Suggestion:20080410 Free Calling and Charges

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20080410 Free Calling and Charges

Tselita 16:09, 10 April 2008 (BST)

Suggestion type
Mobile Phone Change/Improvement

Suggestion scope
Humans (and, according to Iscariot, zombies)

Suggestion description
A comment by WanYao in Talk:Discussion made me think of making this suggestion. Mobile Phones, as WanYao stated, are almost useless. Why on earth will anyone ever waste an AP to send a text to someone on your contact list (which usually means someone in your group or a friend or something), when there are so many limitations as well - they have to have a phone, the phone masts in both suburbs must be working, etc. So in order to make the mobile phone more useful, I'm proposing two changes to mobile phones.


(1) First.... make it cost 0 AP.

Before anyone yells 'Free action! no way', think about this.

Most people just wind up communicating with each other though metagame methods instead anyway - forums, wiki, bulletin boards, websites, etc. Meta-gaming costs 0 AP as well. Wouldn't it be nice to give an incentive to bring some of that metagaming back into -in-game- er... gaming again? Why penalize someone for wanting to do group communication in game (which enhances the flavor of the game) instead of out of game? And who among us has not used a cell phone while walking around or doing other stuff at the same time?

Note: Using the cell phone will still count towards the 160 IP limit.


(2) Second.... CellPhones need recharging after 50 uses.

This suggestion was advised to me in Talk:Discussion to balance out the 0 AP for speaking, and I thought it made PERFECT sense. Part 2 of this suggestion is, in order so that cell phones are not totally free to use, while still maintaining usefulness, that every 50 uses, the cell phone battery dies, and the cell phone won't work unless you charge it. To charge the cell phone, you must be in a powered building (any powered building) and click a button which says 'Charge Phone (5 AP)' Doing that will cost 5 AP but will let you have another 50 cell phone uses.


Benefits:

1) Encourages in game communication instead of out-of-game metagaming. Metagaming is fine and dandy, but in game communication makes the game more fun, especially to those of us who want to really roleplay and get immersed in the game itself)

2) Makes cell phones useful, finally.

3) Encourages groups to maintain cell phone masts with more intensity. Since I've started playing, I haven't seen more than 30% cell phone coverage. There isn't a lot of reason to use resources on a phone mast building which has little practical use.

4) Does not change the current state of people communicating through metagame methods - you're still free to do planning through out-of-game methods as well. This just is an expansion on an already existing method of communicating.

5) A 0 AP action is not without precedence - Dropping items costs 0 AP as well.

6) Gives at least a -minor- use for bothering to put a generator in the 'useless' buildings.


Detriments:

1) Some people will argue (/whine?) it's a free action, and free actions are bad, and will cause the downfall of civilization, and puppies and kittens will die of sadness as a result of this free action.

2) Valley Girls will run up the charges on cell phone bills. But fortunately all the phone company executives have had their brains eaten already.


COUNTER ARGUMENT QUESTION - WHY CAN'T SPEAKING BE 0 AP? Because speaking can be used to spam the room if there isn't the imposed 1AP cost for every time you speak. As it is, some people are quite spammy even with it COSTING 1 AP. I don't even want to think about what would happen if it was suddenly free. Also the scope of this suggestion is changes to Mobile Phones. Not changes to speaking. Like it says in the section on Invalid votes, "X should be implemented first is not a valid reason for a vote. You are voting on the merit of THIS suggestion, not how it compares to others."


Voting Section

Voting Rules
Votes must be numbered, justified, signed, and timestamped.
# justification ~~~~

Votes that do not conform to the above may be struck by any user.

The only valid votes are Keep, Kill, Spam or Dupe. If you wish to abstain from voting, do not vote.


Keep Votes

  1. Keep - Author Keep --Tselita 16:09, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  2. Keep - Nice idea - would make the cellphones much more useful in-game, and make RPing somewhat more intuitive, instead of constantly ducking out for IMs. Charlie Jackpot 16:16, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  3. Keep - Suggestion sounds sensible, like the idea of having to charge the phone. --Deadtanian 16:16, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  4. Keep - Meh, why not? -- Cheese 16:25, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  5. Keep/change - Good but doesn't go far enough. Lose the separate charging action (charge the phone just by entering the building) and increase coverage somehow. --Explodey 16:45, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  6. keep - make stuff useful...--CorndogheroT-S-Z 18:07, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  7. Keep - I've long thought cell phones were totally useless, and this helps ameliorate some of that. --Diano 18:10, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  8. Weak Keep- It still wouldn't make me use phones, but I see how it could help.--Studoku W! 18:55, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  9. Keep - Oh Noes, a free action!? This is one that actually would work. I mean it can't be spam as you could just ignore a person in your contacts list and it would give a use to phones. I'm all for this so it can revitalise some in game communications between players. Some people may kill it as it being a way for survivors to communicate freely, but lets say you're a scout, you want to report back to another player, what do you do? You go to a forum, log in and then type the message in. Bring back the phones! The Quarlesbank Connection would no doubt approve of this too. Acoustic Pie 19:01, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  10. Keep - I like it a lot. Phones would become somewhat interesting and useful. – SadYear 19:20, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  11. Keep - A good one. --Vandurn 19:26, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  12. Keep - A nice way to boost cell phone use without making it totally free. I suspect IP hit use would still be a major limitation for most characters. SIM Core Map.png Swiers 20:07, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  13. Keep Good, but can it be clearer? Message telling you you need to recharge when it dies for the newb? --RosslessnessWant a Location Image? 21:08, 10 April 2008 (BST)
    Re - Sounds reasonable that it should give a message like that, when it dies. --Tselita 21:18, 10 April
  14. Keep - Then I may actually use the cell phone I've been carrying around forever -Death7 21:25, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  15. Keep - Why not. --Pvt human 23:26, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  16. Hello? Hello? Yo, I can't hear you, let me call you right back. --•▬ ▬••▬ • •••• •▬ ▬•▬• ▬•▬ #nerftemplatedsigs 23:36, 10 April 2008 (BST)
    Re - I'm sorry, but I can't come to the phone right now. Zombies are tearing me to shreds and eating my brain. But if you could leave a short message and your number, I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you - BEEP! --Tselita 23:55, 10 April 2008 (BST)
  17. Keep A great idea!--Airborne88Zzz1.JPGT|Z.Quiz|PSS 02:22, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  18. Keep - FINALLY! An improvement to an already existing way of communication, without actually suggesting a new way of communicating! (not counting radio reforms, of course).--Private Mark 04:20, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  19. Keep - Now we need a telemarketer class. --FXI 04:39, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  20. Keep - I may actually pick up a cell phone. Rocky Ford 04:46, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  21. Keep - But need a block system to block spammers. Aldo dinho 05:08, 11 April 2008 (BST)
    Re - - See discussion page. A block system already exists for mobile phones, and because of how mobile phones work in UD, it's pretty much impossible to actually spam someone with a mobile phone (unlike talking in a room or on a radio). :) --Tselita 05:13, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  22. Keep - As an avid cell phone user, I'm always in favor of improving phones. If implemented, that might also be a good chance to give the text messaging font a face lift (see various peer reviewed suggestions on that topic). This one gets my keep vote. --Uncle Bill 05:20, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  23. Keep - I like it.--Jamie Cantwel3 05:39, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  24. Keep - --Nitro378 T JNL 12:26, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  25. Keep - Because it makes sense, reduces the need for meta-gaming and is, in fact, not a free action. It's 0.1AP per action. --Midianian|T|T:S|C:RCS| 12:38, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  26. Keep - This is a really great suggestion. --UCFSD 13:01, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  27. Weak Kill - I like it, but a free action is a free action! -- The Lethal Trio [Tlk|NTCS|RRF] U! E! 16:04, 11 April 2008 (BST)
    Re: And its the same with droping things.--Carnexhat 21:08, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  28. Keep, I guess - Even though it's gonna be accepted anyway --Officer 123satsitx 16:09, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  29. Keep - What an awesome idea.--Carnexhat 21:08, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  30. Weak Keep - I'm still concerned about spam, such as RealGamer coming to you right from your handset, but I think I'm just over-reacting. ~Ariedartin • Talk • A KS J abt all 12:57, 13 April 2008 (BST)
  31. KEEP - I like the idea... Even it would be better if the mobile phone masts were placed in other buildings (PDs, hospitals, etc.) Also I see how this would revive phones... Metagaming communication sux. --Telenti 14:02, 15 April 2008 (BST)
  32. Keep - Woah. Ingeniously realistic, and awesome at the same time! Then you just need to make it more useful, because the phone towers are always an issue. --Ciaran Deckardson 21:53, 15 April 2008 (BST)
  33. Keep - at last, strategy for the consumer class: "Oh my gahd! There are like, totally rad shoes still available for looting in Shiny Glitzy Mall! I must tell Brenda! Oh my gahd! My cell phone is, like, totally dead, and the generator-thingy has been smashed by the, like, totally dead!" --Funt Solo QT Scotland flag.JPG 15:07, 16 April 2008 (BST)
  34. keep - free cell usage at anytime? damn, i only get free nights and weekends on my plan --Scotw 09:29, 18 April 2008 (BST)
    Re - To be honest I thought someone was going to make a 'free minutes' pun before they made one about free nights and weekends :) --Tselita 15:13, 18 April 2008 (BST)
  35. Keep - although you should be able to CC as many mutually contacted listed friends as you want in one text AND one colour (black?) should be created for people who you want on your contacts but don't want text spamming you, *cough* finis *cough* --xoxo 05:40, 21 April 2008 (BST)
  36. Keep - Yet again a well thought out idea - I like it and it will help me contact those who dont usually use forums --Feon Kensai 13:57, 21 April 2008 (BST)
  37. Keep - Now if I could just come up with some kind of witty comment to justify my vote, I'd have it made. Aha! I know just the one... "Can you hear me now? Good!"--Kolechovski 04:24, 23 April 2008 (BST)
  38. Keep - You need to be in a loose-knit group that uses phones as their primary mode of communication to really understand why this suggestion is so good. Of course, you could just save yourself the trouble and vote keep if you aren't for those of us who are... --Howard Bentley 20:17, 23 April 2008 (BST)
    Keep - I'd use it. --Kikashie ELT 05:39, 25 April 2008 (BST) Vote posted past deadline. --ZsL 22:40, 25 April 2008 (BST)
    Keep - It's a practical idea, and well thought out. Why not? --Ottari DA PDA NW 05:42, 25 April 2008 (BST) Vote posted past deadline. --ZsL 22:40, 25 April 2008 (BST)
    Keep - Fixes a nearly completely useless item.--SALurker 19:54, 25 April 2008 (BST) Vote posted past deadline. --ZsL 22:40, 25 April 2008 (BST)
    Keep/Change - I like it, but make it so that it runs out of batteries every 150 turns or so, it must always be on to receive. --Sgt. Napalm 22:17, 25 April 2008 (BST) Vote posted past deadline. --ZsL 22:40, 25 April 2008 (BST)

Kill Votes

kill - I don't like the recharging, plus, no free actions. plus spam potential. how may messages could you send to someone you don't like, just cause you got their profile id, and they happen to have a phone? I'd say this is the biggest concern with this suggestion. IP limits don't solve this, if i want to burn a days turn, i could text someone 158 times with utter garbage. -- Jack S13 T! PC 17:44, 10 April 2008 (BST) comments struck by author, contemplating vote. --Jack S13 T! PC 20:41, 10 April 2008 (BST)
Re - Come to discussion, I have a lengthy response for everything you said which should put your mind at ease (except for the fact that you don't like recharging.)
  1. No - The only thing I should charge is my lazer. -doc crook 02:07, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  2. Kill - Not the way to fix it. There have been ideas for allowing you to send messages to people not mutually contact-listed, for example... See, it's THAT which is IMO the big problem: I can't send you a text unless I am on your contact list... Also, I can't send CC-ed texts to multiple people who are mutually contact-listed with me... These are the issues... And this suggestion doesn't solve those issues. --WanYao 10:16, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  3. Kill - As WanYao, previous suggestion about contact lists was much better. --  10:59, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  4. Kill - So now not only do i have to be in a burb with a working mast, i have to make sure my phone is charged. Plus, I willingly pay the AP price to talk to people in my Safehouse. it's just the way teh game goes as I see it. I thought about it, and still can't vote keep.--Jack S13 T! PC 18:10, 11 April 2008 (BST)
    Re - Response to this in discussion --Tselita 18:40, 11 April 2008 (BST)
  5. Kill - no point cept slowing the server.Gabdewulf 21:03, 17 April 2008 (BST)
    • Re - The point I was trying to get across was that it would promote in game communication, rather than having to rely on external metagaming so often - it would also give use to a currently relatively useless item. As for the server slowing down because of this, I'm not sure I understand what you're asking. The 160 IP hit limit is still in place, in addition to the 5AP cost for charges for every 50 uses of the phone. Also, I'm not sure what sort of server slow down you're referring to. If you could, please elaborate? Thank you :) --Tselita 21:20, 17 April 2008 (BST)
    • Re - It just seems like fluff to me. I'd rather the game stay simple.Gabdewulf 21:59, 18 April 2008 (BST)
  6. Kill - Cell phones? Really? Really? I honestly can't imagine ever using a cell phone in this game for something other than a weapon, and even bothering to think about it long enough to make a suggestion about it is a waste of time. Metagame is superior, period. There is no efficient way to keep communication entirely in-game. Period. This is stupid. --אֲבִיּוֹנָהGunen.png 23:30, 21 April 2008 (BST)
    • oookaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay............ --Tselita 00:18, 22 April 2008 (BST)

Spam/Dupe Votes



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