gumba wrote on May 13
th, 2015 at 9:10pm:
They lose the access to the forums and get labeled Banned Cheater on forum profiles, yes.
But they also lose their playing account, including all associated playing accounts, and those accounts are still searchable in-game, via-PM, on factions lists, where they are publicly labeled "Banned Cheater" meaning that it lives on, as long the game lives on.
For instance when someone thinks, hey I wonder how my old lancemate Frank the Ferret in the FRR is doing? and then looks him up? it will still list Frank but it will also list that he is "Banned Cheater". So merc groups will have any busted cheaters listed publicly on their forums and in game musters.
Pretty big step away from the "never speak of cheating" rules they had and that Turbine still has.
See the difference from what you are suggesting is a win-win? You may think it's a hoot and start a new pilot on a new account, but you will have to drop cash (lots in MWO), build up pilot ranks (same), and all your old dropping buddies might not be keen to have you around anymore.
Russ Bullock owner and chief pilot of PGI is a terrible human being, barely passable coder, incompetent businessman, transparently dishonest PR man, but in spite of all those flaws he has Balls the size of watermelons, he just doesn't give a fuck, or thought to future consequences.
The fact that he has made a insane amount of money in the past three years even while his company has been publicly shamed and roasted by it's customer base for failing again and again practically guarantees he feels free to act like this.
Personally I don't know how I feel about the Public posting and shaming of cheaters, in MWO or DDO. But I am very interested in the process and how different kinds of companies handle it.
And PGI and Turbine are in the same field and have the same type of niche costumer base yet are so different, which makes it really interesting.
Cordo, what's the point? If you ban someone from the game, they are not going to feel any shame from having their former characters labeled "cheater" or any label you can come up with, like "dirty scumbag antichrist!" or "impotent loser from loserville!"
Oh, why not? you ask.
Because they've been banned.
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.