Bitte Orca
Offline
- Quote
- Posted: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:04:05 +0000
After months of repressed annoyance, I'll finally say it: it is one thousand percent obnoxious to allow users to hide the items they're wearing.
I understand that there is intrinsic "ownership" to an outfit after a certain level of complexity has been reached - at which point one feels territorial of their creation and wishes that no one else be able to copy their combination. Understandable. However, from a user's perspective, it is obstructive and annoying.
What am I to do every time I see an item I can't recognize? Inundate Q&A with my screencaps and wait patiently? That isn't exactly what the forum was intended for, especially en masse. If I PM the user with the item I want (assuming their contact isn't already private) there's a good chance they will not respond because they deactivated the list for that very reason - exclusivity.
Additionally, it is a terrible business move; how can I buy your items if I have no idea what they are? Avatars are walking advertisements and you know it. I regard much of what is being marketed to me on your website as impulse buys, and unless the item is readily available to me, I have no desire to browse through a gigantic database to find said item, external or otherwise. Something needs to be done.
On the fear of copycat avatars/invasions of privacy: I doubt most users want, let alone have the means, to copy an outfit; with the market prices of some of these evolving items, it's extremely expensive and impractical to assume we're even able to copy another's entire combination. The gist of this thread after fifteen pages has been that most of the time, people just want to find a single item.
One solution posited by a user is to simply improve the tagging system. While this is more of an indirect method, it would theoretically work as a compromise in that users would keep their privacy and be able to easily find items.
Please consider removing this feature. It is inane; finding items should never be this difficult. smile
- B.O.
***
Here are a few standalone posts that argue both for and against the idea, respectively:
That's the whole of this debate summed up right there.
Or, even more, removing anything on the garment that has the designer's name, insignia or other identifying features. Refusing to tell is one thing, making it so a person looking at it can't find out is another.
*** Against:
I understand that there is intrinsic "ownership" to an outfit after a certain level of complexity has been reached - at which point one feels territorial of their creation and wishes that no one else be able to copy their combination. Understandable. However, from a user's perspective, it is obstructive and annoying.
What am I to do every time I see an item I can't recognize? Inundate Q&A with my screencaps and wait patiently? That isn't exactly what the forum was intended for, especially en masse. If I PM the user with the item I want (assuming their contact isn't already private) there's a good chance they will not respond because they deactivated the list for that very reason - exclusivity.
Additionally, it is a terrible business move; how can I buy your items if I have no idea what they are? Avatars are walking advertisements and you know it. I regard much of what is being marketed to me on your website as impulse buys, and unless the item is readily available to me, I have no desire to browse through a gigantic database to find said item, external or otherwise. Something needs to be done.
On the fear of copycat avatars/invasions of privacy: I doubt most users want, let alone have the means, to copy an outfit; with the market prices of some of these evolving items, it's extremely expensive and impractical to assume we're even able to copy another's entire combination. The gist of this thread after fifteen pages has been that most of the time, people just want to find a single item.
One solution posited by a user is to simply improve the tagging system. While this is more of an indirect method, it would theoretically work as a compromise in that users would keep their privacy and be able to easily find items.
Please consider removing this feature. It is inane; finding items should never be this difficult. smile
- B.O.
***
Here are a few standalone posts that argue both for and against the idea, respectively:
Danzavare
~ Tektek
~ Q & A
~ Avatar Talk
~ Guilds
All methods of finding items an avatar has equipped. My point? One way or another if a person wants to find out the item, THEY WILL. In other words, disabling the "View equipped items" feature DOESN'T stop people from copying avatar, it just INCONVENIENCES the vast majority of users (Who just want to find the single item). The reality of the matter is that the only real reason to have this implemented is spite, to make the Gaian experiences of others unnecessarily more difficult/tedious.
Gaia doesn't want that and I'm willing to bet most users don't want that.
I support making the view equipped list compulsory. Why? Because I support convenience and a better Gaian experience.
~ Q & A
~ Avatar Talk
~ Guilds
All methods of finding items an avatar has equipped. My point? One way or another if a person wants to find out the item, THEY WILL. In other words, disabling the "View equipped items" feature DOESN'T stop people from copying avatar, it just INCONVENIENCES the vast majority of users (Who just want to find the single item). The reality of the matter is that the only real reason to have this implemented is spite, to make the Gaian experiences of others unnecessarily more difficult/tedious.
Gaia doesn't want that and I'm willing to bet most users don't want that.
I support making the view equipped list compulsory. Why? Because I support convenience and a better Gaian experience.
Deandriea
Velvet-Evoker
YOU did not make the item - disabling the equip list is like a fashion model refusing to say who designed their outfit because they spent a long time putting it on and they don't want anyone else wearing it.
That's the whole of this debate summed up right there.
Or, even more, removing anything on the garment that has the designer's name, insignia or other identifying features. Refusing to tell is one thing, making it so a person looking at it can't find out is another.
*** Against:
Mythril Dragonfly
I like the freedom to disclose what I'm wearing at my own digression. I should be able to make anything private. Simply for the fact of privacy.
As a side note, I will not answer if someone asks what I'm wearing. If I was going to say, I'd have the option for people to look in the first place.
It's something that stems from real life. I'm tired of idiots asking me stupid questions instead of taking the time to Google something. Not to say anyone who asks is stupid. Just that it wouldn't kill you to go on tektek and look (all you need to do is start a dream avatar and browse based on color and what part of the body the item goes on - doesn't take long and even I use this method. If the item is too new for tektek, chances are there's a list in the GCD or the item was JUST ANNOUNCED).
As a side note, I will not answer if someone asks what I'm wearing. If I was going to say, I'd have the option for people to look in the first place.
It's something that stems from real life. I'm tired of idiots asking me stupid questions instead of taking the time to Google something. Not to say anyone who asks is stupid. Just that it wouldn't kill you to go on tektek and look (all you need to do is start a dream avatar and browse based on color and what part of the body the item goes on - doesn't take long and even I use this method. If the item is too new for tektek, chances are there's a list in the GCD or the item was JUST ANNOUNCED).
Squid Liquid
What I'm understanding from this is that people are saying the run into hidden equip list pretty often. So this must mean the feature is popular for some reason. And if it's so popular & widely used, then I don't why they would take it away to please half of the population. At least it seems fair to leave it as is, even if it annoys people. It seems some people do like it. And no matter what arguments get brought to the table as to why people use it, I don't see why people try to invalidate those reasons.
There's a lot of assumptions being made with this debate. People are assuming that Gaia is actually losing money of this. That cannot be stated as fact without some sort of proof to back it. Sure, it could happen in a case by case situation. But to assume they are losing profit over a opt-in feature they have put in use is a bit bold. There's no way to really say if it's true without proof. There are assumptions that people generally hide it for spite. Unless you can seek out those people & prove that they are using it for spite, it is an unfair assumption.
And while it's helpful to disclose the information on equipped lists, but I don't see how it should be mandatory. I choose to opt-in & show my list, but not everybody wants to. Even if you don't agree with the reasons as to why a person wants that sense of security for hiding it, I don't see how it's fair to invalidate those people for wanting it. You may not agree with their opinions, but to say their reasons for wanting it are invalid is just as bad as them saying that your reasons for wanting it removed are invalid. This helps nobody, this gets this debate nowhere.
If anything, perhaps a more constructive idea is to instead make a thread about improving item tagging in the marketplace. That I could see being helpful to all parties involved. People can find what they need easier, & the privacy of the opt-outs is respected. This thread has turned ugly with all the bickering. Can both sides be diplomatic & agree on a solution that is fair & balanced for all? It seems all the people on the side of being against the hidden lists just want to identify items. In this case, would the OP be willing to instead make a thread addressing this by asking for a better tagging system?
There's a lot of assumptions being made with this debate. People are assuming that Gaia is actually losing money of this. That cannot be stated as fact without some sort of proof to back it. Sure, it could happen in a case by case situation. But to assume they are losing profit over a opt-in feature they have put in use is a bit bold. There's no way to really say if it's true without proof. There are assumptions that people generally hide it for spite. Unless you can seek out those people & prove that they are using it for spite, it is an unfair assumption.
And while it's helpful to disclose the information on equipped lists, but I don't see how it should be mandatory. I choose to opt-in & show my list, but not everybody wants to. Even if you don't agree with the reasons as to why a person wants that sense of security for hiding it, I don't see how it's fair to invalidate those people for wanting it. You may not agree with their opinions, but to say their reasons for wanting it are invalid is just as bad as them saying that your reasons for wanting it removed are invalid. This helps nobody, this gets this debate nowhere.
If anything, perhaps a more constructive idea is to instead make a thread about improving item tagging in the marketplace. That I could see being helpful to all parties involved. People can find what they need easier, & the privacy of the opt-outs is respected. This thread has turned ugly with all the bickering. Can both sides be diplomatic & agree on a solution that is fair & balanced for all? It seems all the people on the side of being against the hidden lists just want to identify items. In this case, would the OP be willing to instead make a thread addressing this by asking for a better tagging system?
