Rule breaking, no matter the circumstances, is against ENT Gaming rules and can result in a ban. We always encourage users to play out the game, and report the user(s) afterwards. There is no scenario where it is ok to break a rule in an attempt to punish other users who you may deem as a thrower/gameruiner.
In respect to the above, the ban was warranted.
Bans are mainly meant as a tool to teach users, in order to help prevent further breaking of ENT Gaming rules. If the user and the staff member cannot come to an agreement in the initial appeal, the staff member can deny the appeal and the user can create a second topic requesting a second opinion on the ban in question. There are instances where the user can request a second opinion in the initial appeal, however, if the appeal is spammed, these requests can be missed by the staff members.
Regarding the appeals, they ranged from the user and staff member disagreeing with regards to the ban, to the user thwarting their own appeal by posting a comment directed at the staff member. This comment came across as disingenuous with regards to their second appeal. The ban was then confirmed by the Staff Department as legitimate on the third appeal.
Observation of the appeals in the spoiler
Appeals were handled appropriately, as described/outlined above.
The staff member responsible for banning the individual(s) is given the right to handle the initial appeal. Subsequent appeals, if requested, can be handled by other staff members. If there is a disagreement regarding the verdict, they will talk it out in private; prior to anything happening on the appeal. However, as noted in my appeal overview, the user decided to attach the banning staff member in a suggestion, and it came across as disingenuous with regards to their recent appeal. This led to the second appeal being denied.
Now, with regards to how the ban was handled, and I may sound like a broken record with regards to this statement, however, we are all volunteers. We handle requests when we're able to, and sometimes we cherry pick some of the easier topics to handle when short on time. However, saying all that, AmnoN did note that he'd look into the OP of the request, along with all requests made against him. In the end, the user was banned heavily for dodging/breaking our rules. The rule breaker did not go unpunished.
The duration of the ban is entirely up to the banning staff member. Though there are guidelines with regards to first offences, they usually are ranged and can be on the larger side dependant on the offending player(s) intentions. In this case, the users intentionally used !ff when the game ending had not been determined yet. However, as described above, our bans are simply a tool to help prevent future rule breaks. We simply wish to have the offending player appeal on our forum, and learn our rules. Generally speaking, bans can be lifted once the offending player understands/accepts why they were banned.
The long and short of the above is,
- Initial appeals are generally handled by the banning staff member
- Second opinions can be requested, however, if there is any disagreement between the staff members, it must be discussed in private prior to anything happening on that appeal.
- No matter the circumstance, users are not to break ENT Gaming rules to punish another player they may deem as a gameruiner/thrower. Breaking a rule can and will be enforced by a ban if reported.
- Bans are meant as a tool to help prevent future rule breaks. They can be lifted if the user understands/accepts why they were banned, or if the user goes through the appropriate channels to ensure the matter is discussed between staff members (second opinion requests).
If you believe one of our rules to be too vague or worded poorly, feel free to make a suggestion, while making sure it follows the general idea of the original rule. It is nigh impossible to list all scenarios, and we expect our users to have some common sense when reading our rules. If we were to attempt making such a list, it would cause our rule page to be a couple pages long (if expanding for all rules). We want to make the ENT Gaming rules as short as possible, as to ensure users are more likely to read our rules. Having a long list of rules can be daunting to new/all users.
I do hope this covers all the necessary points, and helps everyone know how we as staff members view this type of situation. No matter the circumstances, rules are rules, and you're not to take them into your own hands. If you disagree with a rule, or wish to have them revised, put together a well thought out suggestion, and post it under the appropriate section. If the staff department finds it to be reasonable, they can approve such changes.
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