1. Server: New 1 (NOT classic)
   
2. In-game name: Karatikus
   
3. Full exact Ban Message: See above (banned today for 31 days)
   
4. Did you read the rules? Of course
   
5. Why do YOU think you were banned? Laini_ would not explain herself and it seemed to do w/ her inability to provide justification for what she was asking me to do
   
6. Was this an incorrect ban? Yes, I repeatedly asked for rules clarification that was not provided
   
7. Were you ever banned before on SkyBlock? If so, what for? Never
   
8. Why do you think you should be unbanned? The reasons given for my ban do not align w/ what happened. U prob have access to the chat log from 20 mins ago. Kerahna visited my isle just prior to the ban and she may have more input. Here is the situation:

Coarse dirt has been part of the game since MC 1.8's release, almost 3.5 yrs ago. I was advertising my gravel store in order to bring in more customers when Laini stopped by to tell me I was breaking the rules. I asked her how. There was a lot of back and forth but she never adequately explained how what I was doing was in direct violation of the rules. Our 1st interaction basically ended when I asked her if she was here to make the rules or enforce them.
A little while later, Laini returns w/ Kerahna. Kerahna doesn't talk to me and very quickly starts disassembling my store display. When I ask about it, Kerahna explains it's a glitch that the developers are intending to patch out. I start to ask Kerahna about the specific reasons my store display is against the rules but she leaves the server mid-conversation.
Perhaps a half hour goes by and I get a warning message from Laini for "selling exploits". I tell her that "sale" implies "price" but the information I'm giving out is free; it's freely available on the wiki and I'm certain I'm not the only 1 who knows about it. If it's an "exploit", why has it been a part of the game for nearly 4 years w/out Mojang addressing it or even this forum setting up a specific rule?? Laini tells me I'm duping and I deny it; duping is the creation of new blocks whereas coarse dirt allows the conversion of gravel into dirt. Laini banned me when I asked her if converting grass into dirt by digging it is duping.
I repeatedly told both Laini and Kerahna that I am aware of and want to follow the rules. Warning some1 w/out explaining or justifying the warning is pointless. Using a misunderstood warning as a reason for ban is tyranny. I feel as tho I was lied to and misled by both Laini and Kerahna when they told me I was in violation of the rules and that the developers were intending to patch this out. Furthermore, it's abusive that a mod can show up and start dismantling your build w/out justification.
I know that Laini is likely the 1st 1 to read this and she probably attempts to squelch it because she knows she's wrong for what she did. Shortly prior to banning me, Laini cited a rule made by the "gods of minecraft" which specifically prohibited my store display. I merely hope some of the other mods read this and take steps to curb this kind of abuse in the future.

 

Tagging the banning moderator ~ Laini

 

I had to spend a full hour explaining to you why what you had done was illegal, yet you kept making excuses for yourself saying that it wasn’t duplication.

You’re banned because you replaced something that a staff member had removed for a good reason. When your tutorial board was removed, Kerahna told you exactly why it had been taken down, yet you ignored her and replaced it as soon as she had left your island.

The glitch that you were showing people how to use wasn’t intentional, and shouldn’t have been reproduced by anyone. The developers were working hard to fix this.

I have screenshots of me explaining over 10 times why what you did was illegal, yet you didn’t seem to understand and kept throwing the most useless excuses at me.

Having a crafting recipe that exists on the server doesn’t give you a reason to use an exploit.

Maybe if you hadn’t blatantly advertised your exploit in chat, you wouldn’t be banned for the length of time you were.

Why should I unban you when you fail to see what you did was wrong? All you seem to be able to see is how others are at fault.

 

I appreciate the explanation but it has come too late. I asked both of you, Kerahna and Laini, multiple times for clarification of the rules and justification for punitive action. Had you explained yourself as you have here, Kerahna, I would have no problem abiding. You believe my questions were heckling or deliberate misdirection but I was acting in good faith. Reviewing both of your replies, I can see you misunderstood me. Not only this, you have misunderstood your own reasons for banning me.

Laini writes, "You’re banned because you replaced something that a staff member had removed for a good reason." That's not even the reason Laini gave to you for the ban. I copied those reasons into the thread title as advised by the rules. Also, when I rebuilt the display, it was NOT immediately after it had been taken down and the display was reconfigured to incorporate the information that proved so hard to pry out of both of you in chat. The display once rebuilt did not contain any info that isn't readily available to everyone on the MC wiki. It shows the graphic layout for how to craft coarse dirt and it identifies both types of dirt by placing them side-by-side; that is, unless a moderator has changed the display in bad faith since my ban.

Laini writes, "Having a crafting recipe that exists on the server doesn’t give you a reason to use an exploit." This seems to be the crux of the issue. The server prohibits you from placing dirt in a trade chest or tapping a trade sign w/ dirt in hand. The server prohibits you from placing COARSE dirt in a trade chest or tapping a trade sign w/ COARSE dirt in hand. The server DOES NOT prohibit you from placing gravel in a trade chest or tapping a trade sign w/ gravel in hand. This is an easy server-side fix that you don't have to depend on the developers to make, you don't have to depend on every player reading every rule and internalizing them, and you don't have to depend on the spot removal of banning to regulate players who step out of line.

Laini writes, "Maybe if you hadn’t blatantly advertised your exploit in chat, you wouldn’t be banned for the length of time you were." Again, this muddles the reason for why I was banned and it reflects on Laini's own misunderstanding of the issue. If you get rid of the people who are openly in violation of the rules, guess who's left: those who are not open about it. I know I am not the only 1 who knows this "exploit". I expressed my desire to better understand the rules multiple times during our dialogue and it is only after banning that you feel the need to stoop to explanation. Telling some1 that you wouldn't have been punished if you hadn't been caught seems dubious at best. Coming from a moderator, it reflects poorly on server management. You have foregone your ability to set some1 on the right path and you have rewarded those who are secretly straying.

Kerahna writes, "Dirt is a non renewable resource on skyblock." I've only been playing on the server for a few days but I know that to be false. You, Kerahna, as the head moderator, should know better. The voter crate key can give up to 5 grass. I bet the other keys have a higher max grass amount. The Nether is reset regularly and this respawns any gravel that may have been taken. Furthermore, gravel's drop rate has been lowered seemingly to accommodate the coarse dirt conversion.

Kerahna writes, "You not only refused, but started arguing with her claiming that she's making up rules, and that she made 'signs illegal'." Again, this is false and a review of our chat log will prove it. I NEVER refused to do anything Laini requested of me. Laini did in fact make up a rule and, if you are able, I would suggest doing a search on the chat log for "gods of minecraft". She used the phrase to cite a fictional rule which supposedly summed up all my wrongdoing. I never claimed that she made "signs illegal". Go ahead, check the log. Kerahna, your memory of events is faulty or you trust Laini's account overly much.

Kerahna writes, "That is clearly missing the point. It's understandable if you were unaware of the common sense rules, however you continued to argue and refused to comply even after receiving an explanation." If I so clearly missed the point, why couldn't you just as clearly explain the point to me instead of leaving me on a hanging question mid-conversation?? When does seeking for understanding and asking questions for clarification become "argumentative"?? Please, quote me directly if you are going to make the claim I refused something. At no point did I state an intent to not comply; in fact, I stated the opposite. One cannot abide by rules one doesn't understand, and when you deny one that understanding and punish one for it, you are a tyrant.

Shortly after joining the server the 1st time, some1 came online and started chat-spamming. They were banned but quickly returned under an alt account. Banned again. Again, rejoined and the same spam. This went on for some time. I wondered why they would do such a thing. Now, I think I have some understanding. If your response to creativity is unjust and heavy-handed, and you will not engage in dialogue, those who are creative will find a way to answer you, unjustly and in a heavy-handed way. Tyranny has a way of driving away those who have good intent and of sowing the seeds for its own downfall.

 

You’ve already had your ban explained to you. Try and work it out.

 

Your ban appeal has been denied.
Thread locked and moved to Ban Appeal Archives.