Against the Usage of Bots and RMT in Aion

Dear NCSoft,

We want to get straight to the point. Botting is a horrendous problem in your game, Aion, right now. Botting is defined as the use of automated programs to perform planned executions without the actual presence of its user. Bots are causing numerous inconveniences for legitimate players. For instance, botting creates an atmosphere in-game that defeats the purpose of fair play and shatters it down to its very foundation. Legitimate players are forced to question how NCSoft has the audacity to allow these cheaters to continue while there are paying customers who want fair play.

Botting is not hard to setup, either. Many bot programs are also free. However, just because they have the above criteria does not make them acceptable for use. We want a game that rewards players based on 1.) time or 2.) skills. Botting allows cheaters to forgo both of those aspects causing an unbalance between cheater versus legitimate user.

There other adverse affects to botting as well. RMT, or real money trading, is made much easier to do via botting. Virtual currency selling companies utilize bots to farm kinah to sell for U.S. dollars. This also creates an imbalance. Legitimate paying customers are forced to purchase kinah if they want to compete with the player wearing a full set of gold equipment that they have purchased with real life cash. Subsequently, the line between legitimacy and cheating is blurred. Through frequent inaction, or insufficient action by NCSoft, players are forced to define the norms themselves.

"What constitutes cheating now? Well, I'm sure this won't be cheating since everyone else is doing it anyway.."

As more and more players join the illegitimate side, the overall quality of the game diminishes. Since we see so much potential in your game, Aion, we want to save it from dissipating along with the countless other mismanaged games.

We, the undersigned, would like for NCSoft to do the following:
1.) Provide an apparent fix to the current botting problem. This fix is two-pronged:
a.) The existing bot population must be decimated and their accounts banned. Any new bots must be timely dealt with. and---
b.) Provide a proper form of USER-based control that is better than the current AutoBotReporting system.

2.) Viciously pursue RMT and anyone or anything that supports RMT. This includes RMT companies AND the players who buy from them. Provide the legitimate community with solid proof that RMT is not tolerated on any level.

Until these problems are expeditiously and apparently addressed, we, the undersigned, refuse to renew our subscriptions and partake in any of your (NCSoft) products starting immediately.