IronWill - I would like to thank you all for coming out to the UOHoC Support Chat.
IronWill - This is a chance where you all can get to know some of our gms here as well as get to better know and understand some of the things that we do, as well as ask questions about certain issues you might have.
IronWill - I would like to introduce GM Grond, the Support Dept lead at OSI.
Grond - Hello all!
IronWill - GM Gabriel is a GM Shift Lead on duty today and has taken some time to help answer questions.
IronWill - GM Ghostpig is a GM that is able to also help tonight.
IronWill - I am Iron Will, and I run the volunteer support program (counselors).
IronWill - Our topic today is of course support in Ultima Online - please direct your questions to Flame, Fripp, Jerrith, Marduk, or Troll.
IronWill - I would like to remind you that this is NOT a design chat and we will not be addressing particular design issues, but rather the supporting of what currently is in the game.
IronWill - Also please do not message any of the GMs today or Aphrodite directly - they will be ignored.
IronWill - Thanks and we are ready to start!

Aphrodite - *Thorvald* Question: How can we help GMs catch exploiters using UOE/UOP etc to help PK and genuinely ruin gameplay for us Role Players? What do we have to do for Evidence?
Grond - This is an excellent question. Right now you should not page a GM with this unless you are being directly affected by the exploit
Grond - Otherwise, the best thing to do is document what you can in a log and send it to support
Grond - via e-mail
Grond - We compile these daily. Also, we are looking at ways in which you can report cheaters within the game itself.
Grond - [email protected]
Grond - (just in case you did not know.)

Aphrodite - *Gorbag* Question: Aren't you afriad with the new rumoured powers there will be abuse like last time?
Grond - Yes Gorbag. Abuse is always a concern. However, we have an excellent counselor program, and I think any possible abuse will be minimal. However, it is something we are always careful about.
Grond - Then again, players wouldn't let it go to far. They always let us know. ;)

Aphrodite - *S_Nikademus* Is there any plan to put a FAQ on OWO.COM that describes the role of the different robes? It's not cut and dry red/green/blue anymore.
Grond - There was not. But there is now. That is an excellent suggestion. Thanks Nikademus.

Aphrodite - *ImaSupa_Ni* can you be a little more specific on the new "powers" that Counselors will have? I know many are concerned after reading the "alleged" powers that were posted on various sites/lists, as Volunteers really can't be held truly accountable.
IronWill - There were several posts about this once it was made public that the new powers would be given to our counselors, seers, and overall volunteer base.
IronWill - Be assured that the last thing that we want to have is exploitation by anyone. This is part of the reason on why it has taken so long to test, retest, then retest again all of our powers.
IronWill - In addition to that we have to understand who exactly we are giving these powers to.
IronWill - We are making every assurance that we can to not only understand what the powers can be used for, but in what circumstance they can be abused.
IronWill - We have a system now that will let us change powers and power distribution basically on the fly if we have to, so we aren't too worried about that at all.
IronWill - The basic powers a counselor will get are powers to goto any place in the world, teleport other players, and take care of harassment without any real damage done to anyone.
IronWill - Be assured that we are doing our best to make sure that exploitation will be kept to nothing. :)
IronWill - On a side note the day we implement these new powers, all old counselors will automatially be derobed. This eliminates that possiblity of the "rogue" counselor.
IronWill - I know that was a concern among some and I want to assure you that we have taken care of that as well.

Aphrodite - *Chaos66* First of all I would like to thank all the GM's, Counsilors and seers on all shards...you do a fantastic job...My question is...When will there start being more Quest-involvement of players, like more mini-quests?...like giving seers, GM's and counsilors more power to create small and "instant" quest and events...I've been playing for a half a year and haven't even heard a whisper about a quest and I am quite involved on my shard (Euro
Grond - Chaos66, I believe we are trying to get more players involved in our quests. Again, we don't want our quests to be mandatory
Grond - and annoy anyone... but we do want them to include as many people as possible, on ALL shards.
Grond - We are outlining new developments all the time, and I expect that there will be more long-term player quests in the course of the next two months.
Grond - I can't reveal more than that, other than to say that the board... owo.com, is a very important place to watch.

Aphrodite - *BIGD* How does one become a counselor?
IronWill - A counselor application will be going up this Monday, March 31 on www.owo.com
IronWill - From here all the applications are dumped into a huge file batch...
IronWill - We start the slow but sure process of going through each at a time. ::)
IronWill - We really are excited about this application. Not only is it revamped and improved but it is one that will be up permanently.
IronWill - Um Monday is the 29th. Sorry. :)
IronWill - Monday is the day that the application will be up. :)

Aphrodite - *Gorbag* My main concern with Counselor powers was them helping their friends. Would it be more appropriate for a counselor to have no chars on the shard they're counseling as a prerequisite? This would lend to a more objective role don't you think?
IronWill - Counselors right now are not allowed to play and counsel on the same shard.
IronWill - To have them play and counsel on the same shard in the past has created numerous headaches and problems.
IronWill - It is literally imposssible to be objective to a players question when you have a disagreement with that player.
IronWill - We will continue to make sure that the counselors do NOT have players and counselor characters on the same shard.

Aphrodite - *Spec* whats with GL going down at 5 am today? are the new downtime scheds in effect?
Grond - Actually this was a mistake, pure and simple. The new script which was to go into effect on the 30th, was accidentally put in place last night
Grond - The servers will return to their old maint. schedules tonight, and the new maint. schedules will go into place as stated. We apologize for this.

Aphrodite - *Mnementh* Counselors need a place to swap info and share concerns. Since we can't publicly discuss Counselor issues, does UO have any plans to put up a message board for the support group?
IronWill - Keeping counselors kind of "under the rug" so to speak has never been something that I wanted to do. Unfortunately in the past we have run into problems with counselors posting.
IronWill - We have a couple plans in mind to help give them an outlet so to speak to convey that kind of information.
IronWill - I can't go into the specifics about that right now but we will be letting them have an oppurtunity to voice opinions, concerns, and comments.

Aphrodite - *Sabrinanor* Is there anyway to help somone appeal a banning of another person?
GM_Gabriel - I think there is a lot of confusion concerning the banning of accounts
GM_Gabriel - Accounts are submitted to be banned to the Account administrator
GM_Gabriel - they are a seperate entity than the GM staff
GM_Gabriel - They only answer emails from the person who was banned from the game and make their decision
GM_Gabriel - based on the comments that gms have posted in a players account file
GM_Gabriel - everytime a player is taken to jail or reprimanded the instance is logged and commented
GM_Gabriel - The account administrator will then email the player to let them know they have been banned and as to why
GM_Gabriel - The player has the ability and option to email the account administrator
GM_Gabriel - asking for their account back
GM_Gabriel - the account administrator does not answer or email back anyone else but that account user/owner
GM_Gabriel - to answer the original question outright, no, you cannot email in for your friend who was banned

Aphrodite - *Mind* Will we one day have polyglot GMs on the European shards?
Grond - We do currently. Many of our Japanese GMs speak English and Japanese. Right now we have a German/English speaking GM on our European shards. However, UO is very popular around the world, and we would never be able to cover all the languages.
Grond - We also have a fluent Spanish speaking GM. :)

Aphrodite - *YoFalt* What are some prerequsites or needed skills in becoming/being a counselor?
IronWill - The requisites and needed skills will all be on the counselor application page when it comes up next week. There will be a large section of information that you can read all about there on owo.com

Aphrodite - *Eraser* Are we allowed to look at our Account File and see if we have any "Red Marks" on it that are negitive?
Grond - We feel that it is pretty obvious if you have a mark on the file. We tell players if they have done something we consider harmful to the service.
GM_Gabriel - Players do not have the ability to look into their account file to see if they have any
GM_Gabriel - negative remarks in their account file
GM_Gabriel - This is done so we can track an accounts history
GM_Gabriel - if a gm has to take you to the side for breaking the rules of conduct
GM_Gabriel - or if you are jailed for misconduct
GM_Gabriel - this will go into your file
GM_Gabriel - Gms will not tell you what is in your file
GM_Gabriel - the only time a player is ever sent what is in their file is when the account administrator emails them
GM_Gabriel - when they are banned.
GM_Gabriel - generally the Account administrator will send this to them with explanations
GM_Gabriel - as to why they were banned

Aphrodite - *Eld_AnerinPendragon* Question: Many players are still confused as to the purpose of the "Elder" class of Counselors. Perhapes it would be helpful to explain them, and your plans for them in the future.
IronWill - There was a bit of confusion about some of the different levels of volunteers that help out UO.
IronWill - We will have these things all spelled out on the soon-to-be counselor web page.
IronWill - Right now I can tell you that the natural progression for our volunteers in support are counselors --> elder counselors --> senior counselors.
IronWill - It is kind of confusing but we will be making a dedicated attempt to further clarify their roles in UO.

Aphrodite - *Zedikkia-Cats-BOO* Ok so with the new councelors and such comming in, what will be the availability of them? Will there be a set time when they will be reachable, or how will that system work?
Grond - Well, our Sr. Counselors and Counselors do a great job of providing a wide range of coverage
Grond - We try to concentrate on peak call times, but we are expanding where we concentrate our coverage
Grond - You will notice the new GM hours on the domestic shards now give greater coverage. We are trying to ensure this carries over to the counselor program as well.
Grond - Basically, though I want to take a moment to pubically thank a terrific group who volunteers their time to help other players
Grond - We can't guaranty any coverage with counselors, but I believe most players have noticed that our counselors are available around the clock.
Grond - They do a tremendous job.

Aphrodite - *ghyde* Do GM calls made out of GM hours actually get logged or tracked by the servers? Will OSI and/or GM's change support hours if there are lots of out-of-hours pages?
Grond - They do not get logged. If you have an issue a counselor can not help you with, you should mail that concern to [email protected]. We try to get any mail received there answered within 48 hours.
Grond - If it needs a GM, we will assign it to a GM, and help you the next time you are in the game during GM hours, or if you are never in the game during GM hours...
Grond - we will try to work with your schedule. hi

Aphrodite - *Costanza* Is there any concern that with the counselor halls being remade into taverns (And I assume, run by the gods) that player-run taverns will have difficulty attracting attention and seers?
Grond - Costanza, I don't think there is ANY worry for that. I hope players will visit both, and I believe each has something unique to offer.
Grond - Many player run taverns have a mood to them that will not be available in the counselor taverns.
Grond - However, the counselor/seer taverns will be a good place to get hints and information about the game
Grond - I think there is definitely room for both.

Aphrodite - *YoFalt* As a counselor, do you have a quota you must fullful? If so, and if you don't cover the quota can you be kicked out of the program?
IronWill - As a counselor the only quota we ask is that they fill a certain time period that they commit to. There is no limit for how many the need to take, or how many calls they answer.
IronWill - You can be kicked out of the program for inactivity.
IronWill - However we would like to also let people casually help others and not feel the pressure of helping a minimum number of calls.

Aphrodite - *Cuchulainn* Other than paging in game is there a better way to contact a GM or seer conserning a desire to implement a (short or extensive) player run plot or quest?
Grond - I really think that getting a player run quest is within the purview of the seers. However, many players run sucessful quests without OSI help. I see great ones all the time.
Grond - I would really encourage a quest idea to be implemented within the player's means, if they wish to run one.

Aphrodite - *ImaSupa_Ni* What if a person buys an account on EBay (or other means), that just so happens to happens to have a few "red marks" against it? Is the new owner of the account given a clean slate?
Grond - Nope. An account is the same account to us. "Caveat emptor" is definitely the case here.
GM_Gabriel - The account owner is responsible for all actions on an account
GM_Gabriel - if your little brother, friend, aunt, uncle ...etc uses your account
GM_Gabriel - the owner of the account is responsible for what they do
GM_Gabriel - if the account has any marks placed into a file
GM_Gabriel - these stay there and are not removed
GM_Gabriel - so, if you buy an account from someone, those remarks stay there
GM_Gabriel - if an account was caught harassing others and was warned to stop
GM_Gabriel - and if anything else negative is done from that time on, they are treated as the same person/account
GM_Gabriel - we treat it as an account, not the owner/s
GM_Gabriel - of the account
GM_Gabriel - so, an account keeps all remarks attached to it when transferred

Aphrodite - *Galadriel* I helped report someone for a blatent exploit, they were taken to jail after a gm witnessed the even, I saw them in town the next week. What steps do you take with exploiters?
Grond - Galadriel, it is difficult to say what will be done if we catch an exploiter. We have to verify the exploit, and once we do we may proceed in several different ways.
Grond - Banning is the ultimate and final thing we would do. Hopefully, we can convince the player what they did was wrong, and
Grond - if we feel they understand, we may give them another chance. We do watch them carefully from that point on.
Grond - Okay... one more thing
Grond - Something that has been requested from many people. To date, we have banned well over 3,500 accounts.

Aphrodite - *Sana* This might not be a support question, but when you're account is blocked (credit card failure, etc) you're out of luck on the weekends. Couldn't there either be a grace period w/notification or a way to change the info online?
Grond - There actually is a grace period in the system automatically. However, we have looked at this, and we are considering weekend hours for billing to address this and other issues.
Grond - We still need to look at all the benefits, but I believe there will be an expansion of our account support hours.

Aphrodite - *Duff* can we get an official word on UOA? Legal or Illegal?
Grond - Illegal.
Grond - We have not approved it yet. Check www.owo.com for any updates on which third party programs are legal.

Aphrodite - *Gorbag* Will counselors be encouraged to form ties with interest groups and help them with events in the absence of seers? (referring to the rumoured item/monster creation)
IronWill - Counselors will not be directly tied to any sort of interest group per se. They will have limited spawning abilities, but the maximum strcngth creature that they will be able to spawn will be rabbits, birds, and maybe even a dog or two.
IronWill - Elders will have slightly more tougher spawn ability, but it will be limited and is geared around getting new players involved in UO and let them know and feel how the game works.

Aphrodite - *Autumner* is there anyway to get support from a GM or counselor on the Abyss shard?
Grond - Abyss is an unsupported shard, and there is not a way to get a counselor or GM on that shard.
IronWill - I would like to thank you all once again for coming to our Support UOHoC. We hope that it has given you a chance to ask some questions and learn a bit more about what we do.
IronWill - The next UOHoC chat will be this Thursday and will deal with the Design issues in the game.
IronWill - The next support chat will be on April 1 (No fooling).
IronWill - Thanks and take care!@
Grond - Good night everyone.