devtrackers.gg
I'm going to drop my reply to this thread here too: https://www.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/j6ql6d/vls_failed_3_polls_integrity_forced_in_bh_now/g80poc3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
I think the honest answer is that we've got ourselves into an awkward position with the unpolled content, and I wish we did things differently. I'll talk more about that in a second, but I also want to just reiterate that there isn't an ulterior motive behind these unpolled changes, whether to hamfist the VLS in the wider game or to undermine the polling system. We only want to add game content that you like, and we believe the polling system is the bedrock of the game.
We added a reward which had failed in the polls, albeit in a slightly different context - added as a buyable weapon, rather than as a random reward from a crate. We removed the activity for that reward, and moved it elsewhere. Doing so also removed the place you could use the reward. Now we're stuck with players who have a thing and nowhere to use it. We can try to find a place for those players to use the reward, or we can delete it and refund players. We'd prefer to try to find a solution that everybody likes, and that keeps the reward in-game. It's why we've limited the proposal only to PvP combat on PvP Worlds.
Some players have mentioned that this is indicative of a wider ongoing issue with PvP and issues with how niche communities are affected by the polling system - and I agree completely with that statement.
Next year we're expecting to publish a polling charter which outlines what we poll and why we poll it. It'll be publicly visible, and I hope will help us to avoid these situations going forward.
I know this is a bit of a ramble, but I hope it's at least insightful to understand how we got here.
EDIT: Initially I said "We added a reward, unpolled". The reward was polled but failed. It wasn't an intentional omission, just a poor choice of phrasing. Edited.