This whole sorry mess led me to uninstall the game from my computer.  Those kind of things are what I expect from the lower quality asian f2p market, not from Turbine.  Shame really.

Originally posted by MikeB

Yesterday, Turbine debuted a new feature of their myDDO.com website, the DDO Offer Wall. The Offer Wall was setup to allow DDO players the ability to earn Turbine Points for use in the DDO Store through a variety of sponsored lead-in style offers. There are a few key problems with the feature, however, namely that according to users on the forums the Offer Wall was transmitting gamers' account names and e-mail addresses simply by looking at the page, among other issues.

One user reported that on a new computer and new email address he received 27 spam e-mails and 4 phishing attempts within 24 hours for simply completing one of the "FREE" surveys on the Offer Wall:

"I went on a created email account on a brand new computer just to "see" what would happen.

27 spam emails in 24 hours and 4 phishing attacks from looking at and participating in 1 "FREE" survey."

DDO Senior Community Manager Patience has since responded to the feedback in a new post outlining Turbine's committments to provide the Offer Wall as a safe service, and admitting that they unfortunately did allow some "questionable offers" to get through the initial listing. They have since filtered the offers appropriately, and according to users there are no longer any "FREE" offers available on the Offer Wall.

Patience also shared with users the set of rules that sponsors must abide by if they wish to see their offers on the DDO Offer Wall, read them below:

Offer Wall Rules

Any offer to be published on the Offer Wall must meet the following criteria:

1. 1No unapproved required downloads – ever. This includes toolbars, helper applications, plug-ins, and ActiveX Controls. Player security is our top priority.
2. All offers must be certified spyware-clean and confirmed in internal testing against a cleanroom environment.
3. Surveys must be legit. No lengthy prequalification surveys followed by a disqualification and no points. If the pre-qualification is more than 20 questions for our test cases, we won’t host the survey.
4. Surveys must not ask for game account information or information which could be used to discover a player’s credentials.
5. No deceptive offers – i.e. take this IQ test and get the results via SMS (free IQ test, SMS costs $).
6.  Partners must display a privacy policy in a public location that can be checked.
7. Offers must pay out as expected. All offers must deliver the points promised in a clear and straightforward fashion.
    

View the official DDO Offer Wall FAQ here for more information.

 Only problem is those rules went into effect after the outcry. Turbine is spinning hard when they claim player security is their top priority. Seems pretty clear their TOP PRIORITY is $. Everythingb else runs a distant second at best. Notice that after that the only offers on the wall all included either a purchase or paid subscription. There was no more FREE OFFERS, because all the free ones break at least one rule. Typical Turbine move.

Edit: How fitting it is their company logo is something that spins and generates hot air. :)

That's pretty sad. A clear sign their new F2P model isn't working out so they are trying to get money through more questionable methods.

Seen the same system being used in other F2P games, which then went from bad, to complete shit.

And from a player perspective these type of offers are just... low. It's almost like begging for 'item shop points'.

Ohwell, I guess this is expectable from F2P games, and just another reason why I do not play them.

This reminds me of Zynga's approach, and their response to that fiasco was yeah, we knew we were screwing our customers for some extra dough, sorry we'll fix that. Is there no Integrity left in the gaming industry?

Originally posted by Nesrie

This reminds me of Zynga's approach, and their response to that fiasco was yeah, we knew we were screwing our customers for some extra dough, sorry we'll fix that. Is there no Integrity left in the gaming industry?

You mean a lot of extra dough depending on the traffic, but that's a core flaw within "F2P" games, developer greed and its inevitable effects.

And the Offer Wall has been pulled. For now.

I didn't even know about it until I read the news here, so I'm not affected, but I'm a bit boggled they set this up without checking how secure the page was first..

Turbine makes me laugh, seems like a company run by a bunch of bumbling uncles or something.

Neat idea with terrible implementation

Originally posted by Czargio

Neat idea with terrible implementation

 I think it is a horrible idea to send your paying customers to a shady site/company like they did. Turbine showed how little they think of the people paying the bills this week. No shocker there though. You can not advertise/affiliate yourself with such companies and then have the stones to add a little disclaimer of use at your own risk.

I have a hard time comprehending why on earth Turbine would even do this to begin with. I mean, I understand that they figured they could probably get a few 100K F2P folks filling out a bunch of surveys each, netting DDO a few extra million dollars.

But it's such a desperate, Facebook-style move. Even without the fraud, this survey scheme would have cheapened the brand significantly.

It seems like the folks at Turbine really need to sit around a table and figure out what it is they're trying to do with DDO. This move illustrates the current strategy is "pad the bottom line any way you can". Not a good way to go, really.

Hopefully they come out and say "we f*cked up, it's gone, it's not coming back" and move on from there and earn some trust back, slowly.

My question is why? Why risk it, Turbine? Why risking losing this second air you've gotten since going F2P? For a pittance of extra revenue? Yeah brilliant move all around. Turbine has made a few oopsies and uh-ohs with DO before, this fiasco has got to be one of the most stupidest ones for sure. Can't believe it, to be honest.

Reason #74658 I  will only pay for a simple monthly fee, and no cash shop.

So called "free to play" is nothing more then a marketing scam to trick cash out of you, and play off addictions.

Let me know what a game costs up front. No shady tactics.

LOL oh boy. This industry just keeps getting better and better.

Originally posted by PhelimReagh

I have a hard time comprehending why on earth Turbine would even do this to begin with. I mean, I understand that they figured they could probably get a few 100K F2P folks filling out a bunch of surveys each, netting DDO a few extra million dollars.

 

But it's such a desperate, Facebook-style move. Even without the fraud, this survey scheme would have cheapened the brand significantly.

 

It seems like the folks at Turbine really need to sit around a table and figure out what it is they're trying to do with DDO. This move illustrates the current strategy is "pad the bottom line any way you can". Not a good way to go, really.

 

Hopefully they come out and say "we f*cked up, it's gone, it's not coming back" and move on from there and earn some trust back, slowly.

 Seems to me since day 1 this game has had no leadership. That continues today. The people in charge of DDO make poor decision after poor decision. The Paiz family needs to go. They have done nothing for DDO.

Sometimes Turbine makes the most mind boggling moves.  The offer wall is the worst part of the Facebook F2P model for Flash games.  It is scam-ridden from both ends and another reason why cash shop F2P games are second class citizens.

Turbine may go down in history as the game company that made good games (that could have been great) but was brought down by their own marketing department.

Originally posted by MikeB

 namely that according to users on the forums the Offer Wall was transmitting gamers' account names and e-mail addresses simply by looking at the page, among other issues.

So : namely according to some users on DDO forums

And thats all we need to burn Turbine on the stake , and make this a big news paranoia issue ?

What will be the next news ?

According to some users on STO forums logging in with lifetime account caused them to recieve 30% more junkmail than usual in their gmail inbox.

Or how about : Some users claim that watching Allods forum on mmorpg.com sends your email and home phone number to known telemarketing company in korea.

Originally posted by zeowyrm

This whole sorry mess led me to uninstall the game from my computer.  Those kind of things are what I expect from the lower quality asian f2p market, not from Turbine.  Shame really.

This kind of half baked, lack of credable source, reporting is why I'm removing my account from this site.  If I wanted FOX news style crap-tastic spam in my inbox, I'd subscribe to FOX or the weekly world news.

Thanks for nothing. 

I read all those comments and get a laugh. Seriously. they try to help you guys by implementing it and you burn them  for that. Yes they will get few bucks out of that but there are a lot of players who will be happy about it. Some dont have a job or refuse to spend any money on online games.

Its not a big issue for me p2p or f2p dosent matter as long as its good i will pay, but i know ppl that cant pay and yet they play mmos for ages. Yes they did not filter enough the offers but at least they reacted to the problem right away.

Everyone who even heard abot this method (they used something like that in Atlantica Online for example) knows that out of 5 offers 1 is legit. And thats the most optimistic version ! And ppl still do those offers ! Yes you need to use some fake emails and personal data + some firewalls + anyspywre + ip block + god knows what to be secure. But you still have the option.

You can only blame your stupidity for beiving that you will get free money (points) for nothing, there is always a catch somewhere, be it in virtual space or real life.

Anyway, i hope they sort this out and try to monitor the offers a bit, that will be step in the right direction, its the only mmo that offers this and states that they will monitor offers they make avaialble anyway !

the only Free DDO Points I like are the ones I earn In-Game

I've grown wary of offers for points or cash outside games...

But so it spams your inbox? Oh wah wah wah, comes with the territory sure the phishing and trying to steal your account was bad but hey let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.

Only an idiot would set something like this up.

And only a bigger idiot would actually use this "service".   Turbine should be ashamed of themselves.  Along with anybody who fell for it.

Seriously:  Take a chill pill.

This kind of monetization strategy has been around in many other F2P games for around a year now.  Everyone I ever talked to in those games who took free marketing surveys for game cash were all well aware of the risks involved.  HOWEVER, it allowed them to enjoy the game more without owning a credit card.

Because this kind of practice is completely transparent, I don't consider it as shady as you're making it sound.  If I go to a website to get a free web coupon, I know what kind of waters I'm treading in.  This is no different, and complaining will only result in the feature's removal.

You guys defending Turbine clearly need to read what happened.

It's more than just that Turbine even had this "suveys for points" thing. They didn't vet the surveys, and even worse, simply viewing the Turbine page that hosted the offers send your username and email off to the marketing company.

People started setting up test email accounts and test Turbine accounts and checking it out, and they ended up bombarded with spam, phishing attacks and malware installation attempts.

That's all cool with you? Let us know what games you play so we can stay away...

Originally posted by Khebeln

I read all those comments and get a laugh. Seriously. they try to help you guys by implementing it and you burn them  for that. Yes they will get few bucks out of that but there are a lot of players who will be happy about it. Some dont have a job or refuse to spend any money on online games.

Its not a big issue for me p2p or f2p dosent matter as long as its good i will pay, but i know ppl that cant pay and yet they play mmos for ages. Yes they did not filter enough the offers but at least they reacted to the problem right away.

Everyone who even heard abot this method (they used something like that in Atlantica Online for example) knows that out of 5 offers 1 is legit. And thats the most optimistic version ! And ppl still do those offers ! Yes you need to use some fake emails and personal data + some firewalls + anyspywre + ip block + god knows what to be secure. But you still have the option.

You can only blame your stupidity for beiving that you will get free money (points) for nothing, there is always a catch somewhere, be it in virtual space or real life.

Anyway, i hope they sort this out and try to monitor the offers a bit, that will be step in the right direction, its the only mmo that offers this and states that they will monitor offers they make avaialble anyway !

They aren't trying to 'help" anyone.  They're being greedy and trying to squeeze out a little more money.

The ad offer wall that F2Ps gratuitously ripped off of Facebook is a disgusting scam.  You shouldn't have to be extra careful or wary once you establish a business relationship with a game company.  It should be up to the marketing and management of that publisher to ensure the offers they bring you, whether it's an account with them or a third party, are safe with your personal and financial information.  If they can't provide that kind of confidence they will get what they deserve.  In this case it's some bad press and maybe a few lost accounts.

Heh... they did really remove the thing for good.

At least they maintained communication with the fan base rather than doing widespread damage control (a.k.a. baning anyone talking badly about it) and listening to the feedback that the thing was simply too unethical on privacy and sucked, OR massively made a sugarcoated report of the happening, which isn't that impossible, we are all known to show some weakness towards certain MMOs we like (like being nowhere near an objective definition, for example you may know you're being highway robbed in Korean F2P MMO #4523 but you may still like the gameplay).

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Originally posted by MikeB

 namely that according to users on the forums the Offer Wall was transmitting gamers' account names and e-mail addresses simply by looking at the page, among other issues.

 

So : namely according to some users on DDO forums

And thats all we need to burn Turbine on the stake , and make this a big news paranoia issue ?

 

What will be the next news ?

According to some users on STO forums logging in with lifetime account caused them to recieve 30% more junkmail than usual in their gmail inbox.

 

Or how about : Some users claim that watching Allods forum on mmorpg.com sends your email and home phone number to known telemarketing company in korea.

 

 Maybe you should check those DDO users proof. There is a reason Turbine pulled the entire wall.

Originally posted by yevoc42

Seriously:  Take a chill pill.

This kind of monetization strategy has been around in many other F2P games for around a year now.  Everyone I ever talked to in those games who took free marketing surveys for game cash were all well aware of the risks involved.  HOWEVER, it allowed them to enjoy the game more without owning a credit card.

Because this kind of practice is completely transparent, I don't consider it as shady as you're making it sound.  If I go to a website to get a free web coupon, I know what kind of waters I'm treading in.  This is no different, and complaining will only result in the feature's removal.

 You are aware of the malware and other junk these companies provide as an added bonus? You call this practice transparent? This is a murky and shady as things get. Turbine screwed up big time.

Originally posted by Khebeln

I read all those comments and get a laugh. Seriously. they try to help you guys by implementing it and you burn them  for that. Yes they will get few bucks out of that but there are a lot of players who will be happy about it. Some dont have a job or refuse to spend any money on online games.

Its not a big issue for me p2p or f2p dosent matter as long as its good i will pay, but i know ppl that cant pay and yet they play mmos for ages. Yes they did not filter enough the offers but at least they reacted to the problem right away.

Everyone who even heard abot this method (they used something like that in Atlantica Online for example) knows that out of 5 offers 1 is legit. And thats the most optimistic version ! And ppl still do those offers ! Yes you need to use some fake emails and personal data + some firewalls + anyspywre + ip block + god knows what to be secure. But you still have the option.

You can only blame your stupidity for beiving that you will get free money (points) for nothing, there is always a catch somewhere, be it in virtual space or real life.

Anyway, i hope they sort this out and try to monitor the offers a bit, that will be step in the right direction, its the only mmo that offers this and states that they will monitor offers they make avaialble anyway !

 SO you admit it is a scam but you think a company like Turbine is helping you by giving you the option to get scammed? Amazing. I have a bridge for sale, you interested?

Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity

-unknown author

Someone at Turbine screwed up pretty badly. At least they retreated and pulled it completely.