More Game Ethics: Mod-Abandoned Closed-Setup Games

[AniX]

Is it wrong? Yes it is and nobody should ever do it.

Should it be wrong in the sense mith eats your first born if you are caught doing it? Absolutely not.

I have always been an advocate of allowing anything as scum that isn't outright cheating, which this is not. Outright cheating would be something where you clearly gain an advantage, such hacking someone's name to get their role PM or what not. This is too risky and has little to no effect on a game (If a town is really stupid enough to relieve you of their accusations because you said "Hey, I acted similar in this mod-abandoned game that I claim to be cop in.", they have more problems than the fact you may be lying), in addition to the fact that at any point your credibility could be shot by a returning mod or any number of external factors.

Would I do it myself? No.

Would I advise someone to do it? Certainly not.

Should it be a banned mafia practice, as most of these Ethics threads usually evolve into a campaign for? I'm a mafia libertarian and advocate of laissez-faire on the part of the Ruling Elite. The less interference into mafia the "God rules" have, the happier I am. This doesn't strike me as something that is cheating, just bad sportspersonship.

[AniX]

Oh, its definitely unethical. Completely an asshole thing to do. Anyone who pulled it should immediately get punched in the face. This I agree with.

I just don't want this to evolve into what many ethics threads (Especially post-Stallinggate) seemingly (to me, anyway) do: An overall feeling that this activity should be moderated by mafia rules. That bans and suspensions from the site should result from the practice of this activity. That I cannot agree with. I do not want to open the can of worms that administrators and mods can punish for actions done in the past and outside of the game as they apply to things occurring in games and in the present.

[AniX]

well, the stallingchamp episode was one where he ruined multiple games beyond repair on separate occasions. that's something which really deserves intervention, but that was a very extreme example.

this is outside mafia rules, but it's reasonable to say it's within community rules, unspoken or no. people should know this is unethical without having to ask. that doesn't mean any breach should automatically incur punishment: i don't think any sort of action would be normally be required unless someone is repeatedly, knowingly and deliberately being antisocial. at that point that person is arguably not part of the community anyway.

I can agree to that. I invoked Stallingchamp only because there is a definite "9/11" nature to the way what might have been drummed up to a few bad seeds before him now has turned into many otherwise rational people calling for the end to all alts. of any kind and other such activities. I just don't want the call to be made to this become an official mafia rule of regulating what people do outside of a particular game of mafia.