Let's talk about server boosts

FiveM Server Development Server Discussion
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For starters, servers are more at the point it can take up to 9500 boosts to reach #1. Let that sink in.

5000 upvotes is $27000USD+VAT per month. Too many new servers aka “GRAND OPENING” servers do not have that kind of cash unless you have someone from the music industry or an NFL player backing you.

I have spent weeks gathering inside knowledge, buying and testing with my own money, and what I’ve discovered are dark pools of different users who treat these like timeshares.

The easiest way to fix this issue is to remove the ability to reassign boosts from one server to another. Without that power, boosts could return from this super inflated leader board and real server owners would be able to compete again.

I have validated this concept and if Rockstar staff would like to reach out to me i will show you how it’s done and how to stop it. You are losing money with people reselling boosts in as little as 100/h to 9000/h and longer. They only deal in crypto to keep their anominity. But again I tell you, the fix is easy.

Restore the power to the server owners and stop these inflated server boosts.

Elements. Please reach out and I will give you everything you need to know.

9 Likes
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It’s hard to believe that a company wouldn’t notice $200,000+ missing in upvotes MONTHLY and chooses to do nothing about it. They’re either in on it, or don’t care unfortunately… No way they don’t know by now :confused:

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So, basically, users will buy 10,000 dollars worth of boosts and then share that among different servers for periods of time? Pretty interesting, it would be odd if there’s an abuse of the system and Zap hasn’t detected or done anything.

Is this the actual cause of all the insane boosts some servers have and not “credit card fraud” which is usually credited?

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The Whole boost systems needs to be changed to not rely on money instead use a reputation system, as it is now it doesn’t reward servers/communities that put effort into creating a fun experience and fostering a good environment.
When selecting a front page server that has +5000 boost most of the reviews are down votes with descriptions of how poorly moderated the community is or that the experience was lackluster.

An example of a better system would be:
Use the review system and have 1 positive review is equal to 5 boosts but to place a review it would require a minimum amount of playtime on the server that is selected to boost and a CFX account that has been verified somehow like age, amount of forum posts or 2FA.
Then require that boosts on use and can’t be transferred for 30days and to use a boost it would require the CFX account that used them to be verified like was stated above.
Finally set a hard cap on the amount of paid boosts that a singe server can have, this would make it so that quality servers would be rewarded by surpassing a server that would have paid to be boosted if they had bad reviews.

thanks for reading :saluting_face:

1 Like
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That’s because the boost system isn’t intended to reward servers for creating good experiences. They are intended to be a monetised way to boost your server to the top and asking a corporation to remove a big chunk of their income isn’t really a reasonable request. If you create a unique, fun experience there is already a system in place for that in which CFX will pin your server.

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When looking into these servers did you also compare the amount of boosts to their player base? If they have a few thousand players all contributing these numbers could be possible. Although $27,000/month in boost contributions does sound a bit far fetched but I do believe you need to include more information before CFX even consider taking this seriously.

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Its sad, because the servers who are able to do this are the worst type of servers… loot boxes, extreme prices for peds, TOS cars, everything Rockstar is against. This also means that these services are being used and VAT tax is no longer being paid once its resold by the final seller.

Removing the ability to migrate boosts from server to server would solve this problem once and for all, and let server owners know that Rockstar hears us and will support us to try to do everything legit, with clean TOS add-ons, while watching other servers abuse the “legit” purchases made by others.

I know in 2021 NTA stated:

Yes, this is surprising, but all related transactions do appear legitimate.

There have been a few cases of individuals trying to cheat the system, repeatedly using stolen cards or finding other bugs in checkout logic, but these are all corrected and explicit triple checks of these top servers all check out.

Likely, their servers are actually that profitable

But the key piece overlooked here is that there is legitimately a dark pool of users, mostly from Brazil and other smaller countries, who are pooling together resources and reselling them and making tens of thousands of dollars from these every month. The big question, is where did the money come from that allowed these initial purchases.

And lets say if this IS a legal practice, then well, the flood gates are about to open with deep pocketed investors. Personally, as a server owner, I find it disgusting that its been allowed to go on for so long.

I used to be excited when I built up enough funds to put my server in top 3 for $600. It was an accomplishment. Now that is IMPOSSIBLE without nefarious means.

Again, I am here and have all the proof I need to validate my theory. I just ask that an Element or Rockstar Legal DM me to talk privately as these scam artist fools do not need any more money in their pockets.

1 Like
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If you wanted to talk to Rockstar legal, you should email them. Normally in this scenario, you would be putting on the hat of either security researcher or journalist. A security researcher sends an email saying “Here is what I’ve found. Please fix it.” You haven’t done that, so I’m assuming you are concerned that no one will read it. In which case it makes sense to put on the hat of a journalist and either outright publish, or seek comment before publishing.

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You are right, and in this case I will email them. It was late and I forgot that its an option since the acquisition.

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Boost are used for money laundering or purchased with a cloned card in several countries, analyze thisBoost are used for money laundering or purchased with a cloned card in several countries, analyze this

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are cfx users still allowed to boost servers? I had one of my members attempt to boost the server but says he has to pay, shouldn’t they be allowed one free boost, or did they do away with that

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Nothing is free, especially when Rockstar took over :sweat_smile:

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I own a redm server that is new. I would love to get it populated but unfortunately all money i have for my server goes towards my server to improve player experience in the server. Not towards boosting it.

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No response has been received from rockstar legal, so I will begin writing documents soon exposing this practice once 30 days have elasped since my email to rockstar.

I will say that due to the manipulation of the boosting market it made me lose full hope in running a server. I shut down my server where i was paying tebex $400 per month in subscriptions. Seeing servers with 10k boosts on the front page is just a slap in the face.

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Been like that for years now. My community for the first 3 years it was full all day every day. Then when the listings changed and boosts introduced, it went downhill from there.

Its really ashame how this community has went down the drain.

1 Like
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It’s terrible and it seems like a long as Rockstar is profiting from these illegal boosts then they are going to allow it. They’re even letting the boosters gamble away because if they don’t resell what they bought they could easily take a 10 20 30k hit in a single month. This whole boosting process needs to change.

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The fact that zap is still involved after acquisition is all that needs to be said.

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I’m getting filtered now. Talk to you tomorrow.

19

Exactly. Patreon too if I’m being honest. Wrap it all under their payment system. Too many moving pieces as well.

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There is likely a contract in place, it wouldn’t be smart to enter such an agreement if there weren’t. Also, the FiveM trademark is owned by Zap.