PREFACE - I just typed this out... and then the forums ate my post... goddamnit... so I'm retyping it as best as I can.

Okay, so, some people want a way to detect AFK/BOT cloaked ships, yet we need to make sure we don't disrupt legitimate players using cloaks.

So, lets set the guidelines we need to follow:

A system that can detect an AFK cloak, or a ship sitting unattended, cloaked, in space.
A system that will NOT disrupt spying, stalking, transport, or other active-use cloak functions.
A system that does no punish players for using a cloak.

So, to that end, here's my thoughts.

Covert Ops ships get a new "bonus/function" - High Energy Scans. Essentially, they utilize their system scanner to search for and give a rough estimate on the location of a cloaked ship.

I think that's cool. Can we change it so I can hot drop your corpmates in W-space?

It's only fair.

I couldn't care less about cloaking people in space. Hell I do it too and honestly a couple reds/neuts in local is just another day to me. I just think your logic is broken since warfare in W-space is completely different and shouldn't be used "against" someone in K-space.

I see no reason why cloaking can't be a module that consumes some sort of material to keep going. That way you can keep cloaking for a few hours, say, but you need to prepare by loading up on cloaking fuel, and you can't AFK cloak for days on end.

Whatever system would be designed to replace the current cloak mechanics would have to make sure things like recons and stealth bombers aren't nerfed in their primary role, it should only be something that makes camping systems through cloaks something that requires some effort on the camper's side.

If he has a fuel truck with plenty of fuel, then he can stay there quite a while still, I have no problem with that.

Does this fix to local include a way to drive cloakers out of a system if they are found, or will players have to dock up since they can't catch them anyway?

Though I would like to, a pod don't have a cloak. Oh well, was hoping that there was a simple solution that would end this discussion whitch has been going on for as long as I've been playing.

The problem is that both parites usually wants the exreme of one end. To kill cloak and leave local, and to kill local and leave the cloak. What so dificult about the middleground? Why is it so dificult to compromise?

Ingvar, if you were to add..
4. Remove all standing flags from local chat.
...you'd get another "like" :)

Oh god, I hope not. While a more unpredictable local could be more interresting, seeing everyone running around with a cloak on will be no fun at all. Some from of defence against them needs to happen too.

A probing game, or a fuel based system is the two most likely scenarios.

For those worried about this being used in W-Space - simple solution - make it not function in W-Space due to spatial distortions or something.

I'm all for removing local IF you allow for some form of self defense scanning - I'm talking about the ability to actively watch what is going on in exchange for a chance to see incoming hostiles. A possibility for this would be a high-slot module that actively pings the system every other second or so - issue being it's such a high powered pulse that anyone's warp drive can lock onto it, meaning it's also easier to get to you before you can escape. Adds more flavor to the game in that you need someone else scanning the system for you (which canbe fun if you set them just outside a POS shield - hostile warps to em and BAMF)

And gives you how many seconds' advance warning before you're tackled?

Even if we're talking about a cloaked ship warping to a bookmark they made earlier?

Exactly my point - this setup would allow cooperation between players to help hunt cloaks but would also give a reason to not go AFK. I mean, why is it that anyone should be able to be 100% safe while undocked for any reason? Even in a POS shield, they could, potentially, down the POS... if you're AFK long enough :)

And you're failing to read - I said you can simply make this not work in wormhole space via spatial distortion and what not

I've yet to see a good objection to just making cloaked ships unprobable when they're running silent/without any mods online.

Not in a sence I feel is correct. If it was only the cov-ops ships that could use the cloaks to full effect I wouldn't have any problem with it. The fact that any ship can have a cloak and see everything going on around it is not a good balance. If the ships could get a limit to their field of view then I wouldn't have had any problems with it either.

Third scenario:
1. You are jewing in a belt or anom
2. A bomber tackles you.
3. The rest of the gang uncloaks and rips you a new one.

Also, you realize how blackops cynos work, yes?

Sigh.

I've said this multiple times, I PVP in nullsec, my carebearing is in hisec because I judge the risk/reward to be much more conductive in hisec. I'm not arguing this for me, I'm arguing this for the carebears who are currently trying to make a living in nullsec, who will be the most affected by this. And when they're affected, so will the roamers because they'll have even fewer targets to choose from because the carebears who are less lazy than me will have moved their carebear alts to hisec as well.

Also, what I'm arguing isn't that there should be complete safety (there is none in nullsec, despite what many people will argue to get rid of local, it takes just a bit of inattentiveness at the wrong time to lose a ship, even if there are intel channels and local), what I'm arguing is that changes which will make the act of keeping even half the safety they have now take 10x as much work, without adding to the disadvantages the roamers/system campers have to endure, are unbalanced as ****. You'd go from the inhabitants having a slight advantage, to the roamers/system campers having a huge advantage.

Oh, so now I'm a botter, is that it?