Hey, is this tanking, shrewd managing, or just plain unethical?

[bwiese3908]

This is a very slippery slope and I for one would rather error on the side of caution. I have heard many people scared to death to try out new strategies or even create theme teams scared that they will get banned.

Don't get me wrong, there are some obvious tanking that should be addressed. I am good with a warning 1st just to make sure things are clearly understood by the team owner. I personally am training my best pull ever Cap Anson at SS and 2B to try to maximize my team where i need help the most, should i be banned for that? I agree with Kris, I think the real tankers are so few and far between it doesn't really need a full time person looking for it. I think it is a small issue that can be bothersome at times but not nearly as big an issue as being discussed.

I have a friend who pulled a Perfect Satchell Paige (good deal on the auction house, check it out) He has been trying to sell him for a week now and is scared that he will be reported for not using him even though he is trying to sell him. You know the time between when his auction ends and when he gets home from work to put him up again. I understand REAL tanker's should be addressed but you will catch a lot of people up in your witch hunt.

One more thing.. The staff is definitely active in PT because I have never seen so many teams names "Baseball Team" in the last 2 years. So be encouraged that there is someone behind the scenes with an aggressive ban hammer or name change hammer at least.

[Kris Jardine]

Originally Posted by bwiese3908

This is a very slippery slope and I for one would rather error on the side of caution. I have heard many people scared to death to try out new strategies or even create theme teams scared that they will get banned.

Don't get me wrong, there are some obvious tanking that should be addressed. I am good with a warning 1st just to make sure things are clearly understood by the team owner. I personally am training my best pull ever Cap Anson at SS and 2B to try to maximize my team where i need help the most, should i be banned for that? I agree with Kris, I think the real tankers are so few and far between it doesn't really need a full time person looking for it. I think it is a small issue that can be bothersome at times but not nearly as big an issue as being discussed.

I have a friend who pulled a Perfect Satchell Paige (good deal on the auction house, check it out) He has been trying to sell him for a week now and is scared that he will be reported for not using him even though he is trying to sell him. You know the time between when his auction ends and when he gets home from work to put him up again. I understand REAL tanker's should be addressed but you will catch a lot of people up in your witch hunt.

One more thing.. The staff is definitely active in PT because I have never seen so many teams names "Baseball Team" in the last 2 years. So be encouraged that there is someone behind the scenes with an aggressive ban hammer or name change hammer at least.

I've had users reach out to me directly and ask "if I do this, is it tanking?"

I'll give you an example ( in very general terms), a team sold off most of their cards a few weeks ago, wanted to go in a different direction. They got reported. We investigated the team and saw what happened, no worries, close the report.

The same goes for auctions, and basically all reports, not every situation is created equal. Was it a one off, is there a pattern, whats the level of infraction? People seem to think, "i report team, team gets banned" is how we do moderation when its untrue.

There is also the abuse of the moderation system which I've talked about before that is a giant waste of time for moderators.

'Baseball Team' shows the lack of creativity I have when changing offensive team names.

[PocketsAintFull]

Originally Posted by Kris Jardine

'Baseball Team' shows the lack of creativity I have when changing offensive team names.

How about the You Got Snaggled's?

[Syd Thrift]

“Potty Mouths”?

[Tinkerman]

Personally, I'd accept much tighter roster restrictions if it was geared towards actually preventing tanking in the first place. As long as it's fair for everyone. There's always gonna be enough freedom that some people will need reporting, but why not make it harder to tank?

I want to grind it out in diamond if I can, but it's pretty unrewarding. It kinda sucks knowing that there's a PP free for all in some of the lower leagues.

[MaroonAlberich]

Originally Posted by Kris Jardine

I see it was a mistake to try and engage and provide information in this thread.

Moderation policies and procedures are ever evolving and we discuss them constantly as the ways people try to circumvent the TOS evolves as well. It was better in 20 than 19, and is better in 21 than 20.

PT isnt even 2 years old, so we're all learning as we go.

As always, if you have ideas you'd like to share, my PM's are open

Hey Kris,

Sorry if my posts made you think engaging in this thread was a mistake--not at all my intent. I've been involved with other games before where players are allowed to openly flaunt TOS to gain a distinct advantage for either themselves or others, and I have learned to see that in whatever game I'm in.

I brought up the NC Dinos example because that has been pretty well proven to be a tanking team. Much better cards in reserve on off years, being played only against clearly inferior competition. Fact is, none of us knows what is being done behind the scenes: Maybe they've been warned, maybe you've locked in their current team for all time, we just don't know. And I think that's where the frustration comes (at least from me): There's a team that's been shown to be tanking without any doubt, and we can't tell what, if anything, has happened. Have they been warned? How long do they have post-warning to get their %h!t straight? What actually happens if they refuse to "play nice" once that grace period goes by?

Hell, I'm a new player here and loving the game (in all of its forms). I'm not especially upset about the tanking per se, if only because I've put in relatively little $$$ compared to some. (Took enough to get two teams through the Live Missions before the prices went through the roof.) In all honesty, the selfish part of me wants a tanker in my division, but my better angels want the game fair for all. (Why should I pick up 3x the PP as a team that only has a tanker in its conference, but not division?) I guess what I'm trying to say is that overall, I admire the job that's been done here. Just a little more explanation as to what actually happens, and what the timeframe for that "what" is.

Thanks!

[Kris Jardine]

One thing I can say is that when a team is banned, they don't get removed until the next Monday to keep the integrity of the league schedule in tact

[Spieler]

C'mon, deep down.. Aren't you all taking this a bit too seriously? The weeping and gnashing of teeth and rending of garments can get a little over the top sometimes

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Kris Jardine

One thing I can say is that when a team is banned, they don't get removed until the next Monday to keep the integrity of the league schedule in tact

Does the AI take control of the team and put all of the best players back in for the rest of that week?

[Spieler]

Originally Posted by Orcin

Does the AI take control of the team and put all of the best players back in for the rest of that week?

Seriously, who cares? I bet 90% of tanking reports are for teams bouncing between Rookie and Stone or Stone and Iron. If you even remotely try, you should have your team at least in Bronze if not Silver.

[eldur00]

Originally Posted by Spieler

Seriously, who cares? I bet 90% of tanking reports are for teams bouncing between Rookie and Stone or Stone and Iron. If you even remotely try, you should have your team at least in Bronze if not Silver.

Apparently, almost 6 pages worth of people care...

[Spieler]

Originally Posted by eldur00

Apparently, almost 6 pages worth of people care...

6 pages of people who care too much. Sorry if I beg to differ.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Spieler

6 pages of people who care too much.

If it is so trivial, why are you posting in this thread?

[Spieler]

And just perusing the 6 pages of posts, I doubt many of these posters have teams in leagues < bronze....

[Spieler]

Originally Posted by Orcin

If it is so trivial, why are you posting in this thread?

Isn't this something like a strawman? mIght need to google the definition.

My theory is that most of the people complaining about tankers aren't actually affected by them.

[Spieler]

Don't claim to know it all, and I like to think that I can learn something new every day. So if anyone has first-hand experience how a tanker "ruined" their fun or "experience", I am all ears.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Spieler

Isn't this something like a strawman? mIght need to google the definition.

My theory is that most of the people complaining about tankers aren't actually affected by them.

No, it was actually a question which you failed to answer.

My theory is that everyone who plays the game is affected in a negative way by tankers because it upsets the game balance.

[Spieler]

I answered because the tanking "problem" is trivial, and it is being overblown.

And I am assuming your "game balance" argument is theoretical, because you haven't explained how this has directly affected you.

[MaroonAlberich]

Originally Posted by Spieler

I answered because the tanking "problem" is trivial, and it is being overblown.

And I am assuming your "game balance" argument is theoretical, because you haven't explained how this has directly affected you.

If, as it's been claimed, somebody in the same division as a tanker is earning 20-30k/season by virtue of playing them 19 times, that person is being handed $20 in game credits that the rest of us aren't.

Sure, that's not enough to get me from silver/gold to Perfect, but it can definitely upset the balance by leaving an unlevel playing field.

As to your first assertion, that the problem is trivial and overblown, I guess that's up to everyone to decide for themselves individually. Is it a problem when one person does it? Does it matter if they are in your division? What if three teams in one division do it and the other two teams pull in 75K on the season, problematic or trivial? For me, I'd like all players to be held to the TOS. If the TOS allowed for people to make like the 2011-2013 Astros or the '98 Marlins, then fine, tank away. But at least there would be a level playing field so that nobody was afraid of punitive action for tanking.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Spieler

I answered because the tanking "problem" is trivial, and it is being overblown.

And I am assuming your "game balance" argument is theoretical, because you haven't explained how this has directly affected you.

I don't have to explain it. Losing on purpose, i.e. tanking, is a violation of the Terms of Service. Have you read the ToS? I didn't think so.