Sunday, February 24th, 2008
Issue: 62   Editor: Nyxxinator


First a Mute, Then a Ban! MikaVerLeth
A recent update, or change so you wish, to the rules gets players a ban after they've been muted. Why? That's a very good question. It's also the question I will answer in this article. Along with a slight view on the good and bad things around this change of rules.

The 'change' means that Help Desk Operators (HDOs) are only allowed to mute for offenses or actions that are against the Terms Of Service (TOS). They no longer have the ability to move topics to the Off-Topic Forum and are also obliged to report every player they mute, so a moderator can ban the reported player. Every reported player will receive a ban for approximately 24 hours, depending on how serious the offense was.

Fair? It may be, depending on your point of view. Then again, it may also be unfair. One way of looking at it is by saying HDO's are ordered to mute only those players that violate the TOS, which means only the bad guys get punished. This isn't only just a claim, it is part of the new orders given to the HDOs. Everyone wants to see the players that violate the TOS banned. This rule change is just another step to make sure they are.

On the other hand, doesn't muting lose is function if you are banned after being muted? What is the purpose, or use, of muting if a player will get banned anyway? You might as well update the script and give HDOs the ability to ban for one day as muted players will end up with a ban anyway.

Another newly encountered event is the fact that players who have simply posted in the wrong forum are muted and banned for 24 hours because of their post. Note that this does not concern all players but it does concern some. Ridiculous? Maybe. Again, if it is seen as a violation of the TOS, a moderator has every right to ban a muted players. However, on the other side, the first purpose of a mute was to punish players but not with something as severe as a ban.

In the end, moderators do have the right to ban players muted players. It's all in the TOS. Violate them and you can be banned. It's fair, all by the book. Nothing wrong about it. Know this: The new rule has already caused multiple people to get banned because of a violation either large or small. So you'd better watch out, violating the rules will not be without consequence.