Ergh. Toys back in prams, gentlemen, please.
Right. Some myths to dispel.
Banning someone does NOT change the database (and your stored vehicles or gear) in ANY way whatsoever. All we do is add your BattlEye GUID number to the BattlEye ban-list, so that it kicks you off the server if you attempt to join in future. That is *all*. If you have lost or don't have any item of equipment or vehicle after a ban, this is pure coincidence. We don't even update the database due to your DISCONNECTION from the kick... that only happens if you DIE (and that's generally considered RP, so will stand). Even then, vehicles never vanish due to death - only clothing, gear, guns, cash-in-hand, etc.
Vehicles that are currently 'in-garage' are not deleted by any process. The likelihood is that if they were left on the server earlier on, someone *may* have stolen them and chopped them for cash. Impounding doesn't destroy them; crushing does, but that should ONLY be done if the vehicle has been directly involved in the commission of a CRIME.
Now, on to the admin side. Calling an admin 'immature' or claiming 'rage ban' is never going to get you very far. You have your own opinions as to why the ban was made - they are invariably going to be different to the admin's opinion, and he (or she) will always attempt to be acting on the side of 'fair-play'. Calling them names or insulting their maturity is not likely to endear you to them, or get you a positive resolution quicker (or at all). I for one will not tolerate abuse of admins - they try VERY hard to get things right, and sometimes in extremely difficult and pressured situations. I expect an apology here, whatever the outcome. If you come back and simply say 'he was rude to me', then I shall ban you myself. Permanently. Admins *MAY* sometimes be stressed out, angry, or annoyed, as well as disappointed that they feel they've had to reach for the ban hammer. They may even comment on a player's gameplay or roleplay to an extent that the player may disagree with or find critical. I have even been known to swear at a particularly stupidly-behaved player before now. Thing is, it is the Admin's prerogative to JUDGE. Not the players. We're the ones WORKING; we're the ones attempting to interpret the RULES as best we can; you're the one PLAYING.
Now, that said, if I'm honest, I don't actually agree that this ban was ideal. To my mind, the pretext of the car-chase virtually sets up the eventual firefight RP once the vehicles are trashed and the occupants decamped. I don't think a polite discussion about tea-and-crumpets-or-else-I-shoot would have been viable. Neither do I think that texting whilst driving is viable all that much either.
However, the cops are trained to ATTEMPT to RP even before offing an escaping scrote. Sometimes to their downfall. I believe, though, that they should only attempt to do this from a position of cover and safety (to whatever degree they can) and that this places an immense burden on them. Rather like cops in real-life, sadly.
Rebels, however, are under no such obligation, and will generally shoot-to-kill if cornered. It's in their nature, and if (in circumstances like these) there has been a long running car-chase, and a final calamity that puts them on the ground, face to face with the cops, there is highly likely to be a firefight with lethal results. The cops *should* really have expected this, and be hiding behind cover if they intend to RP a capture, and/or prepared to tase, flank, restrain, or even shoot-to-kill if the rebel didn't look like playing ball. To sidle up in a car and jump out, near the rebel or in line-of-sight, I must confess, seems moderately foolhardy, if there is the slightest belief that the rebels might have weapons (which is almost a given, let's face it).
Despite what KR mentioned about having discussed this incident with admins, I've not discussed it with anyone to this detail, if at all. But he is generally correct in that when we hand out bans, USUALLY they are perma-bans, and we deal with the case here on the forums afterwards. We don't usually bother with 'timed bans' because very often the banned person will simply wait it out, and return to repeat and re-grief us all again. With a perma-ban, the 'generally good' players will actually come to the forum and make their case, and we'll sometimes turn things around for them, if they make a good one. If I'd given the ban, it would've been permanent, and dealt with here; that, I do remember discussing with KR (but had no idea it was about this incident, tbh - I lost my internet late on Friday night and wasn't back on the server till Sunday night).
So. Where does this leave us?
You're unbanned, and you have your gear - and no gear (other than that which was directly involved in the course of the crime) was lost or removed 'automatically'.
We have highlighted a 'grey area' in the rules, which I will endeavour to tighten up after discussions with Wilco (the senior admin) and the other admins. RP after SOME situations is ludicrous to expect; in others, it's essential. We have some work to do to make that easier for EVERYONE to interpret. I've already made my personal feelings clear on the daftness of 'tea-party' style roleplay at high-risk places like drug-fields or processing areas where attendees are 100-1 against being 'legal people' or 'unarmed'. Whilst this IS a serious roleplay server, I don't think that criminals engaged in serious crime in RL generally stop to chat, unless they are physically cornered and overwhelmed, out of ammo, outgunned, or whatever. Many of them will simply shoot first and ask questions later; many more of them will die. Sometimes cops will die too. Cops, however, WILL usually shout through a loud-hailer and sue for peace, but usually from a position of strength, or at least from cover. They are expected to at least ATTEMPT this (because all the civs and rebs will whine 'no RP from cops, they KOSed us', if the boot is on the other foot). But I think we need to look at relaxing that a little. If so much as ONE shot is fired at a cop (with or without it actually killing or wounding that cop), then the response must be allowed to switch immediately to 'lethal force' (if the cop wishes, but of course they can still opt to go for the tase/restrain, because that nets them a larger bounty). Or else it simply isn't 'serious roleplay'. Fair's fair.
You leave the admining stuff to the admins, and refrain from judging them or insulting them, and let them discuss their work internally, please. I want to see you apologise to KR, and demonstrate some understanding of the pressures involved, before I am happy. If you can't see that - or at least cut him and the other admins some slack - then this isn't the server you're looking for, sadly. However, I get the impression you're basically a reasonable guy, and probably a good player, caught in a tough situation, and evidently quite a good shot. We get so much RDM here, that sometimes, it's our first worry. Maybe SOME element of RP on your part would've prevented this, but I'm not going to go so far as to say it was essential, given the setup to this situation. But that doesn't give you the right to chew out an admin in public - he was just doing his job, with the ruleset he has at his disposal, and we all agree, they are NOT perfect. Everything is constantly tweaked according to experience, game-balance, exploits, griefers, and time at our disposal.
