Guild Wars 2

I feel practice (described below) might get popular, so I wanted to know if begging (by PMing everyone you see, much like gold sellers) is considered legal in here or is it considered offense (reportable as a scam)?

I am standing in pvp loby, chatting and waiting for a match, I am whispered by some random person asking for gold. Okay, nothing new for an MMO, new people join and some want help; existing players ask sometimes too, so I thought it’s fine.
I few matches later I get that very same message again and as it turns out so did some of my guildies, who were in pvp lobby.

If this was the first time I probably wouldn’t care, but it’s the 3rd within last 2 or 3 weeks and the repeated message leads me to believe those guys are PMing everyone. Messages are different, but it always says something in lines of “I am new, give me gold.”. All accounts were different, but had ~400-500 AP. And neither replied to suggestions to actually earn gold.

Report em for spamming, and if it turns out they’re using the exact same message every time, might as well toss in a botting report as well for good measure.

If they are spamming you can report them obviously for spamming.
Begging is nothing illegal and certainly not a scam.
If players choose to send someone gold just because he asks for it then it is their own choice.

We had someone doing this in guild, PMing members asking for gold and items. Needless to say his backside was out the door immediately seeing as an officer explained in detail to them as to what we do and don’t allow regarding asking for/about items, then they turned around and PMed someone else in the guild. So no, it’s not ‘illegal’ as in the police won’t arrest and jail you for it, but it’s highly discourteous and will get you kicked from most guilds for annoying twattism should you carry on doing it.

Begging can be a scam if they are lying about the status of their account, like claiming they are broke when they’ve begged their way up to 200g, or asking for an item they desperately need for crafting then turning around and TPing it.

But no player can tell, so report them and let support do their job. Doesn’t take them more than a few seconds to look up the gold/item history on an account and that’s what ANet pays them for.

As with beggars in real life,you can never know.
Go with your gut feel,do what you think is right,and if they are scammers,shame on them.

Turamarth.3248:

If they are spamming you can report them obviously for spamming.
Begging is nothing illegal and certainly not a scam.
If players choose to send someone gold just because he asks for it then it is their own choice.

It’s not true that “[choosing]to send someone gold just because he asks for it …” can’t be a scam. That is like saying that it’s not a scam if someone gets ripped off in a player-to-player transaction because they chose to bypass the TP. In both cases, the players made a choice that turned out bad and that is indeed their responsibility. But it’s also true that advertiser misled them and that is what makes it a scam.

Unless the person is using donations to them for the purpose stated by them in their advertisement, it is the scam of false advertising:

Please help, I just need 5 more hardened leather to finish my […]

That would be a scam if the play isn’t sending back leather beyond the ‘5’ and/or not using them to make their item.

I’m a new player and too poor to buy max gear. Please help.

That would be a scam if the player isn’t new. Or has enough karma/gold to acquire gear. Or is using an alt account to pretend to be poor

Of all the “beggars” I’ve seen and for whom I had more information, exactly zero were legitimately asking for help. Every single one of them was moving around maps, with the same misleading request for coin or mats.

tl;dr it’s theoretically possible for beggars to not be scammers. I have yet to see it in this game.

Regardless, the point is moot as to whether any of us think any particular begging example is “legal” — only ANet can say. If it bugs you, /report it as spamming and let the company investigate it. You have better things to do than to pretend to be a fraud investigator for zero pay.

Technically, it’s “legal” to ask people for things. It is “illegal” to spam people over and over, and it’s also illegal to scam people. If you get hit up and feel that something is fishy, you can report him for Scamming; Anet can then look into it to see if any wrong-doing is going on.

I actually had someone do the scam whisper to me a week or two ago. They whispered me and asked me for 10g to “get some bags”. I didn’t know the person, so I just said “No”, and that person then called me a bunch of rude names. I asked if I even knew him, and he said “No, but it was worth a shot”. So, I just blocked him and mentioned in map chat that the person was scamming so that others might avoid sending him anything.

I have a couple of players I friended after I caught them making the same “I just need 8 more x items to finish my y thing” post where x = a moderately expensive tradeable thing, day after day in more than one map. I made a “scammer” note on their name. I don’t say anything, I don’t report them — unless they make that scam request again, at which point I do warn folks off in Map and I do file another report. I’m pretty sure that two months after I first saw them begging for 8 more gidgets to make their spiffy doohickey they must have gotten those 8 things and made and enjoyed their fancy end product.

So they’re just pulling in piles of items from gullible people and selling them on the TP for pure profit.

I’m happy to give items and aid to those actually in need. I make very darn sure they’re not fakes first, though.

I generally treat beggars as I do gold sellers, report for spam, block and get on with my day. If it is someone I know or is in my guild I may lend them a few gold, but I like to live by the old saying “neither a borrower or a lender be”, and you won’t lose any friends.

It’s really funny, because if someone wanted a free port to a vista or needed to be led to a waypoint or HP or do an event, I would help them without hesitation if I am free, and I imagine a lot of people will. I don’t subscribe to the “I suffered for this so you must too” philosophy. But I won’t lend anyone that’s not a close friend a single copper for nothing. I remember chastising a friend over it once for giving some random beggar some gold, but in reality it wasn’t that much gold, and nor was it mine either to really say anything about. It’s just something I’m against.

It’s funny because a lot of the above things above do yield material rewards which indirectly does give them coin.

Honestly, if you want help, there’s a lot of ways to go about it. Begging for gold is not one of them.

Which “begs” an interesting question.
Is it time for MMOs to introduce credit into the game economy.
ie allow players to borrow gold.
The entire real world economy now runs on credit , so I cant see any reason to not have it in online games.
Solves the begging problem overnight.
Also adds an additional level to control the inflation rate,as if credit is added, then interest on the credit must also be added.

mauried.5608:

Which “begs” an interesting question.
Is it time for MMOs to introduce credit into the game economy.
ie allow players to borrow gold.
The entire real world economy now runs on credit , so I cant see any reason to not have it in online games.
Solves the begging problem overnight.
Also adds an additional level to control the inflation rate,as if credit is added, then interest on the credit must also be added.

Gold for gems with credit card purchase?

Thats not borrowing gold.
Its just converting real life money into in game gold.
Im suggesting an in game capability to borrow gold .
Banks already exists so all thats needed is a credit facility.

mauried.5608:

Which “begs” an interesting question.
Is it time for MMOs to introduce credit into the game economy.
ie allow players to borrow gold.
The entire real world economy now runs on credit , so I cant see any reason to not have it in online games.
Solves the begging problem overnight.
Also adds an additional level to control the inflation rate,as if credit is added, then interest on the credit must also be added.

There are all kinds of reasons not to add credit to MMOs, not the least of which is that people don’t need to spend beyond their income. There are no important necessities that cost so much gold that someone can’t earn it if they are willing to put in the time. Further, credit + interest won’t decrease begging, it will just change the nature and reasons for it.

mauried.5608:

Thats not borrowing gold.
Its just converting real life money into in game gold.
Im suggesting an in game capability to borrow gold .
Banks already exists so all thats needed is a credit facility.

Yeah gold sellers would have a hay day with that. And what would the “bank” do when it came time to collect? There would have to be some sort of consequence line being stuck in LA or something. People would still beg.

Give them gold ore

Can I have gold and rare items? Anything you guys would like to donate, just send to that tag over there. Appreciate it!

I guess until I hear ArenaNet’s say on this I’ll just report them when I know they message multiple people.

Beggars were hot and heavy in GW1. I always just told ’em that there are plenty of monsters out there that are dying to give them money.