To Server Hosts: Protect the Present and Future of MM8BDM

[Mr. Sean Nelson]

Our community has always had a few people who cause problems and selfishly protract from everyone else's good time on MM8BDM.
But lately, the amount has been getting unmanageable.

I ran a server and had to ban three people in one day for trolling, just that day!
That's just the people I banned!
This doesn't count the numerous times I had to tell other people to stop.

I seem to be the only server host that cares about constant offenders such as Pikmin, who thinks he has free roam to troll because he made a mediocre classes mod, and Bikdark, who is such a jerk that he isn't even allowed on Cutstuff anymore.

To all server hosts, I say this:
For every people who logs on just to troll, there are at least 10-15 people who want to have a fun time and play this game.
The surest way for MM8BDM to die is to make the game so socially repugnant that people second-guess even logging in, and that is exactly what these people are doing.

I know that using people's names and trolling has become an epidemic over the last couple of months as well.
There is one surefire way to stop both of these problems.

Names on skulltag may lie, but ip addresses don't.
I host screw scramble, a fairly unpopular mode, and people go because the know they will not be bothered by trolls there.
I ban every troll. They have no place on my servers, and I have been thanked for this policy every day I've had clients for over a year now.
(The term 'troll' being used to describe anyone who intentionally offends others in a personal way, kicks others for no reason, loads teams down to one vs. many, cyberbullies, etc.)

I would ask that people like Messetsu and Human Destroyer do the same.
I don't mean to make it sound melodramatic, but it can be seen as your responsibility.

Turning a blind eye to regular trolls makes your servers, and the rest of MM8BDM as a whole, worse off.
It's in your best interest, and those of your clients, to give bans to ANYONE who feels that they can attack people online.
If we all worked together on this, we can make the whole experience more pleasurable, perhaps get some old people back, perhaps get current people to stay, and maybe even get some new people into this game.

[Tengu]

Sean I have a photo of my changed name so don't go blaming pik for today.

[Magnet Dood]

Some people I agree with, but others have managed to make some friends around here in the community and enjoy playing this game as much as everyone else. Like the two you just mentioned.

Pikmin doesn't actually troll, he's actually pretty mild mannered whenever I see him. And Bik... he doesn't exactly troll either. People like him, and Ken, and OJ never really mean any harm- it's just fun. Actual trolls are people like Zerox Daniel and MEGAlad- people who kick others for no apparent reason and are oblivious to any warnings they reviece. I think you're aiming at the wrong people, Sean- there's a difference between "trolling" in a good-natured way, and actual trolling.

[Tengu]

Here is the picture.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/13 ... 3201.png/#

[Laggy Blazko]

Yeah, hosts should ban trolls and all, but I don't think saying who they are in the forums is a good idea. (Appart from causing forum dramas)

Names on skulltag may lie, but ip addresses don't.

--

there's a difference between "trolling" in a good-natured way, and actual trolling.

I can't tell when someone is doing one or another. D:

[HD_]

IP addresses can totally lie.

I've banned Daniel with 6 IPs and he's STILL able to get on my servers.

[Magnet Dood]

Good-natured "trolling" is a spur of the moment kind of thing. No real harm is implied or done and it only lasts for that day or hour.

Real trolling is something that is a persistent problem and pops up only when someone is there to personally hurt or annoy that person with that being the sole reason they do it. That is where the major conflict arises.

[Tengu]

Sean I connected to your server under 2 IP addresses

[fortegigasgospel]

IP addresses can totally lie.

I've banned Daniel with 6 IPs and he's STILL able to get on my servers.

Dynamic IPs, as simple as range banning. Don't ask me how.

[Laggy Blazko]

Good-natured "trolling" is a spur of the moment kind of thing. No real harm is implied or done and it only lasts for that day or hour.

That can still harm some people. Be careful.

[LlamaHombre]

Oh look another hosting thread

If you need to, hire a couple of reliable moderators for your servers that can keep an eye out for unwanteds. It's not that hard.

There's a fine line between Tsuki Trolling, Bikdark Trolling, and Every Other Trolling.

Tsuki Trolling is a failed attempt to belittle someone through unorthodox ways of trolling. Tsuki Trolling typically doesn't work.

Bikdark Trolling is taking the stupidity of Tsuki Trolling and shoving it next to the sun. The result is a retarded mess that could only be viewed as insulting or true trolling if you have an I.Q. of 34 or lower.
Bikdark Trolling is only barely annoying and stops instantly by blocking him. Bada bing, Bada boom, no more Bikdark.

Every Other Trolling is absolute joke. If someone says something along the lines of "turn aimbot off", it's just their way of showing frustration or joke. If they mean it, it becomes Tsuki Trolling.

Regardless, I'm sure Mess's servers have needed more authority places for the longest time, so that might be nice.

[Mr. Sean Nelson]

@ Llama: It's not that hard, but it's never done.
That's the problem.

I only have my server open when I have my computer on, and I only have it on when I'm using it.
So, it is easy for me to do all the moderation.

What hosts need to do is ban IPs when they come up.
You can't be there all the time, but you can check in and ban IPs so they don't pop up again.

@ Star Dood: Pikmin trolls VERY hard. He's worse than Bik at times. Unless you count calling me a fatass over and over again is good natured. And I'm not the only one in the least.
I'm not a fool, I know the difference between ribbing and verbal abuse.
(I didn't want to belabor names, I only used Pik and Bik as examples, and only intended to use them once.).

@ HD: IP bans are the best we can do, as far as I am aware. If we all were to do that, we'd cut down on problems substantially.

[Gumballtoid]

Bikdark Trolling is only barely annoying and stops instantly by blocking him. Bada bing, Bada boom, no more Bikdark.

It doesn't really end there...

The problem I've had with Bikdark lately is him impersonating me, and it seems it's not just me being affected. He and someone else kicked Sean from a server using my name, and Sean got pissed at me until I explained it to him. In another instance, he was impersonating me on Shmeckie's server the other day, and when I joined and called him out, Shmeckie caught on to what was happening and Bikdark earned himself a ban. This isn't something you can just ignore.

Actual trolls are people like Zerox Daniel and MEGAlad- people who kick others for no apparent reason and are oblivious to any warnings they reviece.

As far as I know, MegaLAD hasn't kicked anyone recently for no reason. These days, he rarely/never uses kicks. The only thing that MegaLAD could be considered a troll for are his W-faced emoticons, which he might need to use a bit more sparingly, if you ask me. If MegaLAD bothers you, use the ignore function. Works wonders on Daniel. Another problem is Fyone is being labeled a troll because MegaLAD is his brother. So for him, it's "death by association", and I think that's pretty damn unfair.

So, there's really two types of trolling here...

-Harmless trolling; jokes and obnoxious binds
-Serious trolling; unjustified votekicks and impersonation

The important thing is to be able to tell them apart and react accordingly. Someone crack a joke you didn't like? Ignore them. Someone impersonating you? Inform the server host.

[Mr. Sean Nelson]

Exactly right on both accounts.

Take Zerox Daniel for example.
I've heard of him being a real troll.
However, he behaves himself fairly well on my server because he knows there are consequences if he doesn't.
Not only does he still get to play, but no one needs to suffer for it.

It's perfect when it works that way.

[Laggy Blazko]

Xerox Daniel reminds me a bit of Rana when he/it started playing.