FC Chest Looting

Recently our Free Company had a user who looted our FC chest and left. The GM response was less than helpful.

When first reported, I was told an investigation was started. When asked about policy, I was told nothing could be done about the items taken, despite the system having information about what was taken and when. When talking with a GM, I was told following an investigation it could be anything from a warning to suspension. Not termination, suspension.

Why do GMs not have the tools to correct this? It was even suggested in the report I post about the service here. Other MMORPGs have no problem dealing with griefing like this with impunity, so why is a top MMO giving a pass to players disrupting the time and effort of entire free companies, something against the user agreement?

SE needs to give its GMs tools and permissions to intervene in cases of FC chest looting, along with harsher penalties regarding the disruption of free companies in this manner.

Edit: This thread is not about trying to displace fault for the theft from myself, but for addressing game response after events like this happens. Systems should be in place to provide more aid those who are victims of this action, and the consequences for doing it are too lenient for how many people you can effectively harm with it. If your response is focused entirely on preventative action, then it ignores the second half of that statement and one of the primary purposes of the thread.

I don't think GMs can intervene considering it's technically you guy's fault for not watching the permissions you have on your ranks.

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Originally Posted by Anethum

Why do GMs not have the tools to correct this? It was even suggested in the report I post about the service here. Other MMORPGs have no problem dealing with griefing like this with impunity, so why is a top MMO giving a pass to players disrupting the time and effort of entire free companies, something against the user agreement?

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I'm sure they do have the tools to correct it. The reason they're not correcting it isn't ability or inability to do so. It's that the onus is on the Free Company master to set the ranks properly and invite people they trust into the ranks with more and more permissions. If your FC master set the base rank to have full access and just invites whoever to the FC, then the blame lies squarely on them.

That doesn't change that it's disruption and griefing.

These tools are considered required in other games, and to deny them along with harsher penalties is to leave major portions of your userbase open to griefing of this nature.

They are aware that tools like this are important, as they included instructions on how to request them in the policy response.

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Originally Posted by Anethum

why is a top MMO giving a pass to players disrupting the time and effort of entire free companies, something against the user agreement?

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They aren't necessarily giving them a pass. They don't return the items to you, but that doesn't mean that the thief goes unscathed. The GM's simply aren't allowed to tell you whether or not the player was punished because of their privacy policy.

Having the FC permissions set up incorrectly is ultimately the fault of the FC leadership.

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Originally Posted by Ashkendor

They aren't necessarily giving them a pass. They don't return the items to you, but that doesn't mean that the thief goes unscathed.

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Originally Posted by Anethum

When talking with a GM, I was told following an investigation it could be anything from a warning to suspension. Not termination, suspension.

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Again, it's still disruption and griefing.

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Originally Posted by Anethum

That doesn't change that it's disruption and griefing.

These tools are considered required in other games, and to deny them along with harsher penalties is to leave major portions of your userbase open to griefing of this nature.

They are aware that tools like this are important, as they included instructions on how to request them in the policy response.

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However, you FC leader give the person the tools to take from your chest freely.
You can't fault SE if you allow free access to newcomers

No, but I can request these services be added to the game, and state that consequences for these actions are not severe enough for the effect done to other users and the scale at which is happens. And this person was not a newcomer. They had been in our FC well beyond an introductory period.

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Originally Posted by Anethum

Again, it's still disruption and griefing.

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It is neither of these things. Your FC Master set the permissions that explicitly allowed them to loot the chest. SE cannot (or should not, imo) intervene based on what you claim you or your FC Masters intentions were. That's exactly why they have permissions in the first place. If this former member had permission to loot the chest, then they effectively (jointly, with anyone else who has access) owned all items they had access to. How could it be griefing to remove items you own?

Just so you're aware, the FC in question had a very publicly known set of rules governing the FC chest: take only if you are going to put to personal use (e.g. melding onto your own gear, planting in your own garden). The culprit clearly did not fit these requirements and so was not qualified to take them, which means that what he did constitutes theft, conversion of stolen property, fraud, and most importantly a breach of duty and of the confidence everyone else in FC had in him. All of these would be legally punishable offenses in the real world, and yes, even oral informal agreements such as these are considered valid and enforceable contracts. OP is suggesting that GMs have the power to judge and penalize griefers in situations like these.

Public property is meant to be used by those who need it, not abused by those with malicious intent. Instead of victim-shaming, perhaps the focus should return to OP's original question as it was intended.