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Mar 9, 2013

Fishy practices during Wargaming supertest

SS: Here's an e-mail I recieved from a concerned supertester - I am publishing it with his consent. I will leave it as it is (only removed some parts according to which the supertester could be identified). I will leave it up to you, dear readers, to decide whether it's true or not. Generally, after consulting the e-mail with my other supertest source - it checks out, even though I cannot guarantee it's totally accurate (especially the gold-illegal-in-EU part).

Heya SilentStalker,

I have a nice juicy story for you. Straight outta supertest.

A lot of the supertesters kicked today, are not kicked for inactivity. They are kicked because WG did not like their face, or their hair, or their voice, or their name or something else. Why? Because even very active supertesters were kicked. I, for example. I had *redacted*. Which was quite a lot compared to other EU testers, some of them didn't show up _at_ _all_. They were not kicked.

Fishey eh? Well, it gets worse. We have been told by supertest coordinators that EU testers could not be kicked, the mail about that, was only intended for the Russian players. It was not for us, because we just entered the supertest.

Can it get fishier? Of course, this is WG after all. The mail about the kick was only send in Russian, there was no translation. We were not warned about inactivity, the kick was suddenly there. And, Wargaming gotta wargame, we were kicked by a dude (Marokko) WHO WAS ON HOLIDAY.

Is it possible to get even fishier? Of course! The decision is final. The EU supertest coordinator tried to re-roll the EU kicks, but was not able to and was informed: "The decision is final".

We should have reached the limit of fishy-ness by now. But no! It is forbidden, by the law of the European Union, to pay people for their work by means of virtual gold/stuff. How do I know this? Because WARGAMING TOLD ME SO. They plan to pay the EU players the same way as the Russian players. If they do so, they are in violation of the EU law.

I think we have reached the limit by now.

Regards,
An ex-supertester

PS: Oh, I forgot. I can get fishier. Among the people kicked. There were all of the Dutch supertesters. Yeah, every single Dutch tester was kicked. Even the active testers.

Part 2 

SS: this is a part of the second e-mail I recieved from the same source. As always, I redacted the incriminating parts.

When I was banned from the forums, I still had access to the Jabber supertest channel and had a chance to speak one of the *redacted*. (*redacted*, who is pretty awesome by the way)
As far as I could tell, he/she was very surprised and after he/she got a little more details about what happened, got furious. He/she even went as far as contacting Marokko, who is currently on holiday in Russia. Sadly, he/she got 'Njet' as an answer.

Marokko wouldn't even react to the kicked supertesters, even though he was online on Skype.

I did a bit of checking and noticed quite a few of the kicked testers were from the Netherlands and Germany. So far 3 from the Netherlands, and 3-4 from Germany. And a few players I haven't been able to locate yet.
Some told me it might have to do with the law about payments in virtual stuff, since the Netherlands and Germany are very strict with that, so it might have been an easy way to get rid of us. But then again, England has the same kind of laws, but those supertesters were not kicked.

And a little something about Russians vs Europeans:
The EU and Russians both have their own Jabber chat channel, and both have access to a channel where free tests are announced. To participate in a test, you have to be in Teamspeak and of course in WoT.
As soon as a test is announced in Jabber, Teamspeak or ingame, you are supposed to hop in the TS channel for that test. The Free Test Creator will then pick the players on a first come, first serve basis. Teams are balanced according to the performance rating of the players.

But here is the trick. Some Russian Free test creators tried to get rid of EU testers by saying: "You are not in the correct Jabber channel, please leave". And got Russians in their place. Voila, Russian supremacy ftw!
As soon as WG found out, they told all of the supertesters that being in Jabber was not mandatory. They also stated that if they heard of these things ever again, they would not even warn the Free test creators. As in, they will be kicked immediately.

And another small story:
Once upon a time there was a Russian Free test creator who apparently did not like EU players. I was in one of his tests once, and he told translators to tell me to use HE shells. He told them over and over and over again. A few day later, I heard someone complaining about him. The tester said that said Russian started to shout (in Russian!) at him and another EU tester, and would not stop. The EU testers told the Eu coordinators and they said they would take care of it. A few days later, mister Sanchobox had 'voluntary' left the supertest. The EU testers lived happily ever after, until some got kicked.


SS: Well, there is definitely something weird going on with the supertest, but then again... we didn't really expect something else, did we?


57 comments:

  1. So they've probably found that leaks come from one of Dutch testers and decided to kick them all. Makes sense to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea, next time try to get a russian player as source. :D

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  2. meh...its wargaming - nuff said

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  3. you know, it was a fun game, but I'm really hoping WG gets hit hard by all the stupidity they are pulling out right now

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  4. Damn.. now I'm starting to lose interest for the supertest :|

    Hajvanho

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  5. they ingame-payment for mods and testers is being used by a lot of european games, and never gave problems. You are not an enployee, just a user with benefits and access to information (some powers if you are a mod).

    just like that, since you never signed a shit, you are not legally an employee; you just agreed to some list of rules to prevent leaks of that information, and what will happen if you do it.

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    Replies
    1. Wrong. The translators for the client, worked on a voluntary basis and were 'payed' in gold. Yet WG had to change the method of payment due to EU laws.

      If you don't believe me, go ask some translators

      Delete
    2. then wg did something wrong on the "contract" they agreed ( never signed). because i was a mod in a big european game, and i know some from other games, and we never had problems. I am talking about people from every country, but the company is in france.

      Delete
    3. WG have voluntary translators? Hahaha ... That really made my day. That says so much about that company. Shit I'm starting to hope that EA will make some tankish mmo ;-).

      Y.

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    4. I have been told that france itself doesn't have these strict laws. And the payment change was done recently, as in, last year.

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    5. Also, the translators are currently under contract. So yes, technically they are employees.

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    6. maybe is that, or maybe not... because what law do you apply? the one from the country the company is in? or the one from where the mod/tester lives?

      Delete
    7. if they are really under contract, signed and agreed, YES, they have to be paid; BUT because it was a signed contract, not just a list of terms to agreed like the testers.

      Delete
    8. yep, wg had some volunteers to translate WoT and gave them choice - 250 gold per day + some small payment in euro per text translated or 500 gold per day.

      The funny part is, the crews that decided on 250 gold + euro were used very rarely and translated only part of material. Their pleas to help with improving some older stuff translated before them were ignored.
      Finally around a year ago WG decided to hire outsorce comapny to make translation so one day translators noticed they are not translators anymore - they got no information about that.
      The level of translated material dropped significantly, but hey, professionals are translating now :D

      Delete
    9. Completely wrong info.

      They were given the option to get payed with 500 gold a day, or get payed real life money. Q2 2012 things changed and everybody got payed real life money.

      Delete
    10. yes i can validate this
      I have a friend who was (maybe still is) a translator
      he told me long ago they did in fact had a debate for gold vs cash for services provided and WG decided to pay them in cash
      they never knew, at that time, the real reason why they did it
      later they signed contracts and so, they became part-time WG employees

      Delete
  6. nice one, with all those clues WG will find your secret informator in no time :)

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  7. In soviet belarussia supertests test you

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  8. Show me a club that doesn't have some sort of drama like that.
    One side leaks, the other side kicks and some people don't like others. It's also no secret that a lot of Russians are very nationalistic. I hope you won't dedicate this blog to soap opera too much.

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    Replies
    1. This is not soap opera. Some of those supertesters spent some of their free time to help the game development for FREE.Instead of some appreciation, they apparently get kicked for no reason.

      Delete
    2. Don't like it, don't read it. It's that simple. You don't own this blog.

      Delete
  9. As a former EU (British) supertester, i was kicked with absolutely no information, not even an email telling me why. I only foundout when the forum said 'your not allowed onto this site'.

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    1. Still is the same. We (the testers that just got kicked) had to beg for any info on why we cant enter the site anymore. Was it a bug, forum down or were we just fired with no reason and or information. Later on we got a mail, on Russian, with a list of players 90% of new EU testers were on , those that were active anyway, and ye... WG are idiots , they were are and will be in the future. Long live War Thunder ! :D

      Delete
  10. Well, I've been accepted as supertester, "signed" NDA 2 weeks ago and still no response :D But after this shit I'm not really interested to join supertest...

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  11. 1. "not kicked for inactivity" - You can't be innactive for more than 2 weeks and you MUST do 2 tests/week. They didn't -> They are out. Also the "leak" didn't helped the EU ppl. Fair enough
    2. You cannot get kicked in the first month. Indeed, we got in at the end of february, it's not 100% fair but i have nothing against it.
    3. In ST rules it says that every decision is final. There is no point in trying to re-roll it.
    4. Virtual gold? Who cares about it? Or some ppl really signed up to ST for the rewards.
    5. Wrong, not everyone was Dutch. Stop spreading lies.
    6. "he/she" - It's a HE ffs.
    7. The jabber thing. Missinformation, never had any problems with that.
    8. Russian ST ppl were nice so far, some were extremly helpfull, and most of them try to make jokes with us. The general atmosphere is nice.

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    Replies
    1. its nice to see some opinion from the other side of the river.

      its hard to see the russian SP being nice, if they are similar to russian players from the public test server.

      Delete
    2. You can't even compare the ST with the public test.
      Trust me, if one player was a weirdo, this doesn't mean that all of them are. Most of them are really kind, and they will try to translate what they are talking about, even if you're the only EU player.
      It's more like platooning on live server with nice ppl.

      Delete
    3. never had the pleasure to meet a nice rusian player, or they just were quiet while all the "kids" were shouting, insulting and Tking. but yes, you have a point, public test and private test cant be compared.

      i suppose that you have to be 18+ to be tester, and that is a great diference.

      Delete
    4. @Anon: thx for that post. :)

      Delete
    5. The Russian testers are same as they are on the RU server so stop spreading lies. Some are nice yes but 99% of them dont know one word of the English language, others curse at you if you try speaking in English. To get fired for nonactivity when you had to download 3 clients, with 10+ patches and install those for 3 separate completely different clusters with little to no information on the mostly RU orientated forums. The English part was pretty much NOT updated regularly so it only tooks us a few days till we got everything set properly. It was a pain to be a volunteer that had to mess himself with fixing all of the stuff WG had fucked up and still endure everything being on RUSSIAN. Every single thing. Mostly all the fired testers wanted to do this but had no time to get used to it and do it properly before they got kicked.

      Delete
    6. 1. Even if not all of them know english, there is ALWAYS one russian dude who knows and who will help you.
      2. They don't curse you for speaking english.
      3. Downloading 3 clients is such a big deal for you? Are you serious dude?
      4. There is one install guide on the ST forum. It's always updated and if you have half a brain working you can read the name of the patches and you'll know what and where to install.
      5. A few days? It took me a few hours.
      6. With that attitude i'm glad that you're kicked.

      Delete
  12. Please put on your reading glasses. He said that among the testers kicked. There were all of the Dutch testers. He didn't say only the Dutch testers were kicked.

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    Replies
    1. Oops, wrong button. This was for the Anon above me.

      Delete
  13. "It is forbidden, by the law of the European Union, to pay people for their work by means of virtual gold/stuff. How do I know this? Because WARGAMING TOLD ME SO. They plan to pay the EU players the same way as the Russian players. If they do so, they are in violation of the EU law."

    Sounds like BS. So when WG gave the volunteer moderators gold for monitoring in-game chat and the forums, they were breaking laws? Funny nothing has happened then. I've also paid other games where moderators, etc. were "paid" with in-game currency. I guess they broke laws too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Moderators also have a new payment system. They are no longer payed in gold.

      Delete
    2. I know, that's because they are now employees of WarGaming and receive a wage/salary.
      I highly doubt the supertesters are employed by WarGaming. They are volunteering their time to test the game and are rewarded with gold just as the moderators were.

      Delete
    3. Wargaming LIED to you m8.

      Paris office doesnt want anyone that hasnt signed a contract to be payed and its only the paris office. There is no breaking the law of any kind. I get payed with virtual goods in all of em.

      Delete
    4. Translators work for Minsk.

      Delete
  14. For above, *played other games, not paid.

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  15. This is such a non-story. So beta testers are not getting paid and they are getting laid of in numbers, yeah that have never happened before *sigh*

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  16. Id be glad to give you the list of all the testers that got kicked if you need that.

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  17. This isn't a surprise at all.. the "compensation" for being a Supertester usually violates the country's labor laws. It was for this exact reason the NA Supertester crew was disbanded months ago - and yes, I was one of them.

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  18. I've heard they are paying with gold only, and only on RU server, so this payment is worth nothing.

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  19. Hang on for a moment, so first you guys publish EU ST leaks, then you publish whinny letters "ZOMG EU STesters are getting kicked" letters?

    YA RLY makes sense.

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    Replies
    1. The EU testers that were kicked, were as far as I know, not under suspicion of leaking.

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    2. Not all of the EU testers got kicked for ST leaks. Some got kicked just as a precautinary measure and some were really inactive!

      Delete
  20. Looking at it from WG point of view.

    EU players get invited to supertest, some of them abuse the privileged by leaking info. All EU supertesters come under suspicion.

    Add to that the language barrier and EU testers are more trouble than they are worth.

    I'm not surprised WG kicked them out, I am surprised there are any EU supertesters left.

    Other games companies have kicked out entire testing teams due to leaks, it's not uncommon.

    SS, I think you should stay out of the politics and stick to translating SerB's trolling. That's what I come here for.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well look at it this way...

      Not all of the EU testers should be punished for the mistakes of the few! I was ready to sign a real life binding contract to be a SuperTester. WG can find and prove a info leaker quite easy if their developers have 1 brain cell.

      Also i havent noticed anyone said the leaker was from the EU lol... So again your story makes no sence as the leaker could have been from RU section. Has logic in it dont ya thing?

      Some of the "leaks" you saw here are info none of the new testers actually had in the first place. And out of those 80 players 60 were Russian.

      So Homer stop hating EU testers and go chill instead ;)

      Delete
    2. Not hating anyone, just playing devil's advocate.

      WG invite EU players, leaks start, EU players naturally come under suspicion.

      WG could spend lots of time and effort into finding the one guilty person but it's much easier for them to kick the whole lot out. TBH that's what I would do too.

      It's happened with supertests in other games, one person leaks some info, all supertesters get kicked off.

      Delete
  21. With the attitude the guy demonstrates in his "inside"-information, its VERY GOOD they haved kicked him.

    Also, 2 things.

    1) The supertesters which leak info are in *clear* violation of their NDA. In the software companies i worked in we sued such people at once if something like that happened. Hard. Fines were 5-digits in €.

    2) That suddenly after EU-STesters are accepted, leaks show up all over the place makes the folks at wg angry for good reasons. If i would be in charge, i would have kicked *all* new accepted testers instantly.

    And @Silentstalker.
    I *really* like your blog, your translations and all. Also how you handle all the morons & douchebags from the "community"; especially those smallbrained pseudo-nationalists.
    BUT, and srsly:
    I dont accept your publication of Stest info.
    >Thats --100% clear violation-- of the NDAs. Someone is breaking his contract; and you support this. Thats, sorry i have 2 say it, childish *and* can endanger your account. I *bet* that the EU-Employees of WG get a superhard time because of you. Also, the anger directed towrads the new EU-Stesters is fully fueled by you publishing the leaks.

    Its none of my biz and i dont want that you get punished (i was one of the guys who warned you about the watermarks & gold/crewname info in the images), and want to enjoy your great blog and SerBtrolltranslations etc also in the future.

    By
    - supporting & publishing clear breach of NDA
    - putting even such childish dirty laundry and whines from ex-testers on a platform
    you really crossed the lines; continued on top of that.

    Thats different from your scoop regarding the rigged competition. If i would be in your shoes, i would stop publishing the Stest-leaks.

    Sincerly


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    Replies
    1. Do not agree. First, I do not see how is WG harmed by these leaks. If anything, it creates some buzz so it is almost like a commercial, just free. There is no competitor who could copy the ideas or anything like that.

      Second, I think it is good that stupid behavior get exposed, after all that is the only defense against people misusing their power.

      Third, " the anger directed towrads the new EU-Stesters is fully fueled by you publishing the leaks.", thats just silly. WG is successful company, it is revealing how amateurish they are in organizing this.

      Finally, I found threatening by "endangering your account" just ridiculous. What part of user agreement is being breached? I do not see any ads here, so it cannot be argued that SS is doing it to enrich himself.

      Delete
  22. That really sounds like some stuff is in need of fixing on WG's part..banning just cause they SUDDENLY see an error in payment =T

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    Replies
    1. the "error in payment" dates back to fall 2011 (!!)
      it's very hard for me to believe they reverted back on their decision

      but .. they could also "hire" as temps for 1-2 months, reward them in gold and kick them at the end
      keep only those who show true potential and sign contracts with them

      Delete
    2. hey ss, why did you removed my comment?

      Delete
    3. I didn't. Some comments end up in "spam" folder for some reason automatically. I can only assume the keyword "payment" triggered it.

      Delete
  23. This feels like the story of a thriller movie, how will it end? With a murder?
    Wtf is all this crap?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This 'crap' can also be called 'Wargaming'.

      Delete

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