has lagged out.

So attacking that character will do good because in truth, he is not there anymore. He moves, spams the macro, stop moving, spams again, and so on. Pretty neat, really, but just unfair. According to one article from gaming site Play No Evil, this is actually an abuse of the WoW's synchronization and synchronization recovery process and there are ways to prevent this from happening.

The safe solution is to put the virtual world on hold until everyone is synchronized. But this is quite problematic as some players may actually leave the game. Play No Evil added that the best way to handle this is to use the server smooth/server authoritative model. And this is how that model works:

When a player resynchs, he resynchs to the server view of the world, not his. If the server model of a player's behavior is good enough, and the dropped connection is relatively short, their will be little perceived difference. The design challenge comes out of helping transition the player to the server's view in as quick and smooth way as possible.

Some players mentioned - obviously those who have been attacked with this and not the ones using the teleport hack - that Blizzard has apparently known about this since the introduction of Warsong Gulch. But until now, nothing has been done about it. They fear that this can be used during matches in ranked PvP arenas.

New server threads, just like nerf threads, are a common everyday occurrence in the World of Warcraft forums. Well, a poster named Scarecrow asked whether it is true that two new servers will come up today. Apparently, an unnamed Blizzard (blue) poster hinted about this but the original thread was deleted. MVP (Most Valuable Poster) Palehoof replies with an example convo between those asking for new servers and blue posters:

Blue: We regret that we cannot provide any information about new servers at this time. We will announce new servers as soon as we are able. Please stop asking, as this answer will not change, and the question has become spam.

Player: We don't want an ETA or anything, just tell us when it might be!

After the Blizzard poster stops responding the general posts that follow is: Why are you ignoring us? If you'd just answer we’d stop asking.

Then Blue posters stop replying completely. Palehoof concludes with, "When they can tell us, they will do so, and you won't need to ask. Until they can tell us, they will not, and you may as well not." Hmm. Why are people asking for new servers/realms anyway when there are other recommended servers still available? First reason perhaps are world firsts, like the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj for example. Or they want it so they can reroll a new character in a server that's not already swimming in level capped characters.

Anyway, Blizzard guy Tseric stepped in after five pages of argument and said exactly what Palehoof said. "We will announce new realms upon their arrival, as per usual. Please note that a thread on this topic is made every day. I say that with no hyperbole."

The crowd control capability, especially in serious aggro grinds and particularly at PvP, is a welcome addition to any class in the World of Warcraft universe. Crowd control, or CC for short, is a coined term for any ability (may it be spell or talent) that could allow you to select which enemies to fight first.

This is achieved by disabling or inhibiting their other companions fighting capability. If you've played Warcraft III prior to WoW, you could compare it with the Dread Lord's Sleep spell. The CC is a contributing element to survivability, if you can pull off the right skill at the most crucial moment.

While some shammies are planning to spam the forums with requests for more crowd control skills, there's talk of getting anti-CC skills up to counter the other classes' CC capabilities. In fact, some players think that other classes are overflowing with CC tactics that the Shaman could be better off thwarting such tactics with polished anti-CC punts.

But let's not forget, Shamans do have CC capability, just not all that impressive. To use the Earthbind Totem with Frost Shock (or either one of each) must be done at the right place at the right time.

Frostband Weapon can also enchant your blade with freeze/slow capability for a shammy to make a quick getaway. The official word from Blizzard goes a little something like what Tseric said:

I think [this will] be a long standing contention because the devs don't want to copy/paste a CC ability and the players have built it up as a necessity. Sometimes repeating a thing over and over makes it true in the mind. Sometimes this strikes me the same as people saying 'My survivability in PVP is terrible'. I think I've practically heard every single class petition that as a primary class concern at one time or another. It sounds reasonable on the face, but doesn't make sense the more you look into it. Granted, this isn't really the same situation, but I think the collective might be so adamant as a collective decision, not necessarily based on the merit of the claim, itself.

Pretty slippery words, huh? If you're the pessimist like we think you are, you could translate that as "Devs say no, you say yes, [Tseric says] maybe. But the final answer is no."