In terms of powers players have, I think the administration has taken the right step in allowing independent players a chance to play on the same ground as factions, even if some of these factions are committed to actions that run against what canon would suggest. This has ruffled a few feathers among the 'old guard', but in the end it works best for the server. I also believe that this is the first step toward the admins' policy of 'no preferential treatment' becoming inarguable.
In terms of sanctions, maybe a bit of interaction with the offender rather than concrete sentencing, and taking the high road in dealing with them is in order. Also, this is where an even hand is often the best solution to allegations of bias. I've seen 'veteran' players get away with much more in the presence of admins, than newcomers ever do in sanction reports
On sanction reports: I'm not sure the current method is 100% effective in eliminating possibilities of framing and bias. For instance, here's an example near and dear to my heart:
- A bomber and cruiser fight.
- The bomber takes damage and flees, but does not leave the system.
- The bomber pilot is chatty in the system, negatively so towards the cruiser.
- The cruiser pilot asks him to leave, perhaps insistently.
- The bomber pilot screens these communications and gets the cruiser tagged for OOC behavior.
The one punished is the one who did not make issue of the incident. Had the cruiser pilot taken screens of the encounter, the whole story would have been told. But this only creates a community of tattletales and half-truthers.
I can't think of a solution to this right now, aside from admins each looking inward and seeing if there is anything written between the lines of a report before meting out a sentence.
Aside from these little snags, everything is great. I like it here.
![[Image: DTdrqPU.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/DTdrqPU.gif)