Not to be confused, there are two types of bots:
1) The larva of the botfly, which is an internal parasite of animals. It lives typically in the stomach, finally passing through the host's dung and pupating on the ground (can I say dung?); and
2) A software program that operates on the Internet and performs repetitive tasks. While some bot traffic, is from good bots, bad bots can have a huge negative impact on a website or application.
We all know that WGT relies upon bots to carry out many tasks. Bots can be used to moderate chat, selection of profile pics, responding to member complaints, starting new threads in the forums (to generate interest) and, quite possibly, to win all the showdowns.
This use of bots frees up the time for the moderators and other WGT staff to play more and hang out with friends over wine and such things. I know of one who took the signs off of Chambers Bay #8 and #9 (and I wish he would put them back or give me a hint that they exist).
There are members of wgt that utilize bots. They use bots to watch 150 videos every day to earn credits, they have bots to make you spin while waiting to shoot, eventually forcing you to close the game, only to come back and see that you had forfeited.
They have bots that join random games of 3 and then quit. There are even ones that make your ball go in the water. They have lady bots with profiles and chat sweet things to get you to spend your money to buy them clubs and balls and then they go and give them to other bots who upgrade and are able to win tournaments.
At first, many years ago, they had "the Beast", then it was VEM and now it is Bots.
According to Norton: "[B]ots, or Internet robots, are also known as spiders, crawlers, and web bots. While they may be utilized to perform repetitive jobs, such as indexing a search engine, they often come in the form of malware. Malware bots are used to gain total control." (emphasis added)
I hear tell, there are bots that can be used to search out, identify, expose, and either turn, or dispose of other bots. Counter bots, if you will.
With all the current, and former, programmers out there, isn't it time we fight back?
We cannot lose all control. So........
TO BOT OR NOT, THAT IS THE QUESTION...
2022 is the year we game back better....Who's with me?
P.S. I hear they even have a bot, plays once in a while, but mostly trolls threads and just, basically, says the first thing that pops into their bot head..whether it is contributory or not...a disrupter ... pay no attention to this bot. Eventually it may go away. Best thing to do is ignore that bot....