Zon3r wrote:azazel was teamkilling on spankjox(?) pushing players(including me) off the platforms with the shieldgun. pegasus was there, but he said nothing. yes pegasus, you should at least warn him or something. so everyone is free to do what they want
No matter what I say to you ingame, I seem to be unable to convince you that I
do not have admin privileges on the server :s. I help around there (and here) wherever and however I can, but the only one running things on both fronts is heinz; all I am is something between a janitor and a curator. Besides, considering I'd been without an internet connection for the past 5 weeks now and that RL stuff has been steadily cutting into my evening playing time over the past few months, it wouldn't have helped anyone even if I could single-highhandedly kick ppl, so please let this go.
That said, I do believe the server could stand to have a couple of trusted, skilled and (most of all) mature ppl deputized just to keep things running smoothly (mostly in cases of incessant bickering or griefing), but that's not the matter at hand here (nor would it be too beneficial to anyone for me to throw my name in that particular hat given my current availability).
Meh, I wanted to sort out a few more pending 'net loose ends I had before starting to post here again, but since I already meant to comment on the ever-bloating smokey web of intrigue and villainy that is this thread, I might as well address the latest developments here now and get it over with. Here goes:
IMO, there's 2 takeaways to glean from this "Thom vs. the aliasing suspect" business which is just the latest iteration of the same old situation we've all seen repeated on various UT communities' msg boards before, i.e. a known and trusted skilled player accusing an unknown but skilled aliaser of cheating.
1.: No matter how trusted or respected the person doing the finger pointing might be or, conversely, how unknown or hated the accused is, in the turf of justice evidence is the only factor that should count. I don't care if the entirety of an FPS community's wrinkly inner circle of sages
knows it in their gut or if 90% of the server's players ended up complaining about someone's aim, if nothing can be presented after the fact that unquestioningly proves a cheat was used, no admin should ever take action against them if they care to honour their server's name as a truly fair place to frag. Like it or not - and sometimes we've all happened not to - fairness includes the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. If nothing involving my standing or trustworthiness here, take it from someone who did a brief stint many moons ago as a big RTS community's judge panel member for its online matches. Conclusiveness is a bitch, so if everything there is against Mr. Player here has been presented already, IMO he should walk because there's nothing damning that I could see in those demos. Of course that doesn't mean ppl shouldn't keep an eye out for suspiciously accurate aiming from him (or anybody else), but that would require gathering evidence for another case.
2.: Although I'd describe myself as a diehard proponent of privacy as a citizen's fundamental right in every facet of communication, years of seeing the stereotype that aliasers tend to play into in UT servers have convinced me that their reasons for using obviously ephemeral nicks rarely involve protecting their privacy. For one thing, they're
nicknames to begin with, so whatever identification we'd be talking about, it'd be of a tenuous nature to begin with. Bottom line is, while people don't really care to know details about whom they're playing with, it very much matters to them that their fellow players be known quantities. All it takes is repetition in using the same nick to achieve that in an online game, nothing more. Play with someone for a while and you'll get a feel for what kind of person they are (as it relates to the game anyway) and what you should expect from them every time you see them, be that pleasant to you or otherwise. The familiarity that comes from this among most ppl helps build trust in a server and it's exactly this grain that aliasing runs against. I get that new players on a server may be carrying baggage from other places they played before and that may be a reason for them using a different nick (to avoid stalkers, for example), but what possible reason could someone have not to pick some other recognizable nick and stick with it in the new server, but opt to go with a clearly "disposable" PlayerXX one? I mean, other than intending to start up shit and annoy ppl, presumably with impunity. For most ppl with some experience under their belt in this game, that's exactly what their thought process will be like when they encounter such a nickname tied to someone who obviously doesn't fall into the true newb category and suspicion will automatically enter into all their dealings with the aliaser which will only increase the chances of drama the longer the situation stays like that and the aliaser doesn't adopt a more characteristic moniker.
Long story short, IMO it's both a matter of courtesy towards your fellow players as well as practicality for the management that ppl
don't continue using the game's placeholder screen name when they intend to frequent a server. To that end, I wouldn't mind supporting the adoption of a server policy dictating the kicking of such "offenders" after they were asked (and warned) several times to change their nick from its default format and/or them also being requested to stick with one "main" nick throughout their time playing on the server (exceptions made for valid, but explained to the admin, reasons of course). Ways this can be implemented and enforced through multi-tiered AntiTCC info gathering and cross-referencing (IP & GUID) can be discussed elsewhere assuming more people and heinz happen to agree with this. In this particular instance, I'd just like to request of Mr. "Player" to choose a more ...practical nick, announce it here for all to know and use that from now on at CEONSS; he doesn't need to stress out about it relating to his history or past nicks elsewhere, that's all irrelevant to us as long as we can identify him whenever we see him just as he can do with the rest of us. It's only civil, after all.
Anyway those are my 2 points, both matters of unbiased principle; nothing personal with or against anyone involved in this thread, so plz don't be tempted to consider them as such. See you all ingame and no hax this time
!
PS: Now that I'm back, I'd like to extend a welcome to the newest members who joined here during my absence that I've known and had ggs with in the past: El_timbo, Thommy, borg queen and, who knows, maybe even Player here, assuming we've crossed paths before... Enjoy your stay and keep the constructive criticism coming
.