I am very satisfied with the outcome of MA's investigation, which shows how the company has developed, from "teenager" to "grown up" age, so to speak.
I am going to indulge in a few notes, hoping that the more IQ-challenged readers will skip it altogether as TL;DR
From my previous task list:
1. Understand how this was even made possible by the game mechanics, close the loophole and prevent this from happening again;
CHECK (and well done)
2. Take steps to check all other player accounts, to spot any similar current or past abuse;
CHECK
3. Take financial actions against Arkadia inc. and set an example for all other PPs;
OPEN
4. Take strong action against the player(s);
CHECK (and well done)
5. In truth, we need a clear statement from MA about their policies concerning the creation and handling of extraordinary items.
CHECK (and well done)
While we can consider the case closed, some takeaways from this episode:
- MA don't have the tools to monitor all gaming activities, so I would wholeheartedly agree to reward the players who documented this abuse. Both Prophet and DCINSIDE deserve the utmost gratitude from the entire community;
- Fun suggestion: as we all agree that EU is a bit like the "wild west", it would be great to have a new category of players "bounty hunters" (not moaners), which following a well specified set of rules, would roam around the universe spotting "unusual behaviours", like Prophet did. That would introduce an in-game control at a minimal cost to MA and keep players on their toes;
- This might be considered a bit of an inflammatory comment, but the last couple of weeks show that we all like a bit of (extra) drama. It's clear that MA didn't want to be heavy handed with Arkadia Studios, for a whole lot of business/diplomatic reasons. However, the closeness between ownership and the involved players is a serious put off, and leaves a bitter after taste.
Out of curiosity, I went to check the list of favorite mobs for each of the top 20 hunters (1 year) on Entropia Life. Not many will be surprised to find out that none of them shows any Arkadia mobs in their top 3 mobs, as we all know that ubers are basically camped on Calypso. With one notable exception: DannyO, whose top 3 mobs are all from Arkadia.
While in itself there is nothing wrong with that, it's difficult not to link it to the pally relationship with the current ex DK ownership. The reprehensible and morally flawed gang behaviour of other DK members on this forum doesn't help either.
Let's not kid ourselves, if that side of the game was directly or indirectly involved in "lending" official items, there's no doubt that anything else would be considered perfectly legitimate.
MA's statement clarifies that "The items in question were acquired, without the permission of either MindArk or Arkadia Studios, from Planet Arkadia Official avatars" and "any avatars that are no longer used or deemed unnecessary will be deleted". You'd be forgiven for thinking that the official items were given to players via "unused" Planet Arkadia Official avatars, which somehow were not controlled by Arkadia Studios staff and have now been removed.
One might wonder how could Planet Arkadia Official avatars give away official items without the knowledge and consent of Arkadia Studios. There are probably many other explanations, but what if certain "helping" players had the credentials to access those special avatars? We would be talking of "super alt" accounts offering endless possibilities.
After all, what's wrong in creating a favorable environment (i.e. tt returns > 100%) to an uber friend, to increase the planet's turnover and help its development? Win-win proposition.
Of course, I am playing the devil's advocate here, because a) friendship is a basic human trait and b) I have no doubt that DannyO could extract 100%+ tt returns consistently anywhere, anytime. Problem is, once trust is broken, the Pandora's box of conspiracy theories opens up and it's difficult to put them back in.
Having said all that, whether the specific abuse happened with or without permission, the buck ultimately stops with Arkadia Studios, I am afraid.
Arkadia has been my favorite planet for a long time, when it comes to escaping periods of terrible loot on Calypso, and I still resent the killing of "Golden Rush". However, regretfully, I will vote with my feet and I'll put it in my "not to visit" list for, guess what, 5 months.
Have a nice day!
thread another player spotted an individual abusing a non player item, thought it unusual, did not take screenshots did not expose it on the forum and did not let Mindark know about it. So nothing was done about it until someone did let us all know about it. 
