Request: Reporting Abusive Players Sub-forum

Hello,

I have a small request about how player reporting is handled. Today a large policy change was announced:

This is a great step in the right direction towards serious reporting. Up until now, players have been falsely believing that a chatlog showing votekicking or an unclear screenshot is enough evidence to enforce high level moderation.

While requiring real evidence is a harder hassle on players, it is important for having a clear and just system.

However, there is still a major communication flaw in the current reporting structure:
Having one forum thread for all player reports.

Request: Could a new sub-forum be added called "Abusive Player Reporting Center" or another similar title?

Some positives of having player reporting in its own sub forum are:

1. Each player report can have all its evidence in one location.
2. A player who creates a thread defending himself can have a clear link to his old report.
3. Threads / Reports can be clearly closed and reopened (locked or unlocked).
4. Stops one of the biggest issues with off-topic discussion: Confusion from cross report communication.
5. Easier to moderate
6. EDIT: Easier to find good and bad examples of other reports and view their outcomes.

When shifting to this new system, a new clear stickied thread can be made with new reporting outlines. You can also use the shift to the new system to highlight the seriousness of player reporting and any new administrative stances (such a requiring video).
If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to comment.
Thank you for reading my request.

 

One thing I don't understand with the must of a video is how does someone report someone (awkward writing :P) without a video, what if there was enough trustworthy people admitting that <name> was griefing or speed hacking? I know that this guy was speed hacking, I didn't take a video or report him, so will my report go un-noticed?

Anyway, I support this idea towards a sub-forum for reporting griefers, even though I still think it isn't to messy, we can always do with more cleaning though. :D

 

It is my hope that better anti-cheat and reporting methods are implemented as the game approaches completion. Currently, there are two ways to get a player banned if a server admin is offline:

1. Get a Royal Guard
   1. This requires knowing about the Royal Guard and IRC.
   2. There is currently no simple way to tell if a server is Royal Guard enabled.
2. Report a player on the forums
   1. This means having a third-party video recording client constantly running or able to run at the push of a button.

When considering what the best method is for reporting players, you need to consider how the game will grow. In this regard, option #2 is the most stable. If the player base drastically increases, it is much easier to manage a group of admins that watch condensed videos of cheating/griefing than it is to have a larger actively playing fleet of players with high integrity.

Now you ask "what if there was enough trustworthy people admitting that <name> was griefing or speed hacking?". In a small community, it is somewhat manageable to determine who is a "trustworthy" player. However, this method is poor for a system designed to support the growth of the game and community.

A video can not always completely encompass everything that is going on in a server. In some situations, it might be vital to hear from the perspectives of players in the server to stop a video from being misinterpreted. With the current 89 page single-thread system, it is hard to have clear supporting communication. By breaking each report into its own topic, players will be able to clarify a report without getting in the way of other player's reporting.