Re: PBEM Cheating, how to deal with it?

From: bryg@cup.hp.com (Bill Bryg)

Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 00:00:00 +0000

Jim Flanagan (flanag19@eos.net) wrote:
: I would like to start a discussion on how to deal with cheating in PBEM
: games. I have a specific problem in mind, but I would like to keep this
: discussion general in nature.

: Here is my problem in broad language: I am currently hosting a list of PBEM
: players, and it has been brought to my attention that a specific player is
: cheating. I'd just like to pose some questions, throw out some ideas, and
: get some feedback.

The first step should be to define, when you set up the game, what is
considered cheating.  Flying Buffalo does this for their PBM games, and
their definition would be a good starting point (if not definition).
IMHO, the following should probably be considered cheating:

Impersonating another player to the "administrator/referee".
	Sending in turns for another player without their knowledge/permission
	Finding and communicating with other players in an anonymous game.
	Breaking security of the program or other players' systems to gain
	    information, to sabotage, or for other gain.

The following should probably not be considered cheating:

Backstabbing, doublecrosses, etc.
	Lying to other players (but this will hurt the liar's reputation).
	Gaining external information about the game, typically from previous
	    games or from experienced players (unless this is a puzzle game).
	Taking advantage of "holes" in the rules or program (but you may
	    want to encourage reporting possible bugs).

The last should not be considered cheating from the standpoint of whether a
player should be dropped, because the player probably doesn't consider it
to be cheating, depending on how "gross" the hole is.  I have found
"interesting" features that were quickly fixed in early versions of
PBM/PBEM games, but at the time I found them, I would not consider using
those features to be cheating.  Instead, the features were unbalancing
for one side or the other, e.g. unbalancing for the defense in one case.

Other areas to consider include:

Pre-arranged alliances
	Cross-game vendettas

There are tougher to classify/diagnose.  Did those guys already plan to ally
when they joined, or did they quickly arrange afterward?  Did player A
attack B because B stabbed A in the last game, or is it just because B now
has a bad reputation.  Personally, I think these should be discouraged, but
enforcement is difficult.

Bill Bryg

References

PBEM Cheating, how to deal with it?
Jim Flanagan <flanag19@eos.net>
Thu, 14 Mar 1996 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

PBEM Cheating, how to deal with it?
Jim Flanagan <flanag19@eos.net>
Thu, 14 Mar 1996 00:00:00 +0000