Greeter/FAQ

Here are some questions new greeters often have about the greeter system, tools, greenies, etc.

Useful greeter /commands

 * /duty - Turns the greeter functions on or off. You can tell if you on or off duty by the color of your name. When you are /dutied on, your name will be pink, you will show up as a greeter on /w and /gw, you may participate in /greeter chat, and you may receive button tells.
 * /greeter - The greeter channel. The channel is provided for greeters to ask questions of other greeters for elusive information they may not know, or have difficulty finding. On production oceans, /greeter is NOT to be used for a chat channel. If you feel a conversation is moving towards chatter territory, please move it to /tell. Please check the YPPedia before asking questions on greeter chat; it is faster and doesn't annoy the other greeters.
 * /gwho - Gives a list of all greenies and greeters. The list gives a summary of total greeters/greenies on the ocean as well as the current spawnpoint. The /who is then split up by arch and gives a list of names of the greeters/greenies in your current arch, then summaries for other arches.
 * /gmute- Allows one to mute the /greeter chat.

Do not abuse /greeter. Abuse of this command may result in the loss of your ability to greeter.

Quick Keys

 * Transmogs or quick keys are shorthand commands that give you useful lines to respond to greenies quicker. These cannot be used while you are off duty.

List of current quick keys

 * faqbuydoubs - Doubloons can be purchased with a credit card by clicking the "Buy Doubloons" button in the Ye tab, or by exchanging your PoE for other players' doubloons at the bank.
 * faqdoubs - Doubloons are required to deliver certain items such as fancy clothing, swords, and ships.
 * askbefore - Please ask the person you are challenging or requesting to trade with whether or not he/she would like to fight/trade before you issue the challenge/trade - it's more polite.
 * faqtos - The Terms of Service are the rules for the game, which you read and agreed to when you signed up; you can read them at http://www.puzzlepirates.com/Terms.xhtml - breaking the rules will get you banned.
 * faqclothes - Clothes can be purchased from tailoring stalls. You can purchase clothes immediately using the rack, or have them custom made by using the order button.
 * warnspot - You have been blackspotted. This means that you will be unable to talk or puzzle for a period of time as a punishment for your poor behavior.
 * warnlanguage - Please do not swear, insult, or harrass others.
 * warnshout - Please do not shout unnecessarily - indoors, everyone in the room can hear you if you speak normally.
 * warnspam - Please do not spam or flood the chat with nonsense or the same message repeated over and over.
 * ahoyhelp - Ahoy there! How can I help ye?
 * faqpshop - Click on the map in the top right, and pick Government Buildings. The palace is the one with a dome icon. The palace shop is the first door to the right.
 * warnall - Excessive swearing in public areas, avoiding the swearing filters, insulting others, being deliberately offensive or obscene, and spamming are against the Terms of Service ye signed. Break the rules, and you will get banned.
 * faqbadges - Badges can be purchased at the palace shoppe using doubloons.
 * faqpoe - Pieces of Eight (abbreviated PoE) are the currency of Puzzle Pirates. They are used to buy clothes, swords, and ships, among other things.
 * faqearnpoe - To earn PoE which you can use to buy items, you can take a navy mission, pillage with player crews, do crafting puzzles, or play in tournaments and parlor games.

Quick Keys that are currently too long

 * These transmogs are too long to fit in the current chat box.


 * faqteam - Swordfighting is most effective when you team up upon your opponents, with three pirates on your side attacking one pirate on the other side. To target an opponent, click his/her face on the right.  You'll notice a series of dots indicating how many pirates are already targeting that opponent - choose your target so that you form a team of three.
 * faqmission - Missions are the ideal way to get a taste of each main aspect of the game - take a mission with the navy (carpenting, bilging or sailing) to earn navy wages, try swordfighting or drinking missions to hone your skills, or try parlour games and tourneys for fun and prizes if you win. You can access missions by clicking the Missions button in the Ahoy! tab, or by clicking on the noticeboard.
 * faqnames - Green names are new players, who've just started. Players who've been around for a while are yellow, but not necessarily more mature or trustworthy. Pink names are special volunteer helpers that only new players can see - and blue names are support staff who are in charge of the whole game.

I would like to test some of the things I'm learning. How do I do it without being punished?

 * Testing of greeter functions would best be done on the Ice Ocean. Most Ice players are experienced and use the greeter chat as a "global /fo." They are more accepting of what would be considered spam on other oceans.

What is the spawnpoint? How often does it change?

 * The spawnpoint is the island where new greenies are dropped off. It changes based on a quota: When enough greenies spawn at the current spawnpoint, the spawnpoint shifts. For this reason, during "off-time" (late night, U.S. work day, etc.) it can be in the same place for several hours at a time, but in the evening, weekend, or on holidays, it may shift as quickly as every few minutes.


 * The important thing to remember about the spawnpoint is that greenies don't spawn on the docks; they are first presented with a mission screen where they're offered the opportunity to attempt puzzles and missions before hitting the docks. The spawnpoint thus isn't as important as it might seem. It's still a good bet if you're looking to be helpful, but often you'll find more greenies at Ringer-held islands and other highly-populated areas, regardless of if they're spawning on that island or not.

How can I find greenies to help?

 * Your best bet? Just stand around outside on a busy island (Ringer-owned islands tend to have heavier greenie traffic) or in a busy inn and wait for them to come to you. Do feel free play other puzzles and wait for the button tells to find you instead, though!


 * You can use the /gw and /w commands to find greenies to help as well. If you're on duty, the /greeniewho or /gw command will reveal the location of every greeter and greenie in your archipelago, as well as what the ratios are across the entire ocean. Using /w will give exact locations: /gw will tell you "this island has four greenies on it", /w will tell you "Pirate A is at the inn, Pirate B and C are on the docks, and Pirate D is in her shack."

What is /greeter chat? What can I use it for? Who can see it?

 * Every on duty greeter can see /greeter chat (which also typically includes the OM), regardless of the greeter's location on the ocean. Try and use it only for greeter-related conversations, such as:
 * A greenie asking you a question to which you don't know the answer, as well as seeking a second opinion if you think you know, but aren't sure.
 * Locating greeters who speak another language if you run into a non-English-speaking greenie.
 * Finding other greeters to help you run a tournament or education pillage.
 * Inquiring about greeter policy and ethics.


 * However, /greeter chat should not be used for conversation, and it should not be treated as a social channel. It's all right to have fun, but remember that 20-30 other people are being exposed to your conversation and it can be distracting. Greeters are permitted to /complain those who abuse the channel in this fashion if a pattern of behaviour develops. This may result in greetership being revoked.


 * Remember, there are literally hundreds of people /dutying on for the very first time every day, and they will likely make mistakes with the /greeter channel. Getting snippish with new greeters only serves to hurt the entire system in the long run. It is fair game to helpfully and respectfully point out that /greeter is not a chat channel, but making threats or being abusive is no more appropriate on /greeter than it is in any other conversation.

How do button tells work?

 * If a greenie goes to the Ye tab and hits the "Help" button, they get another button that says "Talk to a Greeter." If they press that button, they automatically send the nearest greeter a /tell asking for assistance. Their chat parser is also set up so they can /tell back without needing to hit up or type in the /tell command. There is no automation, "alphabetical list," or quota for button tells. The geographically closest on-duty greeter gets the /tell. In the unlikely event that you're getting more /tells than you can handle, feel free to /duty off until you've dealt with the ones on your plate already.


 * The method used to determine which greeter gets the /tell is a trickledown method.
 * First, it checks to see if there's a greeter on the same island. If there isn't one...
 * ...it looks for a greeter on an island in the same archipelago. If it doesn't find one...
 * ...it looks for a greeter on a boat in the same archipelago. If this, too, fails...
 * ...it looks for a greeter on land anywhere in the ocean. In the unlikely event that this doesn't work....
 * ...it looks for a greeter on a boat anywhere in the ocean.


 * If everyone, including the OM on duty, has /duty turned off, then the greenie gets a "Sorry, I couldn't find a greeter." message.


 * If more than one greeter fits within a given group, it picks one from the group at random.

When is it appropriate to /blackspot a greenie?

 * If you've warned the greenie that their behaviour is inappropriate, and they persist, it is acceptable to /blackspot them. You may not wish to do so, and there is definitely something to be said for the "carrot instead of the stick" approach to teaching, but the tool is there for your use if their behaviour warrants it. Always explain to the greenie why they have been blackspotted; often the behaviour is just a lack of familiarity with Puzzle Pirates standards of behaviour.  Remember that this is the first impression the greenie will have of the game.


 * There are some situations in which a social solution may be more appropiate than a blackspot... for example, a greenie who has discovered the swear filters and is gleefully shouting SCUPPER TART BRITCHES at the top of their lungs should be directed to their shack instead of threatened with forced silence, at least initially. You will become more adept at knowing when to blackspot or threaten to blackspot and when to attempt a social solution as you greeter more often.

What might get me de-greetered?

 * There is no master list of things that may get you de-pinked, but there are a few things you might want to avoid doing, such as:
 * Cussing or swearing at greenies, however tempting it may be on occasion. (Not that anyone should ever cuss or swear at a greenie, but as long as your pink is on, go out of your way to be a role model.)
 * Maliciously lying or providing bad information to greenies.
 * Being suspended or blackspotted for any reason, including things not linked to greetership.
 * Consistently providing incorrect information to greenies, even if it's just ignorance. (If you mean well, but steer greenies in the wrong direction, you may be hurting more than you're helping.)

Is greetership still secret?

 * Greetership is no longer secret. Although it may still be seen as impolite to "out" another greeter in a circle, greetership is now "open" or "global" greetership for all players that meet the requirements for greetership.


 * Prior to the release of 2006-10-17, greetership was asked to be kept private because of the peer nomination process used to determine new greeters, allowing greeters to support or decline nominations without encountering disagreements based on their recommendations with prospective greeters.

How can I announce a Greenie Pillage?

 * A general annoucement can be placed in the Puzzle Pirates forum at http://forums.puzzlepirates.com/community/mvnforum/viewthread?p=1083827#1083827. Please remember to include your pirate name, the ocean, and the date and time of the pillage. At the time of the pillage, a simple annoucement may be made on the greeter channel informing other greeters that the pillage is starting and who to send the /tell for any greeters interested in helping out.

How do I turn off greeter mode?

 * Use /duty command again to turn off greeter mode.