Myback, that was my only original point.
Thank you for your serious and thoughtful response.
I am somebody who naturally finds breaks in systems and addresses them. This whole "issue" is an example of that.
Examples of issues this "issue" has brought to light (In my opinion):
A "get over it" mentality.
This is actually both a good thing and a bad thing depending on the context of the situation. On the good side, this mentality immediately causes the "whiners" to feel shut down and usually causes them to seek other methods and venues of "whining".
On the negative side, as shown in this post. I was told, basically, to "get over it" several times based on people's personal opinions of me and my character behavior. While their opinions were justified. It turned out that procedure was not followed in this situation and, in turn, they were wrong to attempt to "shut me down".
A severe lack of consistency between those appointed to "cop"
While this is a issue that, based on context of posts I have read, is well known. I wanted to add a couple of things.
To me the range of judgement and interpretation of each cop will have differing purposes and functions within the server. This is actually a good thing for consistency when acknowledged and the transparency of each cop is encouraged. I.E. (just an example, not something I have seen) Earth likes a peaceful environment with as little RDM'ing as possible so when playing cop he/she adds (Peace Keeper) to his/her name. However, Skittle is more focused on addressing racism and player interactions so he/she adds (Respectful Interaction Monitor) to his/her name.
Obviously these names are not really the best, but are being used as a example only. A simple tag at the end of each cops name would allow the players that are on to know how best to interact when those cops are policing. (Not super attached to this idea, but thought i would write it down).
This is mostly to address that true consistency between cops will likely never happen and is a unrealistic goal. The acceptance for each cop and who/what they add to the server would lead to happiness on both fronts.
- Unspoken rules/understandings
There are several unspoken rules/understandings.
Things like if you kill someone while they have money/drugs on them you return the lost amount.
If someone is RDMing they basically become kill on sight.
Don't shoot cops.
Don't run while cops are attempting to cuff/uncuff you
These things are great in theory, but are not directly against any rules. However, they are often "enforced" as if they are against the rules. Making specific cops "like"/"dislike" you more and more. On the "like" side it leads to immediate release from jail (even with crime about 6k) regardless of the crime (this is to avoid being "mean"). On the "dislike" side this leads to extended jails, crime of 800 being full 60s jailed, and other seemingly "over reactive" responses.
As stated with the above (point #2), these issues could be solved by some transparency on behalf of the cops in question. (IE. a "rules enforcer" who will jail for a full 60s on any crime over 800) <-- this would likely create less of a backlash against a cop that just wants to enforce the rules and would make that cop very useful at controlling the courtyard during times when crime is running rampant.
These examples are all things that are both good and bad for the server depending on how the admins choose to enforce/ encourage them. They mark opportunities that can either encourage a "community" mentality or a "us vs them" mentality. You can have a server that encourages community and still allows reasonable amounts of chaos. You cannot have a server that encourages a "us vs them" mentality and expect it to be anything but chaos.
Just my thoughts.