RMT (gilspammers) FAQ: Clearing up Misconceptions

[Gabby]

(Read second post as well. Passed Steam's limits on what can be posted.)

Since there's been several threads derailed with people trying to claim that SE does nothing at all about Gil Sellers and Farmers (RMT), I found a nice little FAQ to help people better understand the reality of the situation and how to deal with it. Originally taken from Reddit.

Should I buy Gil using real money?
No. It's against the ToS, for starters.

I'm being sent tell spam of Gil websites. Why?
This is the RMT trying to advertise their service (their service being against the ToS). You aren't the only one receiving this Gil spam.

How do I stop the spam?
You can turn on /busy to block all tells (but yes, this blocks tells from anyone); /busy also blocks friend requests. You can also blacklist the player to stop additional tells from that specific player. You can also create new chat windows to move specific channels (tells, etc) to other windows.

What about the random friend requests I get?
Often times this is also RMT. If they are someone you do not know and their name seems fairly random, it could be RMT. Decline the friend request, report them and move on.

What is RMT? (Real-Money Trade)
"Real-Money Trade, or RMT for short, refers to the practice of exchanging in-game goods or services for real-world cash. Such goods and services commonly include Gil, powerleveling, and even entire accounts and characters." All of this is against the FFXIV ToS.

How do I report RMT?
If you get any Gil spam or see RMT bots, you can report them: [System Menu] -> [Support Desk] -> [Contact Us] -> [Report Cheating]

Is it okay if I report something I'm not sure about?
Sure. Even if you only suspect a possible RMT bot, reporting it will make the STF aware and they will analyze the situation and data.

Why are RMT I blacklisted not clearing off my blacklist?
When an account is banned by SE, it is not deleted. Thus it remains on your blacklist because the account still exists but is suspended. You can manually delete entries on your blacklist.

I recently report a bot. Why have GMs not taken care of them yet?
GMs do not handle RMT (bots, Gil spam, etc). GMs pass the information on to the STF. Action is handled by the STF in bulk, after analysis.

[Gabby]

What is the STF (Special Task Force)?
A team under SquareEnix that has existed since FFXI; to quote SquareEnix[na.finalfantasyxiv.com]: "a team that works to prevent violations of the game's terms of service that would negatively impact FINAL FANTASY XIV. Their goal is to preserve the safety of the community and maintain an enjoyable play environment. More specifically, they handle issues related to RMT and the use of unauthorized third-party programs. Information collected by GMs will be analyzed by the STF, who will then take necessary actions against those who violate our terms of service."

Is SquareEnix doing anything about RMT?
Yes. Aside from the STF's continual actions taken against RMT[na.finalfantasyxiv.com], they also implement system changes to work on reducing RMT actions like Gil spam and botting. Specific details are not expected to be announced to the public, but some examples are: chat filters[forum.square-enix.com] or limiting number of shouts/etc[na.finalfantasyxiv.com] or even various restrictions on free trial accounts[support.na.square-enix.com]. As each new major patch comes out, keep an eye out for any possible changes that could be for the purpose of combating RMT.

Why is RMT and the spam so frequent?
RMT is a constant battle between them and SE; for every measure SE takes there is likely a countermeasure taken by RMT. There is no specific data or research to confirm anything, but it's likely because of the high popularity of FFXIV and the upcoming Heavensward makes the market more viable/appealing to RMT. There are also mentions that Japanese servers rarely have RMT spam; there have been various talks in the community that Japanese do not buy Gil as often as Westerns, as such the demand for Gilsellers is much more on Western servers. If buying Gil was non-existent so would the demand for Gilselling/RMT, and we can assume RMT spam would become much less frequent.

Who are RMT?
Typically sweatshop workers in low wage countries such as China. This article is a good read.[www.theguardian.com]

I have an idea on how SE can improve their anti-RMT tactics.
Great! It's generally recommended to use the official forums to post such suggestions[forum.square-enix.com].

[Misa]

You can create a macro to quickly block gil sellers
just open your macro list and write

/blist add <r>

then pull it down, it works like a skill and will block the last person that whispered you

[Gabby]

Nice trick. :3

[Gabby]

Bumpity

[KingXRay]

in JP server i never get those spams, since last year
I guess only NA and EU people love spamming

[Jin-]

Cause NA and EU players love to use services of Goldsellers. Not all, but many many many.

Used once in game Age of Conan. There it took months to grind 100 gold and that all was spent in single item, this game has no economy so gold is worth nothing, it is hard to get and you still need ♥♥♥♥ loads of it to actually buy something. Like Pre-Nazi Germany where you buy bread with million mark/markka

Still i don't support it at all, unless in extreme cases (Age of Conan). Most of them are thieves and steal your account etc...

[Oberon]

Seraphna původně napsal:

What about the random friend requests I get?
Often times this is also RMT. If they are someone you do not know and their name seems fairly random, it could be RMT. Decline the friend request, report them and move on.

An addition to that: Gil sellers are always going to be a level 1 Gladiator sitting in Ul'dah. So if you get a random friend request, and the person who sent it to you is that, they're a gil seller. Or a friend of yours just rolled a gladiator, but better safe than sorry.

[Oberon]

Jin- původně napsal:

Most of them are thieves and steal your account etc...

Yeah, as I understand it, that's how the propagate. They steal the accounts of people who buy from them. SE usually considers this punishment for having bought from them at all.

That said, Security Key, if you don't have one, drop $10 and buy one. I highly recommend doing that.

[Tumas Altaawus]

Can get the same benefits of a security without spending money if you own a smartphone, for those who don't wish to drop $10.

[Gabby]

Bump

[DAOWAce]

ღMisa Celiousaღ původně napsal:

You can create a macro to quickly block gil sellers
/blist add <r>

It still asks for confirmation and is otherwise no different from clicking on a user and ignoring them in chat; your mouse just moves to different locations.

There is no quick way to block anyone; that and block lists have a limit, one that I reached.. on my trial play session.

The RMT in this game is atrocious; they talk more than actual players.