Chat Filter - Filter out gold spammers.

    • Official Post

    Thanks to the excellent update of 8 May, we now have the option to filter out messages - which is really handy for RMT spam!

    How does this work?

    You'll need to create a new file in this location: C:\Users\%username%\Documents\Guild Wars (you can copy and paste that location in your explorer - it will work) with the name of ChatFilter.ini

    You can then fill up your file as following:

    Code
    [ChatFilter]
    userFilter1=mmosky.com
    userFilter2=gw2sale.com
    userFilter3=GW2SàLè.com
    userFilter4=mmogamersmarket.com
    userFilter5=MMOGäMERSMARKÉT.COM
    userFilter6=gwshop.com

    You can also download our file (which we try to keep updated) on https://www.guildwarslegacy.com/ChatFilter.ini - you can download this one and add it to this location.

    Do you want to add some entries to our file? Feel free to list them here so we can add them.

    Thanks again to Lexx for this initial list :heart:

    Hi there! I'm the Guild Wars Legacy admin, feel free to contact me if you've got issues.

    :ass: Inquisitor Karinda :der: Sunspear Elke :mes:Librarian Amber

    obey.jpg

    • Official Post

    Updated

  • So far they haven't randomized anything more than it's manageable. If however they do I can think of two solutions:

    (Primary)

    1. I could just write a script that gives all permutations using accent chars, generating a compliant ChatFilter.ini

    (And if things still get unmanageable...)

    2. We could ask SCW (if and when he have time), to make the filter handle accent chars as their unaccented ones.

    Right now there are very few of them. Just looked around in AE Kama/LA/GToB/Embark, and I just saw a single one already in the filter.

  • When there's a will, there's a way. Filtering their messages has to be just par for the course routine. They will always find other ways to break the law. So, as a message pops up, write it in the filter. Eventually they will get the message that people who are filling the filter out don't want to see the messages and have no intention of buying gold illegally.

    userFilter____#____=GW2SàLè.COM

    hello

    • Official Post

    I'm working on a small tool that will download the newest version from Legacy when you run it and launch your GW-shortcut once it has ran.

    That way you'd always have the last version of the chatFilter.

    ETA: probably like a week.

  • I just tried to generate a list... but I don't think it's going to work.

    With 18 letters in mmogamersmarket.com and 96 possible accents per letter (I may be wrong about the accented characters the client allows), there are 96 ^ 18 permutations. This means that just blocking mmogamersmarket.com alone would take 479603335372621236652373132533825536 lines.

    At 66 bytes per line, that's 27455312445912908000 exabytes.

    Clearly, it would be impossible to list every permutation in advance. All the RMTraders have to do is randomise the diacritical marks and a self-updating list would become useless.

    The only real solution here, if my math is correct, is if SCW or Bill sets the chat filter to ignore diacritical marks.

    Seems like not all characters are supported by the client. So that should drastically reduce the number of permutations.

    Edited once, last by renebulous (May 14, 2018 at 3:07 PM).

  • Oh hooray, I just checked, GW doesn't actually support every accented character. A pre-generated list may just be possible. I'll update shortly.

    See what I said here:

    When there's a will, there's a way. Filtering their messages has to be just par for the course routine. They will always find other ways to break the law.

    I think you shouldn't waste your time. What if they start using Japanese or Korean characters? What if they just make a bunch of alts stand in next to each other to form the letters?

    hello

    • Official Post

    See what I said here:

    I think you shouldn't waste your time. What if they start using Japanese or Korean characters? What if they just make a bunch of alts stand in next to each other to form the letters?

    Just added Japanese or Korean letters to your filter would root that out immediately, unless you actively play with Japanese or Korean players that should not be too much of an issue.

    • Official Post

    I have a first test version of my tool ready, basically it does the following:

    • Checks if there is a ChatFilter.ini file in the folder it's running in. If not, downloads the latest version from GW Legacy.
    • If there is a file available, it downloads the header of the ChatFilter.ini on GW Legacy
    • Compares the header to the local downloaded version to check if the last edit date is different.
    • If so, it downloads the latest version from GW Legacy.
    • If not, or finished with the download, it will look for a shortcut called Gw - if found, it will launch this shortcut, so you can use the tool to launch GW - your arguments are still used.
    • If it can't find a Gw.lnk, it will look for Gw.exe and launch it.
    • If it can't find that, the tool window will stay open.

    The tool requires .Net framework 4 - I'll drop the source code when I get around to it, download is attached for the compiled version.

    Legacy Chatfilter.zip

    To install, drop the Legacy Chatfilter.exe in your GW install root.

    • Official Post

    It doesn't work with accented characters. I even generated a list with all the possible permutations before I found out. Then I just used the regex chat filter on Toolbox and forgot about it.

    We'll have to make sure to inform DrStephenCW of this :) - I'll let him know.

  • I've contacted A Net several times about adding Gold Sellers to the report menu.

    They've told me on as many occasions to report them as spamming.

    But what if they're not spamming? (I've been asked this by other players.)

    Then you ARE actually making a false report.

    The problem with sending a false report is this:

    In glaring red print on the report menu is that warning about false reporting

    and the consequences there after of abusing the system. Not good!

    I think that it will be less of a worry for players to report gold sellers if A Net would just put

    the darned box to check on the menu already.

    It's not as if they haven't been asked for years, and by hundreds other than me, I'm sure.

    Any one know these developers enough to ask them for this upgrade?

    Because it appears that this will be the only way we see it.

    And I'm sure that once it's in place the reports will flow like the Orinoco.

    (Still love ya Enya!)

    Be Yourself ~ Everyone Else Is Already Taken!

    • Official Post

    It’s the damage they do to the economy through their botting and critical inflation. The economy you are a part of through trading. You can’t trade and be unaffected by them.

    Not to mention the lack of respect for the EULA and the creators of the game.

  • Ditto what Max said, it's about maintaining a healthy economy.

    Without the ridiculous bouts of inflation, more people could afford to trade for

    nicer items, not just the privileged few who break the rules to get there.

    There is another problem that needs to be addressed with these gold sellers too,

    and that is their ability to fly under the radar using devious methods.

    In Kamadan as well as in Ascalon, you will often see their WTS in the Chat Dialogue Box.

    Often, it does not appear in the Trade section of the party window,

    and if you do go to report it you cannot, because they are posting offline.

    The /report feature does not register players in an outpost who are set to offline.

    There has to be a way around this, besides standing next to them

    with the chat log displaying their posts, and then taking a screenshot.

    I do that, then create another ticket with A Net for the gold seller box,

    and when A Net replies I attach the screenshots.

    I always get a Thank you we'll look into it, but in future please report in game.

    A Net does not want in game reports sent in this manner,

    but with offline yet active gold sellers, this seems to be the only solution so far.

    Be Yourself ~ Everyone Else Is Already Taken!

    • Official Post

    The thing which you described isn't related to a player's offline status, it's due to the requirement of a reported account to still remain in the same outpost by the time someone issues a report. :)

    they can be sniped.

    Snipe a gold seller bot with a headshot

  • The thing which you described isn't related to a player's offline status, it's due to the requirement of a reported account to still remain in the same outpost by the time someone issues a report. :)

    My apologies, but my experience with this situation is different.

    They are still in the same district, yet can not be reported when they are set to offline.

    I have stood next to some of them in Ascalon and taken a screenshot of their active trade post,

    my report directly after their post, and the ANet statement that the player must be in the same district.

    Even though I have screenshot all of this all together, standing right next to the gold seller,

    it behaves as if they are not there.

    So yes, I do believe it's the off line setting that affects this 100%.

    Be Yourself ~ Everyone Else Is Already Taken!

  • Lexx I saw your post on Reddit:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/GuildWars/co…d_list/e0nuevt/

    Does this mean the some of the text that is currently being spammed in outposts is not detecable by the ChatFilter? I've tried updating my file but I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing it wrong as the messages still appear in-game.

    JizrCUy.png

  • I'm not entirely sure actually, just that accented chars can cause trouble.

    Others here have even made software to generate all sorts of permutations,

    which can get up in thousands of lines. I don't think that's quite the best approach, as it feels like killing mosquitos with cannon ball (even if it does sounds fun shooing mosquitos with cannon balls..)

    If instead all accented chars would just be treated as their unaccented chars, just one line would cover it all.

  • The chatfilter is really great. But unless I am completely missing something, some of the instructions in this thread are wrong.

    Its correct that the file need to be named "chatfilter.ini" and saved in %userprofile%"\documents\guild wars"

    You can use notepad.exe to edit and just save in UTF-8 format.

    Syntax (the important part) below [ChatFilter] is simply: trigger = action, scope
    Example:

    Code
    [ChatFilter]
    
    mmosky.com = Suppress, Any
    gw2sale.com = Suppress, Any
    GW2SàLè = Suppress, Any

    For those of you uncomfortable creating a filter from scratch I have attached my current chatfilter.ini as a zip-file.

    The last line (action = censor) is simply for testing whether a trigger works. Try changing "# testword" to: ecto: If your chatfilter.ini is in the right folder (working) the following:

    "WTB 17 ecto" will display as "WTB 17 ----"

    For convenience: Create a shortcut on your desktop to chatfilter.ini in your Documents\Guild Wars folder - Makes it a lot easier to change the file while ingame.

  • Just do

    Code
    [ChatFilter]
    
    .com = Suppress, Any
    .c0m = Suppress, Any
  • Thanks to the last two posts, this is now working nicely for me;