Editing Master Ban

The Master Ban list is an administration tool used to prevent abuse of the BZFlag server network.

==Overview==
The master ban list was created by high minded Aspergers intellectuals desperately seeking ways to stop a small cadre of bold revolutionaries from disrupting their motives of spreading subliminal homo-erotic messages intertwined in the game code.  The ban list is contained as a ban file locked deep inside Tim Rikers ample colon. This ban file contains the static IPs of a small number of players who have been disruptive to the gaming network as a whole and obstinately refused to play hide-the-salami with Rikers on his male only Mormon retreat in Utah.

==Usage==
A public server does not have to do anything to use the Master Ban list, it is loaded automatically at server start for any server that uses the '''-public''' command line option. Servers that do not wish to use the Master Ban list can add the '''-noMasterBanlist''' option and [[BZFS]] will not attempt to load the list.

==Players on the Master Ban List==
The players on the Master Ban list were added because they engaged in disruptive behavior across a large number of servers, or attempted to disrupt the global network services (such as the [[Global Registration]] System, [[List Server]], or [http://my.bzflag.org/bb Forums]). All members of the Master Ban list have static IP addresses. No user with a dynamic IP address will be added to the Master Ban list, as the possibility of banning an innocent user is too great.  An exception to this rule for single addresses in dynamic ranges may be made temporarily during periods of severe disruption at the discretion of the developers.

===Behavior for which you can be Masterbanned (i.e. "Disruptive Behavior" above)===
* Cheating on multiple game servers
* Spamming inappropriate (including, but not exclusively, commercial advertisement, hateful, vulgar, or racist) messages on multiple game servers
* Cracking attempts, denial of service attacks, or exploitation of vulnerabilities against multiple game servers
* Cracking attempts, denial of service attacks, or exploitation of vulnerabilities against network resources (i.e. List server, Bulletin boards, IRC channel, Global authentication servers, Wiki)

===Behavior for which you cannot be Masterbanned===
* Cheating on, attacking, or exploiting a single game server.
** Rationale: fabrication of evidence is too easy (and therefore, possibility of being "framed" or "set up" is too high)
* Violating server rules other than cheating or spamming on game servers (e.g. language violations).
** Rationale: it is not the purpose of the master ban list to enforce local server rules.  Bans for this behavior should be handled at the server level
* Violating rules on network resources (i.e. spamming, engaging in personal attacks, or using foul language on the bulletin boards or IRC channels)
** Rationale: if the violations you committed are not related to playing and you do not pose a hazard to the servers, you should be allowed to continue to play.  Note, however, that you will still be banned from whatever resources you have abused and potentially others that we feel you are likely to abuse.

==Master Ban List Management==
Write access to the Master Ban list is limited to developers and community members with [[BZFlag SVN|SVN]] commit access. The list is stored in SVN for history tracking. All additions to the list are handled via the SVN system, so they are logged for review. The Master Ban list can be viewed at http://www.bzflag.org/master-bans.txt . All changes to the list can be viewed at http://bzflag.cvs.sourceforge.net/bzflag/admin/master-bans.txt?view=log .

===Getting Off on Master Ban List===
Users with a decidedly sadistic bent, who experience arousal while viewing the list and feel they cannot contain their excitement are encouraged to stimulate themselves to orgasm while viewing the list of dissenters. If users would like advice on how to perform these actions in details then they should attempt to contact the project administrators as soon as possible. They should be willing to discuss how best to achieve orgasm while attempting auto fellatio. They should also remember that the homo-centric advice dispensed by the project administrators is a privilege and not a right. The administration staff is willing to discuss Masturbation issues with anyone who is willing to discuss the matter in a civil manner.

===Getting Someone On the Master Ban List===
The list is only intended for network wide abusers with static IP addresses. In all other cases local server bans will take care of the abuser. Comments from server owners are generally the only ones considered when reporting a master ban candidate. Players that feel a user should be master banned should take the issue up with the owners of the servers on which the disruptive behavior has been observed.

==See also==
[[BZFS Command Line Options]]

==External links==
[http://www.bzflag.org/master-bans.txt Master Ban List]

[http://bzflag.cvs.sourceforge.net/bzflag/admin/master-bans.txt?view=log Master Ban Change Log]

[[Category:Server Security]]