Naturally, one might be skeptical that I deem this as an "apology." Indeed, a cursory glance at the title and first few paragraphs yields no new information, and may instead lead disgruntled players to dismiss it and stop reading. Yet patience is a virtue, and ascertaining this conclusion required not only a close reading of the article, but time to consider its meaning. Here I contribute my analysis. An excerpt from the second paragraph is:
As I have stated above, this is simply reiterating the content in January's article and is prone to encourage the stereotypically impatient player to feel more dejected and angry than before. However, later in the article Jagex admits, "We recognise [sic] that we have not been the best at communicating what we are doing and that changes today." This is corporate and professional (two unsurprising attributes), but most stunningly, indicative that Jagex has shown, or claims to be showing, remorse. In other words, it is the closest in this situation from a company that one can expect to hear to "We're sorry and we're going to do better," regardless of its sincerity or lack thereof.At the beginning of the year, when we brought Free Trade and the Wilderness back, we promised that we would couple that with programmes [sic] that would combat the inevitable botting that would result from that decision. [2]
The Prodigal Son by Rembrandt van Rijn [5]
On the other hand, cynicism will always dictate that people invent (not necessarily illogical or unreasonable) explanations for Jagex's insincerity. Indeed, in my experience, of the few players that did read the article (which, as a percentage of players seemed low, judging from asking my friends, who are not fresh newbies), most had a pessimistic attitude regarding the amount of change that would stem from these promised updates, and instead cited incentives such as earning votes for the Golden Joystick Awards, selling RuneFest tickets, and providing encouragement for players to renew their membership.
There is more of the article that merits discussion. In addition to asking for the help of the players, Jagex also seems to strongly endorse a different sentiment by quoting an article from the fansite Rune Tips:
And finally, we would ask that you refrain from using bots or supporting gold farmers. If there is not a market, then bots will not exist. As was so eloquently put in a recent post on Tip.it “Standing up to Jagex [by voicing one’s opinion on the botting issue], one might argue, requires a certain amount of courage, but much more is required to stand up to one’s friends”. The player went on to say, “The community needs to stand up for itself by following the rules and shunning those who do not. Lacking customers, the websites that set up the bots will close, and the only botter will be the isolated real player. Ultimately, following the three pillars of the code of conduct that Jagex set up-“Honour,” “Respect,” and “Security” are a responsibility of the players and the community as much as they are of Jagex.” [2]
Some research yields that the recent post on Tip.it that it quotes above is presumably [1]. In any case, the thrust of the quoted portion of the article is twofold. Firstly, it can be interpreted as a statement about supply and demand: if there were no demand for "botted" or "rwt'ed" gold (gold generated by companies that practice botting on many different accounts), then the supply would diminish, as these companies would no longer find this practice profitable. Secondly, it implicitly claims that the majority of accounts who bot either have an affiliation with one of these companies or are not blissfully ignorant that they are violating the rules. Although it could be argued that the former group is larger than the latter, in a sense it is irrelevant-whether players encourage botting or bot themselves has no effect on the economy. Either way, excess raw materials flood the market and lower prices. Jagex has reaffirmed that there is a finite amount they can do by themselves, by asking for our help [2].
The conclusion that I draw from [2] is that Jagex has admitted the flaws in its approach to dealing with bots, especially considering the promises it made with the reintroduction of free trade and the wilderness. Cynically one can say that they are trying to "buy time" or merely generate more revenue from lost paid subscriptions. Another point of view is that Jagex is asking for forgiveness and truly cares about improving their game. Indeed, if one doubts the sincerity of this article, one could certainly say that they do not forgive Jagex. Also up for debate is the efficacy of Jagex's plea for players not to bot, and almost an admission that by the players who make this rule-conscious decision to bot, they are fueling it and may be the only ones who can make a substantial contribution to resolving the problem-by stopping.
Due to the highly "emotive" nature of this issue [2], one would expect a bifurcation in reactions to this article, which I have detailed. Some players weary of promises dismiss this as a marketing ploy, while others may give Jagex the benefit of the doubt and a second chance. Each individual player will confront, perhaps subconsciously, the question I am about to propose. I need not discuss the consequences of either outcome. In addition to apologizing for the manner in which they have handled the botting situtation so far, Jagex has promised:
We are committed to ridding our game of bots. We are committed to providing a more open discussion with you about the real challenges that we face as a result of our efforts. We are committed to involving you more in this war so we can win this fight together.
Most importantly, we are committed to continuing our investment in evolving and making RuneScape a great game to play and an amazing community to be a part of. [2]
Therefore, I ask you, the reader, regarding Jagex and its collective stance and actions on bots so far, to consider carefully the grave dilemma: to forgive or not to forgive?
Note: We attempted to contact the player "Jiblix" who was mentioned in this post and interviewed by Rune Tips [3], but our messages were not answered.
References:
[1] Arceus. "A fresh perspective
on bots." Tip.It. Rune Tips, 18 September 2011.
Web. 14 October, 2011. <http://www.tip.it/runescape/?times=679>
[2] Clough,
Daniel. "Update on our ongoing battle against bots." Runescape.com.
Jagex, 11 October 2011. Web. 14 October, 2011. <http://services.runescape.com/m=news/update-on-our-ongoing-battle-against-bots>
[3]
Hamtaro. "Interview with Jiblix." Tip.It.
Rune Tips, 4 September 2011. Web. 14 October, 2011. <http://www.tip.it/runescape/?times=671>
[4] Jiblix.
"Is this the good deal?" Youtube.com. LtdMods, 20
August 2011. Web. 14 October, 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-U-vFzw-ic>
[5] van Rijn, Rembrandt. The
Prodigal Son. 1662. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Web. 14 October, 2011.
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