There are servers out there detecting the disablehtml cvar and effectively
punishing you for it.
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 10:29 PM
To: Half-Life dedicated Win32 server mailing list
Subject: Re: [hlds] Can we have a Quickplay Status report, please? 2
And that's why cl_disablehtmlmotd exists, to allow the choice. All disabling
Flash and other elements in a HTML MOTD for all servers will do is just punish
everyone, it's hardly a solution really. You may as well say "lets take away
all abilities to customise any element in the game from GSO's", because little
by little that's what it's becoming if that happens. Now, if users had the
options to disable certain elements within the HTML MOTD, rather than disable
the HTML MOTD entirely with cl_disablehtmlmotd, then that might be a reasonable
solution.
On 4 June 2014 18:50, E. Olsen <[email protected]> wrote:
I agree that disabling javascript/flash/html5 is less than an ideal solution,
but for the very minor things it would disable (source radio, etc.), if it
would allow Valve to return to a level playing field it would be a very small
sacrifice. I'm sure if Valve came to all of us and said "we'll enable all
servers by default, but we need to remove those elements from the web browser
to do so" we would all jump at that chance. I honestly believe as long as
operators have the ability to run those kinds of ads it will be abused by the
blackhat folks to the point that they ruin it for the rest of us.
I fully agree that mass punishment is/was a seriously ham-fisted approach to
dealing with the issues, and was the wrong (and frankly, unethical) way to
treat all server operators.
I like your ideas for better informing the players regarding quickplay options,
but as with any system of this kind, I think it should start with "maximum
diversity" fully enabled by default, and allow the players to opt out, instead
of opting in. Only then will it be a truly level playing field for all servers.
On a side note, I would also like to know why the "server scoring" system
(apparently) didn't work, and why it wasn't more effectively used to weed out
all the bad apples in the first place.
On Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 11:25 AM, Alexander Corn <[email protected]> wrote:
>
Further - if Valve wanted to get rid of those horrendous MOTD ads (and I wish
to hell they would), they could easily do it by disabling
flash/javascript/html5 from functioning in the in-game web browser (which would
have probably fixed the problem almost entirely).
This is still not an ideal solution. Plenty of community servers rely on the
MOTD and features such as JavaScript and Flash (mostly for audio streams, but
many are switching to HTML5 audio elements) for their custom features. Removing
those features is still removing features that have existed for a very long
time due to the abusive tendencies of a few.
Those that are abusive should be dealt with. There is no reason why everyone
should suffer in order to punish a few. It goes back to grade school gym class.
Weren't you pissed when the teacher/coach made everyone run laps or whatever
because 3-4 kids wouldn't stop talking? That's how we're being treated now.
I could live with the default Valve-only option if it were more obvious how to
switch it. When the player first starts up TF2, they're shown popups directing
them to the store, showing them how the backpack works, etc. Ironically, these
popups really only cover the item system, which most can agree comes second to
actual gameplay. There's no coaching regarding how to actually join a game.
Display a balloon that points to the Quickplay button and says something like,
"Click here to be quickly matched into a game based on gamemode" and one that
points to the servers button and says something like, "Click here to fine-tune
your desired game settings".
Also show a balloon in the Quickplay dialog that points to the settings button
(which isn't exactly immediately apparent as being clickable) and also a dialog
that explains the difference between official and community servers.
"Official servers offer an unmodified and uncustomized experience."
"Community servers typically offer better moderation, some minor gameplay
modifications, and a greater sense of community."
Dr. McKay
www.doctormckay.com
On Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 5:45 PM, E. Olsen <[email protected]> wrote:
Perhaps it's time to examine the possibility that Valve is very purposefully
forcing community run servers into the minority because they're straight tired
of having to play code-counter-code withe people like the fuckjobs who
programmed plugins to force ads down players throats and other like-minded
stains.
I guess I would consider that a valid argument if it wasn't Valve who had
enabled the "ad farms" in the first place. Those things were never a problem
before quickplay came along, because those kinds of servers would never get
favorited to see a return visitor. The Pinion-supported folks were only enabled
by quickplay, plain and simple - which is why when Pinion came on the scene
shortly after quickplay came along, you had these guys go from a dozen or so
servers to 100+ just to farm ad impressions.
Further - if Valve wanted to get rid of those horrendous MOTD ads (and I wish
to hell they would), they could easily do it by disabling
flash/javascript/html5 from functioning in the in-game web browser (which would
have probably fixed the problem almost entirely). If they did that, and just
quietly dropped any of the "premium" servers from quickplay, they would have
knocked out all but the most determined black-hat folks, and those can always
be dealt with.
On Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 5:14 PM, Eli Witt <[email protected]> wrote:
Replied to the last message, I'll post this here too.
Well, we know from experience just how good Valve is at keeping a lid on things
(case in point HL3) so I doubt they're going to acknowledge this in any way
unless they see fit to, not because we're disgruntled and asking for
information.
And for what it's worth, everyone (who's opinion on this list is worth a damn)
has thrown out the point that "we're the ones providing the servers for Valve,
we're the ones who give their players a place to play etc etc" - but what I
think is going unnoticed here is the fact that Valve is obviously taking steps
(and increasingly larger ones) to nullify that argument in it's entirety.
Perhaps it's time to examine the possibility that Valve is very purposefully
forcing community run servers into the minority because they're straight tired
of having to play code-counter-code withe people like the fuckjobs who
programmed plugins to force ads down players throats and other like-minded
stains.
We've got the binaries on both ends, and Valve knows this. It's virtually
impossible to stop people from being fuckjobs with access to both binaries, so
let [Valve] just diminish the footprint the fuckjobs get access by about 90% by
forcing people into the servers we can afford to run now that we've monetized
TF2.
If I was Valve and I made this decision, I wouldn't give a piss whether people
who run servers are upset by this or threaten to pull their servers offline
because of this decision, because that's the direction I wanted to force you in
anyway.
Just a thought.
On Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 4:47 PM, Robert Paulson <[email protected]> wrote:
Making a new thread because replies are being blocked with "Message body is too
big: 41090 bytes with a limit of 40 KB".
Complaints here have historically gone ignored but it doesn't mean it is a bad
idea to keep the issue in the spotlight here as well.
Just make sure you also contact Valve directly.
http://valvesoftware.com/email.php
Some people say Fletcher is in charge of TF2 now so email him too.
We're really past the point in asking Valve for an "answer". The answer is
probably the same as before: a handful of servers ruined the experience for a
few new players and some lazy players who couldn't be bothered to type valve in
the tags.
So they threw in some useless features like quickpick and released server
migrations at the same time to shut you up before you realize your community
was also going to get screwed so there would be no huge public outrage.
What needs to be done now is to get someone at Valve to realize that this
change did more harm than good and there is evidence to prove it.
Any other argument we bring up they will consider it biased because we host
servers and somehow that means we don't care about players.
Ever since the change, global TF2 player counts have steadily been dropping.
Peaks have dipped from 82k to 71k, a 15% loss. And summer vacation has already
started as you can see from the weekday player counts.
http://www.steamgraph.net/index.php?action=graph&jstime=1&appid=440&from=1388563200000&to=End+Time
_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please
visit:
https://list.valvesoftware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hlds
_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please
visit:
https://list.valvesoftware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hlds
_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please
visit:
https://list.valvesoftware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hlds
_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please
visit:
https://list.valvesoftware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hlds
_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please
visit:
https://list.valvesoftware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hlds
_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please
visit:
https://list.valvesoftware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/hlds
