Announcement Fort battle Spam Policy

[Loki]

Howdy Cowgirls & Cowboys,

the declaration of multiple Fort Battles at the same time is a requiring problem on The West and can result in an interest decrease for this game feature.
Therefore, we have come up with a solution for this frustrating situation.

"Abusive / Spam Fort Battles" are battles that have as a primary effect the interference with the gameplay of others, not for any discernible legitimate purpose.
These can include:

1. Intentionally interfering with other's scheduled or planned battles:
   - digging within 3 hours of another dig by someone not within the same alliance, or during a window of time not greater than 6 hours established by alliances representing a majority of regular fort fighters for a recurring series of battles.
   - declaring any battles with 2 hours before or after an Awesomia battle organized by The West Team.
2. Digging excessive numbers of "strategic multi" battles within a 1-hour window:
   - generally, >2 battles by the same player/town/alliance.
   Strategic multi = declaring more than 1 battle in such close succession that the defenders can only possibly attend one, so that the attackers have the strategic advantage of knowing which one is the real target.
3. Digging excessive numbers of battles in a 24 hours period:
   - digging an additional battle within 6 hours of the previous battle when 4 or more battles are already scheduled;
   - OR, the same player digging 3 or more battles in a 24 hours period;
   - OR, the same town/alliance digging 4 or more battles in a 24 hours period.

Mitigating factors may include:

1. Events that reward event currency, or quests that reward substantial awards, for Fort Battle participation:
   - During these circumstances, no battle dug when there are no other battles during the same "quarter day" shall be punished (00:00-06:00, 06:00-12:00, 12:00-18:00, and 18:00-00:00).
2. Repeated failed "strategic multi" battles:
   - Each time an alliance attempts to employ the strategic multi tactic and fails to capture any fort while turning out >10 attackers on at least one of the battles they shall be permitted an additional simultaneous attack in their next attempt.
3. Compelling argument for the legitimate purpose, or reasonable mistake behind a dig
   - These rules are unable to cover every eventuality. The West Team will make decisions in any situation not covered by these measures.

What can you do?

In case you notice Abusive / Spam Fort Battles, please contact our support team as soon as possible. Always use the correct World selection.

What will we do?

• The West Team will analyse the situation and make the appropriate steps if required. Usually, when a world first faces such a problem, we are going to consider increasing the declaration cost for battles within a certain time period; these changes will be always announced.
• In the case the world has already have such settings applied and the problem persists, we reserve the possibility to warn and punish the players who are involved in the spamming process.
• Also, The West Team may cancel or reschedule Fort Battles which are considered Abusive / Spam Fort Battles; however, this is a non-binding act.

Rescheduling battles

• A battle may be rescheduled only if there are at least 6 hours before the start.
  Please note that we are not a 24/7 support system, therefore it may happen that we will not be able to react in timely manner and reschedule battles.
  We are sorry for these situations in advance.

We hope you like these changes!
Please, if you have any feedback or questions feel free to ask it here or contact us!

Have fun,
Your The West Team