Tagging Character Profiles

[Iceman]

I came across this reference to one of my characters in another profile just now, and it made me laugh. Then it made me think. With social networking and whatnot being all the rage, and the concept of tagging people and places, why not bring it to Shartak? It was only pure chance that I stumbled across this profile, but if a character could be tagged, and those tagged profiles available to view, that would be pretty awesome.

It would be a bit of a gimmick, yes, but it would help give the game a more contemporary feel, which text-based browser games are seriously lacking. It would also promote a bit more in-game networking, rather than relying on the forum-based metagame. And it would be pretty cool and extremely interesting, when viewing a profile, to be able to to see all the other characters that they have interacted with to the extent that they have made it into another character's description.

Open to abuse? Perhaps, but the feedback system is already in place to report such abuses. And I don't think it would be abused to the extent that the feature would become a burden.

[Maj. Arcana]

I like it. I also wish there was a way of tagging locations via embedded links.

[Milkchew]

You could make it so you only had access to this feature if you had a GPS or an iGPS if you wanted to infringe some copyright laws. 

Good idea tbh, be like this: 

[jaqs]

Its a nice idea but I cannot think of an easy way to implement it... yet.

On the other hand it should be easy enough to put in a button to let people share their profiles on their actual Facebook...

Regarding places: Maybe Shartak needs postcodes.

Seriously though... What would be in the link?

[Cobalt Manticore]

I've found it quite easy to cutpaste the link to mine, or anyone's, profile on Facebook.

Recent Killeds or Kills on Profile are Taggings enough for me. The rest is just talk.

[jaqs]

Yeah but copy/paste isn't as easy as clicking a button. Some people (me) are just lazy


I still think this is a good idea that is worth trying to figure out.  Hang on......... hrm......

(runs off to think something through)

[Cobalt Manticore]

Left Click?

isn't as easy as clicking a button

Surely, you Jest?

Or you don't and your name isn't "Shirley".

Took a Look at Gorry's profile and it seems he's succeeded at that, unless I'm missing some point here.

And would there be the ability of the tagged character to approve or remove said tags?

[Dani]

Yeah, but it took a while for me to figure bbc out. There are also limitations with bbc for embedding multiple links on the same page.

And would there be the ability of the tagged character to approve or remove said tags?

Why? You can't currently do that now, why would it be any different if this goes through?

[Cobalt Manticore]

Ah, bbc, durrrh is me. Gotcha.

[Iceman]

Took a Look at Gorry's profile and it seems he's succeeded at that, unless I'm missing some point here.

Yes, but that's the point. Unless he, or someone else, tells me, I don't know about it. As in this instance.

The main aspect of my suggestion is that you can view all the profiles that a character is tagged in. So you would go to ClickClick's profile, see something along the lines of 'This character is tagged in 6 profiles' [view tagged profiles] and BAM! I suppose an option to announce your being tagged as an in-game message would also be sensible, as with people joining clans.

I see no real need to approve or remove - as Mencken says, you can't now. If someone is being abusive, there is already a process for reporting it.

[Cobalt Manticore]

I just kinda cringe at the possibilities for slander there, to lay my thoughts on that out on the table, and the ability to self moderate some would lessen the load on the admin as well. But hey I don't wanna get in the way of a potentially good idea, I'm just all too aware of how even the most brilliant of game coding sometimes overlooks the possibility of abuse by the malicious sociology of online human nature.

[Dani]

I just kinda cringe at the possibilities for slander there, to lay my thoughts on that out on the table

Yes, I caught that. I still don't see how it's any different from now - the potential for 'slander' is the same now as it would be under this proposed system. It would just be more user-friendly, both for 'abusers' of the system, but also for you (the offended party) to discover new outrages committed in your name.

You realize, of course, it would also make the system completely ineffective. If I decided to link Scorponok under 'people to die a horrible death', and you removed it because you don't want to die a horrible death...that would be rather pointless. I would just keep tagging you and you'd keep removing it and it would be very irritating for everyone concerned. Better to just shrug it off or make your own enemies list.

[Cobalt Manticore]

Contacts List is Great for that. Gorry's on at least 2 of them myselves.

Tagging should notify you who has you tagged in their profiles though, correct? So any possible Slanders could be handled ingame withblade, or worst case, by feedbacking? Is that whatcher getting at?

[Dani]

Pretty much. It'd be an interesting limitation if you could only tag people already on your contact list, but once again, that would just be making it less effective than now.

[Iceman]

You can add contacts just by searching for a profile, so it wouldn't be much of a limitation.

Not to belabour a point which Mencken has already made, but this would only make it easier to find those profiles where players are insulting or slandering you. Cobalt, you're on Facebook, you know how tagging works. If you're tagged in a post, you get a notification and a link to the post. Of course, players don't have to tag your profile, and then you wouldn't know anything about it - but then that's exactly what we have now, and it isn't causing any major problems.

I still think this is a good idea that is worth trying to figure out.  Hang on......... hrm......

I'd hoped this would just be a variation on the current statistics. I don't know a lot about coding games, but as 'tagging' is just a fancy word for creating a database key, and the game is basically one giant database, I thought it might not be too difficult. If it is, it's probaby not worth the hassle. This was just an idea to add a contemporary feel to the game, and to perhaps bypass some of the forum shenanigans that can put people off the metagame. And to satisfy my own curiosity, if I'm honest - I'd like to see the effect I've had on other players through our interactions. Character interaction is a massive element of the game, after all, and pretty much the only thing that keeps me playing these days.