I like the /vote mute feature and the fact that it takes a fair amount of consensus (30 votes) to trigger. That said, there may be some instances in which 30 votes is too high. For example, there may be "off hours" during which a smaller than average number of people are logged in. During these hours, 30 votes might be too high a threshold to mute an annoying person.

I don't have any specific thresholds in mind, and it is certainly too soon to predict the usage patterns with an international game. However, I think the concept is something that it might be wise to prepare for.

For cases like that we have the /ignore feature. It's not a perfect fix, a mute threshhold that's proportional to the amount of people online might make more sense, but just know /ignore is there if you need it.

It's tough to make a threshold that works with very small numbers of players without opening mute up to abuse. Naturally, we hope that small numbers won't happen often ;)

There are more guides around these days, and they can mute without a vote.

Perhaps a threshold that scales according to how many people are on?

Clients currently track which players you have been in the same sector as or have heard talk. How about if 30%-50% of people who's clients have your character name currently stored then you are muted. (I'm basing this on tab completion, you can only tab complete people who have been in the same sector as you or have talked in a channel/place you can hear, since you started your vendetta client). Additionally there would also have to be some sort of min threshold like 5 so that there was someone in your sector when you logged on they couldn't mute you just to be mean.

Alternatively voting could be specific to particular channels, ie vote bob 100 and if a large enough % of the people in 100 voted (only people currently in chan 100 could vote) then the person would be muted in that channel and that channel only (this wouldn't work for sector chat).

I think it's fine the way it is. For those instances where there are few players on, /ignore fills the gap.

(FM: reminder...all the guides do not have their tools yet)

or perhaps they dont know how to use them? ;}

It's fine now... but when a guild of 100 people is considered small and they can decide to mute anyone they want without any trouble it could be a problem.

We'll be subjected to a flash mob muting?

If the maturity level of the players in VO reaches the levels it is in other games, it's not just a possibility, but a mathematical certainty. Just how long before some dumb kid in charge of an ubar l337 guild works this trick out is the only variable factor.

Then the FMs and GMs will have to be present to override situations like this.

Indeed, but it would be ideal to work out some way to make such an abuse impossible save by the most concerted of efforts. I sadly lack any intelligent suggestions regarding how to do so, save maybe making it impossible for all votes to originate from one group or guild.