One observation I've maintained for as long as I've played is that players are generally unsuccessful in getting rule-breakers banned, even when they're personally victimized by the rule breaking. The reason can be summed up simply as "Players are terrible prosecutors".
Here's what I've noticed are the most common ways this happens:
- The biggest one by far is /report. Some people don't even know forum reports exist, and others see them as too much work. All /report does is alert online staff that someone is suspected of rule-breaking. If there are no online staff OR the offense is impossible to prove after the fact, /report is useless, even though it may make a player feel like they've done something. The most common thing that people get really mad about that /report is not at all useful for is TP trapping. Once you've been trapped, staff can't go back in time and prove that it happened. Simply having a trap is not against the rules, so the trapper would need to make the unwise decision of TP trapping another player while staff are watching.
- When people do make a forum report, it often does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a rule was broken. A lot of unexpected things can create reasonable doubt. Staff are forced to try to defend the accused player (in their mind) against the evidence and come up with a reason why it isn't good enough evidence, and that's a good thing! Players are innocent until proven guilty.
So what can you do about it?
If you think forum reports are too hard to make, there are things you can do to make it easier. Uploading an unlisted YT video is annoying and it may reveal your name if your account is like that. Staff will accept any kind of video link so long as it plays directly in the browser and doesn't require a file download. This means file hosts that create a direct link to the file (I use Catbox) work and are easy to use, as long as you upload a file that can be played in a browser. MP4, WebM, and MOV will work, MKV will not. OBS can be configured to record directly to MP4.
When you're gathering evidence, try and think like a defense attorney. For example, if my client was caught pearling in a claim while claim-banned, I would argue that the video does not prove that they were actually banned, and they could have just been standing still and pearling. This is reasonable doubt. As the reporter, knowing in advance that this defense will be used, you should do /claim banlist while recording, proving that the player is, in fact, banned. You have to prove every element of the offense, even the ones that seem trivial to you.
Here's what I've noticed are the most common ways this happens:
- The biggest one by far is /report. Some people don't even know forum reports exist, and others see them as too much work. All /report does is alert online staff that someone is suspected of rule-breaking. If there are no online staff OR the offense is impossible to prove after the fact, /report is useless, even though it may make a player feel like they've done something. The most common thing that people get really mad about that /report is not at all useful for is TP trapping. Once you've been trapped, staff can't go back in time and prove that it happened. Simply having a trap is not against the rules, so the trapper would need to make the unwise decision of TP trapping another player while staff are watching.
- When people do make a forum report, it often does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a rule was broken. A lot of unexpected things can create reasonable doubt. Staff are forced to try to defend the accused player (in their mind) against the evidence and come up with a reason why it isn't good enough evidence, and that's a good thing! Players are innocent until proven guilty.
So what can you do about it?
If you think forum reports are too hard to make, there are things you can do to make it easier. Uploading an unlisted YT video is annoying and it may reveal your name if your account is like that. Staff will accept any kind of video link so long as it plays directly in the browser and doesn't require a file download. This means file hosts that create a direct link to the file (I use Catbox) work and are easy to use, as long as you upload a file that can be played in a browser. MP4, WebM, and MOV will work, MKV will not. OBS can be configured to record directly to MP4.
When you're gathering evidence, try and think like a defense attorney. For example, if my client was caught pearling in a claim while claim-banned, I would argue that the video does not prove that they were actually banned, and they could have just been standing still and pearling. This is reasonable doubt. As the reporter, knowing in advance that this defense will be used, you should do /claim banlist while recording, proving that the player is, in fact, banned. You have to prove every element of the offense, even the ones that seem trivial to you.