Ash wrote:
Hey there.
I don't post a lot in these types of threads, mainly because they get out of hand, but I did want to add my two cents here.
Nasomi, I totally respect the hard work you're trying to do when enforcing policies. I work in San Francisco as a policy manager for what some could consider a 'tech' company, so I'm quite familiar with the logistics and depth it takes to legitimately and faithfully make sure your users are following the rules and code of conduct.
With that said, banning and terminating users is a very difficult thing to do, especially when you're working with limited information. I, like you, use a lot of factors when determining whether a user needs to be banned based on their association to a bad seed. Things like:
-Are the accounts linked by IP
-Linked by device finger printing
-Banking information
-Credit card info
-Email, telephone number, basically any personal info
-Discernible patterns in user behavior
-And the list goes on
In instances where we have a number of accounts linked to one bad account, my job is to make sure those other accounts are thoroughly looked into before banning them based on their association to a bad account. If I was closing all accounts that are linked to one bad account without digging into each account thoroughly, I wouldn't be doing my job properly. Plus, I'd have a lot of angry users complaining when I may have erroneously closed their accounts; this hurts our business model and as well the community at large.
Some of these people you banned are genuinely good people. I've partied with a number of them and they have only been kind and helpful to me. I am saddened that some of these 'good' players got mixed into a group of bad players simply based on their IP association. While I appreciate the work you do to maintain a cheat-free server, I really must contend that if you banned innocent players without thoroughly looking into each account, it is hasty and lazy work on your part. I know you don't have the time to look into each account thoroughly, but you are banning innocent players who have put months--maybe years--of their time into your server. If you don't have the time to look into each account, you may want to consider creating a team to help you with the process. One man can't do everything himself; I would certainly fail miserably if I didn't have my own team. I'm sure people would be willing to help you if given the chance.
-Asharu
This is a thoughtful response, other than trying to draw a parallel between your situation and Nas. You work for a company that presumably tries to make a profit (I realize many tech companies don't actually achieve that goal, but let's pretend yours does).. That part at the end about having a lot of angry users complaining, and hurting your business model? He doesn't have that. He doesn't have a business model.
He's not trying to keep everyone happy, or make a living. The sooner people accept that Nas isn't here to make you happy, the sooner you might find ways to enjoy this server. Nas likes running a FFXI server, and you like playing on one. That's basically the extent of the relationship.