The Use Of VPN's In the In Character Section

[Memozzy]

VPN's aren't really a magical unicorn only some know about. They're quote common and not all of them are that overly expensive. Adverts for them are all over the digital and real world as well. 

 

Event my not so tech savvy father knows about them and uses them and he's of the older generation. 

 

Who cares? 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Memozzy

[MrsHamster]

At the end of the day, as long as it doesn't break the rules or hurt anyone on an OOC level, it will never be restricted. Yes, it may be silly that people bother to set up a VPN connection just to comment on an article. I know that I as an average person would probably never go though that hassle since I don't even know how to do it, but that's my personal opinion. People are free to do as they wish. 

 

I think it comes down to trust. People who do that simply don't trust the community to not MG that comment. They are afraid people will see the forum name, ignore the IC nickname provided in the comment and assume ICly they recognize it for whatever reason. Even if in 9/10 cases it's not the case, or even if it is then there will be no actual consequences (Like people above me said, it's not like someone will get PKd for laughing at someone's outfit on the internet), but people are still afraid, so they go with the flow. 

[Valkyria]

I don't. My character is fully aware that making stupid comments is well within the scope of legality. IMO it's kind of silly and looks like they are about to drop a Raid: Shadow Legends ad next!

 

**this comment was made from a VPN tracing back to a distant galaxy**

[mala]

2 hours ago, MrsHamster said:

I think it comes down to trust. People who do that simply don't trust the community to not MG that comment. They are afraid people will see the forum name, ignore the IC nickname provided in the comment and assume ICly they recognize it for whatever reason. Even if in 9/10 cases it's not the case, or even if it is then there will be no actual consequences (Like people above me said, it's not like someone will get PKd for laughing at someone's outfit on the internet), but people are still afraid, so they go with the flow. 

This.
Also, the community has seen lawyers waste their time, effort, and money to sue over petty comments left on business pages.

[Edelweiss206]

They read like the kid that you all hated to play with cause they're like: "Nyeheh you can't hurt my action man with your anti-shield gun because I have an anti-shield gun shield." A lot of people have a paranoid 'give an inch, take a mile' perspective. Though if it's prevalent that they think someone is gonna kill them over some shitty in character meme then that's a different can of worms to be dealt with.

Edited August 5, 2020 by Edelweiss206

[Late]

IPvanish I pay $70 a year. Best investment. This is a non issue lol

[Teddy Broosevelt]

TunnelBear has a free option, as do many other VPN’s. This is not something that is out of the ordinary. Hell even MalwareBytes now offers their own VPN with their anti-malware software. I would argue in this day in age that it is quite common to use one. I don’t see an issue honestly. People be crazy about their privacy nowadays. 

[Jorgensen]

6 hours ago, El Ghetto Man said:

It's common sense, bro. You don't make social media accounts for characters that aren't yours with the aim to get them DMed, it's called common courtesy.

It's called Catfishing, it happens in real life. You shouldn't get banned for roleplaying catfishing people. Yes it's common courtesy. But, the verified system of Facebrowser exists for a reason. 

 

I do agree with the fact that using a VPN in comment sections of the internet forum should be monitored though, you have gang members doing it when, ICly would they know what a VPN is? I get that you don't want repercussions in game for making a comment. But, it comes across as very PG cause you're forcing someone to roleplay that they can't find you because you're choosing to roleplay something. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by KoishiKomeiji

[Jedbediah]

I do it because I roleplay someone who has a strong distrust from the government but also try to do it in a way that makes it seem silly/nonsensical which shows my characters lack of tech understanding. Tends to comment with the same name as his personal email totally negating the point of using the VPN in the first place. I do agree that it's overused though, you'd need to make a pretty heinous comment to catch the governments attention.

[Garras Up]

9 hours ago, KoishiKomeiji said:

It's called Catfishing, it happens in real life. You shouldn't get banned for roleplaying catfishing people. Yes it's common courtesy. But, the verified system of Facebrowser exists for a reason. 

 

I do agree with the fact that using a VPN in comment sections of the internet forum should be monitored though, you have gang members doing it when, ICly would they know what a VPN is? I get that you don't want repercussions in game for making a comment. But, it comes across as very PG cause you're forcing someone to roleplay that they can't find you because you're choosing to roleplay something. 

So the catfishing part, yes. I understand the point you're coming with. But most people don't catfish as others with the intention of getting that person killed/injured in real life. Additionally, most catfishes on social media don't use images of regular everyday people, they use google stock images. Additionally, nobody catfishes with the intent to get somebody injured or killed, so if it's done on GTAW's edition of social media in that manner, it'd more often than not be seen as something maliciously done.

 

I'm sure gang members would easily know what a VPN is, and possibly be able to access one. But the question in reality is, would they realistically care?

 

Not only that, but yes. It does seem kinda PG-ish. There's no VPN system ingame nor is there any way to rp buying them, so they're really just NPCing something for their own benefit