Harm

Is this wise? Continuous improvement is extremely important in video games and servers alike. The problem here in my opinion is that it is broken. Can we all recognize that by allowing this feature (In-game cash for IRL money) for those with alts it is the literal definition of botting? If you spin up a local vm with an alternate account in games to make money to sell in a form of AFK'ing, it's botting.

I was waiting for this response and I'm glad you brought it up. When you say "whale" what is your definition? Is a VIP a whale? What is the determining factor here? Most of the 100m plus users have 10+ alts, let's just be honest about it. The alts drop printers that get upgraded and then you make multiple millions of dollars to sell by afk'ing in your base for 11+ hours. There's the option to buy in-game cash for credits. I am absolutely supportive of making that the meta (adjusting it based on the market) if it means support is being funneled into the server. Where in this situation is garnet supported outside of one VIP purchase? Multiple accounts = steam or secondary sites. Cash gets sold for IRL cash = to the player. The only part of this equation in which Garnet is supported is the initial VIP purchase which is "one-time". I'd argue that many players buy VIP, buy the AWP and move on. Majority of the donations seem to be custom classes which again are purchased by credits. Why must external payments be supported? I am confused with the need for it outside of personal gain, not gain on the server. There's a reason some posts highlight how it's normally not allowed or supported on other servers. I'd venture to say that's for a very good reason. If players are staying on Garnet to make real-life money off of it, they are playing the wrong game and likely not even RP'ing. It's meant to be a role-playing gaming experience. Not an AFK simulator for real life cash. Sure, I love hanging out with buddies, chatting, and having a good time. Outside of personal gain, I'd like to hear an argument about how buying ingame cash from players for real life money supports the server in any way.

I have seen this adverted no less than 10 times in-game in the last 3 days. Sure, you can't help private deals, but make an official stance that you can't advertise this in-game.

Description: Ban the current status quo of selling In-game cash by the mill for real life cash via PayPal, Venmo, etc. Reasoning: These deals funnel money from the server and into players hands. This goes against the long term longevity of the server, opens up the chance of scams, and preys on potential younger players that have no oversite or potentially do not recognize the financial transactions they are proceeding with. There is zero reason for allowing these deals in-game. While I know it's a very taboo topic, people can simply farm printers from ALTernate methods and then sell the cash for real life games or money on steam. With the current plan for upgrading servers, I recommend the following in conjunction of this new features to be put in place: Purchasable trails, weapon skins, titles, and in-game name text modifiers. Further resources for VIP's such as a bigger prop limit, and more prop-allowance (circular tunnel props I am looking at you! This will create a community for more in-game money to server credits (This goes towards the server!) with more purchasable options rather than deals being made to purchase other games, or funnel through payment vendors. Just my two cents, Strongside

-1. Age. I have said this on other applications, I feel staff should not be young. That is just my opinion. -1 MRDM? Come on buddy. Neutral: Did you use ChatGPT or a tool to write your paragraphs? The font is different and your grammar in the answers after it are far worse than your paragraphs. Just a bit odd. I’m referring to “some hobbies I do”, it should read “some hobbies I have”. Then you compare that to the paragraphs above and it looks like a different author. +1 playtime. Final verdict: -1 do not recommend.

Pretty much this. Look at prior apps that got approved and denied.

Here is a video of the situation in question: https://streamable.com/11vj25 I haven't ran into this issue before this in terms of banning for racism. I used D3A with the guidance of @Chawhead stating that D3A is meant to help in situations where us staff members don't know the punishment. I wasn't quite sure if there was any leniency allowed to be given and the reporter did record it, and also requested Beezy be banned. In this case I think intent is important. I do not think that the user in question, Beezy meant this in a malicious form in any way. Nor do I think he was inferring the original meaning of the word itself. It was more of a friend-to-friend comment and really, an endearing sentence, in a sort-of-way. While personally, I wouldn't use this language and honestly don't think it really ever needs to be used, I don't think the inherent purpose was to hurt, or cause ill-will. I base a lot of my warns, bans, and verbal's off of intent and honesty. I did talk to @ChrisRid about this almost immediately after - asking what the proper protocol is for this type of thing and if it is possible to give leniency in these situations. After our discussion, it became very obvious that I did the maximum punishment for a crime that really required a minor punishment. Beezy has never been banned (in the logs at least) for anything else. He's a long-time server member and rarely ever causes issues. Had I known that it's up to my digression in these situations, I would have given him a stern verbal, explained why it shouldn't be used (even in a non-malicious way!) and moved on. You live you learn, and I can own up to this. Just my two cents. - Knightyear

-1 Too young (while the requirement is 13, I can’t justify someone this young being staff.) Not enough hours to apply as per the prerequisite. Reach an in-game /playtime of 72 hours before applying. Didn’t read All of the rules hence the last part of your application. keep your head up young in’. Play on the server more, dive into the community, and really be sure to read all requirements and rules.

+1 With two conditions. His RP is on the more "ass-holish" side of things. He can rile players up quite quickly and knows how to push people buttons. My recommendation is to settle down with that, even though it is in the bounds of roleplaying. If you take staff seriously, do not see it as a competition, and focus on helping others instead of the opposite you will do well. My other condition is that you need to understand that other staff members will have differing opinions. They may be right, wrong, or in the middle. You must read the rules on conduct towards rank and understand the hierarchy of the team. If you feel disrespected or belittled, go to the higher-ups. You have my recommendation if those two conditions are met.

-1. Personal opinion but I don't think we should have staff members at 15. You know we are cool, but I remain completely unbiased.

-1. I will be consistent and say you are too young. You can’t control your schedule and you will be abused. I think you’ve been great on the server when you’re on, but you’ll be put in situations that will push you outside your comfort zone and you need to be able to navigate those tough situations. Someone at your age doesn’t need to be put in those situations.

+1 the -1'ers are literal ops.

It's not what I believe, it's facts. There's a half-truth in there about a mom joke being said after the ip nonsense. Sure, you did make a mom joke - after you talked about pulling an IP address. We now have 2 individual videos thanks to xFish which prove that you talked about IP's. Why is it so difficult to just be honest? I recognize it possibly, possibly was said in a joking manner. The person reported you though, and our role is to take the report seriously. He reported you specifically for IP Pulling threats. We received video evidence and acted on it. This response is pushing blame from your actions to saying that you were incorrectly banned, and the videos were false. Do you see how silly this all is? It's about time to take ownership of what you said. - Strong

Well, finally I have my first appeal to respond to. Hey Crip, Hope you are well. You were banned for 50 years for Dox threats involved in a threat you made to another user. Here's the snippet of the conversation I got: User 1:" Yeah, I know exactly where you live... I know exactly where you live too" CripCLUNTZ: "Yeah, I'm pulling your IP" User 1: "Screams" Threatening to pull a players IP address is a pretty serious offense. There's multiple things you can do with an IP address in the short term that can be malicious. Outside of those few areas, I can't think of a "good" reason to threaten to pull someones’ IP address. On top of this, I took countless, and I mean countless sits with both of you stating that I wouldn't be putting up with harassment on either side. You've been quite active lately. You have already been kicked for warns before this event took place. How many times must I give you verbal warnings and warn you before you take accountability for your actions? The things you say to others have meaning and value. Why waste your time and energy on someone that is frustrating you so much? Do I think "User 1" in this instance is innocent? Absolutely not. However, you took things too far and must accept and take ownership of your mistakes. Here is the video of you saying so: https://streamable.com/0cjs1q HEADPHONES USERS WARNING Looking at my log above, you clearly state you are going to pull his IP as you both are discussing that you "know where each other live". Locations are tied to IP addresses. In my honest opinion - I know you've enjoyed your recent time on the server. You've been quite active and enjoyed yourself - you just took it a bit too far buddy. Ban should stand. If an admin feels that it should be less time, I can agree to that - however, we ban off of strict guidelines and your interaction falls in that. - Strong

-1 Didn't read the staff rules with enough detail.

-1 Due to this.

Neutral. I think personally that staff should be older as at your age you cannot control your schedule.

-1 Throws me off that you were only staff for a day on MRP.

I want to reiterate that there will be days where it's 2 hours, there will be days where it's more. I normally just hang out while I am in meetings and such. 6 is basically an if needed I most likely can help out for that amount. Does that make sense?

In-game name: Strongside Age: 27 SteamID (https://steamid.io/): STEAM_0:1:49481698 Warns: Zero. Timezone: Central Playtime?: Strongside has played for 369:53:43. Do you have access to TeamSpeak and a microphone?: [YES/NO] YES, I already have some roles in TS. Do you have the ability to record Garry's Mod videos?:[YES/NO] YES. Referral(s): [What administrator recommended you to apply?] AJBedhead. Past experiences as staff: [Optional] Community Manager of H1Z1, also staff on a different server for over a year. Why should we choose you over other applicants? [minimum 2 paragraphs] I have experience leading a team and holding myself accountable. Accountability and discipline enable a team to be successful. With my experience in Information Technology, I can also assist new users and even possibly help out the server in a couple of different ways outside of just "core" gameplay. I have played this server on and off since 2018 and know the rules very, very well. I have RP'd majority of my hours which has led to contributing more than just basing and earning money. I find that the key to a servers growth is helping new players by inviting them to base, giving some money to get a head-start, and overall communicating and being kind. With my hours and time zone, I am frequently on when no other staff members are. This can help in the off-hours that can hinder growth. An example of this is someone MRDM'ing and new players leaving as no staff members are present. I can also offer honesty. I am someone that hold myself to a high standard and can take ownership of mistakes. Kindness can go a long way in developing a community. I was the community manager in H1Z1 and found that it was extremely difficult to maintain when the community feels "wronged. I had to maintain professionalism and a focus on solutions when times were very turbulent during the games end. I'd like to say that I don't have many folks that have an issue with me on the server. I try to help others out when they need some in-game money and have even given folks in real life money for some help. I do not think that should be a determining factor, I'm simply trying to express that I have a pretty good idea of the community and the folks inside of it. I appreciate it if you've read this far. Have you ever been banned or punished on any server? If so, Include details: I have been given verbal's on servers, never banned. Have you made any previous applications, If so when?: No. How much time do you have to contribute to the role?: With working from home I can contribute quite a bit of time at my desk. ~6 hours a day. If you have any, what hobbies or activities are you involved in outside of Garry's Mod? I work in Information Technology in the biotechnology space. I very much enjoy Path of Exile with Sbens, and in my free time assist with technology issues on forums. Did you read the staff rules?: {GG} Strongside

I think I'm confused at this. These two posts completely contradict each other. "One of my favorite aspects of the server is in game money is worth something that can be traded for credits! In game money is worth nothing!" My post is to ensure that we can continue to do trade. I am actively trying to protect the BUYER in this case. I am asking for actual punishments to be handed out for scamming. You are -1'ing the idea that there should be a punishment involved with scamming that isn't a warn because in game cash is not real money. Please get passed this moot point and realize I am talking about ALL kinds of scams. There is currently no form punishment for this. It just falls under a blanket umbrella of FailRP. Scamming in video games is a thing. Scamming in video-games normally warrants a ban. Systems are designed to not allow scams in games whereas we use a trust system. Example of this is luring in Runescape for in game gold. example: https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/w/Scams I am not the one that was scammed. This situation was recorded by two people with three staff members present. The discipline was "two FailRP warns as it's not really in the rules what the punishment is" This is 20 million dollars total down the drain for two players who are not me who were not compensated with 20m. There was no wipe. The person also actively stated that instead of paying - they will "take the ban". The ban that didn't actually even happen. So because he... scammed on a game.. he's roleplaying a scammer? There is well defined punishments for Rdm and MRDM. Why is there not well defined punishments for scamming? The two people that were scammed were VIP's and high level users with multiple millions. The scammer itself is a well known user in the FUBAR clan. My main point is we need to define better punishments for scamming, plain and simple. I am worried that if people find out it's just a FailRP warn and new users and those that aren't savvy will get scammed with no protection. It's a clear area that can be abused.

There was a situation in game today that caused quite a stir on the server. One User hosted a gambling session. I am suggesting a rule addition. See Casino here: Situation: Two users hit the jackpot (10 million in-game each). However, upon each user winning the owner of the casino stated that he was in debt and couldn't payout. Thus making this basically a scam. Without a real "rule" to go on it was determined that in game cash is not real money and that he should get 2 warns for FailRP. I think this is a really bad idea for punishment. The punishment does not fit the crime. Here are my arguments. 1.) "In-game money is not real money!" In-game money is located in the shop. If you put a dollar amount on in-game money, it should then be compared to real money. The current running rate (community) is 300k to 350k for 1 credit. Someone gambling and winning 10m without a payout is a loss of 33.3 credits (10m / 300k) in this conversion. 2.) It's FailRP. This is not FailRP. FailRP Definition: "people who can't role play properly with other people or characters" This is scamming. Scam definition: "a dishonest scheme; a fraud." The user knew he couldn't pay this out and continued to allow not one but multiple users attempt the jackpot. Not calling this scamming is an issue. The biggest problem with this logic is that I can "FailRP" for CC slots and just tell folks to give me in-game money. Using the logic via the outcome of this sit (2x FailRP warns) I should only get a single warn for multiple million (potentially up to 20m) for just FailRP'ing one user. 3.) "I don't know the punishment" Since this is not clearly defined in the rules I am suggesting it be added. There is far too much grey area and it allows for far too much scamming in the server for just a simple warn. I'm not even the user who won. I'm just genuinely concerned for the server for the future using this logic. There is a LOT of ways to abuse this.

I also think you should make time to dispute any chargepacks via Paypal. I've been told it's become a problem (which is shitty).

@Garnet Can you link the actual plug-in that you use for Adv Dupe? I'll help troubleshoot if possible.

23