Suspected metacomm ban

[Jarek]

:
Your Byond ID: Jarektheraptor (Terrible I know)

Character Name: Jordan Cross

Type Of Ban (Job-ban (include the job), Timed Ban, Permaban): Timed ban(?)

Admin who banned you (if known): Grimcad

Total Ban Duration: Not sure when this was applied

Remaining Duration: 2.7 days

What other servers do you play on? TG station

Are you now or have you been banned on any servers? Which ones? No

Reason for ban (If you have a Permaban, it should be the EXACT MESSAGE YOU GET WHEN YOU LOGIN with the Error code that looks like this: X##XXX##. If you do not provide this EXACTLY you can't be unbanned:
Banned by host: Reason: Susspected metacommunications with slywolfess. Player disconnected before I could PM them leading me to assume guilt.

Link to previous appeals for the same ban (if applicable): Not applicable here

Your appeal, including evidence (screenshots, etc):

I have no idea who the person I'm suspected of metacomming with is, to the point I don't even know what their IC characters name is or that they even existed as a person on the server until I was banned and told their name.

[awan]

notes

► Show Spoiler

Joned as Jordan "Thermite" Trace. It's the full name from the Operator Thermite from Rainbow Six Siege. by x on Fri, March 30th of 2018

Warned about saying faggot in deadchat. by x on Tue, April 10th of 2018

Banned by x Duration: 4320 minutes|Reason: Susspected metacommunications with slywolfess. Player disconnected before I could PM them leading me to assume guilt. by x on Wed, April 18th of 2018

The reason that metacomming are suspected is in slywolfess their notes

[Grimcad]

I'm going to go ahead and give my version of what happened and then I will wait for senior staff to comment.

This stood out as an odd situation to me. During the round a player who had evolved queen said that they had to go. Then they asked for you specifically, by your ckey, to fill in for the role. They knew your Ckey, they happened to know that you were playing right then and there, and that you were currently a Xeno. As soon as they asked for you by ckey I had a hunch that something was amiss. After a bit of back and forth asking how the other player knew your Ckey, and the other player ignoring everything I said about the subject I was forced to ban them. A few moment after I had placed the ban I attempted to PM you but you had logged out of the client. I went to the server logs and found that you logged off within one minute of me banning the first player. This reinforced to me that the two of you were communicating some how and I gave you the same ban that I gave him. I chose a 3 day ban instead of a longer one because frankly I still couldn't be 100% positive the two of you were communicating.

Logs showing when I placed the ban and the player logging out.

► Show Spoiler

[10:05:39]ADMIN: grimcad has banned slywolfess|Duration: 4320 minutes|Reason: Susspected metacommunications with jarektheraptor. Player ignored all my PMs about it until I told them I was going to ban them. They were going SSD as queen and asked for another player by ckey to replace them.

[10:06:36]ACCESS: Logout: JarekTheRaptor/(Elite Sentinel (389))

However it should also be noted that you did log back in and out again in the time between me PMing you, me checking the logs and me writing the ban. I just discovered this while writing this report, as logs do not update in real time.

► Show Spoiler

[10:07:44]ACCESS: Login: JarekTheRaptor/(Elite Sentinel (389)) from x || BYOND v512

[10:08:59]ACCESS: Logout: JarekTheRaptor/(Elite Sentinel (389))

[10:11:05]ADMIN: grimcad has banned jarektheraptor|Duration: 4320 minutes|Reason: Susspected metacommunications with slywolfess. Player disconnected before I could PM them leading me to assume guilt.

[Jarek]

I'm going to go ahead and give my version of what happened and then I will wait for senior staff to comment.

This stood out as an odd situation to me. During the round a player who had evolved queen said that they had to go. Then they asked for you specifically, by your ckey, to fill in for the role. They knew your Ckey, they happened to know that you were playing right then and there, and that you were currently a Xeno. As soon as they asked for you by ckey I had a hunch that something was amiss. After a bit of back and forth asking how the other player knew your Ckey, and the other player ignoring everything I said about the subject I was forced to ban them. A few moment after I had placed the ban I attempted to PM you but you had logged out of the client. I went to the server logs and found that you logged off within one minute of me banning the first player. This reinforced to me that the two of you were communicating some how and I gave you the same ban that I gave him. I chose a 3 day ban instead of a longer one because frankly I still couldn't be 100% positive the two of you were communicating.

Logs showing when I placed the ban and the player logging out.

► Show Spoiler

[10:05:39]ADMIN: grimcad has banned slywolfess|Duration: 4320 minutes|Reason: Susspected metacommunications with jarektheraptor. Player ignored all my PMs about it until I told them I was going to ban them. They were going SSD as queen and asked for another player by ckey to replace them.

[10:06:36]ACCESS: Logout: JarekTheRaptor/(Elite Sentinel (389))

However it should also be noted that you did log back in and out again in the time between me PMing you, me checking the logs and me writing the ban. I just discovered this while writing this report, as logs do not update in real time.

► Show Spoiler

[10:07:44]ACCESS: Login: JarekTheRaptor/(Elite Sentinel (389)) from x || BYOND v512

[10:08:59]ACCESS: Logout: JarekTheRaptor/(Elite Sentinel (389))

[10:11:05]ADMIN: grimcad has banned jarektheraptor|Duration: 4320 minutes|Reason: Susspected metacommunications with slywolfess. Player disconnected before I could PM them leading me to assume guilt.

I can see your point to be honest, I couldn't give you a reason on why they asked specifically for me since I legitimately don't know them at all. Not much I can really say or add to this, aside from what I was doing at the time, I was mainly AFK'ing and waiting to get ancient sentinel, DC'd after forgetting I'd left the window open, realised why I had it open and opened it again for a short while before I got bored of waiting and decided to play something else. I guess I chose the exact wrong time to decide when I wanted to leave, unfortunately.

[Ordukai]

Sidenotes about Slywolfess about stuff that isn't shown here (Not incriminating, just worth mentioning... maybe?):

• They have played a fair amount over the past few months, and have conversed with staff before, so they should know how the PM system works already.
• They mentioned going to lunch over LOOC on a previous day in April, but about 2 hours later in the day than this instance.

Here are some logs for the situation. Do note the time stamps to the left, as there are pauses in the conversation and the player seems to not keep up with what Grimcad is asking. Also, Jarek was chatting and doing other things in the meantime; I left those logs out because they caused unnecessary clutter. They easily line up with his side of the story, though.

► Show Spoiler

[09:52:45]ADMIN: HELP: Slywolfess/(Queen): Erm.. I had to evolve into Queen, but I was already leaving, can you give my Queen to JarekTheRaptor, please? - heard by 9 non-AFK admins.
[09:53:38]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): Who is JarekTheRaptor?
[09:54:27]OOC: (LOCAL) Queen/Slywolfess : Anyone want queen? I was leaving when had to evolve
[09:55:12]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): Hello?
[09:55:15]ADMIN: HELP: Slywolfess/(Queen): I need someone to take Queen, because I need to leave - heard by 10 non-AFK admins.
[09:55:45]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): You can click on my name to talk with me.
[09:55:59]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): I need someone to been queen, as I need to leave the game
[09:56:14]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): I was about to leave when Queen died and I had to evolve
[09:56:22]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): I need you to tell me who this Jarektheraptor is.
[09:57:12]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): I just know that player sometimes play as queen
[09:57:50]OOC: (LOCAL) Queen/Slywolfess : Need a new queen. Anyone up to it?
[09:57:55]OOC: (LOCAL) Young Drone (419)/Forest2001 : I will
[09:58:00]OOC: (LOCAL) Young Drone (419)/Forest2001 : I was the one that just died
[09:58:02]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): See Id like to know how you know their ckey and how they are on. Cause right now I suspect you of metacommunicating and that is a banable offence.
09:58:14]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): Pass Queen to drone 419, please
[09:58:36]OOC: (LOCAL) Young Drone (419)/Forest2001 : I can't evolve yet though, what do you intend on doing
[09:58:54]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): Do I need to Ghost for that? Or you can just pass my Queen to it?
[09:59:03]OOC: (LOCAL) Queen/Slywolfess : pass through ahelp
[09:59:16]OOC: (LOCAL) Young Drone (419)/Forest2001 : Ah ok
[09:59:24]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): You are skirting around the important issue of metacommunications. Which really makes me think you are guilty of doin it.
[09:59:53]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): What? I was the last drone alive and I need to leave for lunch
[10:00:14]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): and I found a drone who wants to be queen. 419
[10:00:58]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): Buddy you are facing a lengthy ban. Address the issue please.
[10:01:46]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): I'm new to the game and I need to leave for lunch. Can you please pass the Queen to 419 who volunteer to take it from me, please?
[10:02:58]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): Alright since you dont want to talk about the metacommunication thing, and I believe you are, and seem to be ignoring me completly, I am going to go ahead and place a 3 day ban on you.
[10:03:17]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): I don't know what a metacommunication is
[10:03:52]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): Communicating with a friend outside the game.
[10:03:53]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): I just need you to pass the queen to 419, so I can leave the game, like I'm trying to, wihtou leaving the hive without queen
[10:04:09]ADMIN: PM: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes)->Slywolfess/(Queen): You can just ghost. I'll go ahead and place the ban.
[10:04:32]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): I don't have a friend in this game, I just saw other day that a live queen had that name
[10:04:45]ADMIN: PM: Slywolfess/(Queen)->Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes): but okay
[10:04:54]GAME: Slywolfess has ghosted.
[10:04:54]ACCESS: Logout: *no key*/(Queen)
[10:04:54]ACCESS: Login: Slywolfess/(Queen) from (redacted) || BYOND v512
[10:04:58]ACCESS: Logout: Slywolfess/(Queen)
[10:05:39]ADMIN: grimcad has banned slywolfess|Duration: 4320 minutes|Reason: Susspected metacommunications with jarektheraptor. Player ignored all my PMs about it until I told them I was going to ban them. They were going SSD as queen and asked for another player by ckey to replace them.
[10:05:39]ADMIN: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes) has edited slywolfess's notes: Banned by grimcad|Duration: 4320 minutes|Reason: Susspected metacommunications with jarektheraptor. Player ignored all my PMs about it until I told them I was going to ban them. They were going SSD as queen and asked for another player by ckey to replace them.
[10:06:36]ACCESS: Logout: JarekTheRaptor/(Elite Sentinel (389))
[10:07:44]ACCESS: Login: JarekTheRaptor/(Elite Sentinel (389)) from (redacted) || BYOND v512
[10:08:19]SAY: Elite Sentinel (389)/JarekTheRaptor : I spit on the non-believers
[10:08:59]ACCESS: Logout: JarekTheRaptor/(Elite Sentinel (389))
[10:09:35]ADMIN: MOD: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes) : uh huh and the other player has logged off too.
[10:11:05]ADMIN: grimcad has banned jarektheraptor|Duration: 4320 minutes|Reason: Susspected metacommunications with slywolfess. Player disconnected before I could PM them leading me to assume guilt.
[10:11:05]ADMIN: Grimcad/(Kieth Grimes) has edited jarektheraptor's notes: Banned by grimcad|Duration: 4320 minutes|Reason: Susspected metacommunications with slywolfess. Player disconnected before I could PM them leading me to assume guilt.

It is very unusual for a player to specifically request replacement by an apparently unrelated player using their CKey. Also, the fact that Slywolfess essentially ignored Grimcad's line of questioning before logging out (with Jarek logging out soon after) is suspicious enough alone, so I think Grimcad did ok by placing these bans.

That being said, I think it's perfectly fine to consider this situation an unfortunate coincidence and lift the bans on both of them.

1. Sly wasn't cooperative over PMs, but in retrospect it seems like that's more because they were distracted/English isn't their first language, rather than trying to deflect the discussion away from their possible crimes. They did say they had to leave, so that might be why they were so focused on replacing the Queen rather than explaining their actions. They also may not have understood why Grimcad was asking those questions at all, at first.
2. As far as specifying Jarek's ckey goes, the end round status report does show the Ckey of the queen and whether they were alive or dead, so seeing a living queen and assuming they're a good one is an understandable assumption. Further, Sly did play as an ancient drone the same round that Jarek played as a Queen (on April 8th), so perhaps they took note of the name after a favorable game.
3. Finally, though it's not conclusive, I looked over their log times for the past couple months. They mostly play at different times of the day, though of course there is some occasional overlap. They don't seem to interact much at all, unless I missed something significant.

[CSolaris]

I can act as a character witness to Jarek / Jordan’s IC behaviors. Of the various times I’ve played in a round with Jordan, his character and the way he handles situations IC, I honestly believe that he would not commit an act of metacomming. He seems like, and acts like, a responsible player who’s here for fun - regardless of whether the round ends in a victory for him or not.

[Emeraldblood]

Alright, sorry for the slow response to your appeal. So obviously the ban has expired at this point so we can't lift that. Regarding the note itself, we'll delete it and write insert a note regarding this appeal. Unless you do something that flags future meta-comms warnings, the note will basically be void. Sorry for the problems causes and hopefully no further problems regarding this will arise. Resolved - Unless future meta-comms problems arise, the ban will be voided.