As you know, there are different levels of GMs, and at the different levels you get access to different amounts of information. We restrict as much as we can at the lower levels but the truth is that the GMs need information to be able to execute on plots, fix problems, diagnose issues, and move the game forward.
This weekend a senior GM noticed that Support GM Dekkard gave their alt Dexta, a large amount of chyen. Upon further investigation, we found extensive other violations that each in and of themselves would result in a perma-ban.
Dekkard has been a Support GM for almost 3 years. They were not a GM that entire time. They did a shift, went back to just being a player, did a shift, went back to just being a player, etc. at least 3 times during the last 3 years. From what I can gather, they started small, giving their character a bit of money here (4k, 5k) and then slowly ramped up their cheating over the last year.
They did this when no other GMs were online, being careful to hide their cheating from those that might notice it.
Some of their violations affected more than just their alt-- there were several players who were directly wronged. I'm not going to be vague here even though some of this is IC info, as I want to be as clear about what these violations were. We take cheating extremely seriously, and it is one of the only times we directly address IC situations.
These weren't 'got screwed over in RP by an NPC' situations as far as we can tell. I've audited the puppeting from the past few months (something that is already highly visible to other GMs) and that all seems above board. This was not the GM checking @stats and leaking info-- a Support GM has access to limited stat info because of past violations by a GM.
In cases it was the utilization of knowledge gained using admin commands of what someone had on them, or in their apartment, likely in order to rob them with their alt or set them up.
In an extremely messed up situation, Dekkard used their admin powers to enter a players apartment, unlock the door, and leave it unlocked. The player was robbed the same day.
In another situation, Dekkard entered a players car using admin commands, and unlocked the doors. Leading to a high priced item being sold.
In another situation, Dekkard had NPCs drop their weapons in a public place, possibly to be picked up by their alt or someone they directed via their alt.
On several occasions they paid their own character chyen, this totaled in excess of 600,000 chyen.
On several occasions they dropped gear for their character in their apartment or somewhere their character could find.
I have reviewed the logs from the past two months in detail and for the past 2 years in a cursory fashion. However, I will need to go back even further and identify if there were other gross violations and effected players.
We have identified several players who were screwed over by this Support GM, and are reaching out to talk with them and explain the situation. Since some of these things happened in the past, there may be no way to 'reverse' what happened, but we will strive to 'make good' with these players such that they do not have any lasting effects from this cheating.
I will personally continue to investigate this and attempt to identify anyone who was wronged (or unfairly benefited) by this cheating. Unfortunately, there are many of you who have probably played with Dexta over the years. Some of you may have benefited or been harmed by their cheating. If you think you are one of them, please email [email protected] with any information you think might be useful to us in unraveling the cheating and making things right for those who were wronged. We will do our best to investigate each issue raised to us.
I am so sorry that this happened. And sorry for anyone who was screwed over by this cheating. The admin have discussed what we can do to have better visibility into situations like this in the future so we can catch it earlier if it ever happens again. We have already begun to take steps, and will continue to do so. Sadly, at least some of these steps involve a significant amount of time and effort for me or Johnny or Glitch. We'll try to find ways to streamline that, over time, to reduce the strain it places on the most senior admin.
This is such a gross, terrible, persistent, violation of the trust we put in someone who we thought was trustworthy. I am sickened by this. I am furious by this. I feel completely betrayed by this. And the rest of the staff do too. I'm sure all of you will feel the same way after reading this. It ruins the trust that players and GMs need to have in order for the game to operate as it needs to operate. I'm extremely grateful to the admin that not only spotted this cheating but immediately reported it, something that was probably not an easy choice to make.
We take cheating extremely seriously, and when we discover an GM has or is cheating, we remove that GM and try to be as transparent as possible about the situation. It doesn't happen very often, but the sad truth is that it does happen. I don't understand why someone would do something like this, but obviously we need to redouble our vigilance when it comes to cheating. This is why any player can email [email protected] or slither@ or johnny@ or glitch@ to report possible issues. We investigate EVERY issue and will continue to do so.
Dekkard and their alt Dexta have been removed from the community, and will never be allowed back.
-- Slither
