Menace
Elite
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2008
- Posts
- 3,279
- Location
- Niagara Falls, Canada
- Society
- SECRET
- Avatar Name
- Rob Menace Klok
*Plea to the community*
I know many of us have opinions and some very strong. I KNOW many of you will voice them here and I expect such. I simply ask that you PLEASE keep vulgarities and extreme negativity out of this thread as I think it will become an important topic of conversation and I'd hate to have it closed. You are more than welcome to curse and swear at me via PM if it'll keep this thread clean. I expect name calling and politely ask the mods to moderate this thread on a language level only and allow people to speak their mind as long as they keep their wording respectful to the forum.
To start things off bluntly for those who don't want to read the forthcoming wall of text.... I have had my account in EU locked for trapping big Marcimex in the Cyclops depths. I am NOT about to dispute nor attempt to justify my actions. Simply put.... GUILTY!
Now for the meat and potatoes of things.....
We'll start with the ToU under which I am being punished for violating just so no-one has to search for it.
Entropia Universe Account Terms of Use (ToU)
8. MindArk’s Rules of Conduct
j. You must immediately report errors and bugs in the Entropia Universe to MindArk whenever You discover them. You may not “cheat” or otherwise neglect to report errors or bugs, use bugs, slow connection, Internet latency, or other 'exploits' for own benefits or for the benefit of others.
*You may not cheat for own benefits.
Ok so let's take a look at this seeings it's what I've been banned for.
Benefits:
Financial Gain - I have lost 8k~ PED trapping Marcimex. There was definately no financial gain.
Skills - I was not taking any defensive decay thus "cheating" MYSELF out of skill gains PED vs. PED cycled. (No evade or Paramedic and associated skills being gained.)
Mission Points for Rewards - Given the high rate of regen and my low DPS I could have accumulated points faster on the small ones.
Real Life "Ease of Grinding" - I did benefit here. I've got a 2.5 mth old baby and 3 other kids plus a wife, dog, and household that all need attention. Autofiring and not having to worry about fapping DID in fact make my busy RL a lot easier. HOWEVER.... without the ability to autofire like a no-mind I wouldn't have logged nearly as much time online thus cutting my losses significantly which in turn wouldn't have helped the system cover 330k ATH's as much.
So as per the ToU in which I was locked, it's VERY clear that this (in my case) is a grey area at best. I mean... I guess I COULD have gotten lucky and ATH'd, but as it stands this was not working towards my avatar's benefit in any way shape or form. So I guess seeings my personal RL is none of MA's business.... They've locked my account based on the fact that other players were complaining. Players who without a doubt were oblivious to the cost of killing those mobs whom only WANTED to see the slimes I looted or the few HoF's I got so that they could rage whine about my trapping. Up until the point where I was locked... the ToU had not been violated as there was no clear benefit within EU for myself.
Mindark's Social Responsibility:
What is Social Responsibility?
Def:
Social responsibility is an ethical theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystem.
Like all organizations MindArk has a social responsibility to us... the players within EU. However where does that social responsibility lie? In locking players who are cheating? Or in FIXING the problems in a reasonable amount of time? What IS a reasonable amount of time? The months and several VU's that have gone by since the Cyclops depths have opened? Many, MANY players got 24 hour locks for trapping in the Cyclops Depths.... yet here we are today with myself being banned MONTHS later, and still.... the problem lies there for others to utilize.
Participants Social Responsibility:
What is our social responsibility as players? The ToU sais it's NOT to cheat for benefit. Ok. So then is it to report cheaters? Ivi from Hungarian Trox Killers thought so. She/he reported me..... I dunno how many times. Trying to be a thorn in my side. Well here's the kicker... Attached to my support case I made asking how long my ban was, is a screenshot of me trapping Shadowshell. Anyone wanna guess who's about 10 steps to my left? Yup. Ivi! I mean... this person spent their days and nights following me around in the Cyclops depths. PROBABLY can make claim to being the one who actually filed the support cases which got me locked. And now in MindArk's eyes their word is MUD because they themself couldn't resist trapping a big mob. Is this game REALLY in a state where hypocrisy reigns supreme?
Listen guys/gals. I knew this day was coming. Ivi will tell ya... these past few days I did NOTHING to hide what I was doing. I liquidated any garbage I had kicking around and cycled through the PEDs so that my account was at lowest possible value. I MIGHT have a couple k PED in guns/ammo/armor right now. This is no surprise to myself or anyone else who's filed support cases against me.
There is however a REAL problem with the system as a whole. What if I would have hit some stupid 1M PED ATH by trapping? Trapping that's been an issue for MONTHS without repair. What if I would have looted an uber item way above what I deserve vs. the money I've deposited over the past 5 years? Is it ok to just ban the player? Even PERMA-Ban the player? For what? So that another person can come along and do the same thing?
How about the players that scream bloody murder only to have themselves get screenied doing the EXACT SAME THING? I mean... if my trapping was so wrong, then how valuable is a player to the community who is not only a trapper... but a hypocrite?
I don't know how long my ban will last. I do however, know that I've got FRAPS of several other players doing the exact same thing. Sort of an "insurance policy" if you wish. Several of them VERY VERY high level and well known players. Chances are... if you've trapped big marcimex in the past week.... I've got ya on FRAPS. That is NOT a threat to release those clips. Though I think I'm pretty much done with the hypocrites and if I see one of you here "scorn" me you will probably get a link to the youtube clip of yourself trapping in response.
As for the people that trapped WITH me (and you know who you's are... there are many), no worries there. I did not FRAPS anyone I was hunting with. Nor will I ever disclose TO ANYONE who you are. Believe me... just cuz I "did something bad" in a video game doesn't mean I've got no RL honor.
In closing, I'd like this thread to lead to a topic of debate as to whether or not "trapping" should be considered a "cheat" and if so... at what point has MindArks window of opportunity for social responsibility closed? You can't seriously believe that a broken system that's left to sit broken for months.... years.... decades.... can still be considered "un-intentional". Maybe the marcimex example is still "young enough" to warrant bans, but at what point do we as players step back and say... "Hey... if they don't care enough to fix it... we're going to use it!".
Ok Folks!
Keep er' clean!
Menace
I know many of us have opinions and some very strong. I KNOW many of you will voice them here and I expect such. I simply ask that you PLEASE keep vulgarities and extreme negativity out of this thread as I think it will become an important topic of conversation and I'd hate to have it closed. You are more than welcome to curse and swear at me via PM if it'll keep this thread clean. I expect name calling and politely ask the mods to moderate this thread on a language level only and allow people to speak their mind as long as they keep their wording respectful to the forum.
To start things off bluntly for those who don't want to read the forthcoming wall of text.... I have had my account in EU locked for trapping big Marcimex in the Cyclops depths. I am NOT about to dispute nor attempt to justify my actions. Simply put.... GUILTY!
Now for the meat and potatoes of things.....
We'll start with the ToU under which I am being punished for violating just so no-one has to search for it.
Entropia Universe Account Terms of Use (ToU)
8. MindArk’s Rules of Conduct
j. You must immediately report errors and bugs in the Entropia Universe to MindArk whenever You discover them. You may not “cheat” or otherwise neglect to report errors or bugs, use bugs, slow connection, Internet latency, or other 'exploits' for own benefits or for the benefit of others.
*You may not cheat for own benefits.
Ok so let's take a look at this seeings it's what I've been banned for.
Benefits:
Financial Gain - I have lost 8k~ PED trapping Marcimex. There was definately no financial gain.
Skills - I was not taking any defensive decay thus "cheating" MYSELF out of skill gains PED vs. PED cycled. (No evade or Paramedic and associated skills being gained.)
Mission Points for Rewards - Given the high rate of regen and my low DPS I could have accumulated points faster on the small ones.
Real Life "Ease of Grinding" - I did benefit here. I've got a 2.5 mth old baby and 3 other kids plus a wife, dog, and household that all need attention. Autofiring and not having to worry about fapping DID in fact make my busy RL a lot easier. HOWEVER.... without the ability to autofire like a no-mind I wouldn't have logged nearly as much time online thus cutting my losses significantly which in turn wouldn't have helped the system cover 330k ATH's as much.
So as per the ToU in which I was locked, it's VERY clear that this (in my case) is a grey area at best. I mean... I guess I COULD have gotten lucky and ATH'd, but as it stands this was not working towards my avatar's benefit in any way shape or form. So I guess seeings my personal RL is none of MA's business.... They've locked my account based on the fact that other players were complaining. Players who without a doubt were oblivious to the cost of killing those mobs whom only WANTED to see the slimes I looted or the few HoF's I got so that they could rage whine about my trapping. Up until the point where I was locked... the ToU had not been violated as there was no clear benefit within EU for myself.
Mindark's Social Responsibility:
What is Social Responsibility?
Def:
Social responsibility is an ethical theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystem.
Like all organizations MindArk has a social responsibility to us... the players within EU. However where does that social responsibility lie? In locking players who are cheating? Or in FIXING the problems in a reasonable amount of time? What IS a reasonable amount of time? The months and several VU's that have gone by since the Cyclops depths have opened? Many, MANY players got 24 hour locks for trapping in the Cyclops Depths.... yet here we are today with myself being banned MONTHS later, and still.... the problem lies there for others to utilize.
Participants Social Responsibility:
What is our social responsibility as players? The ToU sais it's NOT to cheat for benefit. Ok. So then is it to report cheaters? Ivi from Hungarian Trox Killers thought so. She/he reported me..... I dunno how many times. Trying to be a thorn in my side. Well here's the kicker... Attached to my support case I made asking how long my ban was, is a screenshot of me trapping Shadowshell. Anyone wanna guess who's about 10 steps to my left? Yup. Ivi! I mean... this person spent their days and nights following me around in the Cyclops depths. PROBABLY can make claim to being the one who actually filed the support cases which got me locked. And now in MindArk's eyes their word is MUD because they themself couldn't resist trapping a big mob. Is this game REALLY in a state where hypocrisy reigns supreme?
Listen guys/gals. I knew this day was coming. Ivi will tell ya... these past few days I did NOTHING to hide what I was doing. I liquidated any garbage I had kicking around and cycled through the PEDs so that my account was at lowest possible value. I MIGHT have a couple k PED in guns/ammo/armor right now. This is no surprise to myself or anyone else who's filed support cases against me.
There is however a REAL problem with the system as a whole. What if I would have hit some stupid 1M PED ATH by trapping? Trapping that's been an issue for MONTHS without repair. What if I would have looted an uber item way above what I deserve vs. the money I've deposited over the past 5 years? Is it ok to just ban the player? Even PERMA-Ban the player? For what? So that another person can come along and do the same thing?
How about the players that scream bloody murder only to have themselves get screenied doing the EXACT SAME THING? I mean... if my trapping was so wrong, then how valuable is a player to the community who is not only a trapper... but a hypocrite?
I don't know how long my ban will last. I do however, know that I've got FRAPS of several other players doing the exact same thing. Sort of an "insurance policy" if you wish. Several of them VERY VERY high level and well known players. Chances are... if you've trapped big marcimex in the past week.... I've got ya on FRAPS. That is NOT a threat to release those clips. Though I think I'm pretty much done with the hypocrites and if I see one of you here "scorn" me you will probably get a link to the youtube clip of yourself trapping in response.
As for the people that trapped WITH me (and you know who you's are... there are many), no worries there. I did not FRAPS anyone I was hunting with. Nor will I ever disclose TO ANYONE who you are. Believe me... just cuz I "did something bad" in a video game doesn't mean I've got no RL honor.
In closing, I'd like this thread to lead to a topic of debate as to whether or not "trapping" should be considered a "cheat" and if so... at what point has MindArks window of opportunity for social responsibility closed? You can't seriously believe that a broken system that's left to sit broken for months.... years.... decades.... can still be considered "un-intentional". Maybe the marcimex example is still "young enough" to warrant bans, but at what point do we as players step back and say... "Hey... if they don't care enough to fix it... we're going to use it!".
Ok Folks!
Keep er' clean!
Menace
