Let me say right away that I'm sure many of you will have nothing but contempt for me. I'm not unaware of this. So there's no need to reply and say "haha you got what you deserved you dirty cheater". I admit that I have used Stockfish from time to time.
However. I think giving someone effectively a lifetime ban from the site for this is too harsh. Even the criminal justice system only locks people up for a few years! You're basically saying "create a new account or you can never use lichess again" which considering I like playing chess is rather inviting me to create a new account, isn't it?
Wouldn't it be more reasonable to limit the ban to a few months, or have a 3 strikes and you're out system?
And it is effectively a ban. Yeah I can login but only play with other cheaters which is virtually no-one.
(waiting for all the "haha you got what you deserved" responses that completely ignore my argument)
Yet another "Thank you, lichess!" thread.
Thx, guxs!
Cheating is one of the biggest issues facing online chess. It needs to be taken seriously and punished harshly. It is not a victimless crime. You have robbed your opponents of a fair game.
so, haha you got what you deserved.
You're correct that IRL criminal justice systems are flawed, because catching criminals is so challenging the punishments must be extreme (else the populace become unruly).
Likewise for online chess, unfortunately.
You haven't been banned from society or even chess, just from
Lichess.org. You're still free to cheat on all the other chess sites out there, at least until you get banned on each of them as well.
I completely agree the ban system is way too harsh. I have many friends that would like cheat only slightly, like take the 2nd best engine suggestion every 5th move. I mean a good opponent should still win vs this playing style, so it's not a bad attitude.
Right now it's just not easy to experiment like this due to the nasty and unnecessary perma ban.
I also like the suggestions. More specifically I propose the following: You should be allowed to cheat exactly 3x until your account gets banned for 1 month. There should also be a "Remaining cheats left before timeout" stat in your profile.
Like this it would be easier to time stronger last cheats before a long vacation e.g.
Also cheating obviously is less bad if you admit it (just compare it to IRL justice system). So a possible extension would be the following: Additionally you have 10x "legal cheats" per month. Whenever you are about to use 1 legal cheat during the game you hit an "I cheat now"-button right on the side of the button with the little flag. The game still counts and if you win you win rating. Also you are immune to cheat reports since you marked it as a "legal cheat". Perhaps to be fair to your opponent after the game there should be a small "Legal cheat used." message, so he/she doesn't waste time with a report.
@c0mpl3x A little too obvious, but still a better troll than #1.
Take it easy, OP: You still can make use of all the other awesome tools this website offers! And if you ever feel like bereaving your fellow human players of their time again, you can rest assured: All the others dudes you'll be pitted against are just as much as scummy as you are! :)
I completely agree with mr complex, his arguments are based on IRL experience everyone can learn from, thus making his arguments stand strong and valid. Furthermore, I agree with jez9999, the punishment is not what it should be.
I propose the following: Lifetime IP ban when caught cheating and/or sandbagging.
Thank you
@Whitedancingrockstar But dynamic IPs, though.
