Dallas 40 - Admin Abuse

[anticreativity 0]

Not sure whether this should go in the Cheating thread or Server thread but I figure it's cheating so it'll go here. A little before 7am EST on the Dallas 40 server, a friend and I caught wind of a truck (ural) and decided to take it as our own. After tracking it down and waiting for the occupants to be distracted, we made our move. We jumped into the truck and took off with our new found loot. Sadly, as soon as we did this the server went down. The admin restarted the server, got into position, and promptly took back the truck after killing my partner and I and taking our belongings. Surely this qualifies as abuse on the part of the admin and I hope something can be done about it as it is unfair to those who play the game legitimately to be subject to admin abuse in such a player vs player oriented game. Thank you.

P.S. I realize I am new to this community (I made this account strictly for this post) but I hope that fact will not discredit my story.

[mrsherenai 64]

In fact only providing no evidence on this case will discredit your story. I mean you dont know if it was the admin or just bad luck.

[anticreativity 0]

I have no evidence as I didn't think to take a screenshot or any other form. I did make a post on Reddit, however, where the admin admitted that the "server was purposely crashed" in order to get the truck back.

http://www.reddit.com/r/dayz/comments/uxr2o/dallas_40_admin_abuse/\

Edit: The reddit thread has since been updated with more information from those involved. If you read the thread you can see the admission of bringing down the server as well as an inconsistent story (first they say they took down the server intentionally, then they say it was a coincidence) with pretend facts about how my friend and I were "server hopping" or "hacking without actually hacking". I can assure you that I haven't "hacked" in any way, nor have I "server hopped" and I hope there is somehow a way to verify this. The Dallas 40 staff seem to only be interested in drowning out my complaint while covering the actual incident up with make-believe stories in order to avoid taking responsibility for their blatant misuse of admin powers.

[adell83085 0]

First, I would like to introduce myself. I am n00bsos, and help run Dallas 40. I work nights, so if this is in poor grammar or confusing I'll check back to make sure I fix it when I wake up tonight and get more coffee in me.

Just to respond on behalf of the folks running Dallas 40 we did not take the server down this morning. I do not have access to the logs at the moment, but when I am able to get them I will look over them very thoroughly to ensure again the server crash (or restart) was not initiated intentionally to kick you from the server. Your initial post made it seem as if you were banned from the server intentionally. Putting everything together (i.e. you not being able to see the server when you lost connection) leads me to believe this was a server restart in Dallas not conducted by an 'admin'. Those restarts will cause the server to appear offline for a moment as they are actual hard restarts.

I will apologize for getting a bit flustered with you as noone enjoys being called a cheater. I have chatted with the folks that were on this morning (there were 5-6), and they've explained the situation to me. I have your side of this as well, and have had time to step back from this situation and consider both sides. From what you stated below (the server crashing/restarting as soon as you highjacked the truck and being restarted by the admins) appears to be true. However, the server crashing/restarting caused it to need a restart/another restart. I don't know how savvy you are with servers, computers, etc, but the server crashed/restarted when you were initially booted. When the folks logged back in they did not see zombie spawns or loot spawns for quite some time. They restarted the server, and were under the impression the server was intentionally crashed by someone not the folks in Dallas that we rent from. It was locked for a short period of time to try and figure out what the hell happened because like any admin of any server ever if you sense there was a serious threat that caused damage you want to make sure the issue is remedied and things are back to normal before allowing users back in only for more problems to arise.

We have never had anyone complain, and we've had a decent amount of hackers/cheaters try to play on our server that have been taken care of through the proper means.

Whatever the case may be I can promise you that Gilboa and I are out to take care of that server as if it were our own child. We are avid gamers, and dislike cheaters just as much as everyone else. I apologize that you feel you were wronged. I can't go into the server and spawn you vehicles and weapons or I would try to make it up to you. At the end of the day it was a misunderstanding, no one was trying to cheat you, and it is a game in it's Alpha testing phase we are all learning as it develops into the beast it has become. I absolutely welcome you to chat with me through here or on private message on the situation, and of course report any cheating conducted on Dallas 40 to myself or Gilboa.

[VonSnoe 0]

"RattSplat[TAR] GOA.Novak.M -12 poäng 3 timmar sen

Gen.Novak.M here. Admin of the TeamSpeak server, and Dallas 40. You entered our TS3 Server to (steal) the truck. You tricked us into letting you roll with us, after we found out your plan we killed you. Then your friend tried to kill us. Shortly after we took off in the truck the server was purposely crashed. We have locked the server now."

That part seems like an admin admitting to server abuse... I got screenshot of it also incase he thinks to edit his reddit post.

Since RattSplat has decided to delete his reddit post where he admits to server abuse. I'm guessing his reason for doing this is because it contradicts the version Adell wants to give. So here is the screenshot of his post.

http://imgur.com/wXfq0

[Tempnaut 1]

Prefacing this with: I wasn't there.

In response to the quote VonSnoe provided, this response was provided shortly after in the same reddit thread:

[–]adell83085 -12 points 3 hours ago*

[...]

Edit: I see the confusion here....the server was purposely crashed - this was not done by us. He was stating it went down, but not due to us taking it down. It was locked to try and figure out what the hell was going on.

[tehkaiser (DayZ) 0]

Based on the quote from the reddit thread, where the admin blatantly admitted to shutting down the server on purpose after being backstabbed, I'd say this deserves punishment. Another admin coming in and try to excuse it away is really pretty BS. It's obvious these guys were mad because someone got the better of them, and they didn't want to face the DayZ repercussions and abused the fact that they were hosting the server and had the power to reverse any damage done.

[attachment=754]

[anticreativity 0]

First' date=' I would like to introduce myself. I am n00bsos, and help run Dallas 40. I work nights, so if this is in poor grammar or confusing I'll check back to make sure I fix it when I wake up tonight and get more coffee in me.

Just to respond on behalf of the folks running Dallas 40 we did not take the server down this morning. I do not have access to the logs at the moment, but when I am able to get them I will look over them very thoroughly to ensure again the server crash (or restart) was not initiated intentionally to kick you from the server. Your initial post made it seem as if you were banned from the server intentionally. Putting everything together (i.e. you not being able to see the server when you lost connection) leads me to believe this was a server restart in Dallas not conducted by an 'admin'. Those restarts will cause the server to appear offline for a moment as they are actual hard restarts.

I will apologize for getting a bit flustered with you as noone enjoys being called a cheater. I have chatted with the folks that were on this morning (there were 5-6), and they've explained the situation to me. I have your side of this as well, and have had time to step back from this situation and consider both sides. From what you stated below (the server crashing/restarting as soon as you highjacked the truck and being restarted by the admins) appears to be true. However, the server crashing/restarting caused it to need a restart/another restart. I don't know how savvy you are with servers, computers, etc, but the server crashed/restarted when you were initially booted. When the folks logged back in they did not see zombie spawns or loot spawns for quite some time. They restarted the server, and were under the impression the server was intentionally crashed by someone not the folks in Dallas that we rent from. It was locked for a short period of time to try and figure out what the hell happened because like any admin of any server ever if you sense there was a serious threat that caused damage you want to make sure the issue is remedied and things are back to normal before allowing users back in only for more problems to arise.

We have never had anyone complain, and we've had a decent amount of hackers/cheaters try to play on our server that have been taken care of through the proper means.

Whatever the case may be I can promise you that Gilboa and I are out to take care of that server as if it were our own child. We are avid gamers, and dislike cheaters just as much as everyone else. I apologize that you feel you were wronged. I can't go into the server and spawn you vehicles and weapons or I would try to make it up to you. At the end of the day it was a misunderstanding, no one was trying to cheat you, and it is a game in it's Alpha testing phase we are all learning as it develops into the beast it has become. I absolutely welcome you to chat with me through here or on private message on the situation, and of course report any cheating conducted on Dallas 40 to myself or Gilboa.

[/quote']

I'm not calling you a cheater or blaming you for anything as you were not there and it is only natural to side with your friends (although you were very rude and quite confusing with your accusations, mister!). I am, however, calling "Novak" a cheater as he very blatantly restarted the server as soon as we had taken the truck and then used this restart not only to reclaim the truck but to kill us and loot our bodies. The only "evidence" I have (besides common sense and probability) is of my mole in the Teamspeak server who claims that Novak and one of his clan members frequently mentioned "saving" in case "someone jacks the truck". I know this is a bold statement and I hope it can be proven by server logs if it comes down to that. Obviously their plan was to use their admin powers if they ever got outsmarted or otherwise punished by the game's harsh realities, and they went through with it.

[adell83085 0]

As I stated before, if it comes out that any errant activity was conducted purposely to benefit a moderator (i.e. abuse of power via rebooting the server), that moderator will be removed as such, and all passwords will be changed. It doesn't change the fact of what happened, nor does it help, but it is how this will be handled. I was rude in my responses on reddit because of the knee jerk reaction we all had, but shit happens I am not going to try and edit posts to make myself look good I will stand by my statements and absolutely admit when I am wrong though. I would like to say in a moment of clarity after waking up this evening we all enjoy a game and have a common ground. If you choose to play on Dallas 40 awesome, and if not, that's okay too. You see someone cheating REPORT IT. I wish I were there to see what happened first hand, but I wasn't. I know not 8 hours earlier than this incident there was a guy on the server using mortars, and he was reported (let me know if that is in the game, and I'll redact that statement). I'm relatively new to renting servers, and PC gaming, but have worked with computers, servers, etc for the past 9 years, so I can still understand if the server crashed or had its routine 6 hour restart how it could be seen as admin abuse. I had that same server restart on me the other day after looting a coyote backpack, and I lost it. Again, things happen it sucks, but its a video game. And don't we love it because of the fact that a bug or misstep can cause us to have to start over on the beach??

[anticreativity 0]

Well I sure do hope it comes out because as it is, your admin abused his abilities to gain an advantage. An advantage which ended up with him and his friends not only getting back what we (fairly) stole, but also the loot on our bodies which we had been amassing for days before this incident. Forgive me if I don't think a vague apology is enough. I know "things happen" but when those "things" are controlled directly by an admin and "happen" at their discretion, that phrase becomes meaningless. I think the only reason I still care about this issue (besides the incredible loot we lost) was the reaction of you and your team after I brought it up with the community. Had you apologized and agreed to look into the incident, it would be one thing. But instead you and your dudes were rude and defensive, even enough to the point of blatantly lying about what had happened and accusing me and my dudes of less-than-tolerable behavior. Not cool, brolio.

[tg marksman x 0]

There is no need to lock a server after a restart for "testing" or ensuring that the server is behaving properly. I read these sort of responses all day, I run/admin/pay for a server too. The only, and I mean only time we have locked a server was after I booted a hacker sot hat he couldn't get back in whilst I banned him through Rcon.

Sometimes servers need to be restarted twice in quick succession (because on the first restart tents and vehicles didn't spawn in), other than that I fail to see why a standard 25 or 50 slot server need to "test" itself after a restart when the other 205 servers running the same software don't.

My thoughts:

Your admin clearly cracked the shits. He used his power (knowing that the truck would return to it's last saved position) to restart the server, then lock it so no-one else could get in, and then (after moving himself into a better position) let the OP and his mate spawn in to get shot.

[adell83085 0]

Well I sure do hope it comes out because as it is' date=' your admin abused his abilities to gain an advantage. An advantage which ended up with him and his friends not only getting back what we (fairly) stole, but also the loot on our bodies which we had been amassing for days before this incident. Forgive me if I don't think a vague apology is enough. I know "things happen" but when those "things" are controlled directly by an admin and "happen" at their discretion, that phrase becomes meaningless. I think the only reason I still care about this issue (besides the incredible loot we lost) was the reaction of you and your team after I brought it up with the community. Had you apologized and agreed to look into the incident, it would be one thing. But instead you and your dudes were rude and defensive, even enough to the point of blatantly lying about what had happened and accusing me and my dudes of less-than-tolerable behavior. Not cool, brolio.

[/quote']

May I recommend renting your own server, and taking care of everything yourself. This solution will allow you to go and set everything the way you want, and make sure no one hoses you out of a vehicle on a video game. It's not that expensive, and there are few things you have to do to maintenance it. I might also suggest not visiting reddit any more if you're bothered by rude defensive individuals. They are all over that site, and I don't want you to feel you're being mistreated on the internet. Thank you, and have a nice day.

[anticreativity 0]

Your condescension is unnecessary and if you think I'm annoyed about having the vehicle stolen, you've missed the point of this entire thread. Your guy used his admin position to not only revert back to before we stole the truck, but then killed us and looted our bodies. Let me reiterate in this sentence that the problem was the abuse of power. I don't need to set up my own server as there are plenty of servers out there that are run by mature individuals who don't abuse their power. Stop avoiding the issue and changing the subject. Grow up and accept responsibility for the fact that not only did the abuse happen, but you then lied about it. Everyone knows you're a liar, even other server admins have weighed in and called you out on your bullshit. So, grow up, adopt some adult principles, and fuck off. Thanks.

[8bitplaya 0]

This kinda thing is becoming all too common. It's sad, but unless the individual wronged has the proper means available to document a situation they have no idea is coming, then it seems the battle is lost.

Combine that with the fact that not every player wants to take the time to combat this sort of thing, that every player may not be savvy enough to know that they have been cheated, or that every player may not even know these forums exist, and you can see how most of the times abuse like this won't even be reported, much less documented.

It's funny how everytime I've run into a "server crash" it's when I'm taking on a group of players, usually with clan tags, at the nw airfield. Even if I'm not directly involved in the "server crash" it always seems that some drama ends up going on in chat between parties after the "accidents".

I've been kicked by admins for killing clan members, I've had my position announced by a hacking player in chat, that warned an admin of my wereabouts, after the admin announced his position and asked "not to get shot" and the admin defended him along with most of the players on the server, until another player who recognized the player who was hacking as having been banned previously (from the game), backed me up.

This is just one example of a known cheater and a server admin who are obviously cheating. How many other players can see my characters location, who aren't morons, and who know how to not make this kinda thing obvious?

I've been carefully hidden in bushes with ghillie suits practically in the middle of nowhere and have had players just run up to me and shoot me.

This game is quickly going to the birds.

[VonSnoe 0]

Since RattSplat has decided to delete his reddit post where he admits to server abuse. I'm guessing his reason for doing this is because it contradicts the version Adell wants to give. So here is the screenshot of his post.

http://imgur.com/wXfq0

[hazedaze 89]

I only played dayZ 2 weeks due to these issues. last time I found a decent server (at least it was decent for a little while).. then admin formed up a massive clan bcoz there were other clans starting to join this server regularly but server was still fine you know. 3-4 guys camping on airfield all day and I dont care about it.

anyway, the day vehicles enabled on server I was there. there were 5 restarts in a hour. the first was legit they warned us from console "restart in 5 minutes to enable vehicles".. when server was back, we played like 20 minutes. everyone was repairing or finding a car, we all communicating thru sidechat like happy kids etc. suddenly ppl started to hear chopper sounds and asking "whos chopper is that whos chopper?".. restart came in without a warning. then there were 2 choppers flying. ppl went crazy talking in side chat etc asking "did u see a chopper there? I got one top of my head" after some other restarts that day, we eventually learned admin and his clan get all those choppers. then days after vehicles enabled, some guy from admin clan tells in chat " I have 5 cars, 1 quadbike, 1 chopper :p" .. I mean how gay is this? I simply left that server and didnt played dayz since. Coz the only way to play this mod right now is become a douche bag server admin and form up a team of knuckleheadz like them. I had all the screenshots, vids of what happen but I just decided to delete them and I know what would happen If I try to say something or show some proof about things: simply nothing. Im only 1 guy and they have 10ppl and some other ppl kissing their asses regularly.

[anticreativity 0]

Yeah, haze, it sucks. I felt outgunned at first but plenty of people have posted on reddit and here backing me up and corroborating my evidence. Now the Dallas 40 guys' stance has changed from "We didn't do it, you're a liar and a cheater" to "so what if we did it, nothing's going to happen." And they're right.

[dale0404 16]

Yeah' date=' haze, it sucks. I felt outgunned at first but plenty of people have posted on reddit and here backing me up and corroborating my evidence. Now the Dallas 40 guys' stance has changed from "We didn't do it, you're a liar and a cheater" to "so what if we did it, nothing's going to happen." And they're right.

[/quote']

If this is true and nothing happens by the way of punishment then this sucks tbh.

Just because you admin, run and pay for a server does not give you a right to ruin other peoples experience of the game. Restarting / locking a server to meet your own means is down right bollox. Dont bother paying for next months rent, I hope people boycott your server and if they do you deserve it.

Obviously if this isnt true then the above statements are retracted. But I doubt I will have to do that...

[smthistle 57]

novak is a scrub killed him and his noob teammates many times and all they do is server restart. idc i just keep killing them again sometimes LOL!

---

and i think i got banned for "hacking" too on their server after pwning them too many times XD just blamed me for cheating its pretty lame but dallas 40 is disgusting typical admin abusing fags taht cant lose.

[Yak 2]

Here is my take on this. Yes, it's good have proof. However, when you are playing a game not everyone has FRAPS running etc. Let's say I do believe the poster and I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Like all PVP games people get your butt hurt and pissy when they lose. It is too much of a conquincidence that the server restarted at the exact same time they got the loot. I have played other hosted games where admin get's easily butt hurt and bans you etc. People easily abuse the power given to them. I hate the fact that this game doesn't have an official Arma server that everyone logs into. Hopefully that will come in the future with the stand alone game. Really the guy has nothing to lose by posting it and highly doubtful they would just make up a story. Most admin's of servers are assholes on a power trip. Let's get over this and move on!

[smthistle 57]

but we cant move on, this thread has a very heavy statement that is never justified, its like corrupt cops never getting a internal affairs case made in court. its pretty disgusting and im pretty sure this is proof. http://i.imgur.com/wXfq0.png

---

where general novak admits the action, but deltes it later abut this is a SS of the thread before he deleted it. now how would that be false. says it all right there when u actually look and its deleted.

---

*deletes and sorry if i didint use punctuation right to all the grammar police with no better insults to backup their shitty one.

[#BASEDGOD 27]

What a scrub player.

LOL

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

He got tricked and he can't handle it so he has to crash the server.

This is textbook butthurt behavior. To whomever stole the truck, you are a fucking hero.

[lille_bingo-mannen 10]

Let's get over this and move on!

Indeed. Admins like these should seriously stop playing this way (cheating) and play like the way it is meant to be played - to have fun!

[anticreativity 0]

What a scrub player.

LOL

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

He got tricked and he can't handle it so he has to crash the server.

This is textbook butthurt behavior. To whomever stole the truck' date=' you are a fucking hero.

[/quote']

Haha, thanks. What's funny is that my friend infiltrated their clan and we ended up stealing their truck and clearing out their tents anyway. They were offline when we did it, so they couldn't pull the same trick this time, lol.

[#BASEDGOD 27]

What a scrub player.

LOL

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

He got tricked and he can't handle it so he has to crash the server.

This is textbook butthurt behavior. To whomever stole the truck' date=' you are a fucking hero.

[/quote']

Haha, thanks. What's funny is that my friend infiltrated their clan and we ended up stealing their truck and clearing out their tents anyway. They were offline when we did it, so they couldn't pull the same trick this time, lol.

Serves them right. Crybabies only deserve the bullet exiting your barrel.

I'd toss you some STANAG if we played together. Good work.