Some means to block yourself from ecto gambling?

[Angelissa.8409]

On 12/1/2021 at 10:22 PM, Tsakhi.8124 said:

I cannot like this enough. I will never understand how people come to the conclusion that a psychological disorder can be switched on and off at will. It's not that simple, it never has been. People that think otherwise either lack empathy or education regarding said disorders.  Also, I never understood where the people get the audacity to start lecturing anyone when they don't know the first thing about said person. 

Many people have a very dismissive tone when it comes to topics like these. "I don't have this issue therefore others simply shouldn't either" is the wrong approach to have to any kind of issue, be it gambling addiction or otherwise.

 

On 12/1/2021 at 11:55 PM, Teratus.2859 said:

As harsh as it may seem and may suck for some people, the reality is that it is your problem, not everyone else..

We (at least I) are asking gambling mechanics to be blocked on our own accounts by opting into it. We are not lobbying for Anet to remove it entirely from the game for everyone else. This would literally have a zero impact on your end, but would help people who are having issues a lot. 

[Teratus.2859]

2 hours ago, Angelissa.8409 said:

We (at least I) are asking gambling mechanics to be blocked on our own accounts by opting into it. We are not lobbying for Anet to remove it entirely from the game for everyone else. This would literally have a zero impact on your end, but would help people who are having issues a lot. 

I don't think it would to be honest.

If it was an option you could toggle on and off at will then people would just keep relapsing into it.

And if it was something Anet would have to manually block your access too that would only cause major problems for them when some people relapse and start aggressively demanding access to it again.

Addicts are very difficult to deal with at times, i've got a couple within my family and i've seen how they behave when they decide to give up and indulge their addiction but are stopped from doing so.

I don't think Anet should be playing any kind of responsibility role in this regard for their own sake.
On one hand they'd just have people blaming them for taking away their rights/freedoms.. and on the other people blaming them for exploiting peoples addictions or at least indulging addicts who relapsed and being the reason they didn't recover.

It's simply far better for everyone if addicts themselves seek help and overcome their addictions.

[Angelissa.8409]

1 hour ago, Teratus.2859 said:

I don't think it would to be honest.

If it was an option you could toggle on and off at will then people would just keep relapsing into it.

And if it was something Anet would have to manually block your access too that would only cause major problems for them when some people relapse and start aggressively demanding access to it again.

Addicts are very difficult to deal with at times, i've got a couple within my family and i've seen how they behave when they decide to give up and indulge their addiction but are stopped from doing so.

I don't think Anet should be playing any kind of responsibility role in this regard for their own sake.
On one hand they'd just have people blaming them for taking away their rights/freedoms.. and on the other people blaming them for exploiting peoples addictions or at least indulging addicts who relapsed and being the reason they didn't recover.

It's simply far better for everyone if addicts themselves seek help and overcome their addictions.

I don't know why you are choosing this to be the hill you want to die on. We, the group of people who are suffering from gambling addiction, are asking for an optional opt-out for our own sake. Yet you, who (presumably) does not suffer from gambling addiction, are telling us that you know what is better for us?

I haven't gambled real life money with ecto-gambling, but I bet there are some who did. This doesn't mean that I should ignore their issues, a little bit of empathy goes a long way.

Your way of thinking just sounds like "you think you want this, but trust me you do not", but I really want to believe that you are arguing in good faith so I will reply to your points.

Quote

 

If it was an option you could toggle on and off at will then people would just keep relapsing into it.

And if it was something Anet would have to manually block your access too that would only cause major problems for them when some people relapse and start aggressively demanding access to it again.

 

This could be a one-time, one-way only deal. With multiple "Are you really sure?" confirmation buttons. Once you lock the gambling mechanics for your account, that is it. Anet can (and should) ignore any pleas to reverse this. 

This can be easily automated on the account level. Implementation in-game can be tricky (can Anet even disable a certain vendor for flagged accounts?), so I won't downplay the coding/testing that would be necessary for this.

Quote

It's simply far better for everyone if addicts themselves seek help and overcome their addictions.

I agree that addicts should seek help, but I would argue that Anet (and other gaming companies) should have either a legal or at the very least a moral obligation to do their part. Lootboxes are already illegal in Belgium, and we know that this is why buying gems and/or certain items is no longer possible in that country.  

I can only hope that other countries will also follow suit (the recent legislations seem to work in this way, albeit slowly). Anet has a chance to show some goodwill and at the very least disable certain purchases/gambling mechanics (or "surprise mechanics" as EA likes to label them) for the people who are willing.

-----------

I believe a day will come that having lootboxes in games will be akin to advertising smoking to children. Everyone is going to think "why the hell was that legal in the first place?".

[Teratus.2859]

4 hours ago, Angelissa.8409 said:

I don't know why you are choosing this to be the hill you want to die on. We, the group of people who are suffering from gambling addiction, are asking for an optional opt-out for our own sake. Yet you, who (presumably) does not suffer from gambling addiction, are telling us that you know what is better for us?

Just trying to point out a flaw in this kind of request based on past experiences with family who have APD 
As well as some personal experience.

Removing the addictive element doesn't stop people seeking the addictive element.
Nor does passing on the responsibility for your addiction to another power, in this case Anet.
 

4 hours ago, Angelissa.8409 said:

I haven't gambled real life money with ecto-gambling, but I bet there are some who did. This doesn't mean that I should ignore their issues, a little bit of empathy goes a long way.

It's good that you haven't, and I have said before I am not unsympathetic to this problem.
I am just a firm believer that addiction is best dealt with and overcome with personal strength and will power.
Not by asking other people or entities to manage it for you.

Helping people with addictions is a good thing no doubt, but having someone/thing make your decisions for you (like taking away what your addicted to) is just unhealthy and absolves the addict of responsibility, I don't believe it inspires the kind of growth and strength development people will need to avoid relapsing once they are exposed to their addiction again.
In this case another game with gambling elements for example.
 

4 hours ago, Angelissa.8409 said:

This could be a one-time, one-way only deal. With multiple "Are you really sure?" confirmation buttons. Once you lock the gambling mechanics for your account, that is it. Anet can (and should) ignore any pleas to reverse this. 

Anet would get so much angry backlash for that though.
Have you ever seen an addict relapse and start asking for their addictive element back from those they give it up to only to be met with rejection?
It's not a pretty picture and very hurtful things are often said and done in desperation because of it.
I don't wish that on anyone and companies shouldn't have to deal with it either.

It may seem extreme but addictions vary person by person, you may not act that way by others very much may.

4 hours ago, Angelissa.8409 said:

I agree that addicts should seek help, but I would argue that Anet (and other gaming companies) should have either a legal or at the very least a moral obligation to do their part. Lootboxes are already illegal in Belgium, and we know that this is why buying gems and/or certain items is no longer possible in that country.  

I can only hope that other countries will also follow suit (the recent legislations seem to work in this way, albeit slowly). Anet has a chance to show some goodwill and at the very least disable certain purchases/gambling mechanics (or "surprise mechanics" as EA likes to label them) for the people who are willing.

I am strongly against that ban myself.
Last I heard there's no cash shop at all in Belgium atm or at least no way to purchase gems with real money which makes obtaining exclusive shop skins etc far more work and effort for everyone who plays the game there.

It is severely unfair to the millions of innocent people who play games there to be punished because a handful of people with addictions can't control themselves, and a minority of malicious and greedy, predatory  companies took advantage of it.
Anet is as much a victim of this as well, one of the few companies I would argue is extremely fair with its lootbox systems, especially when compared to other companies that use them.

I am more than willing to agree that there are some very bad and predatory companies out there which I am more than happy to outright brand as evil in my eyes and I do think these companies should be punished for the things they do, and yes since you name dropped them I am referring to EA here as well as others.

But I cannot support collective punishment.
My stance has always been to punish the individual for their own actions and not to punish a group for the actions of a minority.
Which is what this law did in Belgium.

As far as addicts go it's not a punishment but the same thing applies.
You can't just remove everything some people are addicted to because some people are addicted to them.
To hit far closer to home here.. Food, as someone who has struggled with eating disorders my whole life, should super markets stop stocking shelves with all the terrible but delicious junk food that we enjoy just because some people have bad eating habits?

I say no, it's just not fair that everyone else has to pay because I like to pig out on junk food too much.
That was my problem to fix and overcome I may have it mostly under control these days but there's more work to do.
Soda was the worst for me but that's long gone now, haven't touched it in years.
It doesn't even tempt me anymore and I'm glad to have overcome this dependency through my own willpower.

4 hours ago, Angelissa.8409 said:

I believe a day will come that having lootboxes in games will be akin to advertising smoking to children. Everyone is going to think "why the hell was that legal in the first place?".

Well they have age ratings lol
But yea I wouldn't be against such a warning label, although if society has shown us anything when it comes to age ratings and warnings etc, it's that people especially parents tend not to bother reading them or listening to them.
Hence why there are so many kids playing Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty XD

Edited December 7, 2021 by Teratus.2859

[Shiro.2158]

Ima be honest.... I had to delete the vendor, punish myself by buying the normal Black lion endless merchant instead, and delete the portal thingy I had to the vip crystal desert area....   Then out of site, out of mind. ya know?

[ArchonWing.9480]

9 hours ago, Shiro.2158 said:

Ima be honest.... I had to delete the vendor, punish myself by buying the normal Black lion endless merchant instead, and delete the portal thingy I had to the vip crystal desert area....   Then out of site, out of mind. ya know?

That is a good choice.  Like I said earlier, anyone that's had any "accidents" should not get anywhere near such an item. Honestly I'd even recommend people sell all their ecto.

Granted since my last post, I gambled twice, but with the smallest amount. I will probably do that again next year.

I do not approve of OP getting the item back but it is their game. Best of luck.

Edited December 8, 2021 by ArchonWing.9480

[Blude.6812]

Give all your stuff away. Delete the game. Use a F2P restricted account.  Join gamblers help group.

[BunjiKugashira.9754]

There are exactly two things keeping me from gambling (be it ecto or real):

1. Calculate the average gain. (Hint: Unless the casino has money to waste, your average gain is always negative)

2. Be aware that the average gain does not change. Sinking money into a game will not make you more likely to win and neither will a win-streak.

 

For ecto gambling the calculation can be found here: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Glob_of_Destabilized_Ectoplasm/Drop_Rate

On an average draw you loose 2.1884 ectos and 3.7165 gold.

 

By the way, there are gambling opportunities in the game with a positive payout. Most notably https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Divine_Lucky_Envelope which costs 1 gold an on average contains items worth more than 1 gold.

[jonemirant.1653]

just be thankful you didn't gamble away your real life.......speaking from personal pain

Edited December 14, 2021 by jonemirant.1653

[Bristingr.5034]

If you ever have that urge again, just mail the gold/ectos to me, I'll make sure they get put to a good use. 😉