Suggestion :I was wondering if the GM's who find hackers and "watch them for 5~15 minutes" could maybe record it on video instead of taking just one screen shot. It doesn't have to be the full 5~15 minutes, 30 seconds should be more than enough. Videos speak louder than a picture. Reason : A few people of the community feel that a person was banned unfairly and are unsatisfied with the event. (The people/person shall remain anonymous) I understand that the GM caught him/her hacking but some people are convinced that wasn't the case. I am not trying to get this person ban appealed and I refuse to comment on which side I am of the event. Thank you for your consideration.
Okay so here's my take on the situation- being the GM who banned said person who was supposedly banned unfairly. I believe we have spoken about this in depth- but I shall put it out here. Essentially, before we ban someone, we check in detail to see if he's hacking/glitching (given our in game knowledge). The person in question was banned because he appeared to have what seemed like a God-Mode Hack/Glitch. He was warped to a place with monsters, and he did not take damage for 5 minutes. You can't really expect us to do the following for practical reasons. a)Observe a presupposed hacker b)Spend time getting the essential software to record the said hacker's action. c)Initialize said software the moment we find a hacker (do you know how laggy the server can be sometimes- imagine switching on fraps) d)Spend some minutes recording, and then going into action. Sometimes, a hacker decides to glitch/turn on a hack for just one minute, and then he switches it off. If we were to watch him for 15 minutes and then act, there is a high chance that the hacker would log off before we catch him. Our modus operandi with regards to hacker catching revolves around a single phrase: promptness of action. We aim to catch them the moment they act. I understand your frustration, and I know that it is likely; no matter how small a chance of plausibility,, that your friend was a victim of a glitch. I've tried to replicate it with little success. And so, I have no choice but to believe that he was hacking. Unless someone could replicate his actions and prove that it is a known, definite in-game bug, I am unable to retract the ban. Of course, if you think I abused my power to ban him falsely /) you are free to direct any accusations of my seemingly poor judgement to my superiors. Good day to you.
I'm sorry.. but what? You're refusing to become familiar and use fraps to catch hackers? Are you kidding me? This is just hilarious, and not to be offensive Christine, but are you serious? Maybe 5-15 minutes is excessive, but like the guy said, 30 seconds? Regardless, you said the guy did not take damage for 5 minutes yet you claim that you cannot spend time watching a hacker for 5 minutes. Furthermore, you used a screenshot as proof to a godmode ban? This is very poor play on your part, Christine, and I am very sorry to say that I personally believe you are wrong in this case. As for the ban, I don't know if the guy was hacking or not. I just think Christine is wrong in saying that fraps (or other recording software) should not be necessary and not used, because it is some sort of "inconvenience" to the staff. edit: saying 'Good day to you' in the way you did came off as extremely smug and douche-baggery. Be careful of your word usage and tone otherwise you are sure to cause controversy!
I apologize for appearing to be douche-baggery but I'm just saying it as it is- it's not about getting familiar with fraps or otherwise, but the issue is whether it is absolutely needed for catching all hackers. Are you saying that we need to switch on fraps every time we find someone suspicious of an act which could be contentious in the event of one screenshot being proof? I mean as GMs we're given the authority based on our judgement to make a decision. By making it mandatory for us to use fraps to record hacking is casting doubt on our ability to judge based on what we see. So pardon me if I got offended. Also, I said "Good day to you" because I wanted to end it off somewhat amicably, instead of appearing entirely serious. Perhaps if had ammended it to "Good day to you " it would have come across as somewhat friendlier. FYI though: I have fraps- and I know how to use it <3
I just want to point out and say that I'm with Christine on this one. I totally get how a video would have cleared things up in this particular case, but with most hackers it really is not necessary, and like Christine said, we were given the authority to make decisions like this. Apart from that, taking a video of every single hacker we ban would be too time-consuming and I don't mean it in it being 'an inconvenience' to the GMs but I genuinely think that if I had to open up a video before every ban I would miss a good amount of hackers because most of them log out and whatnot in a really short period of time. I feel like by the time we'd get it up and running they've had gone. And again, it's just really unnecessary in 98% of cases so :/
I won't go in detail since you asked me not to argue with you on Skype, but you clearly stated that the staff should not have to use fraps, ever, and made it seem like the guy was ridiculous in saying so. Based on the conversations on Skype, you completely agree with me in saying it is necessary in certain cases (this being one of them, since a screen shot cannot prove godmode). As for my edit, I was trying to comment on your tone, which was completely condescending and rude. The guy was looking out for his friend, and future people, not trying to fight you one on one irl. Sorry I came at you, I was voicing my opinion which you agree with, so I think we can all agree that "Future bans" will continue to be held as professionally as possible.
I think that the idea to take 30 seconds of video is a very good one, in certain cases. I agree with Christine and Aly in that needing video every time is excessive, but in some cases a screenshot does not really show what's going on. You can always just snap a screenshot first for initial proof, and then take a short video if you feel it is necessary. Otherwise it's the supposed hacker's word (that he/she must have glitched out) vs. Christine's (that the accused person did not receive damage for five minutes while grinding).
I didn't feel that it was absolutely necessary at the point in time. :/ I mean I felt that the SS seemed sufficient enough :< Well I guess now I know what's necessitated..
The argument I was making was not about this case, and I disagree from personal experience that bans can be proved 98% of the time with screenshots. After discussing this with Dan and Christine in private I think we have come to compromises and all the issues have been solved. No need to continue on this chat about whether screenshots are enough proof. I would suggest to now bring this thread back on topic of the specific ban related, or to not post at all. Thank you.
There is no need for videos to be taken, and in fact, I don't think a screenshot is 100% necessary. A screenshot is simply a way for other GMs to prove to the banned person why they were banned. That way, any GM can answer a ban appeal, not just the GM that actually banned them. There is no responsibility on the GMs part to prove to anyone but the banned party why they were actually banned. If there is doubt on a ban, other staff members will usually weigh in either in private or on the appeal itself and the ban will either remain in effect or will be lifted.
First of all I was not in ANY way trying to "call out or disrespect ANYONE." To clear things up. I am not and never was bothered with the fact that the player was banned. Personally I did not know him, he was just a friend of a friend. Also this is, and I bold here on purpose, NOT a ban appeal. This was just a suggestion in the FEEDBACK category. I just thought I would suggest something that could possibly help prevent future issues/problems. Prior to suggesting this, I did not know that it was so difficult to record. I see people do it on YouTube and Twitch do it all the time. I see children of only 10 years being able to record. No one said it had to be with a recording program, it could be as simple as recording with your smart phone and only uploading the video upon request or ban appeal. *Maybe someone could make an Instagram page for the GM's and upload the videos through there.* *Free and everyone always keeps their phones with them* With today's technology, something like this should not be a problem or inconvenience. I respect the fact that GM's are people in the community that were given the trust and authority to make decisions for the better of the server. But just the fact that the GM's have different levels of powers and authority just proves that even GM's can make mistakes or errors. *Not saying the case earlier was a mistake/error*
Quoting myself from earlier. I did not ask the GM's to record everyone. Just the people that they watch for 5~15 minutes prior to making a decision. Edit: thank you everyone for taking time out of day to respond to this thread. It means a lot that people are not just putting 1 word responses and then walking away.
