Disconnect AFK'ers

Plz correct me if I'm wrong in assuming this but doesn't less people online = less lag?

And all those lazy morons who don't ever bother logging out add to the people online. I'm proposing to make it so any player who is idle (if no actions at all were made) for a certain period of time gets disconnected, I'm thinking 20 minutes. It'll simply go back to the login screen and say "Disconnected from server, idle too long" This will also discourage players to AFK through missions making their team do it without them. There would also be less districts which is good.

I dont see any problems with this right now except that people would have to spend something like 10 seconds entering their password again, selecting their character and loading.

EDIT: OK, fine this should not apply if you're in a mission/explorable area by yourself or with henchies.

signed and double signed

/signed. Theres no reason why you should be idle for more then 20 mins.

i hate to admit that i even played the game but in the 1 and a half months i played runescape *shudder* i hated that if i left my computer i would get disconnected. also i like to leave the game running when im gone for a little so i can see whats happening in guild chat.

/unsigned

The first reasonable solution I have heard for this.

/Signed

/signed

I cannot condone this, What was said about watching some of the chats while you're away, it's something I will do from time to time, you go to eat but want to know what the guild is talking about so you hit your Hall and let the text fly. Also, what about the poor soul who fights down deep into SF and has something come up, you're saying cause they had to run take care of something they should lose all the progress they've made? Or how about the poor sap that henches a mission and part way through has to answer the phone?

So for this idea I must say.......
/unsigned due to life's unexpected bits-o-fun

I do understand wanting something done about AFK players, but something this broad reaching cannot be the answer, maybe a voting system for in missions, after others say vote out, said person has a little time to say something or be dropped.
EDIT:I finally thought of where I was going with this, the person having to say something or be dropped, could have to write whats in a dialouge box, that could be random, maybe you'd have to give two tries, but anywho, off to prowl Cantha.

Easy solution, but it doesn't take long to make a movement macro. Or just press R. If you judge it on input, no input for 5 minutes=boot, there will be an inventory opener, or just cast spell 1 on self. The real solution would be to act mature, and not retaliate. Just say, Less Fun For Them, More Fun For Me. Have your group aggro over a mob to kill them. But really, a boot will just make a bot.

/Notsigned for the same reasons in posts #7 and #8

To be clear, I'm pretty sure the OP is not talking about AFKers during a mission. After all, most missions can be finished in less than 20 minutes... though it may make AFKers think twice.

This is being idle anywhere, be you in town, guild hall, or what have you, in order to reduce server lag. People who just leave their game on for an hour while standing in an outpost, for example.

Tristan, I see your point, but to be honest, if you have one of life's little bumps and it lasts for more than 20 minutes, you are no longer being much good to your group. I can see being away for 5 minutes or something, but 20? Even if it is a legitimate reason, which is perfectly understandable, that happens, 20 minutes is enough time to be considered not playing the game anymore. I mean, if your house was suddenly set aflame would you say, "AFK; house is on fire"? No, you would stop playing the game entirely. Imagine "BRB; wife is in labour." If I saw that I'd tell them to just log off. They have more important things to deal with. How much is enough? Can you be AFK for 1 hour for a perfectly legitimate reason?

I'd rather he log off, because an AFK can be a strain on people in certain ways, even if it is a legitimate excuse. The gold splits for an extra person, the cutscenes won't be skipped, and if you happen to be someone important, like the person carrying the Urn of St Viktor or perhaps the leader of the group, your absence is causing us problems. Logging off when you have a long AFK is the courteous thing to do.

Although, I could see an arguement that 20 minutes may be too short.

Isn't there already booting, via error=7? but seriously, AFK boot is a bad idea. What if you stand still in a city, reading a book while waiting for your group to pick up 2 monks for THK for....12 minutes? Suddenly, you feel the urge to use the bathroom, diahrra (sp?). You can't type if you have poop in your pants. You run to the bathroom. You return to your computer 8 minutes later, and have lost your group. Accidents happen, boots shouldn't. Also, A-net should be able to hold all the connections they get. They are making the move to a new server base on the 20th. This should reduce lag also, we don't need to hurt the players.

I fail to see how this could hurt the players. And it is an added layer of security.

/signed

AFK for 20 minutes without even using chat?
Yes, unexpected things do happen, but I always thought it was good manners to log off the game if you think you are going to be gone any longer than 20 mins.

12 mins, need to go to bathroom - BRB folks or /afk or /dance or /attention, something to let the server know you are still around and presto you have another 20 mins.

Personally I'm more in favour of stretching it out to half an hour, but that won't catch anyone napping in missions nor even add a little pressure to them. Having said that of course I think perhaps another approach is needed to afk-mission-m****s.

EDIT: And a nice bright warning if you trigger this function.
"You have been AFK for xx minutes, you will be disconnected in x minutes if the server detects no activity."

/unsigned, this is WHY we got the status changes you see when pressing N,stop being funny and come with these silly jokes..

If anet ever sees this comment, well dont disconnect those who are AFK, becouse, thats why we got the status change. If people want to go afk, go afk, change status or dont change.

Up to the PEOPLE.

¤#¤%(#("

If the player is away more than 20 min, set AUTOMATIC to away, do not disconnect the player. Reasons: Someone might write, and you got local and trade shut down to see that when getting back.

Think about it guys.. anet has changed alot for us, and still these silly "change this change that" threads show up.. I have made ONE thread about an auction house.. and thats all.
This is still guild wars, not some random internet rpg where the server needs to disconnect you for being afk. I bet 1 million the gw servers can handle that, or else, how can they handle the 1 million (and over) bots that are running around?... I would suggest better connection for those who think its the players afk'ness that makes it lag.. I never experience ANY lag becouse of that reason...

Im still trying to get to the point where those who makes these threads need to think about what Anet has done so far, why, and what would happen if it changed. And also think about why you bought the game, was it to play it, or to play it so that one can find out what needs to be changed for your satisfaction..

And then, go ahead post a thread, but dont over do it...
If anet needs a change, if THEY think its needed. Let them post the threads and let us answer what we think about that. If i would to work at anet.. I would not patch a game becouse one player starts a thread and comes with for example a silly idea like "Please make it easier, or I wont play, dont you all agree" kind of thread..

That.. would be all... ALMOST

EDIT
I would like to add on behalf of LBS running academy and other services.
What if you are getting a Worldtour (takes about 4-7h according to sources)
And you want to go afk, which you can. And then you go..


Im not going to say more there, I think most people can figure out where Im trying to get.
Not everyone has a cat at home, or someone else that has the urge to move the mouse around just so that a game, in which you are set to AWAY on has to disconnect you if you are afk 20 min... come on. Guild wars. Not a random game.

Why then have "Do Not Disturb, Offline, away" status?..

That.. would be it.

Nanii, too many people online does indeed cause lag in the towns. This is because both the server and your computer has to constantly update the position and status of each and every individual in the outpost. Simply because you have never been kicked because of this does not mean that NO ONE has. In fact it seems I am one of the first kicked when the server starts to get busy because I'm so far away from the server and the messages to it can easily get lost of diverted when lots of players start playing consequently triggering the server timeout. I'm running a DSL connection, which is by no means slow.

I honestly don't understand the need to be afk for more than half-an-hour, with the SOLE exception of running. Simply put, there is no reason NOT to kick those who are genuienly afk, and every reason to do so.
Why should those who camp their characters in a certain region, for whatever reason: ie suspect Gaile is coming for a chat, have a monk and just want to annoy the mission goers by not responding to any of their pms, have any right to stay connected to the server? People can and do err7 because of this.

GW is growing, there is little doubt about that. The lag issues are only going to get worse as it continues. Booting afk players is a perfectly reasonable solution to the problem and while I think that the specifics of this thread could use a lot of work, I see it as a reasonable alternative that Anet might want to look into.

Finally, Anet relies on FanSites like this for feedback. While I'm sure they do not appreciate the "zomg you promised us an aution house, I'm not going to play GW anymore" threads, there are some topics around that actually present interesting ideas that might be worth investigating.

I see no issues with this, far as I see it if you wish to go "AFK" then long as the player uses the "AFK" command, and if the game doesn't already puts them in "Away" in friend list it should be fine.

AFK people in towns = lag and takes up space for other people.

Really before this could be added the AFK command needs to be vastly improved first.

I have a old thread about improving the AKF command, let me try and dig it up.

not signed i didnt even read it only title

You have no right to sign or nosign it then, least give it a read.

I cannot agree with this proposition.

I am one of those players who has a real live that will interupt me often.
(Kids, wife, work, ... all might need me in a moments notice)
So I play missions with henchies and when real live needs me I find a save spot, go AFK and leave the game running.

After an hour or so I come back and continue.
During this time my status will show 'Away', although I might forget to do this If I'm in a hurry.

If I get disconnected after 20 min I'll have to start over.

Some of the longer missions might pose a real problem for me to complete if I couldn't do this.

I would propose that these statusses (Logged off, Away, Busy, ...) could be made visible in towns.

I don't think it was talking about people in Explorable Instances or Missions being disconnected, only people in towns.

From my point of view, only towns would be best. It would also mean that running wouldn't be a problem.

Of course this wouldn't cope with the "freeloaders" but then, as I said previously, I think other measures are needed.

So your saying the ideas on this board are silly jokes? and look at how many trheads created here were implimented in the game....and the friends comment only works if you add them as a friend genuis, do you plan on adding every pug'er in your group to your friends to see their status? i dont.

So you go idle for 20 mins at a time and want to read what your guild or team says? if your in my team, and your idle for 10 mins, your kicked. I dont have time to wait on you.

The whole reason for this forums is so ANET can see what we want changed, come on dude open your eyes for once and read what you type. does bill gates go on microsoft.com/support and ask people what should be changed? no, theres a suggestion email for that. same with the bugs. ANET dosnt have the time to think of what we want to be changed, thus....fan sites


If you looked at factions, ANET shut down running since its not suppose to be a service in the game for a reason. and i seriously doubt "LBS" is getting much service, last time i checked they charge 40k for a run from ascalon to deserts...no one pays that.



Now for my input, this is a great idea to err64 (my own number) for kicking idled players. To stop bots from idling missions, they should also impliment a /kick voting system, this will also help get rid of the annoying W/Mo or the 55 monk that you forgot to ask for a hp check. The downside to this is your party will be 1 man short. True, but think, how many times could you have done the mission 1 man short, without the hassle of the moron.

No, baaaad suggestion, bad!

I often leave the game on background, in a way which I can read guild chat/alliance chat, and have another game or a movie running as well, if there's something interesting going on, I'll be able to see it, and quit the other game/movie and continue playing again.

Sure, punish those who are idling'n'leeching their way in missions and similar, but don't punish everyone. There's nothing wrong with in idling in your guild hall :P

Well, much like what was mentioned in post #7 I agree with. I am a person who will often go afk often because of those "little things in life" like eating answering the phone, taking a dump, ....etc. It is extremely rare that I go afk in missions/quests with a PUG because I hate when people go afk. However, I have no qualms about going afk when henching it. Just like the person said about SF. It is such a pain getting to that part of the game and if something comes up then why should I be penalized because I had to step away from the computer for a while?

Oh, wait I guess I know the answer. Before logging onto the game everyone should go through the following checklist to make sure they don't go afk while playing.

- Eat dinner/lunch/breakfast/snack
- Bring a snack
- Bring a drink
- Take a leak
- Take a dump
- Disconnect phone (assuming internet connection is seperate)
- Turn cell phone off
- Place sign on front door stating "Do Not Interrupt"
- Let dog out
- Etc, Etc, Etc

I agree.. /not signed if i play with henchies to get some quests done, and am in the middle of a map, im not going to sign out so i can stop for 30 minutes to have some lunch, and then come back and redo all the killing again?? I dont agree with the afk's in missions, but thats just tough, its life

OK maybe it should not disconnect you if you're in an explorable area and you're only with henchies and similar situations.

As for the people who had the argument "I want to go afk then read the guild chat when I come back". What the hell is going to be so important and so interesting that you're gonna miss? OMG your gonna miss your guildies conversation about a movie they saw! ON NO! If your guildies are looking for help on a mission or some1 for a group, you obviously cant respond or go to them when you're afk can you? When you come back, if you got disconnected
log on again, ask your guildies if anyone needs help on anything and that would be the same as being online + afk the whole time. If you really must know then ask "Hey what did you guys talk about when I was offline?"

I myself dont do much PVE anymore but I hear so many PVE'ers saying how runners are ruining the game...

^^ You cant make exceptions, either it cuts you for idling for 20 mins or it wont, "but im only exploring" your still on the server causing packet transfer thus your making problem for others during lag.

Either add it or dont, but dont make it circumstancle

Oh, I'm sure you've had diahrrea and had time to type or press a computer button. But what if it doesn't register? That message was probably almost an exact duplicate of what an A-net employee thought before he made the "You have been playing x hours. Please Take a break." Neither message is a good idea.

Stupid idea.
1.Unexpected things happen. Why should we WANT a booting system at all?
2.Why do you care about giving the servers lag? Enough people connect and disconnect, causing more lag than one or two people unlucky enough to look away from their computers.
3.You paid 50$, maybe even another 50$ if you bought factions. So chill on the server lag, you paid for this game, either stop using dial-up or get over it.


I have played almost every day this month, due to it being summer vacation. I have experienced almost no lag in towns (which I could fix if I didn't stay in district 1), and no lag at all, ever, outside of outposts and towns.

Not all people as fortunate as you.

Yeah, good point you paid 50$ so you can waste your time with selfish morons who AFK through missions and get frustrated with lag which can be reduced if only random people with ADHD logged out. I'm not using dial-up but for some people that do, its not an option.

If there ever was an AFK boot one or two of two things would happen.
First, a random input macro would be invented so that you could go AFK without worrying.
And/Or
Second, people would complain everywhere that a glitch happened. The server missed input for 20 minutes, or miscounted, and they got booted.

QUOTE:If you looked at factions, ANET shut down running since its not suppose to be a service in the game for a reason. and i seriously doubt "LBS" is getting much service, last time i checked they charge 40k for a run from ascalon to deserts...no one pays that.

Answer to that
I have payed, I did pay 75k for a mission, additional 25k for a package..
And this is a silly idea. Idling in your GH is what you can do if you want.
And btw. My partner does not have ANY lag while in towns.. I guess he i using a better system than SOME.

And if a player goes afk during a mission, there should be a kick button for the leader. And if you are doing it with henchmen, it should stay like it is.

The whole idea ruins the idea of ANET implementing status changes in friendslist. It should say like the title bar,(A) (DND)
If a player is afk. This game was made for people to play. Booting a player of the game would cause alotof trouble.
And some of you people arent thinking..
Some like to be afk, sit and look at trades if they are eating, talk to guildies while eating, maybe even sit in gh while eating....

I should stop looking at this forum.. things just make me mad, things like this ideas. I do better off writing a nice letter to Gaile and see what she would think of these ideas and see what solution there is for unhappy players who cant buy a new computer in order to have no lag..
Still, not signed!

Again the "If its not a problem for me then doesnt matter if it is for other people" mentality

Why dont I be the leader of a group so I can kick everyone right before we beat the mission just to be an asshole?

"This game was made for people to play"? And going afk counts as playing?

"sit and look at trades if they are eating" Yeah, Im sure a lot of people are so into GW that they eat in front of the computer. Watch trades.... OH NO someone might be selling a whatever for 50k instead of the usual 51k! I might miss it! And why would this be a problem for you anyway. You can just move the mouse or press a key and the 20 minutes would restart.

-I have eaten before the computer in the past. Life happens, the unexpected happens.
-The idea of sitting there and watching trades is a good one. I don't want to be pressing a button every so often. I had to sit in droks for 30+ minutes before I found a seller of a chaos axe that I liked. I sat for 30+ minutes, having nothing to do in towns. I was done salvaging, I was done selling, I didn't want to visit storage.

This idea, of booting AFKs, is one made of pure greed. You aren't using what you bought, I want it, GIMME. End of discussion. There is no viable reason for a boot. A few players selfishly reason that you're making me lag.

/signed a thousand times

There needs to be a vote to kick system implimented with majority vote winning.

I've had people go AKF in the final prophecies mission and remained so the whole time, basicly getting a free finish of the game and share of the gold. I've also had people go AKF when doing missions for the bonus so they get the bonus when their still sitting at the beginning. Something needs to be done and I'm tired of them leeching off everyone else's hard work.

I have to agree with the above, including the RuneScape thing, I had the same feeling when I, too *shudder*, played that game! Was so annoying it kept auto-logging me out within say 2 minutes I think it was, couldn't even go downstairs quick and grab a drink or some food, or even go to the toilet without being logged out.

Plus, a lot of people, I formerly used to; like to leave there Game on for the day and come back and see what's been going on in Guild Chat and such.

I know I said discussion was over, but your post was so obviously incorrect, I can't help the control monster.
-AKF? two typos or you don't know the meaning
-A majority kick vote is so easily abusible that it's not even funny. Next thing you'll want is a Cookies For Scammers Day.
-If you could get a majority kick vote in the first place, then why not have a different solution. Lure the monsters to said "AKF" person, so they die, then they will not recieve drops.

So instead of letting the server kick afk players - who don't really need to be connected to the server in the first place, players who are actually playing get kick instead? I can see how this makes a whole LOT of sense.
Are we selfish for not wanted to be kicked because the server is busy? Yes, we are as selfish as all those who feel it necessary to remain logged on in town when they know they are going to be afk for long periods of time.

Yes, the unexpected DOES happen, but I for one would love to know that if I go afk and suffer a misfortune, my account is logged off before it falls into the wrong hands. Likelihood of this happening, small, nonetheless I'm paranoid about computer (and game) security.

And believe it or not, I have had diahrrea, a keystoke isn't all that difficult on the race to the bathroom. My real question though would have to be why on earth someone would want to play in such a condition. Diahrrea, by definition, is NOT a once off.

Once again I say the original proposal needs a LOT of work, and the specifics need to be hammered out. This could not be used to deal with freeloaders, most unfortunately, for the reason that sometimes in missions/battles some people do need to go unexpectantly afk. I do don't believe these people should be punished. Nonetheless, for the sake of cleaning up towns an outposts I believe this to be a reasonable idea and worth investigation.

NOTE: Investigation does not mean that it should be put ingame rfn, only that it is worth a look and a thought.

For the people who want to see what their guild is talking about afk, there is an easy solution. They should make it so you can go AFK in your Guild Hall, so theres no harm you can do.

/signed. If it means it will reduce lag im in.

For simple automatic disconnecting after a certain amount of time AFK/idle:

/not signed.

Because, if I'm in the middle of a big quest or a Tyrian mission which I'm doing with henchies, and then it's supper time or I'm going out somewhere briefly and I have to break off, I want to be able to continue it later.

As many others have said, a /votekick system would be the best idea to combat the idle faction farmers that are causing suggestions like this to be made.