Entertainer Archive

I ignore anyone in a cantina who's AFK or spamming. Far as I'm concerned, AFK entertainers are the same as AFK combat types: losers who can't hack it as a real player, so they automate it and go look at porn or something.

As for they goofs who feel it necessary to /shout constantly in a cantina, they get /ignored until I'm well away. Show some class, and whisper. If you're AFK and /shouting, well, you just drove my business away.

I have a few macros I use when I want to do something else. Usually, this involves fiddling with the game controls, talking to people, or I'm waiting for the shuttle and wanted to gain some XP while I wait. Nothing fancy, nothing loud, just the minimum investment needed to keep the goodies flowing if I can't focus.

When it comes to spam, I have exactly one macro with vocal. Stops dance and music, waits, bows, thanks the audiance once. That's it. If I need a macro to signal me, I use /tip self 50 to make a lovely red line of text tell me I'm an idiot for tipping myself.

Well, I completely agree with you, AFK Entertainers need a good smack upside the head with a Faamba... but... Here's a funny little posting I made about this. Basically, the problem is AFK Entertainers aren't entertaining! Maybe if they tried being creative we might not want to throw them in the Sarlacc pit. We can't stop them anymore than we can stop AFK loot grinders, or spawn campers. So why not make it fun at least.

Check this out... http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=entertainer&message.id=8350

In no way, shape or form do I endorse or suggest AFK Macroing, but if you're going to do it.. PLEASE try to do it in a fun and respectful way! Don't ask for tips if you make it fun for people they might tip you spontaneously....

I must confess, as the original poster, that I began as an AFK'er- not a spammer, but I did AFK.

At the start, as a scout trying to learn the game, I found Corellia's DG to be devoid of entertainers- and with low cash and heavy mind wounds, didn't know where to travel to find a dancer.

Well, when things got bad, I trained as an entertainer and started dancing in the cantina to heal myself. Within minutes, someone in the bazzar noticed and asked me to stay till he and his friends healed up.

After that, people sent /tells to me around the area. (I still hadn't gained the nerve to travel far from my starting city). During finals week, I set up an AFK macro- figured I'd help out everyone even though I couldn't play. Next thing I knew- my entertainment skills were my highest-level skills and I'd earned more in tips in one weekend than ever before.

Since then, I have occasionally AFK'ed- part to ignore all the spammers in dathomir, part to have a mind buffer available for guildmates when I couldn't be on during a scheduled raid/hunt. Simply set up in a remote place, add a /join macro, and explain for the group to come, invite me, get buffed, and leave.

It's only occasional, but in some ways, AFK entertaining can be beneficial.

You know, it is not like that many people tip anyways, at least on my server. At the begining of my entertainer career, I stayed on for hours upon hours and was given the grand total of three tips. I didn't just sit there and macro either. I chatted with people and kept at it for a week or so. Now I agree that spammers are incredibly annoying and a very real presence in all largely populated area. But, the whole tip thing is a joke. Most people just grab their heals and run. Yeah, we get experience, but as you know....in real life, many people make their real earnings in tips, be it the pizza man, waiter, or dancer. And if we are in the cantinas working to keep up the heals, then how else are we going to get money than by the tips that other players give to us.

So, if you decide to...ignore those macro spammers, but if you have a nice conversation with another player, tip them a little or something. It would be nice to see that more often.

Amica Kaibab (on my husband's account)

There's one guy on Lowca, at least level 4 on entertainment music, claims novice doctor (I believe it, judging by his stims) and has the title Master Artisian. His macro has spam for what I think may be his PA's player city, and judging by the name it is a conglomeration of stores. Mos Eisley Mall.

We are not amused.

Maybe end it with:
"This e-mail has been sent by a member of the 'entertainer etiquette coalition.' We share our ignore lists to insure an enjoyable gaming experience for all players. If you decide to remove afk-spams from your macros, I will gladly remove you from our ignore lists."

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Oooohhh... Entertainer Etiquette Coalition (EEC)... a new PA?

Anyone? Anyone?

I was shocked tonight, I was playing ATK (I don't believe in AFK anything, except sitting doing nothing while going potty...) tonight, and was talking to a few people, acknowledging people when they came in. And as a bare bones novice entertainer, I got a 10k tip from someone. I can only assume it was because I was there and actually talked to them. And I had to /addignore the one afk player who kept saying every 15 seconds "Please heal me now". It was terribly obnoxious.

I experienced the same last night. Was in the cantina near the starport in Bestine. Figured I would just dance a bit to work up some xp and heal my BF, and the place was empty aside from 2 afk musicians.

Before I knew if a dozen folks came trickling in, I greeted them, danced around a bit. Next I knew I had received 7K in tips. Dunno if the other entertainers got any or not. When I left 2 others dancers had joined, but wentafk and startedspamming. I can only assume that people tipped me for actually being there and talking to them.

I'm only entertainer 0/01/1. But I try to have fun with it. For example, when I flourish and fall doing rhythmic dance I'll stand up and say something like 'Meant to do that' or 'Just making sure I had your attention'. The crowd seems to like that.

I hate the afk spam, especially the infamous 'Tips are greatly appreciated'. I never tipped an afk entertainer. To me thats like tipping the protocol droid at the star port. I guess if you are holo-grinding afk entertaining is the thing to do, but if thats the case do you really need the tips?

Personally I don't ask for tips or healing. If someone want to tip me thats great andI thank them, but I get any cash I need from scouting. If my action pool is taking a beating and no one throws a heal on meI just say 'I'm going to take a little break but I'll be right back' and stop dancing til I've regenned. Its funny, but if you are the only ATK dancer in the cantina, someone is usually only too happy to heal you up so that you stay dancing.

I'm glad to hear that the players are rewarding the non-afk.

I started my own "reward system" on bria- I seek out non-afk'ers to get ent healing XP, rather than just heal myself. I tip these people to reward their efforts, even if I could have healed myself.

Lately, since I'm pretty solid in funding, I've been tipping away half my mind buff earnings to non-afker's- especially those starting out (letting them know WHY they got the tip, too)

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One night, there were three particularly bad spammers- a spatial every 5 seconds from each of them- all shouting. Rather than just /ignore them, I sent them a "while you were out" message telling them of the night's events.

I covered the fun activities, the goofing off, and the fact that over a dozen hecklers harassed the spatials, practiced emoting kicks and slaps on them (which I do not condone, but thought the AFK'ers should know they were the butt of such abuse) and that I personally knew that they had been added to the /ignore list of at least 9 other people- (because I explained to the new folk how to do it.)

I then politely told them that none of this would have happened had they AFK'ed silently and been happy with the XP they were earning.

I got one FU response, but didn't care. Some AFK-spammers just don't know how annoying they are and how they're the object of such derision and ridicule.
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Hehe, that's how I got started on it back in the day, just trying to heal myself when entertainers were few and AFKers little more than rumor. At least on Starsider, elsewhere I found a bigger infestation.



I just realized that my first character still exists. I may have to try bringing him up.