Spam in games

[iago]

I just thought of a question -- in online games, how often do you see spam, what kind, and in which games?

I imagine you get spam for hacks and such, but which games do you see it in?

Do you ever get spam for non-game-related stuff, like medications and whatnot?

I might write a blog about this, but I need some evidence (anecdotal is fine).

[Hitmen]

Before I stopped playing WoW there was whispered spam for people selling gold / powerleveling ... every single day. Usually multiple times per day. It was really annoying. I've never seen other stuff advertised as in game spam though.

[iago]

Ok, that's good to know. I'm assuming that they charge money for all that. Any idea how much it costs (roughly) for the different things?

If not, can somebody find out for me how much it generally costs for gold or powerleveling? Would be much appreciated.

[wires]

Ok, that's good to know. I'm assuming that they charge money for all that. Any idea how much it costs (roughly) for the different things?

If not, can somebody find out for me how much it generally costs for gold or powerleveling? Would be much appreciated.

http://www.wowgoldshopping.com/wow-gold/wow-gold-us/
http://www.wowgoldshopping.com/wow-gold/wow-gold-us/#leveling

Pretty average costs I'd say.

[Sidoh]

Blizzard almost completely eliminated the whisper spam by doing away with free trials.

[iago]

Thanks, that's also great info! If I hadn't lost the paper where I was making notes, I'd even write that down!

Stupid desk...

[Sidoh]

Thanks, that's also great info! If I hadn't lost the paper where I was making notes, I'd even write that down!

Stupid desk...

Hehe.  Oh, they added a really simple way to report people for spam as well.  You right click on their name in chat and there's a "Report as spam" option.

[Furious]

Blizzard almost completely eliminated the whisper spam by doing away with free trials.

You're kidding right?

[trust]

Blizzard almost completely eliminated the whisper spam by doing away with free trials.

There's a 10 day trial.

[Sidoh]

There's a 10 day trial.

I was told by a few people that this was the case.  Maybe they restricted it more by disabling whispers?

You're kidding right?

Yeah.

[AntiVirus]

Blizzard almost completely eliminated the whisper spam by doing away with free trials.

Really? The spamming is stilll pretty bad.

I know there are addons that you can get that are specificly designed to filter out gold and powerl evel spams.

[Sidoh]

Really? The spamming is stilll pretty bad

I haven't gotten a single spam message through a whisper since the patch.  I used to get at least two an hour.  Also note that I play on three servers: Feathermoon (RP), Deathwing (PvP), Magtheridon (PvP).

[Furious]

Really? The spamming is stilll pretty bad

I haven't gotten a single spam message through a whisper since the patch.  I used to get at least two an hour.  Also note that I play on three servers: Feathermoon (RP), Deathwing (PvP), Magtheridon (PvP).

On any single day, I get at LEAST 3-4 messages.  And note, I regularly play on two servers: Maelstrom (RP-PvP), Crushridge (PvP).

[iago]

Perhaps they harvest usernames, the same way that classic online spammers harvest email addresses? That could be another interesting angle.

Or maybe they target certain character races or classes?

[AntiVirus]

Perhaps they harvest usernames, the same way that classic online spammers harvest email addresses? That could be another interesting angle.

Or maybe they target certain character races or classes?

I doubt it.  All of my friends that play get frequent spams and each of us have a different type of character.  We cover almost every single class except rogue and paladin.

Perhaps they only target servers listed as "Medium" or above?  I don't know what Sidoh's servers are listed as, but the two I play on Frostmane(PvP) and Aegwynne(PvP) both get alot of spam.