Hello.
Would using the weak auras addon to follow anyone who says “Follow me!” be against the rules for automation? Or is that only considered automation if it casts a spell for you or other keyboard input (which is restricted by the API)?
Your not gona get a clear yes or no answer I think its safe its been around for years if blizzard didnt like it they wouldve broken it. Always rember 1 key per action not 1 key 10 actions.
If the only thing another player has to do is say “Follow me” and it does without your input, then yes, that would be considered automation and could get you banned.
Generally speaking, any addon that works within the framework of our LUA system is allowed. Functionality that the Game Developers may not like or agree with would usually result in the addon being broken or the creator changing it to fit within requested parameters.
There are a lot of behaviors that are possible through an addon that are technically “automated”, but not usually considered automation, like automatically picking up a quest when you speak to an NPC, selecting a reward when you turn in the quest, etc…
That said, automatically following another character through no input from your character feels to be problematic, especially when it comes to aspects of multi-boxing. So I cannot give you a specific yes or no, but I would definitely question using any such practice.
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Thank you, Vrak.
Holy and I were going back and forth on this, and I was leaning this direction as well.
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Yes, ty!
So not outright against the rules, more of a grey area. Maybe breaking this api function in the future?
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I hesitate saying it wouldn’t be against the rules, just because there are always exceptions to them. It feels risky enough behavior that I’d probably urge staying out of the grey zone entirely.
This is my first time hearing of that kind of functionality, but yes, it may very well be something that is broken in the future. Especially if proven to be problematic.
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Thank you very much. Your insight is appreciated.
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Have you heard or paid attention to addons that scan public chat channels for specific keywords like enchanting requests and automatically send a whisper and group invite when they detect those specific keywords? I have been told multiple times by your GM’s that this was against TOS.
My guild also uses an addon to auto invite anyone who whispers or says invite in g chat, which uses the same functionality as stated above.
It’s similar, but the principle is that your guild chat isn’t public chat, and it isn’t used to gain an unfair advantage on others.
Does it send the message/invite with no input from the user other than running the addon? Or does it pop-up something alerting you to the chat and asking to send the message?
If the former, I could see an argument for automation/advantage.
If the latter, it’s not really any different than an AH addon that scans for you, but you still have to click (provide input) to buy/cancel the auctions and wouldn’t provide any real, unfair advantage.
- Does it send the message/invite with no input from the user other than running the addon? Or does it pop-up something alerting you to the chat and asking to send the message? *
Yes, that’s exactly what it does, auto message and invite , sometimes people set it up only for the invite.
Do you care about TOS being enforced ?
Of course he cares but blizzard cant do anything if people dont report TOS breaking they cant police the game 24/7.
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It’s been reported.
Yeah and Vrak already said:
So:
- If more reports come in from across the player base, they may look into breaking that functionality, especially if it’s proven to be problematic.
(Sorry to basically re-state that, but, well… I felt it was needed.)
- No, it’s not important enough right now for Vrakthris to push the big old “pause” button on the entire game while they go break this functionality tout suite (nor would that be something they do, anyway.) This does not mean that Vrakthris “does not care about TOS being enforced.” That’s neither stated nor implied. Anywhere in this thread, or this entire forum for that matter.
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Vrakthris is not a Dev nor is he a liaison with them. To my knowledge he isn’t the one making the addon. He won’t be able to change the functionality of an addon either in the game code or addon code.
If there is a problem with what this addon is doing, the Devs will break it’s functionality. You filed a bug report (I think) but that would only bring change if the functionality is a bug.
You can also give feedback about what this addon does. In General Discussion if you want to discuss with other players about it too, or using the in-game option if you just want to give your feedback to the Devs.
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You’re wasting my time, i already mentioned it’s been reported.
and if that’s what they judge, then it proves my point. TOS don’t matter.