Monday night another odd occurance in an AGD game. Before I mention it
any further I just want to say something regarding, I think it was
Whitedog who brought it up, the characters with the "xX*****Xx" names
or the "dark" or "darker" account, . . . I have seen these
accounts/characters in the game, looks like they just walk around. I
have not observed any conversation. Interesting account name
"darker-magfi" or something similar, almost like a shortening of
"magicfind".

On Monday night I saw a character in the AGD game, forget the name,
asking "Do you have any free?". Gamers engaged in idle conversation
with this inhabitant of the Rogue Encampment. Upon this character
leaving, FindTheGood tells me that it was the Cain bot. So now there
is a bot that has preset replies to certain questions or remarks?
Interesting. I guess with the right scripting one could put something
like this together.

How high of an "AI" can a "bot" be set to? Are these the same manner
of "bots" that are in channels, except that they can be placed into
games and programmed to perform specific tasks?

Does this mean that things around our campfire are going to be found
to be snatched up, not by our egregious group members, but by "bots"
riddling the realms in search of items to give to their idiotic
"players" that can't face the challenge of either finding these things
themselves or can't take the time to make friends on the realms that
they can get together with and play and share or trade or supply for
one another?

This "bot" that somenody claimed to be in the game on Monday actually
ended up partying up with someone and going to the Canyon of the Magi.
When we all got together to play in a different area this "bot" left
the game. This made me question if it was a "bot". This alleged "Cain
bot" was level 20ish. I'm curious what would happen if I declared
hostility on this "bot". Would it then leave the game? Is it equipped
to defend itself with Uber-gear? What if it is really not a "bot"? I
would then be offending someone and that is something that I do not
place a high standard on doing. But if it is a "bot" I don't want it
anywhere near our game.

That's my take on it.

If our AGD games are up against a potential problem of being ransacked
by "bots", then I might as well start sending Nik in to play in the
AGD games. And while he is playing, if he happens to pick something up
that is around the campfire, at least it could be considered to be
"muled away" and given to someone in our group who has a need for it.
One of the problems with Nik being in the game is that some of the
things he finds he will bring to Charsi and sell and that would be
just as bad as if the "bot" made off with it.

Just in case this is real problem, we should become a think tank on
this matter and start thinking of ideas to counteract it. Don't post
the ideas, lest a "bot" user read about a solution and then make that
our next problem. We can email our closer acquantences so that the
solution isn't known to the rest of world. One solution would be to
mule everything and make it known what's available on the newsgroup,
instead of dropping things off at the fire. But that would just get
too damned burdensome. Even having a "yardsale" to off a lot of extra
gear would draw in the bots and empty out the yardsale before
everybody has a chance to pick up something that would be useful for
them.

Perhaps there is no real problem and to be honest I hope that's the
way it actually is.

Comments etc welcome. Thanks in advance ya'll.

And have a fun time playing together because I surely am :)

Orion Ryder