Was just wondering if anyone knows the SOP that the GMs have to go through before banning someone. For the 3 months or so I've been active in Royals I've been banned a total of 2 times for perceived violations that, had they been investigated a little before said banning, wouldn't have resulted in my banning.
SOP = standard operating procedure for those that don't know (I didn't, so I googled it) Maybe they have a procedure but they do not want to tell how it works, as that could in some way "help" abusers to avoid bans. I don't know. To me it seems that Royals staff is working hard to keep the server legit, and I appreciate that. But sometimes it just goes wrong. Staff does mistakes too just like the rest of us players. Once there was a case similar to yours - a player got banned for hacking, but it was actually because the GM didn't know this particular monster was auto-aggroing (the player was in fact just grinding in a clever way) It's sad that it happens, but we have to forgive staff for their mistakes, just like they forgive players for their mistakes. Maybe they will tweak the SOP accordingly, to avoid situations like this in the future. If this thread's goal is also to rethink the way bans are handled, I personally feel that it's hard for the regular player to decide on which methods staff should use to go about these things. We simply lack experience.
We do have certain SOP, but of course we won't reveal how. For your ban, it was just a precaution that I took with GM discretion as it is quite unlikely for a low level DK to be able to farm that amount of gold tooth (most of such players are hackers). But since you cooperated and whatever you said checks out, you were unbanned immediately.
Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate that the staff of Royals have the server's best interest at the forefront of their minds when performing their duties, I do not deny that, nor do I have an issue with forgiving them their missteps. The reason I started this thread was to maybe get an answer to my question of whether any investigation was conducted prior to banning me. I am fearful of doing anything in the game right now, in addition to the Gold Teeth that I have farmed, I have also farmed around two stacks of Helm For Dex 60% and sold it off as well. Will I be banned again in the future if I manage to amass a number of other valuable items in the game, in whatever sum I am lucky enough to obtain? I currently have in my storage character of my main's account, 3-5 Chaos Scrolls that I have been lucky enough to get from the Gachapon (can't recall the exact number, haven't logged in to the game since the ban.) Will I now or in the future fall under suspicion of RWT? Is it justifiable to them that I have 3-5 Chaos Scrolls right now? How much time needs to pass before 3-5 Chaos Scrolls seems justifiable? Must I declare my possessions to a staff so that they may verify that I have not gained the system in violation of the rules and hopefully avoid getting banned yet again? Alternative methods of handling the bans will be the staff's responsibility and if they wish to improve upon it, they could perhaps engage the players. A better way to handle these matters may be revealed in the discourse between the two parties. That is again their prerogative and I will not press for anything, as explained by Kai in his reply, they won't reveal their SOP. I only want answers and perhaps a way of avoiding being banned again. If that is too much to ask for then I guess I'll just have to let it go. I'd like to thank you and all the other staffs for their swift actions, I do not wish to stir up trouble, however, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a tad bit irritated at all of this. I was lucky that this latest ban lasted less than 24 hours, however my first ban lasted for more than half a week. I'm just looking for answers is all. If I can't get any then I'll just leave it at that.
i dont think there is any so call SOP among the GMs. as long someone reports u = u will be banned and investigation starts there. they can ban u even with or without evidence then u will start to explaining to them to convince them. even if u able to answer all their question, u still can be banned simply because the ability of answering all their question does not convince them
@GeneVgl base on your ban appeal, can see that u got banned maybe because u shared with "someone", could be your buddy list, could be your guildmate that u got this amount of gold tooth
The situation you're describing doesn't fit my ban. I was banned under suspicion of using hacks to gain a lot of Gold Teeth. I do not believe I was reported. According to GM Kai, there is a SOP in place, however I do not know if the investigation begins the moment suspicions were aroused or only after the ban. If investigations only occur after a ban, it seems a little unfair.
I imagine the reason GM Kai became suspicious was because I sold the Gold Teeth in FM. I like to accumulate enough that when I sell it I can expect 1B or more, as he explained in a previous reply, apparently it's unlikely a DK around lvl 90-110 could've amassed that many Gold Teeth. If the time I spent in-game was uncovered in an investigation before the ban, it would look less unlikely and completely reasonable for me to have farmed that many.
his assumption is just weird.. maybe this is their so call part of the SOP. items and level should be on par.. im wondering how much can a lvl 90-110 DK is allowed to hold onto base on his logic
I don't know what's considered appropriate or reasonable, it's part of the reason I wanted to know what happens when someone is suspected of breaking the rules. In any case, I'm not trying to cause trouble for anyone, I was banned and I feel that it was unreasonable, especially when the ban was executed in a "shoot first, ask questions later" fashion. You may have some problems with GM Kai that you want to resolve, but maybe this is not the thread for you to address your grievances with him.
The "shoot first , ask questions later" is simply to prevent such hackers from being able to sell off the hacked products . There was a case similar to yours where someone managed to hacked a shit lot of gold tooth and sold them to other players for extremely cheap price , causing troubles for the gm . For you , it was just unlucky but they had to do it to prevent such problems from happening . Don't blame them as they are just trying their best to maintain the server .
Hey Primo, as I have said before I'm not trying to blame anyone, I'm just trying to figure out if there was any investigation into my ban case before the "hammer" was dropped on me. I understand that the previously mentioned "shoot first, ask questions later" method would prevent illegally gained items from entering circulation, however, my case was a little different, at the time that I was banned, I had no stores open nor was I in the process of selling anything, the suspected "hacked goods" were already in circulation, also if an investigation was conducted, my activity and hours spent in-game in the Dead Mine II map would have put all suspicions to bed. Again I reiterate what I've said, I do not blame the staff for performing their duties. Their efforts in maintaining a level playing field for all players is commendable and very much appreciated. Congratulations on the "new" guild by the way.
nah.. i dont even know who is him, so there's no way that i have things against him but banning ppl solely by "assumption". my hermit hunted 30 gold tooth by myself as well, and i grind slowly for like 5hrs when i was level 7x. if i remember correctly i didnt gain level during the hunt.. so by using this rate of hunting, when reaching level 110, i think its normal to have that amount of tooth? and as u level, u should be hunting faster too
Whatever the case may be, I just do not want to get banned a third time having done absolutely nothing wrong. Maybe they'll add a few more steps to their SOP for banning people, maybe they won't. It's out of my hands and all I can do now is hope and pray this doesn't happen for a third time. I share my IP with my sister and I wouldn't want her to have to suffer a ban either.
Forgive me for the way I word my sentence as it was meant for everyone . You were probably reported by someone who didn't like/believe you . Anyway , this method is simply one of the more efficient if not the best way, to reduce the burden on the GMs.
Hope you didn't take offence to my response, I was just trying to reiterate that I am not looking to blame anyone. As for being reported, there was no mention of a report in my ban appeal thread. I couldn't even begin to imagine who would report me, I've never bragged about anything, as you can attest from my time with NoobUnited when it was still active, I don't talk much in guild anyways. I haven't had any problems with people who bought the gold teeth I was selling either. While it may be efficient for the staff in mitigating any undesirable outcome from illegally obtained goods getting into the market, it's unfair to the person suspected of the offence. I understand that the staff have a lot on their plate, but to just ban me without any evidence to suggest that I've broken the rules is less efficient than if they spent some time to investigate the ban before it took place. The time spent on dealing with my ban appeal could've been directed elsewhere.
What Primo said in this case is correct. Like I said, I banned you using discretion, meaning I deviated from the SOP aka shoot first explain later. Why? 9 out of 10 people I banned for gold tooth hacking turns out to be correct, even before the need for us to really check into it (and I meant really deep checking) because just by looking at the surface evidence, and within 1 year+ of experience as staff, I could very well tell if the person is hacking or not. For you, you're just that unlucky 1 out of 10.
Well, if that's all the reasons I'm gonna get, I hope that in the future I may be given a second look before a decision is made to ban me. I have every intention to continue farming the teeth and I truly do hope that I do not have to go through a ban again. Hopefully an innocent person won't have to go through what I did. For what it's worth, the ban appeal was resolved without much delay, however unnecessary it may have been.
