@Riot (and anyone else who can help) - CLG: Crime and Punishment (Questions and Thoughts)

Arctic Wolf·Aug 13, 2014·1 votes·1,508 views

As many of you have by now heard, CLG is currently in some serious trouble with Riot due to account sharing whilst in their Korean boot camp. Essentially, due to a miscommunication with Riot when requesting lvl 30 accounts for practice in Korea, the CLG members (Seraph excluded because he is Korean) were all given Tournament Realm accounts instead of accounts for the live servers. Upon further internal investigation by Riot, it was found they should have been given accounts to the actual live server. However, while Riot was working on getting those accounts up for CLG, the members of CLG (minus Seraph) acquired live accounts elsewhere to be able to continue with their planned practice regimen. Due to how the Korean server is set up in accordance with Korean laws, one needs either a Korean Social Security Number (KSSN) or an Alien Registration Number (ARN) in order to create an account for the server. This makes the account sharing essentially a form of identity theft, as even if you cannot use the account to locate the associated KSSN or ARN, you are assuming the identity of the person who created the account when online. This account sharing is essentially in violation of rules and regulations set forth by both KeSPA and Riot Games.

#Due to the multiple rule infractions, here are the current and potential punishments:

Players Doublelift, Aphromoo, Dexter, and Link are banned from participation in all KeSPA and Riot Korea affiliated tournaments for 2 years starting August 8th 2014, including but not limited to OGN Champions, OGN Masters, and NLB.
Players involved in account sharing will each be fined $1250.00 USD for being in violation of Section 10.2.7 of the official LCS ruleset as well as the official terms of use
The CLG Organization may face up to a 5-year ban from participating in Korean affiliated tournaments* (Not definite yet, this depends on KeSPA and Korean rules/laws and their decisions as they are not under affiliation with Riot)

Note that because Seraph is a Korean citizen and was not a participant in the account sharing, he is excluded from all punitive measures

#Thoughts:

So here's how I see things: the players accused are guilty of account sharing, that much is true. However, I feel it is important to take into account some of the external factors which greatly influenced these events. According to the sources, I find it most important to note that the CLG organization actually requested the correct form of accounts needed for their boot camp, which due to a miscommunication at Riot were not granted. Tournament accounts were instead given to the players, greatly limiting their potential scrim partners and eliminating the possibility of soloq. With the players under the strict regiment of MonteCristo, I would SPECULATE that he used his ARN (given to him as a Korean resident and OGN employee) to create 4 accounts for which the non-Korean members of CLG could use while awaiting Riot to fix their mistake, and keep to their demanding schedule. While the players of CLG most likely realized this to be in violation of certain rules, I doubt that after a 14+ hour flight to Korea they would be willing to disobey their coach to not use the accounts given, especially since they also would want to make the most of their trip as they have a limited amount of time there. While Riot Games claims that the Tournament Realm accounts provided temporary measure for practicing, I question how much a team can really practice on the tournament servers? It is not a simple matter to coordinate scrims with other teams who would have access to the tournament servers as they would already have their own extremely strict practice schedules and scrim schedules. While this may have been adequate for practicing in NA, as CLG would have the ability to easily acquire scrim partners, that is not the case in Korea. Furthermore, given that Riot stated that there was miscommunication, I believe it may be possible that CLG didn't even know Riot was in the process of issuing live accounts. By not accepting access to the live server, CLG members would be denied soloq time which would adjust and adapt them to the meta of the Korean server, allow participation in scrims, and utilize the time allotted for the boot camp schedule. It is also a possibility that by refusing to use the accounts, players would have felt as though they were letting down the CLG organization--everyone from their fellow players to coaches and management, and especially the fans. Given these factors, it is quite likely that the players of CLG felt they had no other choice, lest they potentially allow days to be wasted while live accounts are being set up for them, if they even got them at all (depending on whether they had notice of their arrival or not).

At this time I want to note that I am not upset about Riot issuing fines for account sharing as it is clearly in violation of rules and regulations; however, I am concerned about the fines being issued to the individual players rather than to the CLG organization as a whole when it could have been someone in the organization ordering the players to go along with this and players doing so because of the pressure of time and being required to play as a team. I also worry about the future implications of the sanctions imposed on the players by KeSPA. I would guess @Lyte would agree with the main idea of this statement (from a behavioral standpoint) in that it is much easier for someone to say 'no' when a situation might negatively affect ONLY them, however this becomes much more difficult when refusing a request can potentially harm others, especially teammates/friends. Also, I do not mean to accuse Monte of providing the accounts shared, I was merely using him as an example as he would be a person with the ability to create accounts for CLG and has a vested interest in seeing them succeed.

#Questions:

What does this mean for CLG when it comes to potentially participating in Worlds?
Why punish the individual members of CLG and not the organization as a whole?
Would this situation have been improved with more thorough investigation behind the account sharing? (i.e. whose account were they sharing, were they forced into sharing, why were the members not initially given live accounts, etc...)
Can/would Riot revoke punishments (either their own imposed or working with KeSPA to have penalties lessened/removed) if further investigation shows Riot is more at fault than expected?
Would Riot be willing to re-evaluate the part they had to play in this fiasco?
Is it possible that a different member of the CLG organization could be at fault, other than the players?
Are there any actions being taken by Riot to prevent something like this from occurring in the future?
Have any fines been imposed on the person(s) who provided the accounts for CLG members requiring them?

I would love to get the input from a Rioter or two, or anyone who might happen to be more knowledgeable than I and able to explain/elaborate on the questions and concerns I have raised.

(For those unfamiliar with the situation, more info can be found here: http://na.lolesports.com/articles/league-legends-competition-ruling-counter-logic-gaming-0 and http://www.ongamers.com/articles/riot-games-imposes-strict-punishments-on-counter-l/1100-2090/)

7 Comments

MackleDogeAug 13, 20141 votes

It means absolutely nothing in terms of participating in Worlds.
Because the individual members broke the rules....?

3)You need to re-read what happened, because CLG was never without accounts to play on. When Riot realized their mistake they gave CLG access to TR accounts to play on as a temporary solution while live accounts were prepared and made available to them. CLG did not have to use shared accounts but chose to regardless.

If they were then they would, but they aren't. CLG broke the rules and should be punished. They had an alternative option that allowed them to do what they needed to do without violating any contractual terms or rules and selected to not do so. Riot making a mistake and coming up with a temporary solution to resolve it does not mean CLG gets a free pass on violating any relevant rules or terms.
Quit asking the same question.
I'm sure that the CLG organization was aware of what was happening and while they are at fault for not using the alternative method provided the CLG players still knowingly violated the rules. Multiple people breaking the rules doesn't mean that some of the people that broke the rule shouldn't be punished.
Probably paying more attention and not making clerical errors. It seems pretty obvious that somewhere on Riot's end things were miscommunicated and that is something they will have to discuss internally and improve on.
None that have been officially announced because the fines are specifically an aspect in regard to Challenger level and Professional players. However I'm sure that the accounts have most likely been permanently closed, as is a common occurrence in instances of account sharing.

Arctic WolfAug 13, 20141 votes

Thank-you for the update on some of the information I inquired about. However, I disagree with some of your responses and feel as though you have not quite considered what I was saying.

3)You need to re-read what happened, because CLG was never without accounts to play on. When Riot realized their mistake they gave CLG access to TR accounts to play on as a temporary solution while live accounts were prepared and made available to them. CLG did not have to use shared accounts but chose to regardless.

I thoroughly read both posts from both lolesports and ongamers. I am well aware that they had the TR accounts to use while they awaited the live ones. However, as I pointed out previously, the TR is a very different area from live. Players are not able to access soloq, which constitutes a large amount of the practice. Korean soloq is unlike NA, EU, and other regions. In a culture which has had legitimate competitive e-sports since the days of Broodwar and Slayers Boxer, as you near the top of the ladder almost everyone has aspirations of playing for a professional team. New teams will be created out of soloq heroes (SKT T1K ring a bell?) and unlike other regions, where the teams try to work with the current members they have before parting, Korean teams are far less hesitant to cut someone who is under performing in favor of fresh talent. Solo queue is already an important part of their practice regiment in NA, it stands to say it would be even more so in Korea. I am not arguing there shouldn't be punishment for the account sharing, but you misunderstand if you think that just by having the TR accounts CLG would be able to continue with their boot camp as normal. No, CLG did not HAVE to use the shared accounts, I stated that. However, I speculate it may not be the fault of the individual players as much as one would think, and believe it requires consideration into the outside forces (coaches, management) which may have pushed them into doing so.

If they were then they would, but they aren't. CLG broke the rules and should be punished. They had an alternative option that allowed them to do what they needed to do without violating any contractual terms or rules and selected to not do so. Riot making a mistake and coming up with a temporary solution to resolve it does not mean CLG gets a free pass on violating any relevant rules or terms.

Given that Riot is as much at fault for the situation, for without the communication errors CLG would have had no issues, I was asking more for a Rioter's opinion particularly on trying to lessen the sanctions by KeSPA, as CLG wouldn't have encountered issues had Riot not had communication problems.

Quit asking the same question.

I am, in fact, not asking the same question. I assume you are talking about my 3rd and 4th questions, and I must point out that asking Riot to re-evaluate its part in the fiasco is different than inquiring solely about the investigation or the possibility of reducing punishments. Again, more for a Rioter.

I'm sure that the CLG organization was aware of what was happening and while they are at fault for not using the alternative method provided the CLG players still knowingly violated the rules. Multiple people breaking the rules doesn't mean that some of the people that broke the rule shouldn't be punished.

See, this one's a little tricky. Did the CLG players actually know the accounts they had were shared when they were playing on them, or did the CLG staff just give them the login information? It's not clearly stated, as far as I could tell. To me, it seemed more like the question of is an athlete guilty of doping if his/her coach gives steroids disguised as vitamins? Generally yes, which is what we see here and I am not arguing with that, but as with the athletes, the question is how guilty are they actually? Usually they are punished far less than someone who willingly broke the rules and it is often the coach who receives the harsher punishment. Again, this is all speculation of course, but worth thought.

MackleDogeAug 13, 20141 votes

Did the CLG players actually know the accounts they had were shared when they were playing on them, or did the CLG staff just give them the login information?

The players knew. They aren't stupid. Why would Riot give them accounts with names like those had. One of them was "Left for Military Service on (X Date) for (5? months). The accounts were obviously accounts that belonged to players and were not the standard issue flat accounts issued by Riot. On top of that, Aphromoo has been punished for Elo Boosting and account sharing beforehand, as well as Link/Seraph (when Seraph first game to NA he used Link's account kina which was later permanently closed for account sharing). I understand you may not have access to any of this information, but given the situation, similar account sharing issues in the past and the manner in which is was discussed and handled, it seems obvious to me that all parties involved were aware of the accounts being shared as opposed to Riot issued.

TR accounts

All of that is entirely irrelevant. They had access to TR accounts temporarily due to miscommunication that they could use. I agree that this was a mistake by Riot and never should have happened. However, that doesn't excuse CLG from blatantly breaking the rules and account sharing, that's simply ridiculous. Familiar with the phrase "two wrongs don't make a right"? This is the exact example. Riot made a mistake that cost CLG a small amount of time (one day isn't going to make or break the benefit of soloqueue practice since a large portion of CLG's bootcamp focus is on scrims to begin with which you can use TR accounts for). You seem to be misunderstanding that these TR accounts were only for 24 hours while Riot set up the live accounts. The TR accounts were not a permanent solution at all.

outside influence

It is the player's responsibility to follow the rules and terms of their contractual agreements. If my friends say I should flame a guy and insult him, that does not excuse me breaking the Summoner's Code by doing so. If the team officials were pressuring the players to account share (which quite frankly I don't believe at all) they are not excused from breaking the rules, especially when they can easily just wait 24 hours instead and inform Riot of the team official's misbehavior if it was particularly aggressive. I'm not going to make excuses for them, and I think you are doing them a disservice by (in my opinion) trying to do that. As a player, we have to abide by the rules of the game, non-debatable. They should too.

rest of post

This is all semantics and I'm not going to bother trying to argue that with you. I will point out that Riot Korea and Riot from NA are separate entities as far as punishments and rulings, so any NA representative from Riot isn't going to have much if any sway at all in those matters. It is similar with KesPA (or however you capitalize it) in that Riot has not control over their rulings or punishments, though all in all it is largely irrelevant since CLG doesn't participate in OGN or any KesPA tournaments.

Arctic WolfAug 13, 20141 votes

Just one last question, as you do seem to have quite a bit of knowledge on this, but where are you getting your info from? I'm not saying I disagree, but I should like to read up on such things myself, and you've stated things (such as info about the account name they shared) which weren't on either of the websites I've seen about it.

MackleDogeAug 13, 20141 votes

There is the ongamers article and the one on lolesports. Then there were threads on the sub-reddit for League of Legends with comments from various community authorities as well as links to twitter comments. There was also a few threads identifying the accounts that CLG was playing on because people were wanting to try to watch them soloqueue and such which revealed the account names and made it obvious that the CLG players were using accounts that belonged to other people. The League sub-reddit is basically the source of the extra information as well as some inven (Korean reddit) posts.

TrinityunicornAug 13, 20141 votes

My initial thoughts after reading this, then reading the esports article is, I can't get over why what was done cannot be overlooked due to circumstances. This all sounds so legalized and exaggerated to me. These guys made bad decisions or good considering how you look at it, about their practices. However the penalties from some authorities seem rather harsh. They can probably easily afford the $$ penalty but the 2 year ban is just ridiculous. Here's why, as I read the rules about needing numbers to create an account, inside I was thinking, I wonder how many babies, kids way too young to play, wives, grandmothers etc, had accounts in Korea? I'd be willing to bet if you did a sweep a huge amount of lol players would be violating tos.

Circumstances: CLG's whole purpose in the trip was to get ready <practice> for worlds. Super important to them. Important enough to fly across the world to do it. I'm sure a huge amount of "fans" would have and DID offer to help them. They're being criminalized for something so miniscule and yet so damaging to them because of rules. I liken this to the lady spilling hot coffee in her lap and McDonald's getting sued for the coffee being too hot AND the lady due to having a good lawyer won an absurd amount of money. IT's twisted!

There is no criminal activity, there was no malice involved, and no harm done. I wish I was on their jury cause I'd vote they're innocent. Charges dropped.

I have no idea what the rule in Korea is about needing such personally identifying information just to play the game. I think in the States that would be a death to the game itself <alot of us wouldn't play if you required our ss#>. Most of the rules concerning gaming are made with the PURPOSE of detering cheating, detering exploitation and gaining an unfair advantage. Lastly they are also in place to discourage stealing ideas/info about the game. They are made to keep the company from being taken advantage of and to keep the players on an even playing field. So they weren't doing malicious activity with the accounts in someone else's name, they weren't boosting elo for someone for a fee, they weren't trying to get ahead in any way except trying to practice, to get ready for perhaps the biggest challenge in their careers.

Riot made a mistake, no one is punishing them for that. I see they fined them, that was pretty light I guess, the players can probably afford it, yet I don't even see a reason for that. It was all at the discretion of the officials. " LCS officials may assign penalties at their sole discretion" They decided that it had to be punished in some way. Are they Riot employees, former gamers, ???????

In the end I hope for CLG's sake that it works itself out for them. No victims, no villans, just kind people trying to work it all out.

Arctic WolfAug 13, 20141 votes

I agree with your sentiment; I believe the penalties were a bit harsh and I would like to see things work out for CLG. I do have a couple things to add though; I am in agreement with punishments being enacted for breaking the rules, I'm just not sure that it should be the individual players, rather than the organization as a whole. I disagree with Riot Korea/KeSPA's sanctions, but don't know if that is possible to change.

Also, for clarification (as I tried about a year ago to make a korean account and found out firsthand what all the hubbub was about) essentially in order to be able to utilize the internet to its fullest potential in Korea, you need your KSSN/ARN for basically everything. It's not just creating accounts for League, it's for Battle.net, Facebook, Amazon, you name it. While you would most likely still be able to browse the web, great sections of it would be unavailable without the KSSN/ARN. Yes, it is definitely something which would not work in America, but Korea is much more government controlled and a significantly smaller nation, so they are able to censor and regulate the internet much more strictly.

Also, while this is irrelevant, the McDonald's hot coffee case was far more legitimate than most people think.

This is a link to a more in-depth explaination of it, but essentially the lady received incredibly severe burns because the coffee was almost boiling. This resulted in months of hospital care and also required skin grafts. http://imgur.com/user/bmullecker/favorites/3tbMQzm (You only need to check out the last few posts on this, if interested. There are pictures as well on other parts of the web, but due to their graphic nature I will not be posting them. You can find them easily enough with a google search.)