Staff Notifications for Installs
Almost everywhere 'belongs' to someone...

The idea would be for staff to get automated notifications on all installations similar to those they get on dipping and deaths. The notification would include what was installed, who installed it, where it was installed, what characters (NPC and PC) were present, if the characters present were disguised/hidden and the ambient population level for that location.

Staff could then decide if anyone noticed and cares or would tell someone who cares. It would also help staff stay in the loop and be aware of things installed in places that don't make sense for IC reasons or game health/balance. It would also encourage PCs to be careful about how and where they install things.

As far as I can tell, almost every spot in the dome and plenty outside of it are 'owned' by someone or some group. The streets of Red are 'owned' by one gang or another. Sewers, tunnels, gold/green streets are 'owned' by the city (WJF/WCS). The halls of an apartment complex are 'owned' by the management of that complex. The bar/restaurateur is 'owned' by the characters that run the place. I think these people/groups would care about things installed on their 'turf'.

I think that staff needs to be made aware of installations so they can make the world react accordingly. Even if there are no NPCs present to see it, ambient population is a thing. Even in places without much ambient population, like sewers, are frequented by ambients (like ambient WCS employees in this example). I think that installs shouldn't be able to escape's staff notice and that staff shouldn't have to search for them, stumble upon them or hope that a PC notes it before becoming aware of an installation in a place that may not make sense.

In relation to cameras, it's no secret that I feel there are a lot of things that need to be improved for the sake of balance and so they make more IC sense. Not a fan at all of beefing them up even a tiny bit until certain imbalances (in my opinion) are addressed.

As far as them being hard to monitor goes, I've not seen this be an issue that lasts beyond an adaption period during which one becomes comfortable with the new steam of text. I have played with and against many characters that made insane use of them. And with many characters that have died or been badly impacted because of them.

At one point it was a common theme among characters I encountered that a particular apartment building was a place of last resort (cubes were even preferred) because one powerful character had wired the place to the gills and used the network effectively. Security networks can be very powerful tools.

While I think this idea would help balance security networks, it's about more than that in my opinion. I've seen art and other installations pop up in interesting places as well. Generally speaking, I think some players may not realize or think about how so much of the dome is 'owned' by someone who cares about what people are doing there. Even if it's just to get a cut.

I doubt there are real issues like what is being hypothesized here, personally. Players imagine cameras watching everything and make assumptions but that isn't reality.

I never knew about the requirement for xhelping for installs like that. Other player usually assured me it was all okay for one instance, and the other was me talking to an NPC via gridmail. Both were well recieved, at least.

Staff is notified when cameras/surveillance gear are installed or uninstalled. That being said, if you see something you are concerned about, you can note the specifics and we're happy to take a look. It is not always black and white.

--Ares