As a point of fact, a player's Service can be terminated for any number of reasons, as listed in section 2.5 of the Terms of Service (right below) and also with or without cause (section 8). Some players that have had their service terminated have not been provided specific reasons for their termination from Grey Area and at least two claim innocence from 'spoofing.' So these players may have, for example, used excessive obscene language and also could have been terminated for that reason. By technical definition, that is also cheating according to the Terms of Service.

I would also point out that the Terms of Service do not specifically address the use of multiple accounts or using multiple structures while using multiple accounts. Because the above referenced form of play is not in violation of the Terms of Service, it is not currently under the purview of Grey Area to speak to whether it is cheating but rather it is up to the community of players to decide (of which Bardfinn speaks so eloquently in his thread, http://www.shadowcities.com/forum/topic/3213/). I for one am on his side.

We are a community of people that has developed around a game built by people that simply cannot include all aspects of best practice for fair play. It is therefore incumbent upon us all to develop, support and maintain community standards that go beyond the limited scope of the Terms of Service provided by Grey Area for this community.

The biggest issue I see every single time I log in is the use of alternate accounts. As Bardfinn has always said, "Don't do with two accounts what you cannot do with one." If you use multiple accounts, switch between round or campaign preferably, logging out and removing all structures from the previous account before logging into the new. I am recommending that as a the best form for multiple account usage. It requires trust on the part of players, but is also quite verifiable by using other tools available to check for online activity.

I also highly recommend every player to actually read the Terms of Service as they currently stand and visit this site often as they will likely change. Chad Jones, Grey Area moderator mentioned in a forum yesterday (4/17/12) - "We will be posting some general information later this week on the forums that will hopefully further improve definitions regarding cheating and game exploits."

I have hope for the future of this game. It is ingenious on the part of the designers, but it will fail without the positive support of both its players and developers.

The new code of conduct FAQ has been posted. Read it here: http://www.shadowcities.com/forum/topic/3217/

Referring specifically to multiple account usage, this is what the FAQ states:

"Is using multiple accounts considered cheating?

We are very concerned with how some players have chosen to create multiple accounts for purposes of cheating or trouble-making, and are currently considering ways to best prevent this kind of cheating. As there are legitimate reasons to make multiple accounts, we don't wish to restrict it altogether, nor do we close accounts strictly for logging into multiple accounts.

One example of a behavior we do find highly disruptive includes switching accounts between both factions to gain energy by attacking your own structures. While we haven't taken action against this type of behavior at this time, please be aware that it is not considered acceptable use of multiple accounts, and playing the game in such a manner could result in punitive action, in the future."

Edited by Snogripple (April 20, 2012 15:30:54)

I approve. All parts of this game are in GA's purview, actually, as they wrote the ToS.

I predict that, when they clarify abuse and exploits, that exploits will include:
Remote dom placement
Remote harvesting
Spoofing
Multiwards
Blastwarping.

I personally believe that the latter two should be legitimate, blessed options in gameplay, as:
Multiwards involve the collective will of many mages in one ritual performed together simultaneously, which is limited in efficacy by lag and the lit visual play area;
And
Blast warping involves a developed play skill that needs a lore explanation that fits into the notion of what warping is and how it is achieved, and is limited in efficacy by lag and the lit visual play area.

I will abide by GA's wishes, whatever they are.

And I do say that about not abusing alternate characters. I think the notion originated from GiantDong, but I'm not sure.

I'll weigh in again only to say that I think remote harvesting for players without gateways should not be considered illegal, for a number of substantive reasons. I'm happy to examine the issue with you down to the nitty-gritty in an appropriate setting.

Edited by Stomresearch (April 19, 2012 09:23:59)

Anvar
Remote harvesting was removed in alphatest due to it leading to highly decreased interaction between players, from my understanding. Large, remote, safe farms were set up that were never found or raided. It was boring. The solution is to add in GWs, not allow remote harvest.

I agree that getting gateways is the optimal solution. But that's not likely for a lot of folks, unfortunately.

Ironically, the new buff system largely eliminated the traditional critique on remote harvesting that you cited. People who harvest for the buff are as connected to their gateway as any traditional player (since remote harvesting from another GW won't get them their buff). So, they'll keep harvesting from that gateway, it's why they invested in that realm in the first place. When it's discovered (and these days everything is discovered...), they can be raided there over and over again, as it's known to be their base. This becomes more true the more a player has invested in their realm; someone with a gold realm for example will always harvest from that gold realm to get their buff, and they can be raided ad naseum like other, more 'rooted' players. Essentially what I'm saying is that the necessity to harvest from a particular GW to get the buff is what roots them there (as opposed to physical proximity). This process ultimately levels the playing field to give all players their buff, but without conferring the unfair advantage that used to be associated with remote harvesting.

And if pure energy gains are your thing, why remote harvest at all? Just alt farm, and you can earn much more energy with a lot less effort. Most, if not all, of the complaints currently going on concerning unfair energy gains refer to alt farming, not remote harvesting.

So please consider that, since I think it debunks the traditional 'balance-altering' argument. There's a host of other credible arguments on this issue (no phone tampering whatsoever, no alts, it's purely in-game and is GA's glitch not the player's, it's essentially like multi-ward, eliminates the disparity between the haves and have-nots, etc, etc...). At the very least it shouldn't be, in my view, a bannable offense, and certainly not lumped in with, say, spoofing. Again, I'm happy to debate it respectfully with y'all; I've made my position known to GA quite explicitly as far back as last November.

Edited by Stomresearch (April 19, 2012 17:45:44)