Milonius

I understand that you are all upset about losing a friend on these forums. I understand that he was very popular. I know you want an explanation, and I do feel your frustration, but everything that has happened on these forums (the rioting, the protests, the petitions, the polls, the suggestions of a court, the explosion of multis, etc.) has been hugely counterproductive and has resulted in not a few of you receiving suspensions.

I am going to tell you everything I possibly can, and I'll try to address all the things said so far on this topic. I will NOT entertain questions. What I say here is all I CAN say, and that's the end of it.

1) Evony is a privately owned company. They operate a business. This forum is owned by Evony and is maintained as a benefit to the players of the game that the business runs. It isn't "happy happy playland" (to quote a rep), it isn't your personal blog, it isn't owned or run by the people who post here no matter how high their post count. It isn't run by majority rules or elections or polls. It is run by Evony, LLC. in the manner they feel benefits the majority of their customers and best serves the purpose of the forum.

2) There is nothing "illegal" about a moderator deleting/closing a thread on this forum no matter what it is in it. It isn't an abuse of power for moderators to suspend people who are instigating. It is not the moderators' fault that they are following the directions they are given.

3) The mods didn't ban Milonius. The mods didn't get a say in it. The mods were told after the fact and only given enough information to allow them to do their job. The mods can't reverse the ban. The mods can't tell you the small amount of information they have been given. LAY OFF THE GREEN NAMES. They're good people and they don't deserve the grief you've been piling on them.

4) When someone, anyone, breaks the rules set out by Evony, it is within Evony's power to choose to deny that person further access to the site. This is an action reserved for the most severe of infractions or for people who are serial offenders. For those who have broken rules time and time again, and collected enough infractions and warnings to wallpaper a home, and then continue to commit severe violations of our rules, there comes a point where Evony needs to say "Enough" and tell those people they are no longer welcome here.

5) Moderators are unpaid volunteers here to ensure the forums stay pleasant and organized. Representatives are paid. When the condition on the forums has gotten so out of control that the mods cannot handle it, and the reps must step in, that essentially costs Evony money. They are paying a salary to people to get these forums under control and sheers economics dictates that the reps choose the fastest way to accomplish their task. Often, that is going to mean closing threads, deleting posts, and suspending/banning the members who are causing the most upset.

6) We are not your mothers. Or fathers. We aren't here to coddle anyone. We are a business, and we enjoy interacting with everyone but we will not let anyone disrupt the business just because we don't want to hurt feelings.

7) The idea of a courtroom is ludicrous. Seriously. It's a private business. What on earth do you think the odds are that any business at all, anywhere, is going to let some third party come in, hear all our private information and then render a binding decision that may negatively impact the business? There is one and only one time that would occur, and that would be legally binding arbitration as set forth in our Terms & Conditions. Short of a very serious dispute that required us to resort to third-party arbitration, this is not an option. Furthermore, in a case that would go to arbitration, a disinterested and professional third-party who has confidentiality agreements in place is the one who decides. It is NOT someone "elected" by the forum members.

8) Ban evasion is serious. It means you have absolutely no respect for our rules, and it only reinforces the fact that we were right to ban/suspend you in the first place. It reduces your chances for a reversal to zero. It also drastically reduces the chances that the staff will want to sit down and talk to you. You have email options available to contact the reps with any questions you have about actions on the forums. I would suggest you make use of them.

9) We respect the privacy of our members. Just as we don't publish your personal email address or purchase information, we also don't embarass our members by publicizing the mistakes they have made. Discipline against a member of the forum, or a player in the game, is private between Evony and that person. We don't really care that you are his bestest friend and want to know really really badly. We won't be conned into telling you. We won't be threatened into telling you. We won't be coerced into telling you. If you aren't the one who was infracted/banned, then it is none of your business. If your friend wants you to know what happened, I'm sure he/she will get hold of you somehow and tell you.

10) I understand that this is the internet, but do all of you understand that what happens on the internet has consequences in the real world? If you hack into the Pentagon's computers, you are gonna get a visit from the FBI. If you cyber-stalk someone, you are going to be arrested. If you post obscene material on your facebook page, you may lose out on jobs because a prospective employer googled you. I can't stress this enough: WHAT YOU DO HERE ON THE INTERNET HAS REAL WORLD CONSEQUENCES. Hand in hand with that goes: YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS.

If you want to cause trouble on the internet, accept the fact that there is going to be some fallout from that and it may well touch you in RL. With some luck, all that happens is that you are no longer welcome on one of the billions and billions of websites out there. If that's all that happens, consider yourself lucky and move on. Find another site.