"Save me a spot"

[Oklahoman]

How do you guys feel about this, and how do you handle it? I'm not talking about someone in the team/league already who wants to alt, I'm talking about someone responding directly to an LFG ad with "save me a spot."

 

First off, I have a reaction to being TOLD rather than ASKED, but let's set that aside. How do I know when to invite you, and under what name? How do I know the the next person to send me a tell asking to join isn't you? How long does it take for you to grab your alt? etc.

 

I've never found a good way to handle this, so by and large I tend to ignore those requests (demands?). But I also know some people may need a certain badge and just inconveniently find themselves logged onto the wrong character at that moment.

[srmalloy]

On the extremely rare occasions that I've done something like this, I ask the person building the team to hold a spot, and that I'm switching to [character name], and after I switch, send them a tell saying that I switched from [original character name] to join, so that they get confirmation at both ends of the switchover that I'm the right person.

 

But for the most part, particularly with a team that's close to full, I'll assume that the leader can fill the team and start in the time it takes me to switch, so I'll just let it go by.

[Frostbiter]

Just tell them that spots are first come first served.

[Xiddo]

Just ask them to message you when they’re back? Or ask them for the name? Or when they’ve said “save me a spot”, you can right click their name to get to global and then just check it Vs the new name. I don’t know if it is that complicated?

I’ve also almost always had “mind if I grab an alt? It’s XYZ” and then they wait for a reply so maybe I’ve just not had the issue.

i don’t think it’s telling per se, it’s just brevity because they want to get their alt and get going and not mess you around if you’re in a rush. I wouldn’t take it personally. It’s just the mode of how we talk online.
I’ll give em 1-2 mins. That accounts for logging onto a toon, checking the badge, and the 30 second logout thing.

 

[Uun]

I don't like it and I don't hold spots if I'm recruiting. If someone is recruiting and I'm on the wrong character, I will alt before responding to the leader. Sometimes the team will fill before I respond, but that's a risk even if you don't alt.

[Neiska]

Personally I am conflicted. I guess most times it depends on how they respond or ask. Someone asking "hey, may I change characters" I have no objection to. Some reply with a simple "me." But I do want to make mention that sometimes, depending on the activity, people might be in a rush to respond in an attempt to secure a place before the team fills, which can lead to some quickly written as well as amusing responses at times.

 

But for me, it depends on how they ask. If they ask politely I will save their spot. If not, then I may or may not save it. It just all depends honestly. But that's just me. 

[Nemu]

You are the one advertising and people are just taking you up on your offer. Nothing wrong with that. If you need to know who they switched to, left click their local name in chat and get their global, you can repeat this even if they go offline and you can grab their new local name via that action (on their previous name) once they are back online.

 

I find it strange that some team leaders don't take the time to read all chat. I've been on more than one team where the team leader is advertising in LFG and there's a dude standing right next to them asking "LF X TF" or "Do you still have room?" That's followed by minutes of silence and then they invite a few more people (presumably those that sent tells) to fill the team. That behavior annoys me, like at least have the courtesy to tell the guy standing right next to you that the team is filled or that you got a few people coming.

 

Same thing with group leaders that advertise in LFG then ignore the people asking to join via LFG. To me it's all fair game and I find it unfair to those asking in LFG to get invited ignored in favor of those that send tells.

 

If a player can't be bothered to pay attention to chat, that speaks to me about the kind of player they are. Though it's hardly relevant for EZPZ content I'd be sure to attribute that inability to read chat for more difficult content that requires following instructions or coordination. This also applies to advertisements that specifically ask players to send tells when in zone and players that ignore that specific instruction (I totally get the reasoning for that as well for co-op events, for example).

Edited September 6, 2022 by Nemu

[Ironblade]

Firstly, let me qualify my response by noting that I run tons of task forces but pretty much nothing that requires a league - so I'm dealing with a smaller number of such replies and a smaller number of people to invite.

 

When someone sends me a tell that they're going to switch, I click their name to bring up the context menu and get their global name.  That way, when I later get a tell saying 'ready for invite', I can check the global and make sure I have the right person.  Until they get back, I hold their spot and will announce 'Team full' once we have seven others and tell the team that our last person is switching.

 

Off the top of my head, I would estimate that I get one such reply for most task forces I run - a little more than half the time.  Occasionally there are none.  Occasionally there are two.  I don't remember every having three such replies but it's possible.  Since I normally check the global name of everyone I team with (I have a keybind for this), it doesn't feel too burdensome to handle this.

 

If I were running a league of 16, I think this would still be manageable.  For a league of 24, I don't know.  I probably wouldn't even try.  So, to be consistent, I might not even try for leagues of 16.  I know you run iTrials on a regular basis and you're not a jerk about it, so I would say figure out a solution that works for YOU and people will adjust to it.

[Oklahoman]

1 hour ago, Ironblade said:

I know you run iTrials on a regular basis and you're not a jerk...

 

Nicest thing anyone has said to me today!

 

1 hour ago, Ironblade said:

...about it, so I would say figure out a solution that works for YOU and people will adjust to it.

 

Oh, spoke too soon. 🙂 I think you're probably right - just say I don't hold spots, first come, first served, and let it work itself out. Just was curious how others are doing it.

[Zhym]

I don't run TFs or iTrials,*  but as a player, here's my general approach:

• If it's a TF that needs a particular build or alignment (e.g., a 4-Star Aeon), I'll PM to ask if I can grab an alt.  This is especially true if it's likely to fill quickly.  I've sometimes tried to switch to the alt, and by the time I'm back not only has the team filled but I missed the "Full!" message.  
• If it's an iTrial, I usually just join with whatever alt I have on.  Then once I'm in the league, I may ask if I can alt depending on how full the league is and whether it seems like it's about to kick off.

Since you mostly run iTrials and MSRs and it's hard to keep track of who you're supposed to be waiting on, I think it would be completely reasonable to say that you won't hold spots except for people alting after they've joined the league—and then only between runs or if the player asked first.

 

 

* Well, okay, there was that Dilemma Diabolique I ran one time, when everything seemed way harder than it should have been, until sometime near the end when someone asked, "You know that this iTrial can take 16 people, right?" 

 

That certainly explained why our team of 8 had such trouble.  We got through it, though.  Successfully, even.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Zhym

[Erratic1]

Most people provide a reason for wanting a spot to be saved and the actual wording, "Save me a spot" is not used, in my experience. The two reasons I come across are:

1. Needing to swap to another character. Most people will note they are doing so. My typical form of dealing with this when I need to change is, "Swapping to another character, name will be <X>"--lets the person know I intend to join them and who to expect a tell from so they know it is me.
2. They are in a mission and want to go without having to abandon the mission (usually implied by a "Let me finish this mission"). I personally only do this when I am facing the last or second less spawn in a mission. Otherwise I will say, "Exiting mission" to let the person recruiting know that I need the minimal amount of time it will take me to either find the door or Ouro out of a mission so they can invite.

I join far more TFs than I start but I do start some number of TFs. My tactic for holding spots are:

• Decrease the counter in the ongoing announcements which indicate how many I am recruiting for. If my most recent announcement in LFG was along the lines of, "Manticore TF, LF5M, level 30+" then after having had one of the above requests I will immediately announce, "Manticore TF, LF4M, level 30+"
• If someone has indicated they are finishing a mission, the group is nearing full, and I still have not heard from them, I will ask, "How close are you to being ready?"
• If someone has indicated they are swapping characters but I have not received a message from them they have swapped I will attempt to message the original character.
• Do not do a completion message until I have a full eight people on the TF (unless I have issued a Final Call message and it has been a minute).

Things might be different were I organizing a raid's worth of people. But a TF is easy enough for me to keep up with commits and joins that I am fairly relaxed and accommodating, especially while still gathering people. 

[Veracor]

During iTrials and Task Forces:

1. I respond "Okay" and get their global name.  I get their global name again 30 seconds later and hopefully they're on their other character.
2. If I was advertising the number of spots, I account for them taking a spot.
3. I do not advertise being full until everyone is present.  If the last spots are claimed by people switching characters, I respond to further tells "We might be full, waiting on people to switch," followed by "Sorry, we filled," if they show up, or "They didn't show, still want in?" if they don't.
4. After several minutes if the person still has not switched characters or shown up, I message them for confirmation, and launch anyways if they don't respond and no one else was in line.  During these minutes I sometimes go ahead and run instructions for the people that are already present.

During Hamidon raids:

1. I respond "Come to zone for invite."

[golstat2003]

I ask for the name they are switching to or to send me a tell when they are on that character. If it fills before they switch, not much I can do than to apologize and ask them to join the next run.

[High_Beam]

I tend to ask in tell after they announce if I can alt.  I never ask to save me a spot because it just seems like bad form.  Then again I would be lying if I said I didn't get salty when I ask if I can alt they say yes, then 11 seconds after switching the slot is gone.  But its their team so how can I get mad.  If I have that much of a hard on I should form one myself,

[TygerDarkstorm]

I have asked for folks to save me a spot so I can alt because I have altitis. I also often don't know off-hand which alt I am going to switch to, but I always try to ask and to ask politely (e.g., Would you mind holding a spot for me while I alt?) Then I wait for an answer. If they say yes, I say thank you brb, I'll send you a tell when I'm back. I try to make my switch as quick as possible and always shoot a return tell saying Hey this is [name of whatever alt I was on before switching] so they're aware of who I am.

 

I generally try to alt before I shoot a tell though, and if I miss out, I move on. I just often log in on a character I might be up to soloing/refreshing their days logged out which gives me a chance to see if there's anything going on that I might want to join before going about my business.

[biostem]

15 hours ago, Oklahoman said:

How do you guys feel about this, and how do you handle it?

If they ask nicely, and I haven't filled the team by that point, then I'll gladly save them a spot, but I also expect them to switch and send a tell in fairly short order.  If they demand I save them a spot, well I won't have any of that noise, and will probably move on to other candidates...

[Clave Dark 5]

I always send a tell "Let me switch and I'll go/if you'll have me" or something, then wait for a response before switching, to make sure.

[Chrono-Bot]

I'm usually on the wrong character for things so I've sent a lot of 'oh I'd like to join! I need to switch characters first though' or something like that and usually the immediate response is 'send a tell when ready' - but just last play session something happened *twice* that never happened before. I got immediate invites. I joined, quickly said who I was going to go become and that I'd send a tell, and switched. The first time the team leader re-invited me, starred someone else, and quit and never came back so we never started that tf. The second time I got re-invited on the right character, we did the tf, all was well. It was just odd I got invited both times.

[UltraAlt]

On 9/6/2022 at 9:40 AM, Oklahoman said:

First off, I have a reaction to being TOLD rather than ASKED, but let's set that aside. How do I know when to invite you, and under what name? How do I know the the next person to send me a tell asking to join isn't you? How long does it take for you to grab your alt? etc.

 

I always ask if someone can hold a spot while I switch.

I generally say "back" when I come back with a character, because I figure covers returning/being back with a new character.

 

If they aren't asking and just "telling" as you indicate, I would just keep recruiting and if they are back in time, great.

Otherwise you had no real obligation to hold a spot for them. Your message in /lfg I'm sure was to send a tell for invite, and not "send a tell if you want me to hold a spot for you". And I'm assuming you don't reply and say "I'm saving a spot for you".

 

But I have to say, if this is going on, I'm assuming it's on Excelsior.

[MangoKulfi]

On 9/7/2022 at 12:42 AM, TygerDarkstorm said:

I generally try to alt before I shoot a tell though, and if I miss out, I move on.

^ This plus solo TF warping to the contact is what I do most of the time I'm trying to join someone else's TF.

 

When leading a team I'll save spots.  Personally I think everyone overdoes it with the info though.  Unless you have it set where I can't get your local name from your global in my chat log I just smile and nod at my screen whenever I get the intimate details of how I should be prepared to encounter a completely different character then the one that sent the initial tell.

 

Topic is giving some insight on people just trying to be courteous but damn, I know your "back" or that your actually *insert prevous toon name* before you can send the tell.  Just get to the TF zone and start dancing around with the other weirdos about to help me fight half-naked vampires and sexually frustrated werewolves.

[PFlux]

If I'm switching to a alt and I'm not sure of the name, I'll just send a tell saying "Password will be xxxx"  As far as being told to save a spot without confirmation.  I'm against it.  However I can't even count on 1 hand how many times I've said I'm omw just to get there and have them already pick another person because they couldn't wait 18 seconds for me to zone.  Those people get ignored and lose out on any ITF's I run in the future.

[Ironblade]

7 hours ago, PFlux said:

If I'm switching to a alt and I'm not sure of the name, I'll just send a tell saying "Password will be xxxx"

OMG I have never heard or thought of that.  Is there a secret handshake to go with the password?   🙂

[Carnifax]

On 9/8/2022 at 6:04 AM, UltraAlt said:

 

I always ask if someone can hold a spot while I switch.

I generally say "back" when I come back with a character, because I figure covers returning/being back with a new character.

 

If they aren't asking and just "telling" as you indicate, I would just keep recruiting and if they are back in time, great.

Otherwise you had no real obligation to hold a spot for them. Your message in /lfg I'm sure was to send a tell for invite, and not "send a tell if you want me to hold a spot for you". And I'm assuming you don't reply and say "I'm saving a spot for you".

 

But I have to say, if this is going on, I'm assuming it's on Excelsior.

I'm in the "save me a spot, I'm alting. Need anything in particular?" followed by "back" once I do alt (and probably used the lfg teleporter to get to the contact).

 

That's why I don't want the leader monitoring my Global. I might be back but I'm probably trying to find the TF in the list to Solo queue so I can get teleported to them before I'm actually ready to go. Especially for an itf.

[UltraAlt]

1 hour ago, Carnifax said:

That's why I don't want the leader monitoring my Global.

 

Not sure where this came from.

Are team leaders really monitoring people's globals?

.... and then inviting them as soon as the log back in with an alt?

 

I sure don't bother doing monitoring globals when I'm leading a team ... or monitor globals at all really (aside from getting it to email a player influence or gfriend-ing them).

 

I don't  accept blind invites as part of common practice.

[Carnifax]

5 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

 

Not sure where this came from.

Are team leaders really monitoring people's globals?

.... and then inviting them as soon as the log back in with an alt?

 

I sure don't bother doing monitoring globals when I'm leading a team ... or monitor globals at all really (aside from getting it to email a player influence or gfriend-ing them).

 

I don't  accept blind invites as part of common practice.

No I mean when you ping them "brb", alt and as soon as you alt they invite you before you can do the lfg teleport thing to the TF contact.

 

Just them being uber-efficient. Not some weird stalker thing. Has happened a few times to me 😃

Edited September 9, 2022 by Carnifax