So, ZOS, just WHAT is an 'exploit'

KerinKor · August 2015

Up till now it seemed to be a reasonably clear case that you defined an exploit as a player making use of a bug resulting in an unintended consequence giving them an unfair advantage. You've used that general definition many times over the course of the game's existence: prime examples being the several XP 'exploits' based on insta-spawning mobs and the like.

Yet now you post this:

We have already explained that what is being reported in this thread is not an exploit or hack. It is a known bug impacting multiple abilities that will be fixed with the Imperial City patch. This is the patch note for it:

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »
Fixed an issue that was allowing you to generate and activate large amounts of Ultimate.

and proceed to lock the thread:

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/2165628/#Comment_2165628

which seems to me precisely the sort of 'unintended consequence' your previous declarations of exploit has covered.

So please tell us your new definition of exploit.

Acrolas · August 2015

Yeah, taking advantage of a known bug for personal gain is exploiting. And exploiting with something that not everyone has access to would, indeed, be a form of cheating. Cheating, of course, being an unfair and/or unethical competitive advantage.

They're trying to convince you that something the developers think is wrong isn't wrong. What? Exactly.
Don't let moderators think for you. You don't answer to their boss.

Troneon · August 2015

I think I see where they are coming from.

If the person is "using" the bug intentionally with knowledge of the advantage it gives to give themselves advantage over others, then they are "exploiting" a bug.

If the person is unaware of the bug and without the knowledge or intention that it gives advantage, if they are unaware it can be exploited but still play the game thinking it is normal gameplay, then they are not intentionally exploiting, they are just playing the game and the bug just happens.

Now, they have to then prove which players are exploiting on purpose and which players are just playing the game and have no idea about the bug.

Answer is = You can't prove someones intent in the situation so you can not prove they are exploiting on purpose.

It's a legal thing, you can't go around banning players from their payed accounts for exploiting a bug in the game when they might not even know what they are doing...you have to be able to prove their knowledge and intent, which you can't.

Most players will just be gaining ultimate fast without thinking it's not normal. ZOS would then be banning those innocent players along with the exploiters for something that ZOS caused, a bug with fast ultimate regen....

So it is a bug, not an exploit. Unless the player has intent and knowledge of what they are doing and using it for advantage, then they are choosing to "exploit" a "bug", but you have to prove who is exploiting and who is not, of course everyone who is banned from their accounts will claim innocence and say they did not realize....

Hence why ZOS can do nothing, except fix the bug which they already did on test servers...and call it a bug.

Just because someone is choosing to exploit a bug, does not suddenly change the definition of a bug, the bug is still there, people are the one's who choose to exploit the "bug". The action is the exploit, not the bug itself.

TLDR: I think I had too much coffee this morning...