Appeal

Banned for Macro / Auto-Keyboard - Temp, one week
"Fawcet"

I had just leveled up to 76, and was logging off for the night. The guy I was partying with was close to leveling as well, so I agreed to leave my laptop on, holding HS on, so that he could level before he logged off.

It's a pretty big shock to be banned for this. I understand the simple act of putting a weight etc on your keyboard is technically wrong, but I was completely innocent in doing this.

When we started training we both were level 75, and after I had leveled before he did, and wanted to get off, I was simply trying not to be "that guy" and ditch him as soon as my needs were met. My thought process was this; When standing on the stairs at GS2, often times I will hit the 100 attack cap and have to start moving around before my attacks register again. As far as I am aware, the same thing applies for skills.

I assumed that he'd get HS for maybe 5min or so until I hit that cap, and then my character would simply not preform the skill after. That should be enough time to level up, (he was quite close) and then I would just return the next day to my character afking on the map.

This was not malicious in any way. There was no talk of me afking and him "boosting" me. I had not done this before, and really, I never ever thought i'd get banned for it. This was literally the first level which HS was giving a party of 2 more then 100% exp, so it was literally the first time it ever would have even been reasonable to attempt.

This may not be typical in an appeal, but I am not sorry in the slightest for what I did. Though, if doing this results in a ban, clearly I wont do it again. Rules are set up for people attempting to abuse the game and advance themselves unfairly, or make the royal experience worse for others. My ban is none of those. I was simply trying not to leave someone high and dry because I had leveled and was falling asleep at my keyboard. Though you would have had no way of knowing this, I am a very fair and generous person and go out of my way to make others time on maple a good one, and I know that people I've encountered would vouch for this. The community is small as it is. I understand ignorance is not an excuse for why a rule was broken, and a precedence must be set. However, I don't think this ban is proper. Please take a look and re-access if you want an active, positive member, banned due to a simple oversight while trying to help someone out.

 

You were banned for botting, or engaging in robot play, however you want to put it.
It says in the Game's Terms & Conditions, and I quote:

"§22. Engage in robot play (i.e., "botting") or any other behavior that allows you (or any character you are controlling) to automatically function or effect any action in a game with or without your presence; Punishment: 1st offence - 7 day ban"

This includes, but is not limited to, putting a weight on a key to which a skill is bound. It allows your character to function without your presence.


As can be seen in the screenshot above, your character continued to spam Holy Symbol even after I warped you out of the map. Had you been present, I am absolutely convinced that you would have reacted. Thus, your ban will not be lifted.

 

I'm not sure you took the time to read my initial message. I'm not trying to be rude. Could you please take the time to read and reply instead of just posting a generic reply with a SS?

I never denied that I did this, acknowledged that, and if you want to label it, you can go do that by reciting T&Cs. I simply stated my rational.

I have no idea how the game will block you from preforming some actions after 100 attacks, but not HS? That makes no sense to me. I think it's pretty clear that if I had known I'd be spamming HS 12 hours later, I never would have started to begin with. I really don't understand how you can't make a judgement call. It seems fairly obvious that I was attempting to help out someone when I had to suddenly leave them. I would gain 5min of experience as well, but that's a byproduct. I can't control that. And frankly, if I gain 5min of exp while helping someone out, great. I was under a fairly reasonable assumption that if my others skills get blocked after 100 attacks, that in 5min or so HS should be block also.

The argument seems to be that I was doing this for personal gain. It looks like that, and I can't argue that it wasnt, but it wasnt. I understand my word looks unreliable considering the circumstances, but what am I supposed to say. It blows me away that this could be bannable, yet leeching is not only fine, but seems to be encouraged.

I've read the other appeals of this nature, and it seems others are fully aware that this is a form of "botting" and tried to get away with it. I had no idea, and was not trying to get away with anything. Again, I have no idea how other attacks can get limited at 100 and HS does not, as far as I can remember this was not the case in GMS.

In addition my brother now can not get on. You need to take a look at the IPs which you blocked as a result of this.

 

I read your post thoroughly, there were no misinterpretations.

You had set your character up so that it could function (in this case by giving out HS) even without your presence. That is why you were banned. You were not banned for any other reason.

I warped you to Boat Quay Town to confirm that you were indeed not present and actively playing. You did not respond to my calls or even react to the fact that your character was warped, but instead your character simply continued to spam Holy Symbol. I drew the conclusion that you were afk.

What you did is a bannable offence, like it or not.

 

It's sort of a shame that this appears to be rather common place (GS2, spamming) because there is zero room for discussion before you recite T&C and dismiss me without even giving anything a wink of thought. If this was in a different scenario, different map, I may be given the time of day, but instead I'm just getting thrown into the same GS2/HS moshpit. You are not looking to make any judgement call in the slightest. Just throw down some authoritarianism ruling, and move onto the next. You are in no way upholding your obligation to fulfill the spirit of the rules.

We can all agree that this happens on a daily basis. Two people are training, one needs to get a drink, or use the washroom etc. and sets up a temporary means to continue to allow the other party to train. A misunderstanding of game dynamics ends up with me continuing to cast for who knows how long, and I end up banned for a week? This seems hardly fitting.

My point is consistency. In the raw definition of it, you can call it botting. But these technical rulings are hardly enforced. People AFK while casting skills while leeching, multi client to leech themselves, account share, the list goes on and on. Sure these things are bannable but these people aren't banned. Why? Because your job is to uphold the integrity of the game. These instances, though breaking the rules, are not enough to justify reducing active player pool in the server. My point is that my AFK falls into this category. But because of the map and the nature of what it is, I an not being given an individual assessment, and instead I am being thrown into the same old group, with no open mind to look at the situation objectively, taking into account what i've said, and rule on a single unique situation.

 

The point is INTENT not reasoning. There is a major difference which the staff seems to refuse to acknowledge. There is a reason why the sentencing of someone who killed another ranges from involuntary manslaughter to murder 1.

I broke a rule. Whatever my excuse it, it happened. That's fine. But it shouldn't be a one size fits all idea for punishment.

 

You are right in most of what you are saying, but you have to realize that we cannot catch every single rule-breaker. I can see how you could feel unfairly and thus wrongly treated, but you simply got caught. Most people don't, and there's only so much we can do about that. Furthermore, our job is to be objective, and like Matt said, your reasoning and intentions are irrelevant, if you have broken the rules. If you had read the Terms & Conditions of the game, then you knew what you were getting into. You have noone to blame but yourself.