New Mail System and UI

[Yaga_Nub]

This is a rant but hopefully I can do it without actually ranting.

Since the last update to the mail system I've been very happy that I am no longer receiving spam mails. Great job on that devs. I know that was an issue that the players had been screaming about for a while. But I guess I missed the anouncement that trial accounts were no longer able to send mail. So in retrospect the new mail system was sort of wasted development time because you could have just changed the rules for the trial accounts and it would have solved 99% of the issue.

I write this post because I was sent three very valuable (to me) items from a friend. That friend, like many people, have many alts and I don't keep each and every one of them in my friends list because the list has a limit to the number of people you can have in it. I opened up my mail and didn't see the items at first and then remembered that the mail was probably in the unconfirmed box, a minor annoyance. I opened the first mail and removed the item and clicked on what I thought was Delete but in fact it was the Delete All button. Now I should read much closer but I thought I had clicked the correct button and the beginning wording is almost identical so I click on okay and deleted the other two items. I was a little upset but what could I do right? I had made a mistake. Of course I submitted a trouble ticket just to be sure but I couldn't wait the required 1 hour until a GM showed up (I did wait a long while before having to log). I got a message from a GM asking me to explain the problem better so they could do more research (which didn't make much sense to me, what better explanation than "I deleted an item accidently, can it be restored." do you need?).

So what suggestions do I have? Well first off, I have a suggestion on how to solve an issue. It's called the "Baby Steps Method." When an issue rears it's ugly head, don't NUKE it. Figure out the smallest change you need to make to solve the issue. In this case, removing mail access from trial accounts would have been plenty. Then you sit back and see how the issue evolves. If it goes away, you saved yourself time and effort by going small. You also have to make sure that each small solution can be built on. So for a second step, THEN you create a confirmed and unconfirmed mailbox and stop with that solution. Then if spam mail is still an issue, you create the Delete All button but make it so that it doesn't delete mail with items/money attached. Then if spam is still an issue because the plat farmers are attaching 1 cp or 1 1st level collectable like a mushroom to the mail, you make the system reject the sending of anything of value under 100 GP or PP in value.

Each solution builds on the other and is a simple fix without instantly resorting to NUKE mode.

Now a small thing about UI and the human mind. The delete all button should be in between the other two buttons. The human mind LOOKS for lone items or end items. So by setting it off to the far right by itself the eye is instantly drawn to it. Next, the wording for the Delete All message should be in blinking red and have different wording so that the mind is instantly aware that this isn't the norm. If even the first few words are the same the mind goes into auto-pilot and consideres it just another one of the millions of times you've read the delete message. The human mind is conditioned to do as much as possible without conscious thought so that is why things like my two suggestions are important to ensure small mishaps don't happen.

I'm done. Hopefully this didn't sound like a b*thch-fest or anything else. Just offering some thoughts.

And yes I'm extremely p*ssed at myself.

[Yaga_Nub]

wow, am I completely off base here?

[Aspenor]

*snickers*

[Oreg]

wow, am I completely off base here?

Yes

I understand your frustration but bottom line is that you did not pay attention. Your request is symptomatic of what is happening worldwide these days. Nobody wants individual responsibility for their actions. If I screwed up - it must be someone else's fault or at the very least something should be changed so that it makes it less likely that I will screw up in the future.

Sad really.

[Yaga_Nub]

Yes

I understand your frustration but bottom line is that you did not pay attention. Your request is symptomatic of what is happening worldwide these days. Nobody wants individual responsibility for their actions. If I screwed up - it must be someone else's fault or at the very least something should be changed so that it makes it less likely that I will screw up in the future.

Sad really.

Actually, if you read it again, at the bottom I say that I am ****ed at myself for doing it because I do take responsibility for my actions. What I am trying to point out though is that the was whole problem of spam could have been solved in a much simpler manner and that there are some possible design flaws in the UI.

[Oreg]

Actually, if you read it again, at the bottom I say that I am ****ed at myself for doing it because I do take responsibility for my actions. What I am trying to point out though is that the was whole problem of spam could have been solved in a much simpler manner and that there are some possible design flaws in the UI.

don't need to read it again. I saw that the first time. Doesn't affect my post at all as I was making a general comment about responsibility. The UI doesn't need to be changed as it clearly states "DELETE ALL" , regardless of its position on the screen. Just my opinion.

[Yaga_Nub]

*snickers*

You zip it Asp!

[rimble]

I don't think it would hurt to add an additional "You are about to delete emails with attachments, are you sure?" type dialog. Sure, if spammers start attaching a copper you'd have to click twice--Delete All, Yes--but that's not so horrible, really. I'm not even sure how much that would help though since Windows has trained us to just click Yes on everything without thinking about it further. I guess you could add a "Are you REALLY sure?" dialog after that. And then maybe a "Srsly?". Then delete the stuff.

(The first part was serious, the second part was silly.)

[Yaga_Nub]

don't need to read it again. I saw that the first time. Doesn't affect my post at all as I was making a general comment about responsibility. The UI doesn't need to be changed as it clearly states "DELETE ALL" , regardless of its position on the screen. Just my opinion.

Well you're right there and if windows didn't layer on top of other windows I'd be in agreement as well. Okay, I'd probably put the lettering in bright red or a blinking font but for the most part I agree. But windows do go on other windows and if the "ALL" part gets covered then your brain will see delete and tell your fingers to click it. Then your brain processes the first few words and gets that they are similar enough to the message you've seen a bunch of times before so you can go ahead and click on OK. It's trained to do this to allow your conscious mind to continue doing other more "important" or "interesting" tasks. So UI development and testing is extremely important because it's supposed to be user-friendly and helpful. This isn't bad but I'm offering suggestions that might keep this from happening to others.

But you are still focusing on just that part because you think that I deserved what I got. That's fine but what are you opinions on th problem solving skills of the devs? I bring it up because the new death penalty is another example of the NUKE the problem mentality rather than "Baby Steps" mentality. This is what's more important than the UI.

[Cayrie]

I don't think it would hurt to add an additional "You are about to delete emails with attachments, are you sure?" type dialog. Sure, if spammers start attaching a copper you'd have to click twice--Delete All, Yes--but that's not so horrible, really. I'm not even sure how much that would help though since Windows has trained us to just click Yes on everything without thinking about it further. I guess you could add a "Are you REALLY sure?" dialog after that. And then maybe a "Srsly?". Then delete the stuff.

(The first part was serious, the second part was silly.)

The school marm in me wants to say you should have paid better attention, but we have all done stuff like that Yaga. Add any distractions around you when you are reading your in-game mail and it is bound to happen at some point.

I agree with this poster, that this would be a nice idea...a pop-up box about deleing mail with attachments. I think that is a fair enough idea.

C

[Yaga_Nub]

The school marm in me wants to say you should have paid better attention, but we have all done stuff like that Yaga. Add any distractions around you when you are reading your in-game mail and it is bound to happen at some point.

I agree with this poster, that this would be a nice idea...a pop-up box about deleing mail with attachments. I think that is a fair enough idea.

C

Something like Asps pic -

but with the posters SRSLY?! instead of O RLY?

[Oreg]

Well you're right there and if windows didn't layer on top of other windows I'd be in agreement as well. Okay, I'd probably put the lettering in bright red or a blinking font but for the most part I agree. But windows do go on other windows and if the "ALL" part gets covered then your brain will see delete and tell your fingers to click it. Then your brain processes the first few words and gets that they are similar enough to the message you've seen a bunch of times before so you can go ahead and click on OK. It's trained to do this to allow your conscious mind to continue doing other more "important" or "interesting" tasks. So UI development and testing is extremely important because it's supposed to be user-friendly and helpful. This isn't bad but I'm offering suggestions that might keep this from happening to others.

But you are still focusing on just that part because you think that I deserved what I got. That's fine but what are you opinions on th problem solving skills of the devs? I bring it up because the new death penalty is another example of the NUKE the problem mentality rather than "Baby Steps" mentality. This is what's more important than the UI.

I couldn't agree with you more on the issue of "Nuke the problem mentality". I was blown away when I saw that they were installing the mail changes with the trial / no mail change. Many mmorpg companies are prone to this mentality. And Turbine seems to have stumbled a few time recently with it (blanket immunities being #1).

Oh and btw I don't think you deserve what you got. I once deleted the wrong character by mistake because it was late and I wasn't paying attention. It sucked royally. My rant on the nature of people isn't about people deserving the negative effects that they bring upon themselves, it is about accountability and taking charge of our own lives is the only way you can empower positive change.