[TWC Gaming Staff] Important Announcement

[grouchy13]

As TWC Gaming Staff Admin for the HS area's it is with extreme disappointment that I announce that Mithridate has been relieved of his Position on TWC Gaming Staff for repeated questionable actions within a number of HS, both Independent and GS hosted.

The Accumulation of these actions and his position within a Branch of TWC Staff means he will also receive a suspension across TWC HS for a period of 3 Months. TWC Gaming Staff are supposed to be an example to follow, and instead Mithridate abused the trust granted to him within his position of Staff and brought the Hotseat Staff wing of GS into disrepute.

My HS Team will be working on finding replacements for Mithridate's HS both as a participant and Admin, I would just like to reiterate that where TWC Staff step out of line We don't cover for each other, we come down harder than usual, whether it be Gaming Staff, Content or within other TWC institutions.

I apologize for any inconvenience this decision has caused and GS will fully support Admins in the search for replacement players.

Regards

grouchy13

TWC Gaming Staff HS Area Admin

[StOuFf]

damn double post.......

[StOuFf]

would the Staff be so kind as to exactly explain how the decision was made? and what the background is?
i think the community would like to know what the happened so that this action is comprehensible.

[grouchy13]

As a member of a TWC Staff Branch all members are held to higher standard of conduct within the site, this goes for content, GS, Vault etc etc.

The situation is this, after the recent events in the WTW HS,'There is only one King' where Mithridate without fully digesting the HS Rules conducted a number of rule breaks, this alone would not warrant such a punishment however Mithridate followed these actions with an attempt to conduct an exploit in the GS HS 'Immortals' with an attempt to bypass some of the rulings on fort manning. This exploit would have directly hindered an opponent and allowed Mithridate to consolidate his forces due to the Fort Mechanics with the YB's Mod.

A member of GS repeatedly attempting to operate on the boundaries of HS rules is conduct enough to warrant removal from Staff, within a GS HS it only compounds the action. As I mentioned GS are held to a higher behavioral code, if these had been simple mistakes such as the mistaken movement of defeated armies, maybe even the mistaken garrisoning of a fort etc etc they would have been greeted with a reprimand in all likely hood.

However throughout Mithridates own actions whilst in staff it is considered that there is an overarching theme to his rule breaks, they are not simple overlooking of the rules and more in line with someone who is attempting to operate on the boundaries of the HS Rules, if not subvert the game to his own advantage.

After the report of this latest exploit came in a discussion was held between myself and Poach, in that discussion we decided that along with the removal from Staff should go a ban. This serves a dual purpose, firstly that we believe that Staff if operating outside the boundaries of what we would collectively consider proper behavior should rightly be held to a higher account and secondly to illustrate that by being a member of GS does not give those who attempt to subvert games a 'Get out of Jail free Card'.

As damaging to the Community as this is, a member of staff who attempts to bypass rules in his very own branches Flagship HS is far more damaging for not only the Community but more fundamentally the Branch itself.

[StOuFf]

I would still like to raise one question:

Why is Mithridate banned immediately and not allowed to defend himself in this case?
This coin as well has two sides and i believe people would like to hear him as well.

My personal opinion is that a 3 month ban is too harsh. The rule violations are there and I agree with the removal due to higher standards of conduct.
Anyway looking at it from a different angle: our community is already small, banning players for, more or less small rule violations, which were handled differently in the past, does not benefit the community. Mithridate was a diligent staff member and actually improved the hotseating experience in the main and Westeros section, this should be taken into account.

[Dr Mac]

I would still like to raise one question:

Why is Mithridate banned immediately and not allowed to defend himself in this case?
This coin as well has two sides and i believe people would like to hear him as well.

My personal opinion is that a 3 month ban is too harsh. The rule violations are there and I agree with the removal due to higher standards of conduct.
Anyway looking at it from a different angle: our community is already small, banning players for, more or less small rule violations, which were handled differently in the past, does not benefit the community. Mithridate was a diligent staff member and actually improved the hotseating experience in the main and Westeros section, this should be taken into account.

Agree with everything here. But I'd just like to add that I completely understand stripping him of GS. With the role there is the responsibility to set an example to everybody else; and repeated rule breaking should certainly warrant removal from GS status.

However, I must say that a ban of 3 months for an individual who is a vital part of many HS and plays a large individual part in the community is indeed harsh! I see rule breaking all the time. However that does not particularly warrant 'cheating'. The correct way to deter this sort of behaviour is with in game punishments of fines, freezes, replays etc. Although this requires more admin attention, that is their role after all isn't it? I understand my opinion may be biased as Mith is a good friend of mine, however it is because of him that I became a part of this community, and I am pretty sure many others can say that. So my recommendation should be the removal of his GS rights and harsh in game punishment for mith in the HS where he has broken the rules, as would be given to any other HSer. After all if he continues to break rules then the punishments will heap on and he will learn to obey the rules, as any other player should.

I'd just like to finish by adding that if we have a forum-wide rule of 'three strikes and you're out', as I see in this case, then this forum will become a rather quiet place

[Uriyaca]

Other then the fact that I'm utterly blown away by this, I just wonder why would there be a ban for breaking the rules? Many players break the rules in Hotseats, whether intentionally or non-intentionally, and the result is usually a fine in that HS thread as approporiate for the rule breaking-
But banning a person for three months from the entire site is an extremely extreme punishment. Not only was he kicked out of Gaming Staff, not only was he kicked out of Immortals, but he was also banned for three months?

Banning the most respected hotseater in the community for something as small as that is, literally madness. Madness I tell you!



Taking extreme measures like that for someone who contributed to the HS community so much for 3 years is not only sad, but it will hurt the entire community direly. . Goodbie Mith

[complete noob:(]

I personally think that a ban is way too harsh and completely overboard. In my opinion, a ban should be reserved for those who have abused the admin console (even then if they have rarely done anything else suspicious I'm not sure I'd support a ban). Not someone who has broken hotseat rules. Harsh punishments in-game and his removal from Gaming Staff seems adequate to me.

[Lord AcidRocker]

I'm not too clear on the actions of Mith, but as a fellow TW gamer I too believe the ban is too harsh. Revoking his GS title should have been sufficient along with revealing his actions so that other TW members are aware of his behavior. Mith contributed a lot to the community and helps bring in a wider audience to hotseating which is good for the future of TW, so that should be credit enough to lift or shorten the ban.

[Basileos Predator]

I, personally belive that the ban for 3 months is far to harsh.
I think that the rest of the punishments(his revoking and expelled from hotseats) are enough, and he should not be kicked from the forum itself for such a lung period of time.
I propose that the ban is lifted, and he only recieves the revoking and expelling from hotseats, as his contribution on Hotseating are more than a compensation for his wrong doing.

[Riverknight]

... This comes as no surprise to me... Mith is an honorable player and one of the top two best hotseaters (you could guess the other one), but he just chose the wrong time to... "ignore" some of the rules.

If Invicta had not shown some of the past "decisions" of the gaming staff and how some of them cover each others tracks, I know for a FACT that Mith would not be banned at all. Mith just chose a bad time to "ignore" some rules, Grouchy and Pouch needed needed to prove that no favors are given to friends/ fellow Gaming staff, so Mith got the axe... just politics.


I would just like to reiterate that where TWC Staff step out of line We don't cover for each other, we come down harder than usual, whether it be Gaming Staff, Content or within other TWC institutions.




^ That is a direct response to what Invicta was saying regarding how the Gaming Staff helped each other in the same hotseats and cover each others tracks.

I applaud Grouchy.... but do think a three month ban is harsh.

Here is a link to Invicta's argument... both sides bring up good points.

[xXAmonXx]

So mith circumvented rules, gets kicked out the hotseats in question, kicked off of GS, fair enough, but a three month ban?

I remember last year when PinkiePie still had his old name and the Sweetrobin portrait, he abused the console to give himself extra cash in Blackfyre Rebellion, got kicked out of said hotseat and banned for a month. (or was that self imposed bad memory)

The argument is whether attempted cheating (3 month ban) is worse than blatant cheating (1 month ban). Punishment doesn't fit.

[Legourou]

Everyone seems to have already put in many good words towards all sides of the argument.
My opinion does not count for much but I support the ban, yet disagree with the duration.

Like The Knight of the Rivers said, "It's politics." And Mith seemed to not play the "game" right.

EDIT:

The argument is whether attempted cheating (3 month ban) is worse than blatant cheating (1 month ban). Punishment doesn't fit.

Every punishment correlates with a crime? Or every punishment should fit the situation? Mith was a GS for crying out loud. Don't mistake for a minute he didn't know what he was doing while he was doing it. If I had done the same things as Mith, I daresay my punishment would be smaller, but rightly so because I am no elected, responsible staff member who half their job is to make sure things like this doesn't happen in the first place.

[Louis XVI]

Well this is odd, I was still the admin in Immortals when I last checked and I was still working with Mith and EoH to get to the bottom of this "cheating". This seems like a crucification after what Invicta posted, sacrifice one GS to show how transparent we are

Mith gone is a very harsh blow to the whole community and me personally.

Also I still have received no message whatsoever about StOuFf leaving as admin and GS which has considerably crippled some hotseats

[Makrell]

I agree with everything that has been said, i support a hotseatforum ban, and removal of rank. It does provide annoyances due to his HSes, but but, be that as it may.

[yuonyuon]

he should be baned only from those hoseats were he cheated . not from all forum .

[Desley]

The main question I ask myself is.. why havent I been asked to become Gaming Staff? I mean if you want Gaming Staff to be examples and people to follow for new hotseaters you shouldnt have asked Mithridate in the first place.
I mean come on, if you want some nice example of how a player should behave in hotseats then you would have to appoint Jiub or Tavix, surely not yourself Grouchy, u play dreaded and with loads of nasty tricks (ye I havent forgotten...) same goes for Mithridate.

[grouchy13]

As this is the thread with the highest level of response I'll address some fo your concerns here and hopefully shine more light on this matter.

When a member of Community decides to join a Branch of TWC Staff they are immediately to a higher code of conduct than they were prior to their promotion. This goes for Content, Vault Staff, Technical etc etc and in this instance Gaming Staff. This responsibility has its foundations on representing the site, but perhaps more importantly representing your fellow Staff Members.

Gaming Staff extends beyond the HS Community, we have wings across a number of Non TW Titles, Clans whose members have worked damn hard for the Branch. It is this ultimate responsibility to your fellow Branch Members as well as the Communities your are chosen to represent that means the slightest sniff of acting outside of what ever the established guidelines in the respective must face the Harshest punishment.

We hold our Staff to a high code of conduct of which they are well aware and reminded of upon there selection, in this instance Mithridate unfortunately fell short of this and for that he has received what we believed was a just punishment, we have a simple rule of thumb higher responsibility = higher accountability. It is only right when impropriety has been carried out that the many hours of hard work of fellow staff members is not undermined.

This leads me onto my next point, there have been calls for some kind of trial. This is not a matter of Moderation, This is not a case of trolling or flaming. No one has been reported, however as Area and Branch Admin we have been made aware of one of our members acting in a fashion that has bought our Branch into disrepute, the final decision and judgement is therefore carried out after a lengthy discussion between the Area Director, me and the Hexagon Council Branch Adminstrator, Poach. After Mithridate admitted his actions to us we had little choice but to put the best interests of the Branch before our individual feelings towards a respected member of our Staff and more broadly the Community in which we invest so much of our time and energies.

I can also see many of you highlighting Mithridate's many sterling achievements for the area as something we should have taken into consideration before enacting our decision, I can tell you this matter was given weighty consideration, however it was our final opinion that everybody, especially Staff should abide by the rules of the area in which they operate. Seasoned Veterans and big shots do not get Carte Blanche to act as they see fit, working hard and helping other is a fine and good thing to do, but it does not absolve ultimate responsibility, in Staff this is magnified and adds other layers of culpability.

In regards to the comments made that this is somehow related to the issue is Invicta, I say think again. Invicta's accusations of collusion between Staff are pure BS. If I had the slightest sniff of any such actions you can rest assured I'd be coming down like a ton of bricks on it, Permabans would be distributed and my Staff are fully aware of this. The case here is that after a series of smaller Exploits in which me and Poach had already expressed some concern in private quarters we became aware of the matter in the 'Immortals' HS. When pressed Mith admitted his actions, all be it with convenient excuses and reasoning, However these did not stand up to more in depth scrutiny and Once we had an admission of culpability we had little other choice than to enact a removal and suspension.

In this instance we feel the 3 Months is in line with the size of the exploitation carried out, If it had been Admin Console Abuse or worse still Collusion between Staff the Punishment would have been considerably greater and would extend beyond Mithridate's ownn suspension from the Main Area and WTW HS Community, in cases such as those it would be forum wide/Permabans.

Whilst we may have circumnavigated the Admin of the HS in regards to the decision, the fact we had an open admission we felt it in the best interests to take decisive action, yes this is highly irregular but I'll say this the removal of a Staff member is a Highly irregular occurrence and goes beyond the issue of in game fines, removal from HS etc etc.

In conclusion this a highly disappointing day for HS and GS, Mith is a personal friend of mine whom I have battled in HS, played TWS2 MPC's with and worked with on a daily basis. I see this matter as a personal failure either in not recognising Mithridate's unsuitabilty to be a member of GS or despite after repeated warnings and reiterations of what was expected, me failing somehow to fully illustrate the standards expected of GS, or any other branch of Staff for that matter.

Again I apologize for the inconvenience this matter has caused, however be under no illusion, If you try to mess around in our HS either as a independent or more importantly as a member of Staff we will take the steps to see you are bought to account for your actions.

regards

grouchy13

Gaming Staff HS Area Admin

[Lord AcidRocker]

**puts tin foil hat on**

It would be interesting if Mith was also the man behind the accounts of Dr Mac and Pinkie Pie
Has it been explicitly stated what he did? All I understood was that Mith was acting shady, but without details.

[themzr]

You have stated multiple times that you wish to protect the integrity of the hotseat gaming staff and what-not. Integrity is not given to you, by the way you perceive your actions but by the way others perceive it was well. Is it so difficult to present all the details and facts regarding what he did and his "excuses" for doing them. Because right now it seems to me at least that you are ruining the integrity of the hotseating staff by banning players from the forum and unwilling to share the details with members of this forum.