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Sep-3-2006 20:18

It seems to me that lately there have been new agents joining agencies to steal their equipment.

Is there a way to allow agents to "borrow" agency equipment, but at the time that they quit, the equipment is returned to the owning agency? The only equipment they can take is the one the came with.

I play another rpg, they are able to do this there. If the agency wants to give the member equipment, they simply unclick the "agency item" button. This is done by a director of the team.

Sep-3-2006 21:09

Well, Kris just basically said what I was going to, but I will elaborate on my idea. To me, it seems like it would be a good idea to have a 'directors only' board, similar to the mods board. You can only post and view if you have director status. On this thread we would post any warnings about a given player without making that player defensive. I know there is a network through which PMs are sent, but I dont think they are sent to smaller agencies, which would be more deeply hurt by this type of betrayal. This board would reach directors of ALL agencies (assuming they read it of course). I do agree that trying to keep these things in house is a good idea, but I also believe that directors have a right to know about theiving detectives before having to learn it the hard way.

Sep-3-2006 21:13

Solve, I like the idea of automatic returning of gear ONLY if there is a way to mark it as agency property. I know that I would be upset if I came into an agency fully clothed, and left nekkid...

Sep-3-2006 21:13

To give credit where it is due, the idea of a directors board or lounge is actually a very old one i came accross earlier this week, when digging for info to answer a question in the newbie board.
http://noir.playsleuth.com/map/cityhall/cs/post.spy?id=1534

So yes, it was Chron's idea a long long time ago. Might be a good one now though if we consider the number of new and smaller agencies popping up.

Sep-3-2006 21:14

Awww, and here I thought it was my idea. :( Great minds think alike huh Chrone? ;)

Sep-3-2006 21:19

Autumn,
Absolutely, the agent would own what they brought in and what the agency "gave" them.

Only equipment belonging to the agency would be returned to the agency.

Sep-3-2006 21:25

I am not sold on the idea of a "come back button" for gear for an agency. I think that we need to suffer the consequences of our actions with our detectives. If we trust the wrong person, it is on our heads to live with it.

That said I think that there should also be a private conversation with the detective in question. Not a quick 5 minute conversation but a chance for both sides to review what happened and try to come to an agreement.

Then it should be made public if no agreement can be reached. That way each director is responsible for his or her own actions, and if we post about a problem detective we will be answerable for our posts.

Also the affected detective gets to publicy make their point on what happened and the community overall can judge for themselves on the idea of hiring that detective for their own agency.

Sep-3-2006 21:26

Utilizing a simple program to cut down on thievery sounds like an excellent idea that would save alot of time for directors and stop potential losses for agencies.

Recruiting can also be a time consuming task. If players knew there was no chance they could steal equipment and leave, then it might cut down on wasted recruiting efforts as well.

Sep-3-2006 21:30

The problem with posting on the boards about a bad agent doesnt always help. There was one very recently who just kept creating new detectives and even backed herself up on the message board. Sooner or later they will scam another agency with a different detective.

Sep-3-2006 21:33

Hey Cal, thanx for giving me the kudos for the directors' lounge idea. ;-)

While it's easy for anyone to start their own agency and be a director, there usually is a reason for doing so, like wanting to do things your own way. I've found that almost every single director I've seen all have a sense of loyalty to the site and responsibility to the common good. And I imagine that the very same scoundrels who pull crap like that would be the first to scream bloody murder if it happened to them!

I still think the idea of a directors' lounge is sound because we're basically doing the same thing anyway through pm'ing each other. This would save time, and get any situations into the light to be dealt with between whichever parties are involved.

Sep-3-2006 21:33

How in the hell are we to be held responsible for the games of con artists? This is internet, people have it real easy to pretend what they're not....honest!!!!

And to make it clear, I didn't get ripped off....so far. I consider it a matter of luck actually and no judgment expertise. I can't check out "body language" or other indications of dishonesty, just a couple of words like "HI, can I join your agency please!". If there's a way of avoiding all these endless debates and "misunderstandings" it would save us from a lot of community infection.