Housing Ownership System Abuse

[Jojoya]

If GMs say it's not against the rules, it's probably not against the rules.

Launching a targeted harassment campaign on the forums, though, just might be against the rules. We will find out shortly.

I have yet to see anyone post a copy of a conversation with a GM where the GM states it's not against the rules. I've only seen copies of conversations where the GMs state that it's outside of their scope of responsibilities and express personal opinions using phrases like "I believe", which is not the same as "the development team has confirmed it's okay".

GMs are human and can make mistakes. Their knowledge extends only to what they are taught as part of their job training. When we've got posted rules on the official website stating otherwise, I'd rather see the development team issue an official statement stating that it is not against the rules than take a GM's word on a subject they admit is not part of their job..

You are correct, though. No use bringing a specific situation up in the forums because that is against the forums rules. Players are better off sticking to expressing their dissatisfaction with the general situation than going into names of characters and FCs. If they want to report what they believe is a violation of the rules, they need to do it through the proper channels (which does not include the forums). The forums are for suggestions and player discussion, not violation reports.

[Catstab]

I have yet to see anyone post a copy of a conversation with a GM where the GM states it's not against the rules.

While the OP doesn't post it, apparently a GM told them it was "not a violation of the system." Which would mean exactly that. I can't attest that they aren't paraphrasing, though.

The simple fact is that reporting to a GM is the only way to police other players. If a GM declines to take action and also declines to escalate the matter, it is not appropriate to then publicly complain about the supposed violation while naming the player involved.

PSA: The same is true when you suspect you have encountered a bot in game. Go to the support desk and report cheating - say you suspect third party programs, say why. Do not ever publicly declare in the in-game chat that you believe another player is a bot. This may possibly be determined to be defamation, which SE has been known to take action on.