I recently discovered that an old bug inherited from FreeSO caused several unrelated Mac users to be incorrectly identified by the server’s security system as the same person.
Because I believed the information being provided to me was reliable, several innocent players were mistakenly flagged for using multiple accounts and suspended. After speaking directly with the affected players and investigating the issue further, I confirmed that the suspensions were made in error and removed them.
To every player affected, I am sincerely sorry.
I understand how frustrating, upsetting, and unfair it must have felt to be accused of breaking the rules when you had done nothing wrong. Being suspended from a community you chose to spend your time in is already distressing. Having it happen because of inaccurate information makes it even worse.
Although this issue originated from an inherited technical bug, the responsibility for how that information was handled belongs to me. I trusted the system too heavily, and I should have conducted a more thorough review before taking action against anyone.
I am releasing an emergency patch to everyone now that replaces the old FreeSO method with a more reliable way of identifying accounts. I will be monitoring it closely to make sure it works as intended and does not create any further issues. Should anyone experience a problem after installing the patch, please open a ticket in Discord so I can investigate it as quickly as possible.
I am also changing my review process so that automated security information will never be treated as conclusive evidence by itself. It may alert me to something that needs to be investigated, but disciplinary action must be based on a broader review of the available evidence and, whenever possible, direct communication with the players involved.
Protecting SimHaven from abuse is important, but so is protecting innocent members of the community from being wrongly punished. One cannot come at the expense of the other.
I am grateful to the affected players for speaking with me and giving me the opportunity to investigate the issue properly. I also appreciate the patience of the wider community while I worked to correct this mistake.
I cannot undo the frustration and hurt this caused, but I can acknowledge it honestly, learn from it, and improve how I handle situations like this going forward.
I am sorry. I will do better.
Wyatt