[plamzi]

I believe in freedom of speech wholeheartedly, but you should probably read up on what freedom of speech actually is.

You cannot seriously believe that a MUD is anything like a country, or that bug abusers are anything like political prisoners, or that bug abuse is in any way similar to a basic human right. That's absurd.

Or, do you run your game as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected body of representatives, an independent judiciary, and with ordinary players being able to vote you out of power every election term? If so, then your maximum term in office has surely expired by now, so if you don't hand over your game to another elected admin, surely you must see yourself as a tyrant suppressing the political freedoms of your 'citizens'.

I don't know how anyone can confuse 'free speech' with being able to do whatever they like (or whatever is 'possible' to do) in an online game. Even by the standards of a very false equivalency with real life law, free speech does not entitle anyone to perform actions that are defined as unlawful. Those actions (e. g. murder) are all very possible, yet many are sanctioned severely in order for people to be able to live peacefully together in an egalitarian way. That is because you can't have 'freedom' at the expense of others. If you do, then that's jungle law, not a democracy.

The whole freedom of speech argument is a poor concoction of tech-savvy players whose only interest in a game is to find some unintended mechanic to exploit and then strut their advantage over others who are just as smart and dedicated, but are actually looking to immerse themselves in a game rather than reverse-engineer its flaws. I reserve the right to deny such players service after repeated offenses, and I strongly believe this improves the health of my game's community.

If you believe otherwise, you are free to do so. And the 2-3 players I've banned over the last several years can exercise their free speech all they want--just not in my game.