Dealing with IC consequences

[Tripster]

I'm just curious about how many witch hunts I'm going to have to endure before they stop. What is it with certain GM alts targeting my characters over and over again for reasons that are flimsy at best and meta at worst? Asking here because I'm tired of having to run to Rain over and over again. Genuinely interested in why there aren't more creative ways for some of the richest and most powerful characters in the game to get their point across that don't involve BBS smearing, overly explicit threats of violence and the general sparking of conflict that other players then pick up on and have to choose sides in?

It is always the same two characters as well and I'm sure they'll know who I'm referring to. If you claim someone is being a dick on their character then you do things that force them to be a dick on that character then you're actively indulging in a self fulfilling prophecy. It's not hard to wait until someone actually does something that's harmful to the game if this is an issue of enforcement, because then it would be objectively a good thing to punish them. If this is entirely in character though, why? Reiterating, what do some of the most powerful characters in the game have to gain from targeting a nobody character who is harmless until their provocation?

[Timegrinder]

There are currently [0] administrators active on witch-hunts.

In all seriousness though, we take things like that seriously (seriously seriously). If it were actually going on the way you perceive it, it would be stopped by the other administrators.

We also have uh... *checks notes* about 50 other ways we could harass you as a player without bothering to use your player characters.

If you want to level an accusation and offer some kind of evidence or other pointers or what to look in to you are (and always have been) welcome to submit it through the commands:

Code: Select all

@request
@comment
@whine

Not taking the piss, whine is actually one of them. These go to -every- admin.

This means that they cannot be hidden at all, they're viewable by every administrator whether it be for investigating, or laughing at.

P.S. I can also say with utmost certainty that none of the admin have player characters that are the most powerful, richest, or anywhere near the top of their proverbial chains because they're too busy between being an admin and working. Also they're shit at playing the game, so there's that.

[Tripster]

You're right Timegrinder, it was wrong of me to use the term 'GM Alt' since I really have no way to prove that. I will instead use the term 'senior player' but the problem does remain the same. My bad for the confusion though.

[Timegrinder]

Hey now, no need to go calling people old either.

Still, same thing applies. If you have evidence that you have been targeted through multiple characters you have played and it's obviously because you're the player (and they somehow found out, which players aren't meant to out each other or themselves) you're welcome to submit it for review.

[Tripster]

Over the last few months I have been accused of being a longtime cheater of the game whose name I will not bother to mention, had to deal with a character being called in via Discord to hunt me down over that, poked at by the same player using multiple characters to try to get a response out of me even after I thought a resolution had been reached, harassed by the same two long existing characters repeatedly despite numerous complaints, one of which I will say did result in some temporary solution, and now I have to deal with those same two characters being on the same shit all over again. This is two days into me starting a new character who has done nothing to anyone.

I can think of a long list of offenses that I have actual evidence and logs of but I'm not exactly seeing the point when it seems like the same thing is just going to happen over and over again. Players coordinating against me on Discord isn't even up to debate, it has already been proven. Just like the subjects of this complaint are known to be abusive, one far more than the other, yet here they are being the same way again.


It's pretty clear that as long as certain people have a problem with you, justified or not, your experience on CS is going to be garbage and you should just leave. Not going through the trouble of spending time taking screenshots of logs for more half measures. I'll just leave.

[Ptolemais]

==4G. Unsubstantiated accusations of cheating==
While players may feel or claim that other players are cheating, there are many reasons things occur within the game world that most players are not privy to. As a result of this, players occasionally get the idea that other players are cheating or 'metagaming' by using OOC methods to co-ordinate actions, gang up on people OOC'ly etc.
In Cybersphere's history it has been rare that players regularly accused of such things have actually been participating in actions against the rules in such ways and we take these actions seriously to the point that on occasion guilty players have had their access to the game removed temporarily or even permanently.
HOWEVER: We do NOT accept repeated unsubstantiated claims or accusations of cheating. These waste your time, our time, and depending on severity, the accused player's time. Ongoing and repeated claims without any factually backed evidence, or refusal to provide evidence that you claim to have will themselves, after time, be considered an infringement of the rules and treated accordingly.

==4H. Inappropriate complaints against the game and administration==
We understand everyone has their opinions and gripes, whether it's about game systems, other players, or even the administration (or specific administrators). If you have such issues there have always been avenues for you to voice them appropriately in a manner that reaches the entire administration.
We may not be aware of widespread complaints from players, they may be about issues arising with changes to systems that we do not find straight away and so on.
What is not acceptable is a player OOC'ly (and in some extreme circumstances, IC'ly) spewing vitriol regarding the game, and its administration because they do not agree with something or because an issue exists that has not been attended to. It is unnecessary and spreads negativity that is unwarranted.
Save yourself and everyone else the time, cool off, be patient, provide us a well worded and polite complaint about the issue and we can all move forward.

If you feel someone is acting against you in a manner that is inappropriate, please use the available channels to have this addressed. If you have evidence, we do want to see it so that any existing issues can be addressed. This is a common theme that keeps recurring where people make claims (such as people being called in via Discord to assist other people ICly or other similar occurrences), but if you don't let us know about these things and provide the essential proof (such as screenshots), we can't do anything about it. Without following the necessary procedure, accusations such as this are considered to be unsubstantiated as well as a violation of the existing rules.

[Timegrinder]

Yeah....

Like I said, submit it. Nothing can get done without it being submitted.

As Ptolemais pointed out there are actually specific rules against both the things you're stating are happening, AND frivolous, unsubstantiated claims.

If you're having an issue, the only way to get it dealt with is to provide the evidence.

If this is going to turn into a 'I've got evidence and I refuse to provide it because you won't do anything about it thus creating a self fulfilling prophecy of you doing nothing about it despite my evidence.' then please, just break the cycle and hand over the evidence so we can actually do something about it.

If you give us no opportunity to deal with it, it will never be dealt with, and you won't ever actually find out if we would have dealt with it to begin with.

[Rain]

Over the last few months I have been accused of being a longtime cheater of the game whose name I will not bother to mention, had to deal with a character being called in via Discord to hunt me down over that, poked at by the same player using multiple characters to try to get a response out of me even after I thought a resolution had been reached, harassed by the same two long existing characters repeatedly despite numerous complaints, one of which I will say did result in some temporary solution, and now I have to deal with those same two characters being on the same shit all over again. This is two days into me starting a new character who has done nothing to anyone.

I can think of a long list of offenses that I have actual evidence and logs of but I'm not exactly seeing the point when it seems like the same thing is just going to happen over and over again. Players coordinating against me on Discord isn't even up to debate, it has already been proven. Just like the subjects of this complaint are known to be abusive, one far more than the other, yet here they are being the same way again.

It's pretty clear that as long as certain people have a problem with you, justified or not, your experience on CS is going to be garbage and you should just leave. Not going through the trouble of spending time taking screenshots of logs for more half measures. I'll just leave.

The thing is, you've sent me multiple mails and pages claiming that "people think you're x person from y other game" and have harassed you in game over it, but never followed it up with an example of who's actually doing it. I'm pretty sure this is the first mention I've heard of anyone making multiple characters to do it.

Every time you bring this dead horse out to flog it, you seem to imply we care whether you're that person or not. We don't. You're the only person bringing up this accusation.

On a side note, I don't really know how an accusation like that can come about unless you're actively interacting with people in an OOC manner and have given them your character name, but that's by the by. Granted, sometimes people have a distinctive roleplaying style, but from what you're inferring I don't think that was the case.

Regarding the "two long existing characters harassing you", here's my understanding of events. I'll keep this as vague as possible so as not to reveal the current IC situation, but anyone with half a brain cell can probably figure it out:

You had a previous character that was involved in a fight against them, which resulted in that character leaving the city.

Your subsequent character, to my knowledge, had little interaction with them.

Your most recent character, who has an annoying personality trait, posted on a BBS exhibiting said annoying personality trait. When called on this trait by one of the "long existing characters harassing you", you got involved in an argument. Unsurprisingly the other "long existing character" got involved because let's face it they're basically a single entity anyway.

Granted, you can argue that your character arguing instead of ignoring it or backing down was acting In Character -- but, shock horror, the same argument holds for the people responding to you!

I've been very tolerant of your complaints, and worked to help you wherever possible, but I'm rapidly reaching the point where I'm only going to respond to posts like this with badly edited meme pictures instead.

[TalonCzar]

[TalonCzar]

[Mattski]

There's an @whine and I haven't been using it !?

[Qetesh]

*quickly breaks @whine for Mattski*

[TalonCzar]

DANGER! DANGER! ASS PAIN LEVELS REACHING RECOMMENDED LIMITS.
@COMPLAIN AUTOMATED SYSTEM WILL NOW ALERT SUPER USER: RAIN
STANDBY FOR APPLICATION OF TOPICAL ASS-PAIN BALM...

[Qetesh]

Okay okay as hilarious as this all is I think its time we put a stop to it. Everyone take 5.

[Mattski]

In the spirit of taking 5 i shall digress.
It is time for all other manufacturers of ketchup to yield to Heinz and drop out of the ketchup racket. Hunt's tastes like raw ass in comparison. Which is an ineffective analogy given my audience. Trader Joe's is a poor man's Hunt's. This is not an opinion this is a fact.

That said, anyone who was around circa 2007-2010 and remebers The Kab (essentially the predecessor to the official CS forum you are on now) remembers how absolutely awful we were to one another both IC and OOC, with there being firm boundary between the two. And it was hilarious. My theory is, back then MEN were MEN and AHABS were AHABS !! Now I can't tell whats what. We've gone soft I tell ya. That is why Russia and China think they can annex new lands in the 21st Century when that ain't been okay since WW2 !!!