Without massive probable cause mods would catch way too much flack (even more than now).

i mean we trust your judgment for the most part, but like to be kept in the loop. i think the majority of the complaints regarding the latest drama was the sketchiness and secrecy surrounding it, not the actual people being banned/accusations. RC tool is totally necessary though. and you guys shouldn't just work to ban 1 or 2 players on the last day of each month, but try to eliminate some OTF relationships that are borderline PGA.

I'll give you an example of why I always went for an end of the month pwn when I was the lone moderator.

Say I know cheating is occuring early in the month on an account. If I ban the account on the 5th or 6th, said player might simply try a new account and continue the douchebaggery within that same month. No lesson learned, no heartache, new alt created.

Now, if I let that same person waste endless hours playing games and tournies and doing their best to keep their tracks covered and keep their "friends" quiet, then kill their account and reset their points on the 31st of the month, there MIGHT be a lesson learned. It MIGHT discourage them from wasting their time doing this again.

This method is brought about by not having enough moderation tools. Over-moderation happens by accounts getting killed, new accounts getting created, and then those accounts getting killed, and then that player feels slighted by the mods, flames out, goes postal in the forum/chatbox/e-mails to Ryan, etc., etc...

Without a true way to permaban PLAYERS (instead of accounts), there is no way to get rid of untrustworthy people from the site. Mods have to implement more sinister methods to make their point and that is what Jurgen did this month. I've done it before too.

good point didn't think about it that way

im 50/50 on the waiting to ban. i can totally see people going schizo because they just killed an entire month getting their gold, only to see it taken away on the last day. in the best of worlds, they realize they are in the wrong, and clean up their act. but i would think the more common response would be to go veta and try to fuck the site however possible.

or more likely, the result would be to just leave. which is fine.

Obviously the wish is for them to either clean up their act or leave. Unfortunately the schizo part is uncontrollable...literally.

And there is examples of each...

To my knowledge zoid doesn't scheme/flagrantly cheat anymore, (but I'm not on the tables much, so lol if I'm wrong) and he's had many accounts deaded.

DLK simply chose to leave.

Veta has stuck around after countless accounts being banned and the site admin doing and IP ban.


Zoid = cleaned up (I assume)
DLK = went away
Veta = went schizo


C'est la vie...such is the internet.

Thanks Harry for your interesting input into trying to find a solution to get rid of the cheating. I have asked Ryan to set up a warning system so we could keep track of warnings more easily and even avoid some bans. Unfortunately no response.

I also agree with about everything Traxle said here.

sometimes I ban right away (usually for cheating at the lower tabels)

when I want to find out all connections and get extra proof to back up my ban, I wait until I am 100% sure or if I feel I can't catch anyone extra.

the main tool that I lack to control cheating better is a game save/replay tool, similar to the saved sketches in xsketch. It has the huge advantage of containing the entire context of a game, it's objective, untaintable and indisputable. It would be very easy for people to report fishy games, no hassle with videocaps where you probably start recording AFTER part of the fishy stuff started.

talked to StormLord - he's working a script for just that so you are in luck

oh fucking god, if that could actually work

but the safest way is for ryan to integrate it in his code or else it can be manipulated