You've been kicked from server by <Nightwatch> (reason: Bye!)
what does it mean and how do i fix it

I vaguely remember that nightwatch is something to do with Licho?

I also get that when using a vpn. How do we fix this?

VPNs and proxies are used by banned people to avoid the penalty, thats why its blocked now.

If you have legitimate reason to use vpn or a proxy explain why exactly and account can be given exception.

You are connecting through anchrofree.com, which has been used by greifers to evade bans.

The admins of Zero-k ban users from the lobby which prevents them from using any mods not just Zero-k.

This is basically ruining the community; since mods like Antelope are ban happy and regularly instigate users.

But I guess since Licho hosts the lobby server we can't do anything about it. Which is probably why these mods never grow to more than about 50 people.

I don't think the BA or other spring communities would appreciate all the trash from ZK being dumped on them.

I like to keep a positive attitude and think that there are more than 50 people out there that can behave.

I think ZK has sucked up much of the trash actually, or at least the trash tends to gravitate to ZK. Their forums are routinely trolled due to admin abuse, but they do a good job of deleting posts and pretending it doesn't happen.

You may be right, but they still shouldn't ban people from the lobby server for silly reasons, it hurts the other mods and the community.

They ban people for weeks or months for not playing how they like. I'm sure they will deny it, but it happened 2 or 3 times yesterday in games I was playing.

The stance that spring engine should not be involved in autohost administration, so if a player gets kicked/banned from Tera or DSD host you can go play on another server. Avoid the troll admins, that is a good thing.

If the admins on ZK kick/ban, a player is unable to even log into the lobby or play another mod.

Not much we can do other than have someone setup a new lobby server outside of the current host's control. Since the root of the issue is that instead of providing a service to the spring community ZK pushes their will on everyone else.

Just like spamming other lobby clients with "Your client is incompatible."

I would actually like to see Licho and his crew move on and away from Spring as a whole. I just don't think anyone wants to pick up the torch to run a lobby server.

ZK is a good mod and the customization and other stuff is a nice addition. The problem is it isn't separated from the rest of spring like other mods due to the dev also hosting the lobby and spring services.

If they just used the engine, and had their own lobby and client, then they can do whatever they want to whoever they want.

I respect Licho for paying for hosting or whatever he does. Maybe the choice of moderators is the problem.

I imagine that someone here works at a data center or ISP and would be able to plop a box in a rack for a lobby.

I'm unsure of how the hosting lobby goes, but I could setup a VM with autohosts no problem. I used to host 4 servers for BA games.

That problem/solution might also be that the community keeps getting smaller and smaller. I remember the days of 10+ full servers running with players, now you are lucky to have 2.

The reason I use a VPN is not related to spring. I use it for:

* Increased internet security, especiallty relevant for my company

* I don't want to receive 'customised advertisements', like adverts targetting Finnish people on facebook, spotify. I want to be able to go to http://www.google.com without being redirected to google.fi and have the menu in Finnish even though I speak Swedish. I don't want personalisation or localisation, that's the reason we have the Internet in the first place:I want companies to treat me as a global citizen.

* I don't want my ISP to know the type of the traffic i use. For instance, there is talk in Finland and Sweden that operators will start charging extra for the use of services such as skype. (applies to mobile phones, where I also use same VPN account).

* As a bonus I can watch sports and television from other countries via internet

Stop assuming you are the centre of the universe.

What is a greifer?

So just don't use VPN for Spring then...?
Although imo, I can see legit use for VPN if people are behind a proxy (university dorm f.e) and want to be able to play Spring (assuming VPN is allowed at the dorm)

I've been playing off and on since 0.5 (somewhere in there). I think one of the mods still needed TA content at the time.

But every year it seems like the community has gone from "what can we do" to "what can't you do". Just my opinion.

I keep coming back because of the diversity in playing spring games. The mods are always changing so there are new things to try, something that no other online RTS has.

And my leaving is usually the same reason. I get tired of the trolling admins/players with hostility. So I leave until they are bored and gone.

Lately, there seems to be a plethora of troll admins that never leave.

Spring takes a stance, but we let ZK romp all over it. Why?
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=28160
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=28199

itt unprovoked insult (or: how to start fights where there were none previously)

I wouldn't let that detract from the general veracity of his post, though.

And here come the ZK devs with omnipotence and hostility.

I do horrible stuff on a regular basis, and get away without serving jail-time at all. So, contriboot just one line of lua or a modelled tank, and you walk away, shooting left and right, and officer Licho doesent give a shit..

It's not an insult. I just wanted to comment on the need to explain why some of us may want to use a vpn.

And yes, I can use vpn and spring at different times. But then I can't multitask. I guess you know that a vpn sends all ip traffic over a tunnel, not just one port or one program.

I suppose I should say something about the topic of bans affecting the players of other games.

Certainly the ability of ZK admins to issue server-wide bans independently of the Spring lobby moderation team gives us power over the other Spring games that's a cause for concern. (One also raises the question of accountability, but it's not immediately obvious to me that the formal Spring moderation is any more democratic in this regard - Neddie, a penny for your thoughts as someone inside the process?)

The obvious solution, and one I've suggested to Licho in the past, would be to segregate the ZK and other-game lobbies, but this balkanization has obvious drawbacks - at the very least, it'll greatly inconvenience anyone who wants to play both ZK and another game, or to even chat with other users cross-game (I'm thinking primarily of channels like #moddev and #sy here). Consequently, I don't think such a separation should be taken lightly. One, then, asks the question: does this specific admin issue merit said separation?
...well, I speak only for myself, but given that the complainers thus far seem to be primarily if not exclusively harmful trolls, I think the answer is fairly obvious.

Also, just noticed something, and now I'm really interested:


Two or three times in just one day! And for weeks or months! These are some really serious allegations.

Perhaps you'd like to substantiate it? Bans made by ZK admins are publicly visible on the banned user's page, as long as the ban hasn't expired yet. Go on, post the links; take screenshots if you're really paranoid. I, too, want to know who these unfortunate victims of admin abuse are.

I had over 9000 journeywar players, and the got all kicked by nightwatch. I want a refund!