"Paying naive new subscribers to ensure I am handsomely rewarded for duping you this one time!"

 

These referral farmers who prey on starter planets, handing out these huge bribes like candy, am I mistaken in understanding that a referral is for your friend? Not to be sold to ingame strangers? Is there a limit to the extra Cartel Coins these guys are earning? Or are the more persistent farmers making millions of Cartel Coins each month?

 

Is this allowed? Is any action taken against these guys? Or should I just start taking advantage of this system for myself?

I've heard that clicking a link when you don't know the repercussions can lead to bad things.

 

It may be distasteful, but it's been going on for years. At some point, though, some onus should be on the person clicking the link w/o investigating its purpose.

 

Dasty

Edited January 23, 2021 by Jdast

Well lets see now.

First off not all referral links that players are flogging are scams. Some are of course.

Secondly there is little point in not using a link for the free bundle. be that by just clicking a link from a post or by trying to get the extra credits from another player. Never using one, you'd would be the only one to actually miss out.

 

However now BW have put a legacy-wide ignore for general chat, I just use that once it starts to bother me.

 

Referral links in gen chat are no more or less annoying that players selling items instead of using the GTN, guild invites (when every 30 seconds) or what has been an issue for some time and getting far worse at certain times of day, the absolute toxicity in general chat. Be that anything from racism, homophobia, religion slurs, sexism, political rivalry. I am sure many other players can add many more to this list. You however only have an issue with Referral links? really?

 

As to your question, there is no issue in using one, only as far as i know an issue using a gold seller who frequent gen chat or send out unsolicited privet messages.

Edited January 23, 2021 by DreadtechSavant

I'd like for BW to take a stance, one way or the other. Either selling referral links for credits is fine with BW, or selling referral links for credits is not okay with BW and there are punitive consequences for selling referral links beyond (possibly) being squelched for spamming chat. As it is now, selling referral links is a cottage industry. I saw a gen chat convo where a referral link seller recommended checking out their web site for satisfaction ratings from those they (allegedly) had paid to use their referral link. Is this really what you had in mind with friend referrals, BW?

 

There are times when I see the same referral link sellers posting in chat for hours. It isn't all about altruism. Referral link sellers can score a lot of credits from buying and selling Cartel Market items with the Cartel Coins gained. BW remains silent (as far as I know) on the situation. A definitive statement from BW about selling referral links would be nice.

Is this allowed? Is any action taken against these guys? Or should I just start taking advantage of this system for myself?

 

Yes, it is allowed and considered a valid transaction, just as you can put your referral link in the signature here on the forums. If both sides benefit from that transaction it is not considered a scam. However, if you are the one clicking a referral link and you don't get the promised credits, you can contact customer support to remove your name from the list and the scammer will get the Cartel Coins taken away and a warning. And yes, there are consequences when a scammer keeps getting warnings for that.

 

If they suddenly tried to enforce a strict ingame rule that prohibits the selling of referral links and to find out if the one clicking your link is really your "friend", the entire system would basically cease to exist and they could delete it completely from the game. I'm pretty sure that BioWare does not want that to happen.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Phazonfreak

Bioware have acknowledged that referral farming is not what they intended when the friend referral system was first introduced, but they have also said that they do not consider buying and selling of referral clicks to be something worthy of punishment.

 

However, there are a couple of caveats.

First, in-game transactions for the buying or selling of referral clicks are not supported by Bioware. So if one side fails to hold up their end of the transaction, Bioware will not censure or punish the guilty party. "Caveat Emptor" (Buyer beware) is the watchword, and generally speaking what you will get from Bioware is a sympathetic shrug of the shoulders. There are claims that people who have scammed referral clicks have had the rewards from those clicks withdrawn, but there are no refunds of credits and no indication from BW about how, when and why such punishment may or may not be levied.

Second, regarding referral links on the forums. The referral link may ONLY be displayed in your forum signature, and my may not make a post on the forums where the purpose of the post is to get people to click on your referral link. That applies doubly for posts that start new threads in the forums, but any post that has no value outside of the referral link will likely be reported by the community and removed by the forum mods.

A referral link should NEVER have been allowed to be used by a current subscriber. The whole point of a referral link is to get people to join the game and possibly subscribe. Not to reward subscribers by getting other subscribers to click on their link.

A referral link should NEVER have been allowed to be used by a current subscriber. The whole point of a referral link is to get people to join the game and possibly subscribe. Not to reward subscribers by getting other subscribers to click on their link.

 

Why?

I have used referral links from posts here on the forums, never in game. I have done so for various reasons. Sometimes for the extra 7 days on top on my sub for my short term sub accounts, sometimes just for the bundle from BW for the free crew skill slot on new accounts that are going to be short term sub accounts.. I never once had an issue that the player who's link I used got free coins. As long as the user of such a link know that the person get CC. None of the times I have used any such referral links has anything to do with you! As such I have zero interest in your opinion on this single issue. If it does not bother BW it's no ones else business, certainly not yours.

Yes, it is allowed and considered a valid transaction, just as you can put your referral link in the signature here on the forums. If both sides benefit from that transaction it is not considered a scam.

 

Just because money changed hands, doesn't mean it was a valid transaction. If I pay a cop to not arrest me, money changed hands, and we both benefit, right? No, that's a bribe, and it's on the same fundamental level as buying referrals. Sure, millions of credits is a tempting offer (as bribes are supposed to be), but I still see it as a scam. If the new player subscribes, doesn't that grant the scammer with extra cartel coins? So sure, he may have written a nice check for you, but now imagine a golden nugget falls out of the sky and into his pocket. You may not think the millions you have right now is equal to his little nugget, but another nugget will fall every month. So now your ingame grant is only getting spent, but he is accumulating wealth, long after you've spent your millions. Plus, you may still think it's just one nugget, but that's just for duping you. How many others has he duped? If he can afford to hand out 40 million (the latest offer I've been seeing) like candy, then clearly he's getting more out of the deal than you are; is making billions. With enough diligence, he's probably getting a golden hailstorm every month. So while a new player thinks he's sitting pretty and struck it big for nothing, he's really just contributing to the scammer's pockets. Countless years from now, he doesn't even remember you, but he's still accruing wealth just off of duping you that one time.

 

People ingame have called me unfair or too young or even anti-capitalist, but I feel I'm the one with the broader understanding; the same understanding as the scammers. Otherwise, the scammers wouldn't be fishing so vehemently on the starter worlds, hoping to catch naive players before they know any better.

 

So yes, it's a scam.

Edited January 25, 2021 by Fevee
Grammar

 

So yes, it's a scam.

 

No it's not a scam, it is allowed, for it to be a scam, it would have to be against the rules.

 

Is it fair or even. Probably not, but it depends on whether someone is going to be a long time sub, or just the once. Not everyone stays subbed, a good chunk of the people who've used mine only subbed for the month. (I've never sold a link, before the cc's my friends and I used each others to get the mount & pets, then with the advent of cc's, I put my link here, and have gotten most of my clicks that way)

 

I like to think that if someone (anyone, not just me) helps someone on the forum, they click the link as a thank you.

 

If you use a link, and someone doesn't pay up, then contact cs, but use the email (support@swtor.com) , not the ticket system

Edited January 25, 2021 by DarkTergon

Tell them to give you half upfront! Take the money then run.

Tell them to give you half upfront! Take the money then run.

 

That would be a scam on your part, and would probably deserve some sort of action against your account.

I've heard that clicking a link when you don't know the repercussions can lead to bad things.

 

It may be distasteful, but it's been going on for years. At some point, though, some onus should be on the person clicking the link w/o investigating its purpose.

 

Dasty

 

No it's not a scam, it is allowed, for it to be a scam, it would have to be against the rules.

 

Is it fair or even. Probably not, but it depends on whether someone is going to be a long time sub, or just the once. Not everyone stays subbed, a good chunk of the people who've used mine only subbed for the month. (I've never sold a link, before the cc's my friends and I used each others to get the mount & pets, then with the advent of cc's, I put my link here, and have gotten most of my clicks that way)

 

I like to think that if someone (anyone, not just me) helps someone on the forum, they click the link as a thank you.

 

If you use a link, and someone doesn't pay up, then contact cs, but use the email (support@swtor.com) , not the ticket system

 

Last time I looked, the page you get your referral link from specifically states that it is for those who have never subbed or have not been a sub for the last 90 days. People who spam on fleet specifically asking for someone who is a current sub and never clicked a link are trying to bypass a detection system. They know it is wrong but do so to get free Cartel Coins. In essence, a scam. As Jdast stated above, bad things have been known to happen for the one clicking such a link. Not everyone knows referrals are for "never subs" or "90 day out of subs" but the ones spamming their intentions to pay one for doing so surely do.

That would be a scam on your part, and would probably deserve some sort of action against your account.

 

Fully agreed, scamming can work both ways. Both are wrong.

I'm new to the game (Well I was a day one sub but quit after about 6 months as all my friends left). Just got back into the game and have been seeing a number of these referal offers.

 

I fail to see how this is a scam if credits are exchanged for a referal. I take 40 million credits, he gets a monthly stipend of cartel coins. Now he may be getting the better of the deal in ther long run but that doesn't make it a scam.

 

Maybe I'm missing another side of this?

A referral link should NEVER have been allowed to be used by a current subscriber. The whole point of a referral link is to get people to join the game and possibly subscribe. Not to reward subscribers by getting other subscribers to click on their link.

 

One would think so - but this is Bioware, maybe their goals had nothing to do with getting more subscribers.

I'm new to the game (Well I was a day one sub but quit after about 6 months as all my friends left). Just got back into the game and have been seeing a number of these referal offers.

 

I fail to see how this is a scam if credits are exchanged for a referal. I take 40 million credits, he gets a monthly stipend of cartel coins. Now he may be getting the better of the deal in ther long run but that doesn't make it a scam.

 

Maybe I'm missing another side of this?

 

The scam is on Bioware. Referral rewards are given to those who bring revenue in to the game. These people are paying those who are already a subscriber. It tells you specifically it's not for current subs on the very page you get your referral code.

The scam is on Bioware. Referral rewards are given to those who bring revenue in to the game. These people are paying those who are already a subscriber. It tells you specifically it's not for current subs on the very page you get your referral code.

For anyone wondering, this is EXACTLY what the referral page says:

 

"NOTE: Friends who have never had a SWTOR account or previous Subscribers who have been unsubscribed for 90 days or more are eligible to participate."

 

Subscribers were never meant to click on referral links. It's a bug that Bioware never fixed.

Bioware have acknowledged that referral farming is not what they intended when the friend referral system was first introduced, but they have also said that they do not consider buying and selling of referral clicks to be something worthy of punishment.

 

Personally I would be running with an assumption that the starter planet referral spammers are linked directly to gold sellers. As BioWare I would take a very keen interest in players doing this, it certainly isn't a good advertisement for the health of this games community by being allowed to continue.

 

I'd never use the referral of someone I didn't think has made a contribution to the community.