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[Discussion] Clops Under Investigation

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Clops

Sage
Professional
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Stratics Veteran
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Dread Lord
For some reason, I'm the type of person that likes to push the limit in this game. Once again, I have crossed the line, forcing Mesanna no option other than to ban me. I honestly wasn't going to comment on this, because... well... it's embarrassing to say the least. But I feel I owe my community an explanation, so here it goes.

Just to thwart speculation, I am not and have never been a duper or scammer. The vast majority of my rares I purchased from other players. If you care to question this, ask anyone that knows me, and he or she will confirm this.

Though I can not go in to detail as to what sparked this investigation due to the being under Broadsword's NDA, I will say that I, as a hired contractor of Broadsword, abused my power for personal gain.

As of this post, the majority of my accounts have been permanently banned. And the vast vast majority of my rares (including 150+ unique items) have been seized by Mesanna. These have been confiscated for good and will likely never re-appear in-game. There was an enormous amount of history in my collection, and I feel terrible that it is potentially gone for good.

I let the community down, and I'm truly sorry for that. There's a point where collecting rares becomes more than a hobby and turns into an obsession. I don't know when that happened for me, but, at some point, it did, and I gave in to corruption in an effort to gain more items. As most of you know by now, I worked at EA (and other developers) over the past decade. This intimate connection to the development side of games has given me a whats-the-big-deal philosophy. But as Mesanna put it earlier, "cheating is cheating", and as much as it stings, I can't disagree with that. I would have banned me in any number of games where I was the lead producer.

More than anything, I feel terrible that I let Bonnie down. She has devoted her life to this game, and she puts her trust in very few people. I'm not the first to betray that trust, but I hope I am the last. I've worked on many games over the past decade, and I honestly can't remember meeting anyone other than Bonnie that, under unrelenting pressure, continues to wear every hat possible and show up every day to create an enjoyable experience that will live on for many more years.

I currently have 84 unread ICQs. If I don't respond to you, it's because I'm taking a break from UO, picking out tile for my new kitchen, spending more time outside than I normally do, and catching up on the last season and a half of The Walking Dead.

Cheers, peeps.
 

Duane I Am

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Wow!! Go outside it is awesome there. I just hope you were not Atlantic's EM. And I also hope the rares do no just sit in a bank somewhere.
 

Merlin

The Enchanter
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Governor
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FAIR WARNING TO ALL POSTERS:
The Rules of Conduct, found here: Rules of Conduct | Stratics Community Forums are in effect on this thread, as they are with all others.

This thread will be watched and have a short leash if it goes off the rails. I won't issue further public warnings, I will issue infractions. Please keep it constructive.
 

BrianFreud

Lore Keeper, Wiki Maker, & Doer of Crazy Things
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Breaks out a bottle of the ol' Goblin Rotgut vintage 289, passes it round.

Fare thee well Clops.

Folks, in the end, it's just a game. We all collect, and there's stuff that's really rare, but it's just not worth some of the stuff that goes on. In the end, even if it doesn't hurt you, it hurts the game, and the community, just that little bit more. I've seen way too many good friends leave because of shenanigans - receivers and doers. There's just not that many of us left anymore.
 

NinjaSampire

Sage
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
CLOPS,
You dont know me kind sir, but really proud of you for facing the community. Says alot, I am sorry about your stuff, I hope you enjoy some time away. Everyone makes mistakes. Dont dwell on this, you have given to the community in many ways and I thank you.
 

Jack

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Sorry to hear this from you Clops, I know what adictions are and despite the fact I don't aprove what you did I also can try to understand what rares meant to you.

I respect you for facing the facts and well, enjoy your free time. Maybe talk about this with a friend, that will help you get over it.

Looking forward to hear from you anytime in a non too distant future,

Regards,

Jack_Uo
 

Aeyko

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
Clops,

I've only had a few select dealings with you but you're a stand up guy. I'm sorry to hear this and I respect you standing up and taking the punishment for your actions. Tough lesson learned but it seems it has opened the doors for you to step out of UO and enjoy other areas of life. Enjoy yourself my friend. Life is too short.

Take care brother,

Aeyko
 

Lord Arm

Certifiable
Governor
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
100s of peeps hanging around clops places. too bad the devs wont catch all the 100s of script looters lol. I wont bother going, this will be a mess. harbingers already spawning lol.
 

Money Bags Mcgee

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
You may have done something wrong but you have more than over done right by the community. You have given people in this community deals on items, free gold, a kind word, friendship, etc more times than we could count id guess. I knew you'd face the community because that's the type of person you are. Lesson learned in the end. Hope to see you around buddy.
 

Dol'Gorath

Grand Inquisitor
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I just hope mesanna will create a museum out of the stuff and not let the history be lost.
Confiscated items should never be returned to the player market. Letting the EM's use it to make a public display would be preferred. I just don't think they should be deleted.
 

TheGrimReefer

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Maybe now Mesanna will do something about other cheats but doubt it. At one point she says she will do nothing about cheats then tells Clops cheating is cheating. Make up your mind. Either do something about it or not but dont pick and choose what to do.
 

Deaol

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Supporter
:confused:

Dang.. had not seen Bon around. Guess I know why now. I hate missing time away from the game.. I miss all the popcorn...
Refer to my post at the very beginning of this thread from 2013 to see the fate of bon iver; if mesanna would have stepped up then maybe everything could have been avoided.
 

Promathia

Social Distancing Since '97
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Maybe now Mesanna will do something about other cheats but doubt it. At one point she says she will do nothing about cheats then tells Clops cheating is cheating. Make up your mind. Either do something about it or not but dont pick and choose what to do.
How does this relate to

Though I can not go in to detail as to what sparked this investigation due to the being under Broadsword's NDA, I will say that I, as a hired contractor of Broadsword, abused my power for personal gain.
 

Kylie Kinslayer

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Awards
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I'm confused... why are people praising him? He's part of the plague in the game, he was just a different strain. Good riddance, hopefully more toxic players will be found and purged as well.
That I know of.. I do not know Clops. Only knew him by reputation. That being said people are praising him because a person's life (in game or out) should not be defined by who they are at their worst but who they were overall. And overall he seemed like a decent person.

Maybe I am crazy, but I try to know people by their successes, not their failures.. until their failures prove to be who they are at their core... and going off Clops's rep he was not a bad person but a good person who made a bad decision.. or two.. or three..
 

Mysts

Seasoned Veteran
Stratics Veteran
That I know of.. I do not know Clops. Only knew him by reputation. That being said people are praising him because a person's life (in game or out) should not be defined by who they are at their worst but who they were overall. And overall he seemed like a decent person.

Maybe I am crazy, but I try to know people by their successes, not their failures.. until their failures prove to be who they are at their core... and going off Clops's rep he was not a bad person but a good person who made a bad decision.. or two.. or three..
I understand people that enjoyed him as a person, but I meant the ones praising him for admitting he did wrong. He's only admitting to it, because he was caught and lost everything... that doesn't make it a profound gesture of a good-nature. I don't care all that much anyway, he provided more to the community than I ever could but he was still part of the problem and that's my point.
 

Kylie Kinslayer

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I understand people that enjoyed him as a person, but I meant the ones praising him for admitting he did wrong. He's only admitting to it, because he was caught and lost everything...
I get what you are saying there..

I just know most of the folks who have been in his position have just faded to the background quietly and slinked away. Facing the community does take balls imo.
 

Lord Nabin

High Council Sage - Greater Sosaria
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I'm sorry, but I see it differently. I see it as him trying (and failing) to do "damage control" AFTER HE GOT CAUGHT. Just my opinion of course.
I respect your opinion friend.

We all make mistakes in life. It's how we handle those mistakes and address our wrongs that deifne us.

Clops is out, there is really no reason to do damage control.
 

Bennu

Lore Keeper
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I have been doing this job in one iteration or another for over a decade. I have been an EM now for 7 years, I was a part of the original UO interest program and also did this same job in EVE-Online for a while. Combined, I would say that I probably have more 'live event creation' experience than anyone else in the industry. However, even with all that time and experience it never fails to surprise me how someone with deceitful motives can run the 'long con' and weasel in to purposefully do harm.

This individual did not just "betray Mesanna", he betrayed me, he betrayed you, he betrayed every single one of us that he sat with for hours each day, he wasted our time training him, he wasted your time as players, he took the place of someone who could have done great things, rather than self promotion and self aggrandizement. Make no mistake this individual isn't here for you, isn't someone who always treated you honorably, he didn't just make a mistake. He made a choice, he continually made that choice, over and over, he pushed the blame onto others when he was near to getting caught making that choice, causing another GREAT EM to nearly quit the program. He feigned outrage at his own actions among us. He made this choice, not out of obsession, or to benefit the community, this choice was made to build himself up, this choice was made out of greed.

I will likely get in trouble for this post in the morning, Mesanna may even fire me over it. But I will not let this go quietly, we were there when you asked for help, we were there when you needed training, we were there when you needed to run practice events to confirm your training, we were there when you needed ideas, we were there when you needed support. You didn't just "Betray Mesanna out of an Obsession for Rares".

You violated the terms of your contract. You harmed the reputation of every other EM in the program, you have made every player in UO look at their own EM and question us. You have harmed the Ultima Online Brand, and you have caused harm to Broadsword as a company. I hope they make you pay for it, and not just through some lost accounts. The contract and NDA you signed are actual legal documents, you should remember that, you are very close to civil penalty territory sir.

This sort of thing doesn't happen often, but when it does it is DEVASTATING to the EM program. We have lost tools, time, convenience, reputation and most of all TRUST, not just with the players but the trust of Mesanna. Every time a volunteer or contractor acts this way, the DEV team has to waste their time to try and 'scam proof' the system again.

For those of you praising him, I want to offer you this... As an EM, I can't even dye the clothes or armor of my own Characters anymore, I have to ask someone to do that for me. Let that sink in. I have to spend extra time to request items be dyed for me to put together a costume for an RPC, to safeguard against situations like this, and even with that he STILL found a way to cheat the systems and safeguards.

I am done. I am loyal to this game and to you, our players, I have always seen my position as a JOB, a RESPONSIBILITY, a TRUST. I just wish everyone I have shared a robe with took this position as seriously as I and many others of us do.
 

Dol'Gorath

Grand Inquisitor
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I have been doing this job in one iteration or another for over a decade. I have been an EM now for 7 years, I was a part of the original UO interest program and also did this same job in EVE-Online for a while. Combined, I would say that I probably have more 'live event creation' experience than anyone else in the industry. However, even with all that time and experience it never fails to surprise me how someone with deceitful motives can run the 'long con' and weasel in to purposefully do harm.

This individual did not just "betray Mesanna", he betrayed me, he betrayed you, he betrayed every single one of us that he sat with for hours each day, he wasted our time training him, he wasted your time as players, he took the place of someone who could have done great things, rather than self promotion and self aggrandizement. Make no mistake this individual isn't here for you, isn't someone who always treated you honorably, he didn't just make a mistake. He made a choice, he continually made that choice, over and over, he pushed the blame onto others when he was near to getting caught making that choice, causing another GREAT EM to nearly quit the program. He feigned outrage at his own actions among us. He made this choice, not out of obsession, or to benefit the community, this choice was made to build himself up, this choice was made out of greed.

I will likely get in trouble for this post in the morning, Mesanna may even fire me over it. But I will not let this go quietly, we were there when you asked for help, we were there when you needed training, we were there when you needed to run practice events to confirm your training, we were there when you needed ideas, we were there when you needed support. You didn't just "Betray Mesanna out of an Obsession for Rares".

You violated the terms of your contract. You harmed the reputation of every other EM in the program, you have made every player in UO look at their own EM and question us. You have harmed the Ultima Online Brand, and you have caused harm to Broadsword as a company. I hope they make you pay for it, and not just through some lost accounts. The contract and NDA you signed are actual legal documents, you should remember that, you are very close to civil penalty territory sir.

This sort of thing doesn't happen often, but when it does it is DEVASTATING to the EM program. We have lost tools, time, convenience, reputation and most of all TRUST, not just with the players but the trust of Mesanna. Every time a volunteer or contractor acts this way, the DEV team has to waste their time to try and 'scam proof' the system again.

For those of you praising him, I want to offer you this... As an EM, I can't even dye the clothes or armor of my own Characters anymore, I have to ask someone to do that for me. Let that sink in. I have to spend extra time to request items be dyed for me to put together a costume for an RPC, to safeguard against situations like this, and even with that he STILL found a way to cheat the systems and safeguards.

I am done. I am loyal to this game and to you, our players, I have always seen my position as a JOB, a RESPONSIBILITY, a TRUST. I just wish everyone I have shared a robe with took this position as seriously as I and many others of us do.
I want to thank you for your dedication, Bennu. I know this is not going to end well, the EM's have lost so many tools from their toolkit over the years from people abusing the system and taking advantage of Mesanna's trust. EM's now are nothing like when the program began years ago, like you said you can't even dye your own items anymore, its just sad.
To those of you praising Clops, yes he may be a good guy, I certainly though he was at one point. But he's not only betrayed the game and Mesanna, but we the players as well. And now the EM program is likely going to get nerfed again, and they will have LESS tools to entertain you, LESS tools to make enjoyable memories.
 

Merlin

The Enchanter
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With that last word by Bennu, we are going to lock this thread.

I am going to do some clean up and we are going to let this fall to the bottom of the forum. This has been discussed amongst Stratics Staff. Please do not re-open this topic elsewhere.
 
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