Facebook and Google ads being taken down for pservers?

Started by kanemi, Jun 09, 2017, 10:54 PM

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kanemi

Apparently the company that owns RO is taking down ads. Did many people experience this? Is it unfeasible to create a big server now due to this?

yC

Do you mean they do not allow pserver to advertise in those company platforms? 

kanemi

I'm not sure how Facebook ads work. My coder just told me that Gravity sold the rights to Ragnarok Online, and this new company is blocking any ads being put up at all for low rate pservers. Kind of puts a damper on my plans to start up a new server, I think. Just wondering if anyone had thoughts, like if it's still feasible to grow a server or not. Or if anyone else even notices it happening.

DeePee

Haven't heard of Google Ads being taken down, but they have been taking down Facebook pages, Instagram pages and Youtube channels. I'm pretty sure it's done by the Indonesian RO server, Gravindo (previously Lyto). kRO/jRO doesn't really care as far as I know.

Problem with these social media platforms is that they make it extremely easy to report something and there is little you can do about it. Especially Facebook/Instagram.

kanemi

Can you still run ads on Facebook without a page there? Or does that make things too difficult?

DeePee

I'm pretty sure you still need some account to post them.

That being said, Facebook Ads are quite useless. They are a huge waste of money.

kanemi

I see, thanks for the tip. I thought TalonRO had them but I must've been mistaken.

DeePee

Quote from: kanemi on Jun 10, 2017, 01:09 AM
I see, thanks for the tip. I thought TalonRO had them but I must've been mistaken.

We used to have them. All they really generate is fake likes, rather than actual new players. So we stopped~

D14

If your server's a 99/70 low rate and you explicitly advertise it as a server for Asian players, get ready for a take down on your Facebook page. Two of my friends who operate servers I've just described had their pages/groups taken down by Electronics Extreme Co., Ltd. They're gearing up for the release of a new official server in the Philippines so I guess that's why they've been doing it.

DeePee

Quote from: D14 on Jun 10, 2017, 01:26 AM
If your server's a 99/70 low rate and you explicitly advertise it as a server for Asian players, get ready for a take down on your Facebook page. Two of my friends who operate servers I've just described had their pages/groups taken down by Electronics Extreme Co., Ltd. They're gearing up for the release of a new official server in the Philippines so I guess that's why they've been doing it.

Interesting. So multiple local companies are doing this now. Seems to be the case for the Indonesian, Philippine and Thai official RO servers at the very least.

D14

Though fake likes still plague it, Facebook is a very effective advertising tool in Asia for 99/50 & 99/70 low rate servers. The cost per reach/engagement is incredibly low too. You can have half the budget you'd spend on advertising a RO server in North America and you'd get triple the amount of players from Asia provided you target interests meticulously.

There's a reason why 99/50 and 99/70 low rate Asian servers pop up with 500-1000 players almost every other month. Take a familiar server name or place your target Asian country's name in the server name, spend $50 to $100 in Facebook advertising and there you go. It's just impossible to keep the players grounded to your server unless you really know what you're doing.

It's a testament to TalonRO that they've lasted this long to be honest. I remember playing on there when I was a kid.

Edit: Forgot to end with my original point. Meant to say that FB pages and groups are probably getting closed by these Asian companies because they understand that the barrier of entry is very low. They want the least amount of competition possible to keep the official servers afloat.

kanemi

So, D14, is this still doable or not? Can you give instructions on how to access this Asian playerbase?

DeePee

Quote from: kanemi on Jun 10, 2017, 03:40 PM
So, D14, is this still doable or not? Can you give instructions on how to access this Asian playerbase?

I would not bother. They are actively taking down Facebook pages. Even private guild or trade/sell pages/groups are being taken down as long as they belong to private servers.

On top of that, Electronics Extreme has been filing DMCA claims on Google for pretty much every private server out there as well. Rebirth has been taken down already and can no longer be found in the Google search results. Difference is that they were actually using Google Adwords, unlike other servers, which is probably why they were taken down. Chances of other servers being taken down on Google are slim.

On Facebook though, they are extremely easy about taking down pages so I wouldn't waste your time on that. Even Instagram (owned by Facebook) pages are being taken down.

kanemi

Okay, thanks again for taking the time to inform me.

Zinnia

I've also been targeted for Copyright Infringement on both Facebook and Paypal. Had to take down both.

We enter a grey area for legal stuff though. I don't think these 3 asian servers own the License for Ragnarok Online (the branding) in the U.S.
Less should they own anything if you're not using the word "Ragnarok Online" on your website.

And as far as I know the client is still the property of Gravity Co.

Boreas

They act on behalf of Gravity and they have all rights to do so. In the end our business is illegal, enough said.

D14

Quote from: kanemi on Jun 10, 2017, 03:40 PM
So, D14, is this still doable or not? Can you give instructions on how to access this Asian playerbase?

It's doable if you're looking for that quick boost on your server's grand opening. I saw ads for 3 new low rate servers which are opening late June and early July while browsing on my phone. Judging by the comments on their page, they've tricked these people into thinking that they're the official Philippine RO server that's doing a CBT this month. If you're thinking long-term, this is not the right approach. Like DeePee said, it's very easy to request for a take down if you're a big company like Gravity and Electronics Extreme.

Quote from: Boreas on Jun 15, 2017, 05:18 PM
They act on behalf of Gravity and they have all rights to do so. In the end our business is illegal, enough said.

/ok

I'm willing to bet that, as part of their agreement to distribute in Asia, they're allowed to do takedowns in the countries they're legally allowed to distribute in.

Zinnia

Quote from: D14 on Jun 16, 2017, 08:45 AM
I'm willing to bet that, as part of their agreement to distribute in Asia, they're allowed to do takedowns in the countries they're legally allowed to distribute in.

Warpportal owns the license in the US.
You can't take down competitors from a country where you aren't allowed to exploit said license. Unless as said, this isn't a license.

infiniteragnarok

Im also concerned about these as much as everyone is.
My Group (Diverse Ragnarok) been taken down.
So now, im wondering, i've been trying to contact Gravity but when I call them, its Korean language and I couldnt even understand a word.
I'm actually planning to buy or at least franchise the license. Is that possible?
How much will that cost though? Anyone trying?

PS: Gravity now is getting even bigger. They enter mobile gaming too. And Stock at NASDAQ. That's pretty huge.
But put it this way. Here's my opinion. Why would they bother really small private server compare to all the success they have?
I think its not Gravity. Its the guy behind (or company) which trying to dominate the market and do this.

DeePee

Quote from: infiniteragnarok on Aug 23, 2017, 06:37 PM
Im also concerned about these as much as everyone is.
My Group (Diverse Ragnarok) been taken down.
So now, im wondering, i've been trying to contact Gravity but when I call them, its Korean language and I couldnt even understand a word.
I'm actually planning to buy or at least franchise the license. Is that possible?
How much will that cost though? Anyone trying?

PS: Gravity now is getting even bigger. They enter mobile gaming too. And Stock at NASDAQ. That's pretty huge.
But put it this way. Here's my opinion. Why would they bother really small private server compare to all the success they have?
I think its not Gravity. Its the guy behind (or company) which trying to dominate the market and do this.

Reportedly Electronics Extreme paid 1 million USD for their license, covering quite a significant part of Asia. Unless you have at least $100,000 to spend, don't even bother.

As for DMCA claims, it's been mostly Electronics Extreme doing it but from the looks of it, Gravity itself is onto it as well.

https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&sort_by=date_received+desc&sender_name=GRAVITY.CO.%2CLTD&sender_name-require-all=true
https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&sort_by=date_received+desc&sender_name=%28%EC%A3%BC%29%EA%B7%B8%EB%9D%BC%EB%B9%84%ED%8B%B0&sender_name-require-all=true
https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&sort_by=date_received+desc&sender_name=Electronics+Extreme+Ltd.&sender_name-require-all=true

Ragnarok Online is a dying game. It has been for a very long time. They are trying to re-launch a dying game in Asia. Any existing competition (private servers) are a nuisance to them. The less competition, the better.

Vanish

Yes, ads regarding private servers are strictly monitored especially on facebook.