Crime & Punishment

So far we've ganked just shy of 300 ice exhumers in empire this month, and we've come here to share our findings. To simply put this... more than half the ice miners in empire are bots. What's more, they generally all use the same bot program which makes them easily identifiable.

The new program follows a few easily identifiable patterns

1.) The bots have set bookmarks in the ice belts, and they always warp out to the same position. Once they land they'll approach their bookmark and do mining. These bookmarks are always spread out to prevent smartbomb attacks

2.) The bots react to certain stimuli which seems to vary depending on some unknown condition. They will often instantly go to warp if you lock them, they'll go to warp is a pirate lands on grid with them, and they'll go to warp if piracy happens in the belt

3.) A bot who's ship has just been killed will usually warp out instantly, often by a disconnect. A bot who doesn't have a ship will sit in station, and undock every 70 seconds, see he's in a pod, and then redock after 15 seconds. This is in contrast to the last generation of bot software that would have their pods warp to their BMs in the belt and pretend to be mining.

4.) An undocking bot will redock asap if a low sec status character is on the undock point (see rule 2)

5.) The bot program has the ability to blacklist certain characters, and to always dock up when they're in local. Their behavior indicates they may even have a shared database that they all access for this information - or one person controls 50+ bots

6.) The bots seem to come in "generations" of when the characters were created in groups. Often varying by a day or so. These generations will very often have each bot in their own player corp named after that bot. These player corps are often stuffed up to 5 players using alts from the other 2 character slots from each mining account

7.) The bots typically have one of the two programmed mackinaw setups (for caldari systems)
http://gents.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=12883041 (this one is very popular)
http://gents.eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=12882584 (this is the secondary setup)

8.) The bots will relocate to another ice system if camped into a station (rule 4 and 5)

9.) The bots will typically not have implants (due to constant pod turnover rate), but prefer to fit +1% ice implants if possible

10.) The bots quite often share the same naming convention for their ships (which is unlikely to be the bot program, but the botter's choice) where the ships are named after the pilot, but there are 3 spaces preceeding the name (i.e. "___Jita Bloodtear's Mackinaw" where underscores are spaces)


CCP does not want to address these issue as it would immediately and completely crash the isotope markets. Our investigation has only been in caldari space, but the vast majority of ice miners are these bots. I shudder to think what the other racial regions are like. Petitions are answered with a bot - saying to use the "Report Bot" tool. But since CCP refuses to ban bots based on behavioral patterns these bots will continue to run wild. Below I will attach a list of bot names and their generation. You will find them in caldari space, in every single ice system. This list is incomplete and we're adding names to it constantly.

Muji4ek 11 - April 11, 2011
tegran shah - April 12, 2011
Kornet 00 - April 12, 2011
Milashka Mala - April 11, 2011
Baron Don - April 11, 2011
Swordsteeli - April 12, 2011
0na Nistka - April 7, 2011
Artem Arheolog - April 7, 2011
Nastya Shturmak - April 8, 2011
Nika Oksaras - April 7, 2011
Pete Kusoni - April 8, 2011
Sara 0'Connor - April 11, 2011
Trannythi - April 12, 2011
Quiatris - April 11, 2011
Spelloyar - April 11, 2011
5 th Element - April 8, 2011
0H0 Ufo - April 11, 2011
Sobaky Doo - April 7, 2011
Falconsfli - April 12, 2011
Crufalcon - April 12, 2011
Krislyassa - April 12, 2011
Millstoner - April 12, 2011
wyvernjack - April 11, 2011
Thotumali - April 11, 2011
Onyxarmy - April 11, 2011
Traamros - April 11, 2011
Fruiany - April 11, 2011
Izobella Shoo - April 11, 2011
Zaebiska - August 27, 2011
Gusta Oriki - Sept 1, 2011
Madjahed Dushman - April 8, 2011
Hollysword - April 11, 2011
Argon Todako - March 12, 2011
danzawar - Nov 17, 2011
burkutun - Nov 17, 2011
TpaxocaH - Nov 17, 2011
Tugdum - Nov 17, 2011

Barmaley Zlodey - March 20, 2011
Mr Kleyton - Oct 2, 2011
Chip and Deyl - Oct 3, 2011
Danna di Saeco - Oct 3, 2011
Bonny Hashem - Aug 8, 2011
Helmut Philla - Aug 6, 2011
Dog Viffer - Aug 7, 2011
Tonny G - Aug 7, 2011
Daniel Negreanus - August 7, 2011
Nadya Magnum - August 7, 2011

0ktaba - Oct 15, 2011
La Bzin - Oct 15, 2011
0rganizma - Oct 15, 2011
Moska L - Oct 15, 2011
Jak Ass - Oct 15, 2011
Viggona - Oct 15, 2011
Zub Nik - Oct 16, 2011
Cucbke - Oct 16, 2011
ElmaaM - Oct 16, 2011
Tussik - Oct 16, 2011
Gorilla S - Oct 16, 2011
Bek Kan - Oct 16, 2011
Bomja Ra - Oct 16, 2011
Gur Stan - Oct 16, 2011
Kiss M E - Oct 16, 2011
Hosioda - Oct 18, 2011
Kotom Kin - Oct 18, 2011

Kvoha - Sept 1, 2011
PortugaleZ - Sept 1, 2011
Forigon Kami - Sept 1, 2011
Stephen Phoenix - Sept 4, 2011
Josephine Saverre - Sept 4, 2011

Gracecaryn - April 12, 2011
Krisuvial - April 12, 2011

Andy Spokovik - Oct 10, 2011
Yelena Ankitiev - Oct 10, 2011
Sisek Net - Oct 19, 2011
Ivan Bogun - Oct 20, 2011

Abrasha - Oct 19, 2011
Arhideia - Jan 18, 2012
Boolp - Nov 22, 2011
Efileon - Jan 19, 2012
GreyzZz - Jan 19, 2012
Halbaund - Oct 2, 2011
Kalgonit - Jan 18, 2012
MakaroB - Jan 19, 2012
Prokol - Nov 17, 2011
Prolis - Nov 17, 2011
Amaranthine Rose - March 16, 2011
Creamed Melons - May 10, 2011
Crest III - March 31, 2009
Cybi Boitoi - Feb 2, 2011
Evgeiy Emelyanov - July 12, 2011
Gopn'chek - Jan 6, 2012
Reyda maricadie - May 3, 2012

Another familiy run by a Ukrainian that feeds an unknown Russian/Ukrainian Alliance:

Identical fits, owner will actually reply to evemails when forced to replace Mackinaws.

After destroying about 40 or 50 of his Exhumers his Macros now programmed to 'autodock' when 'Buck Futz' enters the system. The operator even bragged in local about now using a 'condom' - ie 0.0 autodock keyed to a flagged char.

Again, reported repeatedly and petitioned long ago, no action from CCP, not even a temp ban.

Bots: (many accounts using 'zeros' instead of 'o'.)

007 Bondd
0bol Tuss
0gish Yann
0H0 Ufo
0lay Chan
0na Nistka
0nisa Lama
0roko San
0rto Dox
0sana Vip
0sto Lop
0uma Mabata
0uni Sexx
4oni Kobol
5 th Element
Abon Akachi
Aston Sotken
AT 0M
Barhunt
BolonkaA
Gusta Oriki
Irrokez Ink
Kusino Momaki
Nastya Shturmak
NIKA 2011
Nika Oksaras
PortugaleZ
Sara 0'Connor
Sobaky Doo
Zaebiska

If you don't like bots, go ahead and copy-paste these lists to CCP and perhaps eventually something will happen.

Myself, I don't care all that much. Right now they are just easy targets, but if CCP decides to nerf ganking in a way that makes killing them completely unprofitable, I'll just ignore the bots and use my resources for torching the 'real' players.

I've seen tons of other bots as well, but most of them seem to be small time operators, 'casual cheaters'. Sure, I report them too, but its generally easier just to extort them.

EDIT: I Copy-pasted your list into a new petition. Probably a useless gesture, but hell, why not. About the only way to grief a botter is get his accounts banned.

Scourge ? I thought it was trauma. Oh, CCP, what have you done again ?

I knew a bot defender would show up. Let me state this so it is absolutely clear. I am 100% absolutely certain that every name on this list is a botter. Even if a player occasionally tends to the bots, I can assure you that they are in fact, all bots.

Although it may be difficult for people to comprehend just how absolutely certain I am, let me give some examples. We actively spoke about killing bots in local, and would preumptively call the targets we were planning to gank. Our pointer character would sit on top of the said target for multiple minutes before the gank was carried out. Each generational bank of bots would act completely harmoniously in unison (even when spread between two belts) that when one of their generation was ganked all would retreat to the station.

We discovered they were triggered to dock up when Ganker Bloodtear was in local, and we abused this for them regularly. We very very slowly arranged 3 smartbombing battleships at the exact station spot that the wave of 20 mackinaws would warp to the moment he signed on/entered system. And we tested this no less than 4 times before carrying out the gank. Sign Ganker Bloodtear on, watch all 20 mackinaws instantly initiate warp from the ice belt to the station, right into the wall of smartbombing battleships. The sort of thing a player would have noticed... the constant warping in and out of the belt, docking and undocking in lockstep. With the exact same timestamp of 70 seconds.

We would push mackinaws behind blocks of ice on along their exit vector, such that when they went to enter warp they would get stuck and bounce, and then Ganker Bloodtear could warp in and still gank them. This took around 5 minutes per mackinaw to set up, and once again we were broadcasting all this in local, and the other miners were watching on with amusement.

Then after the mackinaws were dead, the bots shifted to their pod docking/undocking 70 second timer games. Like clockwork, over and over, hour after hour after hour, with no purpose that a player would EVER do.

In short, like I said, we are 100% absolutely certain that these are all bots.

The economics of CCP's model mean that actively banning 'Bots is not in CCPs interest. Never mind the Isotope's market - I'm talking their corporate bottom line. 'Bot subscriptions are cash in the bank. Report all you want, buyt short of massive outcry and truly egregious and flagrant violation, nothing will be done. Some token 'Bots will be banned every now and again, but nothing of any consequence.

This is the same problem for any recurring-subscription game.

Really, the only recourse you have is to try to rake off some of the flow of 'Bot wealth by ganking the hell out of them.


There is at least one subscription model that encourages banning of 'Bots: Guild Wars' "Pay once, play forever" model means that banning a 'Bot results in no loss of income. Indeed, banning 'Bots *increases* bottom line; every 'Bot account banned equals another new subscription being purchased to replace it.


So - Warm up your guns, 'cause the 'Bots are here to stay.

Servers and workstations with pretty decent capacity aren't very expensive. I could build a rack that would handle a hundred accounts at at least a basic (botting) level on less than one paycheck.

I'm completely aware of using VM's to allow more to be run, but even on the botting programs own forums there were a lot of complaints when trying to run a lot of clients + VM accounts. The VM's are often slightly laggy, which will often screw off the OCR bots if the system becomes too taxed. (I can only imagine the issues of trying to run 20 of these set ups with out the bots flaking out)

I'm not saying it can't be done, but I'm saying a lot of these arguments he is giving to prove these guys are bots are also the same sort of things a player using a mouse cloner would do.. Pretty much everything aside from the pod undocking/redocking but I'm somewhat skeptical of that as I've never seen that kind of mechanic out of a bot in the past. Most botting software that I've seen can easily tel if the client is still in a ship just by being in the station.

IE they use a OCR set up where the program looks for specific things on the screen just like a real person would. Undocking is simply not needed to do this as the program can see the cargo bay, ect..ect..

Again, I'm not saying these guys were not bots, but I'm just stating that his guidelines for spotting bots leave a lot to be desired.

Your case apears to be an exception. Meaning you have actualy done the work to confirm (best you can) these guys are bots. I think the point Colleo is trying to make is that too many suicide gankers just assume that everyone they kill is a bot. (it can be hard to tell, and your vicitms apear to be a brand of exceptionaly dumb bots)

Cloning the VM MAC through the router also makes them harder to track - I know of a similar trick done by a craiglist scammer to get around bans.

Gentlemen, excellent research and work. Keep up the hard work, new eden appreciates it. o7