Summary: Block the cheater from accessing the server for the duration of the ban, whether through IP banning or console banning (utilizing MAC address).
More information:
First of all, cheaters suck. We can all agree on that: As you know, The Hive Network has an incredibly robust and efficient report system through its discord server. This allows admins to quickly hanlde cheaters and rules breakers. However, there is a fundamental flaw in this handling system being that The Hive does not implement an access block, but instead Hive ban cheaters by their Xbox gamertags. As such, cheaters can easily register new Xbox gamertags to bypass the ban and get back on the server as if nothing ever happened.
It would only be fair and just if the cheaters were not able to access to server at all; in essence: blocking that device from accessing the server.
I would like to mention a few points worth noting regarding the process of creating an alt to bypass a ban:
- It is ban evasion:
- Staff wont make any progress if cheaters can easily rejoin by making an account.
- It doesn’t discourage cheating since cheaters even if banned can basically walk away unpunished.
- All the staffs work goes down the drain if ban evading isn’t a punishable offense.
- Closet cheaters and blatant hackers face no consequences since new alts are so easily accessible.
- It’s different when they’re flying around or blatantly toggling, but when someone is closet cheating and you finally get enough proof to ban them they can just join on an alt and they will be assumed to be clean. This makes no sense.
- If they have cheats installed nothing stops them from just cheating again, but the fact that anyone can make an alt and be assumed innocent is so perplexing and just defeats the purpose of banning them in the first place.
- We are grateful when staff spend hours reviewing evidence of a cheater then they finally ban him but then when the cheater simply rejoins on an alt, all that work meant nothing.
- A new alt can be obtained in less than 5 minutes.
- Such easy bypass of a ban ruins the experience for the community who is trying to enjoy the game.
The problem persist: If they’re allowed to evade what good does banning do?
Listen to us: We work hard gathering evidence of such cheaters and providing it to authority in an effort to make the server a more fun place for everyone to enjoy fair gameplay. By allowing cheaters to come back under different accounts to cheat as they please, it not only wastes our time but causes us to feel like our efforts are in vain, as well as ruining our own overall experience on the server and in the community.
Ban evading defeats the purpose of such ban. It not only bring cheaters right back online but also undermine the authority of our hardworking staff as well as the integrity of a rules-abiding server. Therefore, IP or MAC address banning seems to be the viable option, given that it is simultaneously executed with other network address and device identifying method.
There might be argument that such provision of staff’s handling of cheaters might be difficult to implement, however, the fact remains that it will be way better and more efficient for the server in the long run. The Hive Network already has the ability to collect data like IP, username, and MAC address; therefore, such implementation of access-blocking is perfectly viable and within reach.
I don’t know anything about this kind of banning