AriesMS Transparency - Part 1

If you asked me now if the Administrators cared about the players, I wouldn't be able to give you a straight answer.

I recall when a player made a post on the forums and called the server a 'cash cow'. While a server needs some sort of income to maintain itself, there's a certain level of ignorance from the staff that would contribute to this label, and although it seemed obvious, it is. Not because players didn't matter to us, but because the Game Masters are constantly gated by the Administrators.

Ignorance, forgetfulness, absolute lack of urgency to attend to certain matters (even with multiple reminders). Whatever fits. Their stubbornness then and now are beyond comprehension, and attempting to understand it is simply a waste of time.

I would advise players to reconsider investing more time in this server. Alternatively, players could use this information to demand better privileges to protect their investments in the game. At this rate, even spending time in Global MapleStory (GMS) might be a better option.

Definition

The term 'Administrator' or 'Administrators', unless their name was specified, refers to both Elyx and Nova.

Definition

The 'early years' refer to the first few years of AriesMS, roughly from 2016~2018.

Player Report & Appeals

There are a few categories on how reports and appeals are handled:

  • Category 1: Instant resolution by any staff member, or the staff member that initiated the ban.
    • These cases include information that is fully accessible by any staff member. They fall under suspensions that were imposed by a staff member or the system that are straightforward and do not require any follow-up.
  • Category 2: Requires assistance by an Administrator to verify certain back-end information including transactions, conversations, and other actions in-game.
    • These cases include information that is partially accessible by a non-Administrator, but require information from the Administrators in order for the staff member to judge if a suspension is justified or not.
  • Category 3: Requires specific assistance from Nova to verify if the cases are a false positive.
    • These cases include information that is not accessible by a non-Administrator at all, and requires Nova's decision on how the case should be handled.

Category 1 cases are handled based on the availability of staff members and usually do not pose issues. Category 2 cases require staff members to personally message either one of the Administrators and request for information. If the Administrator happened to be (1) online at the time, (2) is available, and (3) agreed to assist on the case; then yes the case can be quickly resolved. Otherwise, the staff member is stuck in limbo waiting for the Administrator to respond.

To elaborate more on (3), there were certain instances where a case is extremely complicated, both Administrators have a tendency to either completely ignore or put the case on hold (practically forever). In such instances, staff members are unable to make decisions and at the same time is pressured to resolve the case as soon as possible. Additionally, there is a chance where if a case is awaiting an Administrator's response and staff member(s) are too caught up on other work, cases can get buried and forgotten.

Before I established a protocol for Nova to follow-up with, Category 3 cases would be handled the same way as Category 2, usually one by one. At the current time with the protocol in place, Category 3 cases are handled in batches where usually a specific staff member would compile the cases together in a post, then inform Nova about pending cases. Sounds perfect right? Except, if a staff member does not inform Nova of pending cases, he does not check the post at all. That means if a staff member forgets, it will get buried and forgotten as mentioned above. If Nova reads the notification and forgets about it, staff members have to remember to follow-up and remind Nova to review it.

The amount of things a regular staff member has to remember is abyssmal, and this is just one of the many.

The tendency level of an Administrator putting things on hold, forgetting, or ignoring is also pretty close. In the age of technology, you would think they could have setup a reminder system on their end to follow-up, or something to help them expedite whatever they do.

Apparently not.

Account Misappropriation / Hacking

If a person shares their home with someone they think they could trust or if their home was broken into, and their valuables were lost, the obvious next course of action would be to report it to the authorities. While the victim could have known better, they're not ultimately at blame.

Every single case of Account Hacking and Misappropriation that I have encountered, were all forwarded to the Administrators. However, not all of them would result in a proper review nor an outcome I personally agree with. Unsurprisingly, both Administrators do not stand neutral when it comes to such cases. However, I no longer have access to the conversations to support this claim, and I understand if players decide not to trust this. If you know a player who was a victim of account-related theft, and whose case was not reviewed or properly addressed, then you'll know for sure I'm not making this up.

The Administrators' consensus is that if any ONE of the following is true, it is largely the player's fault for what happened:

  • Account Hacking
    • Failing to keep their account safe, via methods provided by the server (including prior to the release of Two-Factor Authentication) and/or changing their passwords regularly.
    • Logging in their game account on devices where the device can be accessed by more than one person.
    • Being a victim of keylogging or other virus-related instances.
  • Account Misappropriation
    • Sharing their account information with another player.
    • Sharing their account information with multiple players.

While most cases were reviewed and the perpetrators were suspended, there were multiple instances where the Administrators were reluctant in processing the case, at times citing that it is the player's fault. Unfortunately, these fall under Category 2, and without the assistance of an Administrator it is almost impossible to identify the legitimacy of the report and the culprits involved.

That brings us to the next point.

Compensation

Compensation is a tricky matter and is handled on a case-by-case basis. Not all losses can be compensated, especially when it comes to the players' undoing. Time is also a major aspect when it comes to verifying the players affected and the losses incurred. While delays are understandable, it should never be overlooked and forgotten.


(Conversation archive on VP Shop compensation. Read from bottom to top.)

However, compensation has been a long-standing joke in the Aries community and it probably still is. Staff members (myself included) have previously used blanket responses for compensation appeals regardless if they were justified or not.

This remained status quo from 2016 until a few years back where there were multiple attempts at compensating players for certain issues incurred from the server.

Disclaimer

Due to the forum being wiped multiple times, I'm unable to recall if there were compensation issued before 2018.

*As mentioned above, compensation was issued for a glitch in 2019 that caused items listed in the Auction House to disappear or could no longer be retrieved.

However in 2020, another Auction House glitch occurred, and although at a smaller scale; it was never compensated. I fully acknowledge every feedback and complaint received, and have done my due diligence in reminding Nova time and time again regarding this issue but to no avail. Regrettably, I was not able to deliver the promises that I gave the players.

Though, I believe credit should be given to Nova who has changed since earlier years. A number of compensations issued were raised by him, and has agreed to work on many propositions to improve the game. Most of which required months or years to convince. Veteran players will remember how difficult it was to acquire Character Slots back then.

In 2021, we were able to release Project Revelry which introduced game-changing improvisations to the game that wouldn't have been possible in the early years. I also managed to successfully convince Nova to experiment with a compensation method and with the approval of both Administrators, we were able to fully release it with Phase 2 as the Pity System. (The fact that Administrators had to be 'convinced' to agree to provide compensation speaks volumes. I'll elaborate more in a separate post.) While it currently only insures cases under the Scamming rule (of high value), it's a huge step forward as compared to nothing. I had plans to further expand the Pity System and provide more protection for players, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I wasn't able to do so. (Some of which would include victims of Account Hacking or Misappropriation.)

The Pity System was established by using a certain individual's case who was a victim of a high-value scam, as a catalyst to convince Nova. After releasing the Pity System, they were adequately compensated.

From my perspective, compensation is only justified when it is legitimate and meets ONE of the following requirements:

Definition

'Legitimate' meaning it was not replicated with player actions that may seem like it is real with the intention to exploit loopholes where one gains an advantage.

  • (1) The player was not fully aware of the consequences of their actions, and there were no disclaimers issued by the staff.
    • There has been multiple instances where players failed to read disclaimers provided in information threads for seasonal events. For cases like these, compensation isn't justified.
  • (2) Losses were incurred from server glitches or unintentional game mechanisms.
    • E.g. Auction House wipe
    • Excluding rollbacks

Some examples where I believe compensation should be given:

That said, players can only be compensated if there are data logs in the database that verify the loss of item(s) and/or instance of a glitch. Without data logs, Administrators are unable to verify the legitimacy of a compensation appeal.

Definition

A 'data log' refers to a set of data that resemble a history of events that occurred.

For instance, if a player purchased an item from a shop, a data log would collect the following information: (1) Date & Time of Purchase, (2) Character Name, (3) Item ID, etc.

What if I told you that there are some systems in-game without a data log?

Logs & Tracking

Before joining the team, the lack of proper data tracking was already prevalent. I believe this issue originated from the team's inner culture. Surprise Style Box item releases were recorded in a pastebin-type website like this one (but without formatting features). Item ID(s) from March to May 2016 were all over the place, and some ID(s) were missing during that timeline.

While storing them in a pastebin-type website may seem alright, it posed multiple problems. The data log only consisted of Item ID(s), and had no 'Item Names' to refer to. This caused issues when Global MapleStory (GMS) would sometimes change the Item ID of existing items in the game for reasons we will never know. Additionally, there are multiple items with ONE visual design but ranged from 2-4 different Item IDs as shown below.

Aside from the Audit Log feature and Moderation Bots like Dyno (that was only added in 2017~2018), there were no data logs for moderator actions on Discord.

Additionally, there weren't any data logs that a staff could access to keep track of what items were already in the game, and what items the staff could add into the game for the purpose of events and other content.

In order to improve my work efficiency, I created data logs that with the purpose to track the application of in-game items in the server and kept them up-to-date. These logs were also shared with the relevant staff members in-charge of content creation. However, as of April 2021, except for the ones on the forum; the staff team no longer has access to these data logs.

A few of them are as shown:


(Damage Skins)


(Pets)


(Surprise Style Box, December 2019 - Overalls)

The above-mentioned are data logs on the front-end, that Game Masters can manage and access. On the back-end, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, there needs to be data logs to ensure that incidents are accounted for.

Unfortunately, Nova does not possess the habit of creating data logs nor enabling 'inventory protection' when adding new and/or renewed content into the game. There were multiple instances where data logs didn't exist and the staff weren't able to verify certain incidents (e.g. purchasing an item from an Event Shop with a full inventory).

Definition

'Inventory protection', a term that I personally use, is something that is meant to re-route an item to a 'mailbox' or 'lost items' feature in the event of a full inventory. 'Inventory protection' is crucial when it comes to instances where the player's inventory reaches the maximum capacity and an item is either purchased or credited to the player. This ensures that players do not lose their item(s) during such instances.

In the current age of MapleStory, the 'mailbox' feature is known as the 'Gift Drop UI'. You might have seen multiple mentions of it on the FAQ thread.

In the early years, it was only when incidents occurred that I was made aware of the lack of data logs and inventory protection. Since then, I had to make an effort to remind Nova of data logs and inventory protection for almost every single new or renewed content that I was involved in.


(Conversation archive on inventory protection. Read from bottom to top.)

Though, I still believe that there are existing systems in-game that lack a data log and/or inventory protection system. We'll never find out.

At the end of the day, the ones who will always stand to lose the most, are the players.

Bad Actors

Definition

A 'bad actor' is a person or organization responsible for actions that are harmful, illegal, or morally wrong. In this context, they are referred to as users that breach the AriesMS' Terms of Service.

Definition on Cambridge Dictionary

Because Nova is the sole developer of the server, it meant that 90% his workload consisted of server development, testing, and coding/scripting. Therefore, requests for information to assist in cases would usually be conveyed to Elyx.

A former staff member once questioned Elyx on what his job scope was and what he really does for the server. All I could recall was that Elyx became defensive and avoided the question. Out of respect, I refrained from asking this question, but as time went by; it became necessary to know.

Referencing from the above-mentioned points under the Player Reports & Appeals section, most of the gatekeeping were from Elyx. Countless reports of various cases were often delayed for reasons we weren't made aware of. These included reports of great urgency, such as Account Hacking (or Misappropriation), Profiting, and more. Unless requested upon or if a major incident happens, Elyx rarely takes the initiative to verify suspicious actions within the database.

In AriesMS, only Elyx and Nova have the ability to access the database. This might differ from other servers, including MapleLumiere.

Back-end verification is largely important for justifying a Profiting case. However, not all Profiting cases require back-end verification; some are straight-forward.

This meant that despite being well-aware of certain cases, they went by undetected due to a staff member's sheer helplessness to justify a case and the absolute lack of urgency from the Administrators.

As the cherry on top, rampant hackers and botters that constantly revisit the server are mainly owed to the fact that VMwares are not blocked on the server. This is not inclusive of applications such as Boot Camp, Parallels or Mac-related VMs. I have, countless times, reminded Nova about it but as of July 2, 2022; this has not been done.


(Conversation archive on VM blocking. Read from bottom to top).

Definition

The 'VM' or 'VMware' refers to 'Virtual Machine'. To simply put, it's an application that simulates a separate operating system on top of your current system. For example, being able to create another reality right in the palm of your hands while already being in one.

For a better explanation on what a VM is, please refer to this page.

Till this day, existing staff members are still gated by the Administrators and almost all of the above-mentioned instances are still recurring. However, I would like to ask that players refrain from pestering existing staff members for information and/or their opinions on this piece. It's extremely unlikely that the Administrators would admit to any of these, so demanding answers isn't advisable. What players can do is spread the word and speak with your actions. By continuing to play the server, you're indirectly supporting the Administrators' cash cow.

Feel free to use this information however you like as long as the original context remains intact and they're not twisted for personal advantages.

With this, I conclude Part 1 of the AriesMS Transparency series. Stay tuned for the next release.

[WAAMS Main Page] | [Prologue] | [Part 2] | [Part 3]

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Pub: 19 Oct 2022 11:36 UTC
Edit: 05 Dec 2022 11:03 UTC
Views: 772