If we consider unplugging an exploit, why do we not view Ganking/Griefing, if that's the right term, as bullying?
Because, in most cases, there is no way to demonstrate that it's bullying between players, rather than their characters, and the context of the game's setting allows and encourages far worse, from an in-character perspective.
No one can bully me via my character.
we legitimise appalling behaviour.
Appalling behavior is legitimate gameplay when it occurs in an in-game context.
My CMDR trades in slaves and murders cruise liner passengers for the parts the ships they ride in are made of. There is no way this is contextually not vastly worse than anything the game comes close to allowing him to do to another CMDR.
If someone thinks they, as a player, are being targeted for out-of-game abuse, with the game being used as a medium for it, they should report the individuals in question for harassement.
What they can do about is, is to simply make me explode on connection loss or if the game is exited - they haven't done anything in these regards, so....
They can't do this, because nothing can happen to your CMDR without your client, which wouldn't be running in these scenarios. This is why the prohibition against severing connection exists. It's a peer-to-peer game with about the simplest implementation possible, that has no provisions for what you describe.
All they can do is punish those that quit via means and in situations they have prohibited.
Requiring players to voluntarily play by the rules of a game--or be able to understand the difference between themselves, their imaginary characters, and what each would have access to--is clearly less than ideal and Frontier obviously wasn't prepared for how crappy people are, or they may have reconsidered the fundamental networking and rule enforcement framework of the thing. Probably too late to do that now.
Still, even with only the ToS/EULA and a basic understanding of how the game works, it should not be difficult to understand how severing one's connection for the purpose of escaping consequences influences the game in undesirable ways and why Frontier has explicitly clarified their stance on it as against the rules.
Many PvPers make no distinction between menu logging (15 sec timer) and ungraceful exit (pulling the cable). Here's my take on it:
Menu log: within the rules, not cheating but violates Wheaton's Law
Pulling the plug: breaks the rules, cheating and violates Wheaton's Law
The term Combat Log or Clog can refer to either of those actions. Personally, I take it as a compliment if a player CLogs vs me. I'm
that good you can't escape any other way?
The distinction is what Frontier claims they will do about it; nothing in the former case, potential bans in the latter.
Severing connection to preserve assets or otherwise influence in-game occurrences is explicitly prohibited.
Using the menu timer for the same reasons is abuse of the system for unintended purposes, but also something Frontier has explicitly said they aren't going to do anything about.
Leaving the game by any means cannot be called an exploit. Under no circumstances.
I vehemently disagree with this assertion.
If the only reason one is leaving the game is to prevent their immediately prior in-game actions from being preserved or to avoid consequences that have now become unavoidable through actual gameplay, that should clearly indicate an exploit/abuse.
If one cannot accept the implications of the networking model Frontier has chosen, one should refrain from playing.
Do you thing it FD would be entitled file a complain to MS: player with this gamertag cheated!
MS will ask: how did he cheated?
FD will have to answer: he started Minecraft and you guys forcefully closed our game.
Frontier has warned a player who posted in this thread for exiting the game via the power button long press. Clearly they view such an action, when done to avoid gameplay one has already committed to, as cheating. Frontier also doesn't have to go through MS to enforce their view, should the warning be ignored.
While in no way i condone the clogging... For the record, when we talk about "combat logging" at Frontier, we mean the act of ungracefully exiting the game (either by ALT-F4 type procedures or by cutting the network traffic). ...there are several issues with it: 1) it's basically impossible...
forums.frontier.co.uk
