Some time ago someone on another shard made a script miner with the same name as my main char on that shard. He thought it was a great joke. Anyone who knew anything about me knew darn well it wasn't my char.
But someone else didn't. Someone genuinely believed it was me and posted slating the 'double standards' of 'a certain well known figure on these boards' who 'should know better'. No only was I very hurt by this totally unearned diatribe, I was also worried that my account, which I share with my husband, would be put at risk. This person didn't actually 'name names', but did give enough detail that anyone reading the thread knew who was meant.
In addition, there was the very real possibility that the reputation for honesty and trustworthiness that I had acquired over years of playing would be totally destroyed.
It is for situations like this that the rules are made, and for them to work, they have to be applied across the board, regardless of whether the supposed 'cheater' in question is totally innocent or as guilty as sin.