Kandarin wrote:It's not about server use. Server use isn't the half of it. Having a program do it means you don't have to do work, which means that people who know how to write Greasemonkey scripts will have an unbelievable advantage over those who don't in recruiting, WA campaigning, and endogathering. Everyone else might as well not bother with the effort it takes to do these things since scripters will just be able to load a list and press a button and get far better results.
So it shouldn't be allowed, because it's not fair? That doesn't make any sense. If a recruiter, WA campaigner, etc. knows how to utilize web automation programs (which are very simple to use), and doesn't (a) spam or (b) get around spam timers, they shouldn't be prevented from doing so just because some people don't bother to learn how to do it themselves.
Unibot, for example, has spent time recording the voting and approval habits of various delegates. He uses that data for targeted campaigns, and is pretty successful at it. He's used his intellect to get ahead of everyone else. I don't know how to put together all that data into a readable targeting guide. Should we ban what Unibot does, because it makes getting a proposal to quorum easier, but it's not something that everybody can do without learning how? No, I don't we should.
I don't know if you're thinking that people who don't know how to write Greasemonkey scripts shouldn't be playing the game or what, but it seems to me like it would be awfully callous to tell those who don't that they have to be able to in order to play the game. I'd thought we were a more welcoming game than that.
That's really a stretch, Kandarin. Recruiting isn't feasible with web automation addons. There's no feed for newly founded nations. 'Endogathering' follows the same logic as WA TG campaigning: either manually or automated, it takes the same amount of time for a seasoned person to do it. You likely would never be able to tell the difference. The only difference is saving my hands from carpal tunnel syndrome, when I want to send the WA members in my region a reminder about votes, endos, etc.