Do you know how long I've been struggling to keep up and play this game that turns out to have been entirely unfair? If you do, please tell me, because I have no idea how much of my career has been spent, wasted trying to combat those who aren't even playing by the same ruleset as I. How many NationStates communities have been ruined by at the hands of this widespread cheating? How many times have I been told to try harder and to adapt to this game while you didn't even have the decency to play this game fairly?
Those of you responsible for this or knowingly benefited from this tool, I want you know that I believe you to be dirty rotten cheaters and this sin is unforgivable.
And I already know how the skilled and clever politicians throughout the invader world are going to paint this. You're going to say that this was just a few rotten apples and that the rest of you are upstanding gameplay citizens. Bullshit. How many of you knew about the true nature of the tool known as Predator or the circumstances in which it was supported and how long did you know? How many of you had suspicions, but never looked into it nor reported it?
The majority, if not all, of the major invader organizations have used this tool or have members that have used this tool, or have been a part of operations that have utilized this tool. You all have worked with these individuals. You've crafted alliances with the perpetrators and you've supported their occupations. Some of you are already looking to take in those who are going to be left behind by the soon to be deleted raiders. You're going to put all of the blame on those like Cora and look to sweep this under the rug. If you had an ounce of respect for those of us deprived of a fair NationStates experience you should relinquish ties with these unapologetic cheaters and treat them like the pariahs they should be. I don't think any of you who call yourselves raiders or independents are brave enough to do the right thing and punish the TBR/DEN community for their crimes.
Moderation is probably going to let many of you who have directly used Predator off the hook too. There's just too many of you. You're too big to be punished. Whether you've accessed Predator or have been a part of operations triggered by Predator, you've benefited from this cheating. It was staggeringly widespread and long-used. All of invaderdom has benefited from Predator. You either benefited from operations that utilized predator, or assisted those that used it to destroy regions. You've had cheaters supporting your own occupations. You've benefited from the failing defender morale that is directly linked to this game-breaking program. Your unfair and judgmental propaganda against those like me is directly built on gains your side has made on the backs of Halcones and his lackeys.
To Cora, you're a goddamn coward. After all this time holding me as a standard of what a gameplayer should be, you're not even going to give me the dignity of playing a more fair game with you. You'd rather be deleted than to give up your unfair advantages. You don't respect me as a fellow gameplayer and you never did. You're not even man enough to apologize for robbing me of a fair playing experience over the past months/years.
This showcases a sickness that is evident in the invader world. You've historically have ruined the experience of other NS players in the pursuit of a "victory" in this game. The desire to be a "winner" in today's gameplay has gotten to be so bad, that you're willing to shed all prior morality to achieve it. Breaking the site rules, playing alongside abhorrent and sometimes DOS players, abandoning prior commitments to not partake in region destroying / griefing, and choosing to work with those do these things while claiming that you represent a different set of values.
The natives and defenders of Nationstates have been crying foul for quite a sustained period of time. We should be fully vindicated, but we're going to be deprived of that. Too many invaders have participated, whether knowingly or unknowingly, in this plot to subvert the rules. So many that the mods are going to be forced to be lenient. There's going to be no widespread punishment on those who invade, even though you get continually caught cheating. This isn't like the LKE's misfortune where one member cheated on their behalf without their notice. People knew what was going on.
Invader mouthpieces, in a scramble to protect their image, aren't even going to take a minute to recognize those of us who have been struggling to compete against this. The invaders and the mods are just going to ask the natives and defenders to move along as if though nothing happened. Thousands of regions invaded. Many communities destroyed. Hundreds of hours spent playing against those who weren't even playing by the same rule set. We're not going to get any of that back. No regions will be magically unruined and no time can be given back. The most we're going to get is a "sorry, not sorry".
I don’t really know how to finish this post, so I guess I’ll just congratulate everyone that made it this far. At least you’re trying to understand. Before you work on your responses I’ll say a few more things:
- I know that not all of you have directly participated in this cheating. I also know that there are some brave players that have acted against the cheaters or rallied against the use of Predator. You have my respect.
- I know that some of you cheated without ever really knowing it. While I feel sorry that you potentially face moderator action because someone took advantage of your trust, don’t expect me to view you as a victim. You still cheated.
- The big occupations. I believe that Predator was used mostly for small operations. You set good triggers and probably earned large occupation invasions fairly. Just know that every small invasion facilitated by Predator could, and has, lead to an occupation. The constant flood of these raids makes it all the harder to spot when an occupation is about to begin and it dissuaded defenders from actively engaging in update activities.
You have caused many chuckles with that statement. I believe I may actually have to sig that.
