02DEC14 - A new editorial explains bans and policy

Well, actually people are not found guilty in civil court. They are found liable, generally for acting negligently or inflicting some sort of harm, which without looking it up, I imagine was wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress in OJ's case. 

Guilt only happens in criminal court. However, the distinction between the two standards is relevant, while I do think the Devs got the Nesse ban 100% wrong, it does not have to be beyond all reasonable doubt, but merely a preponderance of the evidence or more likely than not to put it in the common vernacular. 

But ultimately, the game belongs to the devs and its their server so they could ban anyone for anything at anytime. 

So, moving on...

From the RTSGuru editorial: "Banning people (and even silencing people in chat, taking away the ability to speak across the server) is something none of us want to do."   Well... When a player can get silenced for merely asking why another player got silenced...  GM Stormcrow, your heart is in the right place on this point, but maybe you should see more of what goes on in GC when your moderator has a bu... er is in a bad mood.

"People often level the accusation at us that we're inconsistent with our application of the rules to different players, and this is definitely true - but only within context."   ONLY within context? LOL! Where did you get that idea?

"the Moka incident"   Is that to be cute, like "clay incident"?

"confessing her real-life age of 12"   should be changed to "joking about her real-life age", as Moka's real-life age is considerably higher than 12.

"But we also have no time whatsoever for the kind of trolls who ask us whether we're 'intentionally destroying the game" (or similar phrase) because...   >sigh<  The 'similar phrase' I used was 'intentionally destroying the community'.  The game is yours- you built it. If you want to take it offline, change it to an exact replica of Evony, or build it into the greatest MMORTS ever to grace the interwebs- that's your business. But the community- the main selling point of your game, by the way is ALL of us... We like each other, we love each other, we despise each other... just like the people that live on your street! The community is real! 

Call me a troll if you will- I've been called worse things by my mother- but (intentional or not) any time the community gets shaken up, expect blowback. That goes for any community, whether it's on a browser game or in Seattle.

That said:

GM Stormcrow, you and your team have built the most expansive, well thought-out browser game I have ever come across. You constantly update, fix bugs, and diagnose issues to the best of your ability. When you say you care deeply about Illyriad, that it's your passion, I believe you. What you are doing isn't an easy get-rich-quick scheme, it's a work-your-ass-off-and-hope-it-pays-the-rent endeavor! I realize this, and appreciate it!

The one thing I take issue with is this: A former player (who, as a player, formed friends and enemies; formed opinions and biases) gets hired as a chat mod. The mod is given the power to permaban players, arbitrarily abuses that power, and has full corporate backing. The players that question that abuse of power are harassed by his silence button, and threatened with permabans.

Most corporations fire employees who actively drive away their customers.