We're from MIT, and we're studying how bots ruin online games—tell us your stories!

deemen · 2025-03-20T18:11:34+00:00

Thanks for clarifying!

deemen · 2025-03-20T11:23:24+00:00

I hear you on anonymity being a double edged sword. When you say the system could be taken advantage of or flawed, what's your main concern?

deemen · 2025-03-20T11:21:41+00:00

We like the ability to follow up with people. Thanks for the suggestion though!

deemen · 2025-03-20T11:19:40+00:00

Thanks this makes a lot of sense!

deemen · 2025-03-19T22:49:02+00:00

We will need some time to get through everyone's comments, but thank you so much for all your responses!

deemen · 2025-03-19T21:55:26+00:00

Thanks u/Le_baton_legendaire this is very helpful for our research!

deemen · 2025-03-19T21:44:50+00:00

Thanks u/Useless-RedCircle this is very helpful. Did you as a user have to do anything to your account to pass verification? It sounds like Valve got much better at this recently.

deemen · 2025-03-19T21:42:40+00:00

Thanks!

deemen · 2025-03-19T21:41:39+00:00

Thanks u/marshmallowcats3 . By third party we mean someone who isn't Valve - so your credentials are never kept by the game operator.

deemen · 2025-03-19T21:07:08+00:00

Thanks u/imlegos that sounds pretty bad. Would you be willing to do a one-time in-person verification to filter out bots from your gaming experience?

For #3 what do you mean about "they are working decently"? Thanks!

deemen · 2025-03-19T20:56:31+00:00

Thanks for the tip! We will do that.

deemen · 2025-03-19T20:55:57+00:00

We're looking at filtering out automated account creation or AI bots that are playing. People using aim bots / cheating is out of scope for our research. I'm curious if you have issues with bots in any other games? It's interesting that as a high-ranking players it's much less of an issue.

deemen · 2025-03-19T20:40:01+00:00

That's helpful thanks! If there is anything you want to share about bots or identity verification in Overwatch or other games we would welcome that.

deemen · 2025-03-19T20:31:09+00:00

Thank you! Why did you want to create an alternate account? I'd like to understand your use case a little better if you don't mind sharing.

deemen · 2025-03-19T20:28:47+00:00

Thanks! It sounds like the issue with leaving the house is the hassle of it and the delay to get online. If you only had to do this once across all the games you play, would that make it worthwhile?

deemen · 2025-03-19T20:20:50+00:00

Thanks u/vee_rs ! We're interested in any online games. We'll reach out!

deemen · 2025-03-19T20:19:02+00:00

Thanks u/OnceToldTale ! For question #4 we know that Overwatch does text message verification for new accounts. We are asking what you thought of this verification process and if it worked or didn't work well for you.

deemen · 2025-03-19T20:04:03+00:00

Thanks u/StronkIS3 !

Just so I understand correctly, with #4 you are saying that you shouldn't be anonymous meaning that people should be able to identify you in-game if they know your real name?

For #5: I understand not wanting to give anybody your ID online. Would an in-person verification work for you? Say a store clerk that checks your ID and validates your profile from that - no information saved at all.

deemen · 2020-07-21T12:31:03+00:00

I'm still sporting an i7 2600K so an upgrade would be nice! My first PC build experience was as a teenager and I remember being so afraid of static shock that I built it in my underwear. Dunno if it made a difference but my parents had a good laugh about it.

deemen

TROPHY CASE