BRAD MCQUAID SAYS FIGURING OUT WHAT IS AND IS NOT AN EXPLOIT IS THE PLAYER’S RESPONSIBILITY AND MAD PROPS FROM COMPUTER GAMES MAGAZINE — WELL SO

Here is one of the more salient quotes from the article:

Asked about the possibility that game moderators are not clearly identifying what constitutes illegal behavior in game, McQuaid defended current practices, though he allowed that Sony might not be communicating them effectively. “We are labelling exploits as we always have – that being using bugs to your advantage in-game”, he asserts. “Conquest used spell stacking bugs to their advantage and they used a safe zone – an area where a pathing bug made it such that an NPC wouldn’t pursue those that it was mad at – to their advantage.”

“Taking advantage of bugs is NOT okay [his emphasis] and we’re saying that 1) knowing you’re exploiting a bug, and 2) where and to what end you’re exploiting, are both factors in determining how we react to a player or players who are exploiting”

I don’t know about you, but I’m confused. It seems to me that what he is saying, more or less, is that players in EQ are responsible for both being aware of what is and isn’t a bug, and for not exploiting any they find. I’m not exactly sure how they are supposed to do this. Read the minds of the EQ GMs? Camp Dr. Twisters? (Oh yeah I forgot — his network dissapeared today). Hope against hope that IGN really does start a bug base they can subscribe to? Every day I am happier and happier I don’t actually play this game.

Anyway to move along, we’d like to welcome all you folks joining us from Computer Games Magazine to our scrumpdillyishus contentious yet valuable website. We disagree with this august tome’s definition of our site. Meretritious we are not! We are ALL about peace and love. No one is ever mean in our forums. And the community? To die for. Really. Like butter.

To prove I mean that I’ve dug up a little history for you folks. This first link is the original story. The next is Brad’s first statement and Conquest rebuttal. Last but not least we have Brad’s follow up statement. When you are done with the history lesson, be sure to pop into our forums. Don’t mind the pirhanna, they are just there for show.