How can you tell..

[Myteriouss]

^
Indeed.

People get promoted by actually doing work that needs to be done, thus, rising up on the ladder of success.

Now, if you have a job IRL, what would happen if you were to ask your Supervisor for raises? promotions? constantly? I'm pretty sure they'll tell you off and/or write you up lol.

[Ace]

@offtopic yC sorry for replying to this.. I really want to comment ^_^


@ontopic

Well for me there are some reasons I can tell that my staff is planning on corruption:

1. When that staff is saying that "It is ok for me to have a level 40 GM account as long as I have @item) 

2. When they are always saying that "You can trust me, I won't give items to anyone. Just give me @item) 

3. When that staff will always contact you of promoting him to a higher GM level because he is working in your server long enough.

4. When he asks for items from you because he wants to wear it (like +10 d-set) then eventually, those items can be found in a legit account.

5. Lastly, when he will say "I will have an event please give me @item." (haha!)

What to do?:

1. Never give anyone @item command

2. Even if how long he has been working on your server, it is up to you if you will increase his position or not.

3. When having a manual event, make sure that you are the only one who is giving the items to the winners.

4. Always monitor your staff. (You can also check the log)

5. As an admin, you must not be lazy.

[Secret Duckie]

Kind of off topic, sorryyy. <3
I don't have much I can contribute here because I'm actually pretty new to GMing, but I have to agree with uncelebrated.

On my server we're allowed to have legits. At first I was really pumped because it was really tough for me to choose being a GM over playing a game I've loved for, like, 8 years. Once I actually became a GM, though, I think I've logged on to my legit maybe 4 times (at least 2 just to test something that I couldn't test using my GM character). I just don't have the time! I work full time in real life, and I'm also the art/sprite GM. So essentially all of my time outside of work breaks down to probably 70% in game GMing, 20% art for the server, and 10% everythingelse. xD

I guess it comes down to what kind of GM you are. I'm a head GM with a special job as well, so basically I police, support, event, and sit around looking pretty and showing how nice the staff is on top of my spriting/art job. Someone like me can't possibly have time for a legit. On the other hand, if you split the GM's up and have one for each of these roles, they could have enough time for a legit, I suppose.

It's a tough subject for me because even in my short time being a GM, I have seen GM's letting their job get affected by playing on their legit character. Basically just sitting around dual clienting on @hide or just not being online at all. It makes my job even harder, honstly. xD;

[Euphie]

To say that there is no reason for a GM to have a legit and that every GM will be corrupt at some point is a very cynical view and as far as I see it, completely untrue. I honestly feel bad for servers who don't allow their GMs to play a legit character as well. On most servers, GMing is not a paying job, its volunteer.. so you go to work all day, then come home and work more on a GAME that you're not allowed to play.. kind of a shame >.<;

It's much easier to get to know the community from a legit character as well as experience gameplay the way a player does from legit characters. Basically how can you know whats really going on in the server if you don't even play it. Sure you can oversee whatever is happening but it just isn't the same. I agree with the point being unfair, if you work on a server, you should also be able to play it. To not be allowed would mean the admin doesn't trust you enough.. at least that's how I see it.. and would make for a more uncomfortable 'work' environment.

As far as how can you tell if your GM is about to do something corrupt, I don't think there are any 'signs' of it. It's not a disease that you can look for symptoms for, everyone is different and some people you will see it coming and others you won't. As said above, the best thing you can do is keep an eye on the logs and listen to your players if they feel a GM is doing something terribly wrong, especially when there's multiple reports of the same thing for the same GM.

Thats my opinion anyway! C:

[Ecstasy]

I think one of the most obvious answers is if they ask for commands that they won't need to fulfill their job description.
I guess at releasing their accounts you should make the commands limited on the get go. Give the essentials.
If they ask for more beyond that and you make them justify the need for it and it doesn't quite fit. Well, there you go.

[NetRagnarok]

I would never give anyone power with a possibility of corruption and cheating. Only exception is if I knew them personally in real life. I started a server with 2 real life friends, we hired a SubGM, which has minimal power to help the server such as warping etc. As for developers, you can give them access to your files in your test server, which is what I did. Then in the real server, you can give them basic power such as warping again...

Use a test server, please

[Jocasta]

I believe too. GMs do not need any unnecessary commands that do not fit their job description. If a GM is intended only for rule enforcement, @item is not strictly needed. For Event GMs, there are effective ways to hand-out prizes, such as Itemizer scripts freely posted on eA. Item Logs and Pick Logs will be helpful as well, in order to monitor the item being summoned by the Game Master. Also, you could always ask your staff why are they summoning items which are not needed in any way for his / her position? A Game Master cannot also test builds and items in order to appropriate it to his/her legit account in the near future.

However, corruption in a strict sense is not just associated with the item. Supporting (buffs and leeches) are also a top priority and the control of this is hardly monitored. I can leave my legit in one place, party up, even share, kill the monster and voila, love the levels! I had an experience with a co-gm ages ago doing this nasty corrupted practice.

Always monitor your logs by imbuing them to PHP/HTML. You could always view their activity and monitor them properly (including party logs in which they might have partied someone unnecessary or unrelated to any event held at the server).

[LeaLea]

Easiest was to prevent GM corruption is checking the logs often, if they have legits (And I do agree Ms should be allowed to play on their own server, but be monitored) keep an eye on them all. No GM under level 99 needs @item, that's senseless, it's pretty easy to make a command that can create items bound to the account, for the purposes of looking pretty, all event headgears/items should be obtained from NPCs, easy to track.

What an admin should never forget is that this is the internet, and you should never let your guard drop ever. Anyone with a couple of brain cells and a drop of common sense can throw out a good interview.

[Nomi]

My first response would be through the logs. Many corrupt staff members will try to break your server's Terms of Agreement behind your back, thus the trusty logs that admins use to track what a player does within the server, and has done in the past. First give away could be how they act around you, are around others, or the like.

In all honesty, there is no true way to tell if someone is about to commit something bad without it having been done already. It's why it's always a gamble to add this or that person to staff, because there's always that chance where you'll take risks, but won't realize until after the damage has been done.