Post by iamjacksopinion on Feb 11, 2017 14:39:42 GMT -5
So, I finally got banned this week. I promptly shrugged, shut the computer down for the night, read a book, and got a good nights sleep. If you'd told me years ago, or even a year ago, that I was going to get banned (on a decade-old, 8 karma account no less) I probably would've thought that that would be a sad day for me. Now that it's happened, I'm having a hard time caring. Hell, I kind of actually look at it as a positive thing. I've been playing the game less and less in recent years. I really only play for maybe 2 or 3 months at a shot, then give it a 9-10 month break before getting curious enough to make a character and give it another shot. The cycle repeats itself, and always ends in disappointment at how mediocre the game has become.
I never fully regret those re-trials, because I usually find one good group of people to play with each time, and form a memorable experience. But it gets harder and harder to find that group within a Sea of frankly boring clans and events. Hell, the only reason I had a character to get banned in the first place was because I recently hung out with an old high school buddy of mine for the first time in a long while, and we ended up chatting about Armageddon for most of the day, and eventually agreed to make characters together and see what was up. First PC in over a year. I figured at the very least I could backstab some fools and give the White Knights someone to chase for a little while. I know how bored they must be.
But then:
A staff member sends:
"Staff have found that you are a member of a community that is responsible for numerous attacks against the game, GDB, players, and staff. As such, Armageddon's producers have unanimously decided to ban you from the game and the GDB."
A staff member sends:
"This ban may be appealed."
124 116 101 standing sneaking armed->[rYou have been put into storage.
%%% Disconnected from server.
"This ban may be appealed." Eh, why bother. I sought some clarification, but that's about all the fucks I could muster.
I'm pretty sure what gave me away was posting a confirmation that Assassins get Crossbow Use. I just came back to the game, and that change was in place when I did, so I figured it was months old by now. Apparently it's only weeks old, and despite there being numerous assassins in game, a number of whom I'd met, apparently I'm the only one that could've leaked this info. (I kind of wonder if they didn't just ban a few assassins and wait to see which ones appealed? "Better to charge a hundred innocents than let one guilty man go free!") Anyways, within 30 minutes of posting that tidbit of branch info, I was banned unanimously by all Producers. Apparently they follow these forums with a voracious hunger.
Part of what makes this funny to me is that the docs read like this:
But this is a ban-worthy offense:
As a side note, isn't the Staff Info Ban pretty analogous to the American drug war when you think about it?
Funny when you think about it.
The other funny thing is that I was twinking out hard with that character, and the imms were watching. I was playing a violent alley thug, and when I got the "What do you do for a living?" question, I was like "I hurt people." Suddenly numerous people felt like I should be pulling off assassinations for them despite being like 8 hours played... Okay... If there's really nobody with half a testicle and a proper skill tree that's willing to pull this off, I'd hate to leave those plots danglin'. So I was doing some pretty atrocious grinding to get up to snuff. No excuses from me. And I knew the staff were watching, because about an hour before they banned me one of them animated twitchy and came after me, and we had a whole scene where we were fighting and yelling crazy shit at each other until he ran away.
And my friends wondered why I didn't try to appeal the ban...
So, I played for 10-12 years. Something like that. In that time I managed to accrue 8 karma. Or 7. Idk. I got up to "mul", whatever that was. I've never applied for a single special app, I rarely file character reports because I'm rarely doing anything interesting enough to bother them. I've never played a "leader", unless you count the few characters I've had that were influential enough to hire people to do things. But I've never been a Sargeant or First Hunter or anything like that. I generally just keep to myself, grind skills, and explore with most of my characters. Hell, most of my characters never live to see like 3 days played. I like to think I'm fun to play alongside when I do get my longer lived, better played characters, but those are usually spaced out. I'm not a terrific player, yet I had 7-8 karma.
How?
I stayed out of the imms way. It's that simple. I never asked them for anything plot wise, I never killed any of their avatars or pets, I never took sponsored or leadership roles. I just did me, put in my RP review / note review requests annually, and had the occasional character that some kind staffer would appreciate some aspect of, and thus throw me an "attaboy." That's it. I've never been a flowery RPer. My characters aren't cookie cutters or paper thin, but they're far from deep and complex most of the time. I've never been a mover or shaker. I just blended in enough to not bunch some Imms panties. Pretty sad when that's what gets you up the chain. Pretty sad.
So with that out of the way, I'll share a few of my characters that I think people might recognize (don't have too many from recent years). If you recognize, played with any, and want to shoot the shit with me, feel free! If you still play Arm and you don't want to get caught, feel free to shoot the shit with me in IM - I don't talk to police.
I never fully regret those re-trials, because I usually find one good group of people to play with each time, and form a memorable experience. But it gets harder and harder to find that group within a Sea of frankly boring clans and events. Hell, the only reason I had a character to get banned in the first place was because I recently hung out with an old high school buddy of mine for the first time in a long while, and we ended up chatting about Armageddon for most of the day, and eventually agreed to make characters together and see what was up. First PC in over a year. I figured at the very least I could backstab some fools and give the White Knights someone to chase for a little while. I know how bored they must be.
But then:
A staff member sends:
"Staff have found that you are a member of a community that is responsible for numerous attacks against the game, GDB, players, and staff. As such, Armageddon's producers have unanimously decided to ban you from the game and the GDB."
A staff member sends:
"This ban may be appealed."
124 116 101 standing sneaking armed->[rYou have been put into storage.
%%% Disconnected from server.
"This ban may be appealed." Eh, why bother. I sought some clarification, but that's about all the fucks I could muster.
Ban? : General Discussion Board : Complaint or Appeal #73781
Halfhuman
2017-02-09 10:00:43PM (2 days ago)
A staff member sends:
"Staff have found that you are a member of a community that is responsible for numerous attacks against the game, GDB, players, and staff. As such, Armageddon's producers have unanimously decided to ban you from
the game and the GDB."
A staff member sends:
"This ban may be appealed."
What "community" would that be? Jcarter's forum?
2017-02-09 10:00:43PM (2 days ago)
A staff member sends:
"Staff have found that you are a member of a community that is responsible for numerous attacks against the game, GDB, players, and staff. As such, Armageddon's producers have unanimously decided to ban you from
the game and the GDB."
A staff member sends:
"This ban may be appealed."
What "community" would that be? Jcarter's forum?
Nergal
2017-02-09 22:17:50 (2 days ago)
Halfhuman,
Yes.
Nergal
Producer
ArmageddonMUD Staff
2017-02-09 22:17:50 (2 days ago)
Halfhuman,
Yes.
Nergal
Producer
ArmageddonMUD Staff
Halfhuman
2017-02-10 10:55:03 (1 days ago)
Oh, good. For a second there I thought you'd figured out I'm working for ISIS!
2017-02-10 10:55:03 (1 days ago)
Oh, good. For a second there I thought you'd figured out I'm working for ISIS!
Declined by Nergal
2017-02-10 11:00:23AM (1 days ago)
Halfhuman,
Alright then.
Your Complaint or Appeal request has been resolved.
Nergal
Producer
Armageddon Staff
2017-02-10 11:00:23AM (1 days ago)
Halfhuman,
Alright then.
Your Complaint or Appeal request has been resolved.
Nergal
Producer
Armageddon Staff
I'm pretty sure what gave me away was posting a confirmation that Assassins get Crossbow Use. I just came back to the game, and that change was in place when I did, so I figured it was months old by now. Apparently it's only weeks old, and despite there being numerous assassins in game, a number of whom I'd met, apparently I'm the only one that could've leaked this info. (I kind of wonder if they didn't just ban a few assassins and wait to see which ones appealed? "Better to charge a hundred innocents than let one guilty man go free!") Anyways, within 30 minutes of posting that tidbit of branch info, I was banned unanimously by all Producers. Apparently they follow these forums with a voracious hunger.
Part of what makes this funny to me is that the docs read like this:
Aggressors begin play with the kick, bash, and slashing weapons skills. They can achieve an advanced level in slashing weapons, and journeyman levels in kick and bash. By practicing their ability to bash, they learn to follow up with a grappling maneuver, and are able to practice subdue to advanced. By practicing their ability to kick, they learn to disarm their opponent or fight in bad conditions, becoming able to learn the disarm and blind fighting skills to advanced and journeyman levels respectively.
But this is a ban-worthy offense:
I noticed that assassin gets Crossbow off of Sneak @ Master.
As a side note, isn't the Staff Info Ban pretty analogous to the American drug war when you think about it?
- It's this crusty old policy that still exists despite the fact that everybody does it (including the people banning it), and everybody knows that everybody does it.
- Everybody always has done it, and everybody will continue to do it. It's mostly harmless; the majority of the player base currently is OOCly aware that Tek is dead and either his daughter or some black robes are running the show, and yet it hasn't permeated IC barriers.
- It really only serves as a weapon to punish dissidents; I believe a Nixon aide eventually admitted that their harsh drug policies were mostly a way to discredit and imprison the hippies.
- It really only gives power to the "criminals"; drugs are good income for gangs, and people who are willing to share class lists, skill raising advice, etc have a very clear in game edge on those that don't. Meanwhile, having this sort of info available could really help newbs get into the game, and make effective characters.
- It's utterly and very evidently failing, yet people continue to pretend like it has some positive effect. Hell, if you go to the GDB people are dropping tidbits that would've been unthinkable when I started 10 years ago. (You have to miss to raise a weapon skill. Getting parried or blocked doesn't count. etc.)
Funny when you think about it.
The other funny thing is that I was twinking out hard with that character, and the imms were watching. I was playing a violent alley thug, and when I got the "What do you do for a living?" question, I was like "I hurt people." Suddenly numerous people felt like I should be pulling off assassinations for them despite being like 8 hours played... Okay... If there's really nobody with half a testicle and a proper skill tree that's willing to pull this off, I'd hate to leave those plots danglin'. So I was doing some pretty atrocious grinding to get up to snuff. No excuses from me. And I knew the staff were watching, because about an hour before they banned me one of them animated twitchy and came after me, and we had a whole scene where we were fighting and yelling crazy shit at each other until he ran away.
- Kill a motherfucker and pick up his corpse to use it as training weight while you throw knives at and/or backstab another mother fucker? = Ok. Here's some staff interaction.
- Share some details about a skill tree that would look right at place in the official documentation = Unacceptable.
And my friends wondered why I didn't try to appeal the ban...
So, I played for 10-12 years. Something like that. In that time I managed to accrue 8 karma. Or 7. Idk. I got up to "mul", whatever that was. I've never applied for a single special app, I rarely file character reports because I'm rarely doing anything interesting enough to bother them. I've never played a "leader", unless you count the few characters I've had that were influential enough to hire people to do things. But I've never been a Sargeant or First Hunter or anything like that. I generally just keep to myself, grind skills, and explore with most of my characters. Hell, most of my characters never live to see like 3 days played. I like to think I'm fun to play alongside when I do get my longer lived, better played characters, but those are usually spaced out. I'm not a terrific player, yet I had 7-8 karma.
How?
I stayed out of the imms way. It's that simple. I never asked them for anything plot wise, I never killed any of their avatars or pets, I never took sponsored or leadership roles. I just did me, put in my RP review / note review requests annually, and had the occasional character that some kind staffer would appreciate some aspect of, and thus throw me an "attaboy." That's it. I've never been a flowery RPer. My characters aren't cookie cutters or paper thin, but they're far from deep and complex most of the time. I've never been a mover or shaker. I just blended in enough to not bunch some Imms panties. Pretty sad when that's what gets you up the chain. Pretty sad.
So with that out of the way, I'll share a few of my characters that I think people might recognize (don't have too many from recent years). If you recognize, played with any, and want to shoot the shit with me, feel free! If you still play Arm and you don't want to get caught, feel free to shoot the shit with me in IM - I don't talk to police.
- Jozhal - the gaunt, emerald-eyed teen - A rinthi Guilder youngin' from about a year ago. Around the time when Warsong quit the game over that noble assassination nonsense.
- Seven - the tough, scar-strewn man - Northern indie mercenary. Tried to give him a real Southern vibe, even though he was technically a Tuluki. Uncouth. Threatened people openly. Chewed and spit globs of brown goo on the floor constantly, even in the presense of nobility. Repeatedly refused patronage to Nobles because he wanted to stay an independent Merc. After tuluk closed, decided to go raid southerners, cause YOLO.
- Rueggi - the runty, bright-eyed youth - A young ass pickpocket type, trying to run scams and petty crimes. Tried to sell spice during the spice ban in Tuluk, but people insistend on paying 2-3 times my prices to have it imported for some reason. *shrug*
- Mace - the rugged, claw-raked young man / the cleft-bearded, claw-raked man - A Byn Trooper. Probably a bit of a brooding asshole to many. Was around for a while, but had sporadic playtimes because of IRL shit happening at the time.
- Schlom / Boulder / Sandshrew / etc - the bulky, ruddy-hued half-giant - This guy started off as a Gemmer. The concept was simple; a big dummy who was raised and nurtured by Ruk, and was a complete disciple of what he thought Ruk stood for; protecting and nurturing folks. After killing some krathi for abusing her element, he fled Allanak to live his life alone out in the desert as a wandering hermit, helping and protecting people as he found them. He could often be found beside the road, curled up like a boulder, communing with Ruk. I chose to forget his name during the wandering period, so every rogue mage group or tribal or hunter I met had a different name for me. I only remember 2 though.
It's actually quite freeing to be able to openly discuss the game now.
