Denied Global Perm ban for staff impersonation (Read)

[YousafWitherBoss]

Minecraft username:

YousafWitherBoss​

Suggestion:

Perm ban for staff impersonation (Read)​

Detailed description:

We should make a rule that anyone with a name similar to a staff member's, like changing "Ehtne" to "Ethne" or "zNqtix" to "zNtqix," should get a permanent ban. This would be a regular ban, not an IP ban, so they can still join with a different name that doesn't look like a staff member's name. There's already a rule against pretending to be staff, but it's not enforced much. Right now, the punishment for staff impersonation is a 3-day IP ban, which works when someone pretends to be staff, but for people who make permanent name variations, they should get a permanent ban (not an IP ban). This ban would be only for using a name similar to a staff name, not for using nicknames or just saying they are staff. It’s a simple ban that lets them rejoin with a different, non-staff-like name.​

Reason(s):

One of the main reasons for this rule is to stop scamming. People create fake accounts with names that look similar to staff names, like changing "svjeziluk" to "svjeizluk." They send trade requests, and sellers think they're dealing with a staff member, so they give them items. Later, it turns out to be a fake account. I lost my ultimate rank because of this, and just last night, someone tried to scam me using a name similar to "Ehtne," but I caught it in time. This isn’t just happening in K-PvP; I've heard of similar scams in OP-Prison, OP-Factions, and other game modes too. This kind of scamming is damaging the staff's reputation. At first, I even thought "zNqtix" was scamming, but I was wrong. When I looked closely, I realized it was a scam using a similar name. So, this rule should definitely be put in place.​

Example(s):

A great example is our neighbor, Jartex Network. They don't compromise when it comes to protecting their staff's reputation. I think our manager should seriously consider this issue. Some of you might not agree with me, but everyone has there own opinion. Thanks.​

 

[Surbate]

This is not an inappropriate name and therefore should not be a permanent ban. They already get their ban if they actively pretend to be said staff member, but it should stay at that, especially since the other person's username might even be an older one than the staff's name in which case a permanent ban would be more than unfair

 

[YousafWitherBoss]

This is not an inappropriate name and therefore should not be a permanent ban. They already get their ban if they actively pretend to be said staff member, but it should stay at that, especially since the other person's username might even be an older one than the staff's name in which case a permanent ban would be more than unfair

You need to read all my suggestions where I mentioned banning for inappropriate names. I’m talking about banning people with names similar to staff members, not just those claiming to be staff. I’m not really focusing on the current issue; it’s about the name, not just saying I’m staff or pretending to be staff.

 

[Surbate]

There's nothing wrong with people named similarly to staff though, as long as they don't pretend to be said staff member. People can choose their name freely and, as long as it isn't something inappropriate, should be allowed to play.

 

[YousafWitherBoss]

well yo

There's nothing wrong with people named similarly to staff though, as long as they don't pretend to be said staff member. People can choose their name freely and, as long as it isn't something inappropriate, should be allowed to play.

You shared your opinion, but I think you missed my point. The issue is getting worse every day and has been reported twice. People are losing their stuff because of it, and I believe the manager will take action soon.

 

[Surbate]

well yo

You shared your opinion, but I think you missed my point. The issue is getting worse every day and has been reported twice. People are losing their stuff because of it, and I believe the manager will take action soon.

Nope, I didn't miss your point, and yes, I think enforcing something similar is important, but I still don't like this particular suggestion for 2 main reasons:

1. In this scenario, we'll be taking my alt account "xDeIeted" (capital i) as an example (yes, I registered this account on pika). In reality, I registered this name after the actual xDeleted account was registered, but let's imagine this wasn't the case, and that my "fake" account would've been registered before the actual xDeleted account. The case that the account registered before the "real" one would make it incredibly unfair to ban the account if this rule was enforced.

2. The same example could be taken with similar usernames that are not intended to be similar: Your old username (atleast on the forums) was "oTrust", and I'm aware of a different person called xTrust who's completely unrelated to you and wasn't aware of your old username. If you were to become staff with your username "oTrust", with your logic the xTrust account should be permanently banned too, which would also be incredibly unfair.

My point here is, it's not always easy to identify whether an account was made to impersonate a staff or just has a similar username. There could be a lot more false Bans leading to even more appeals just causing even more trouble than the people falling for those fake username scams.

 

[YousafWitherBoss]

Nope, I didn't miss your point, and yes, I think enforcing something similar is important, but I still don't like this particular suggestion for 2 main reasons:

1. In this scenario, we'll be taking my alt account "xDeIeted" (capital i) as an example (yes, I registered this account on pika). In reality, I registered this name after the actual xDeleted account was registered, but let's imagine this wasn't the case, and that my "fake" account would've been registered before the actual xDeleted account. The case that the account registered before the "real" one would make it incredibly unfair to ban the account if this rule was enforced.

2. The same example could be taken with similar usernames that are not intended to be similar: Your old username (atleast on the forums) was "oTrust", and I'm aware of a different person called xTrust who's completely unrelated to you and wasn't aware of your old username. If you were to become staff with your username "oTrust", with your logic the xTrust account should be permanently banned too, which would also be incredibly unfair.

My point here is, it's not always easy to identify whether an account was made to impersonate a staff or just has a similar username. There could be a lot more false Bans leading to even more appeals just causing even more trouble than the people falling for those fake username scams.

That's correct, but we can find a solution by checking account creation dates. We could ban accounts that are newly created or inactive from months/years

 

[Surbate]

That's correct, but we can find a solution by checking account creation dates. We could ban accounts that are newly created or inactive from months/years

Yes, that'd be possible. On the other hand, inactive accounts don't bring any harm, so I don't see any reason for banning them too.

Anyways, I'll leave the rest up to whoever handles this suggestion since I think something similar could still be useful

 

[Thijme01]

I would agree, but only if the name is almost the same & they impersonate a staffmember.
I have a Donator alt (since 2018) that really looks like my current Username. That means it will get reported & banned...(not everyone knows about the alt)

 

[YousafWitherBoss]

I would agree, but only if the name is almost the same & they impersonate a staffmember.
I have a Donator alt (since 2018) that really looks like my current Username. That means it will get reported & banned...(not everyone knows about the alt)

yup, that's what I'm saying. If we try to find it, we can discover many different ways to fix this issue.

 

[FlexingBot]

A very popular Monarch rank in the skymines community is a person named Artyy__, he has himself been several times told that his name looks like Arrly or Axtyy__, because he nicks as Ar1y, or smth like that. This is NOT deserving a permanent ban, and thus i would like to stay neutral on this suggestion.
But why neutral? Ive only mentioned a downside to this.
The thing is, I understand the issue you're trying to solve with staff impersonation, however just a conversation with the dude who has a similar name to convince them to perhaps CHANGE the name is what i believe is a better solution.
This is mainly because imagine if a friend of a staff member lets say TTHM has friend who likes to do a lil' bit of trollin, hes gonna name himself smth like TTHN or TIHM where its slightly difficult to know, and is NOT deserving a PERMANENT ban.

 

[YousafWitherBoss]

A very popular Monarch rank in the skymines community is a person named Artyy__, he has himself been several times told that his name looks like Arrly or Axtyy__, because he nicks as Ar1y, or smth like that. This is NOT deserving a permanent ban, and thus i would like to stay neutral on this suggestion.
But why neutral? Ive only mentioned a downside to this.
The thing is, I understand the issue you're trying to solve with staff impersonation, however just a conversation with the dude who has a similar name to convince them to perhaps CHANGE the name is what i believe is a better solution.
This is mainly because imagine if a friend of a staff member lets say TTHM has friend who likes to do a lil' bit of trollin, hes gonna name himself smth like TTHN or TIHM where its slightly difficult to know, and is NOT deserving a PERMANENT ban.

Well, there is a difference between Arrly and Axtyy that even a child can understand. I can't delve into that deeply.. I provided an example in the reason section, please check it out and understand. Thanks for your opinion, I respect it.

 

[FlexingBot]

Well, there is a big difference between Arrly and Axtyy. I provided an example in the reason section, please check it out and understand. Thanks for your opinion, I respect it.

It was actually Artyy himself who said that other people call him arrly or axtyy a lot, its not JUST me who feels like that. Although when you look at it this way, we kinda do understand the difference, but in-game when you're locked in on the grind its a bit weird especially if you feel lightheaded after playing for some time.
Personally, i think this suggestion should be taken inspiration from, not COMPLETELY accepted. The idea and the reasoning is VERY thoughtful, but the execution is just too harsh.
Thank you for treating my message with respect, i shall do the same for you.

 

[PyroInDaBus]

Minecraft username:

YousafWitherBoss​

Suggestion:

Perm ban for staff impersonation (Read)​

Detailed description:

We should make a rule that anyone with a name similar to a staff member's, like changing "Ehtne" to "Ethne" or "zNqtix" to "zNtqix," should get a permanent ban. This would be a regular ban, not an IP ban, so they can still join with a different name that doesn't look like a staff member's name. There's already a rule against pretending to be staff, but it's not enforced much. Right now, the punishment for staff impersonation is a 3-day IP ban, which works when someone pretends to be staff, but for people who make permanensst name variations, they should get a permanent ban (not an IP ban). This ban would be only for using a name similar to a staff name, not for using nicknames or just saying they are staff. It’s a simple ban that lets them rejoin with a different, non-staff-like name.​

Reason(s):

One of the main reasons for this rule is to stop scamming. People create fake accounts with names that look similar to staff names, like changing "svjeziluk" to "svjeizluk." They send trade requests, and sellers think they're dealing with a staff member, so they give them items. Later, it turns out to be a fake account. I lost my ultimate rank because of this, and just last night, someone tried to scam me using a name similar to "Ehtne," but I caught it in time. This isn’t just happening in K-PvP; I've heard of similar scams in OP-Prison, OP-Factions, and other game modes too. This kind of scamming is damaging the staff's reputation. At first, I even thought "zNqtix" was scamming, but I was wrong. When I looked closely, I realized it was a scam using a similar name. So, this rule should definitely be put in place.​

Example(s):

A great example is our neighbor, Jartex Network. They don't compromise when it comes to protecting their staff's reputation. I think our manager should seriously consider this issue. Some of you might not agree with me, but everyone has there own opinion. Thanks.​

Tbh, you're trying to impose order, but you're creating more problems than you're solving...

First of all, people will always try to deceive others. Banning everyone with a vaguely similar name to staff is like trying to defeat a hydra by chopping off its heads. You will just end up creating more bloody heads

Secondly, if you fall for a scam, that's on you

Thirdly, this rule would crush individual expression

So yeah, the solution to chaos isn't tyranny, it's competence. People should be free to choose their names, within reason

 

[B1ueRay]

so basically your saying if someone suddenly got staff and some other person already had that similar name, now he deserved to get perm banned and lose everything he had just becuase someone else got staff which have similar name. it does not make any sense at all.

 

[YousafWitherBoss]

so basically your saying if someone suddenly got staff and some other person already had that similar name, now he deserved to get perm banned and lose everything he had just becuase someone else got staff which have similar name. it does not make any sense at all.

only fresh accounts, not old ones

 

[KillerMS]

Tbh there are many accounts in Pika Network whose username is almost similar to some staff and has made donation in it. It would be completely unfair if we just ban those account for staff impersonating . As mentioned by you , staff will figure out which are the old accounts and which are the new accounts and will only punish new accounts will be a bit biased and the work for staff will also increase . There can be many false ban with this leading to more appeals and more work.
Apart from this , normal player should be smart enough to know that the player who don't have staff rank are not staff , it is completely useless to have such a rule to perm ban those accounts

 

[YousafWitherBoss]

Tbh there are many accounts in Pika Network whose username is almost similar to some staff and has made donation in it. It would be completely unfair if we just ban those account for staff impersonating . As mentioned by you , staff will figure out which are the old accounts and which are the new accounts and will only punish new accounts will be a bit biased and the work for staff will also increase . There can be many false ban with this leading to more appeals and more work.
Apart from this , normal player should be smart enough to know that the player who don't have staff rank are not staff , it is completely useless to have such a rule to perm ban those accounts

Still, there are ways to resolve this problem, but I respect your opinion.

 

[Adlless]

Doesn't deserve a prema ban. Personally, maybe the punishment could be more server, and since the new rule "Scamming" has been implemented you can always report that

 

[SweatyBlaze]

Minecraft username:

YousafWitherBoss​

Suggestion:

Perm ban for staff impersonation (Read)​

Detailed description:

We should make a rule that anyone with a name similar to a staff member's, like changing "Ehtne" to "Ethne" or "zNqtix" to "zNtqix," should get a permanent ban. This would be a regular ban, not an IP ban, so they can still join with a different name that doesn't look like a staff member's name. There's already a rule against pretending to be staff, but it's not enforced much. Right now, the punishment for staff impersonation is a 3-day IP ban, which works when someone pretends to be staff, but for people who make permanent name variations, they should get a permanent ban (not an IP ban). This ban would be only for using a name similar to a staff name, not for using nicknames or just saying they are staff. It’s a simple ban that lets them rejoin with a different, non-staff-like name.​

Reason(s):

One of the main reasons for this rule is to stop scamming. People create fake accounts with names that look similar to staff names, like changing "svjeziluk" to "svjeizluk." They send trade requests, and sellers think they're dealing with a staff member, so they give them items. Later, it turns out to be a fake account. I lost my ultimate rank because of this, and just last night, someone tried to scam me using a name similar to "Ehtne," but I caught it in time. This isn’t just happening in K-PvP; I've heard of similar scams in OP-Prison, OP-Factions, and other game modes too. This kind of scamming is damaging the staff's reputation. At first, I even thought "zNqtix" was scamming, but I was wrong. When I looked closely, I realized it was a scam using a similar name. So, this rule should definitely be put in place.​

Example(s):

A great example is our neighbor, Jartex Network. They don't compromise when it comes to protecting their staff's reputation. I think our manager should seriously consider this issue. Some of you might not agree with me, but everyone has there own opinion. Thanks.​

+1 so many people pretends to be staff and scams, lets remember most of them who are playing in pika network are kids.

-SweatyBlaze