Brisc Unbanned, Pigs Fly, All is Right in the World Again

Hot diggity damn I was right. If you didn’t see the news that’s currently exploding on Reddit, Brisc, Pando, and Darkshines have all been unbanned by CCP. The official statement by CCP states that:

Neither Brisc Rubal nor the other players implicated in this incident breached CCP’s confidentiality, the terms of the Non-Disclosure Agreement, or used privileged information to obtain an in-game advantage.

We made a mistake here and we offer our formal apologies. First, to Brisc Rubal and the two other players involved, both for making the allegations and for the disturbance and stress caused by the way in which we handled this situation. Second, for not collaborating with due care with the members of CSM 13, who have acted responsibly throughout. Lastly, we owe our sincere apology to the EVE community for this error. We take full responsibility for any confusion and mistrust caused by our initial assessment of the situation.

CCP Games

Now I’m not one to start criticising CCP unless they really deserve it. Well, maybe I do screech about botters on comms, but that’s another story. In this case, we really do have to admire the backpedalling. We’ve gone from a hardcore stance against the troublesome three, to an interim “oh shit, did we fuck up?”, to OOPS, GUESS IT’S DRAMA TIME AGAIN. With that said, though, do remember that people are human (obvious, isn’t it?). People make mistakes and we just have to move on. CCP have said that they are providing appropriate reparations and I fully believe that they will fulfil their promise there.

After reviewing our assessment of the information on which these allegations were based and having spoken repeatedly with everyone involved, it’s now clear that our initial actions were based on unsubstantiated assumptions. While we were motivated by a desire to protect the working relationship between the CSM and the EVE Development Team with all due speed, had we taken the time to review the information with greater scrutiny, this incident could have been resolved without the disruption that has since occurred.

We aim to make it up to all concerned. Right now, we are in the process of restoring access to the EVE Online accounts of all three affected players, returning any confiscated assets and providing rectification as appropriate. We will work to set this right and will be making changes to our procedures and policies to ensure this kind of situation does not reoccur.

CCP Games

What I’m more interested in, to be honest, is the vitriol, hatred, and finger pointing that we all saw two weeks ago. Let’s name and shame, that’s always fun.

Eyyy, hot off the press PC Gamer published this right as I was formatting my own article.

So yeah, burn your old accounts, grovel in apology, or wear the fact that you were wrong with pride. The real damage has been done by certain media outlets who were quick to spin a story around Brisc’s real-life career. I’d like to say that as much as I support their journalism, it does irk me that headlines were about Brian, not Brisc. Using someone else’s livelihood for clicks just feels wrong. I hope the fallout doesn’t damage his career too much after all is said and done.

So without dragging what is essentially a news article out too much, here’s an official statement issued jointly from Brian Schoeneman (Brisc) and CCP Games:

Following the conclusion of CCP’s investigation, and the reversal of actions taken against him on April 8th, both CCP Games and Brian Schoeneman are satisfied with the final resolution of the incident as described below and in CCP’s full statement on the matter.

CCP Games apologizes to all involved parties and retracts the allegations, having confirmed upon further investigation that all information provided leading to the initial action declaring wrongdoing was unsubstantiated. CCP Games will be providing reparations, including the reinstatement of Schoeneman’s Brisc Rubal game accounts in EVE Online and rescinding the one-year bans placed upon the other two players.

Brian Schoeneman has accepted CCP Games’ apology. Schoeneman understands that while CCP’s response was in error, it was not conducted with prejudice or intent to harm, and Schoeneman holds no ill-will or residual acrimony against CCP.

Regarding Schoeneman’s status on the CSM, given the small amount of time left in CSM XIII, Schoeneman has chosen to resign from the CSM, and does not intend to run for CSM XIV. He is welcome to run for future CSMs, if he so chooses. CCP would like to thank him for his service and his contributions to EVE Online.

Due to the nature of the incident and the significant press coverage it has garnered, both parties wish this to be the final official word on this matter. No further statements will be made by either CCP Games or Brian Schoeneman on the resolution of the incident.

Brian Schoeneman & CCP Games

And for now, I’ll bid you all adieu. This could certainly be a long piece about how my previous article on this site should have gotten onto PC Gamer as it was neutral, but I don’t want to burn bridges. Try and be kind to each other, please? We’re all human at the end of the day and that’s what’s important. Except botters. Fuck bots. CCP please remove local chat and delete the VNI kthx. o/