Personally, I don't see how someone boxing 3 characters is any different from 3 distinct humans playing 1 toon each. To anyone else, why should they care? I know I do not. If I entered a zone and saw a group camping a spot, I wouldn't bother to stop and watch them, let alone stand there examining their playstyle looking for boxers. Why do you care whether it is 1, 3, or 6 'real' people vs 2 or 3 boxers? I think the vigilantes are the jealous 'if I can't have it then nobody can' crew. They can't box well, or they can't afford multiple accounts or a computer that can play multiple instances of EQ. It's the same crap you have to deal with in real life. Assholes with nothing better to do, and a life so empty and void, that they have to try to make other people's lives just as crappy. Griefing others is their only reason for getting out of bed in the morning.
Even adding MQ2 to the mix. Why should you care? If my husband is sitting at his computer playing his character, or I have his account logged in and MQ is doing most of the work (and not as well as he does, by the way), why should anyone else care? We are still paying for the accounts and we are only doing the same crap that we would normally be doing if he was at the machine himself. Seriously, why do other people friggin' care?
I assume you're looking for a serious answer so I am going to give you my best current theory. The reason these people care is because it's a very pervasive way of thinking in today's world and it's tied to one specific set of ideas. When you see someone that you don't know anything about; who has something you don't or is doing better than you at something in life, there's usually three "broad" responses.
1. Wow so and so has accomplished so much in life, I gotta push myself even harder if I hope to match what they've done!
2. Wow sos and so has accomplished so much in life, they must have acquired it by stealing/cheating or fucking people over.
3. So and so got something new? Yea whatever, I got my own problems to deal with I don't really give a fuck about so and so.
The people that think like #2 are the ones that run around reporting/training/harrassing boxers. When you assume at the start that the person on the otherside of the table is only there because they're a terrible person and steals, cheats or whatever, it makes hurting that person mentally or physically much easier to do for you and others who think like you. That's why it's easy to "lump" these people into such broad groups; something I normally wouldn't do but i wanted to avoid using the politically charged word that I think best describes these people. When some people see a player boxing 6+ characters they automatically assume that they're a cheater. I've been on the receiving end of this many times and I have argued with many of the people who harrassed me to try and get to the bottom of things. Basically, from my own personal experience, there was nothing I could say or do to convince these people I wasn't cheating. From the moment they saw me and realized I used third party software I ended up on their shit list. They believed I only got to where I was by being an asshole, taking camps from people and stealing nameds and of course, cheating with third party software. ((Note: I even revealed to a few of these people I was Almar; which was literally the antithesis of the person who they were portraying me to be.... All that did is make them assume that my guide website was all done through plagirism/cheating too...)
My fear with this new announcement from Daybreak about no third party software being allowed or "some" or "maybe" or whatever the fuck their stance is, it's just going to give more people a justification to act like #2. If Daybreak's OFFICIAL STANCE is third party software isn't allowed, it's pretty hard for us to defend the fact that we aren't a cheater. If someone accuses us of cheating then links us the Daybreak post when we try to defend ourselves -- basically our only line of defense is to say Daybreak's policy is fucking dumb or to fall back on the Agnarr/Phinigel FAQ which the person we're arguing with can just say, well that's old. Daybreak obviously updated their policy and they don't want you in the game anymore; which means I am justified in harrassing you/reporting you.
I mean, no matter where this person looks they get their views reinforced, if they report us and ask the GM they talk to through the ticket, "is MQ2 allowed?" the GM will say no, it isn't allowed. Or they'll say no, third party software isnt allowed. Add this fact together with the Daybreak forum post and it's easy to turn even regular players against us who aren't envious who don't get pissed off when they see someone boxing. Because Daybreak's official policy is we're breaking the rules; but unofficially they don't enforce the rules. We're the ones suffering and who have to deal with the vocal assholes in game whining about us cheating because Daybreak can't take responsibility for their own actions. This is the shit that ruffles my feathers.
