It was probably poorly phrased but I feel like I remember there was a group of various instance admins at the time discussing ways to deal with it, so it was more of a reference to maybe they figured something out.

You’re right that they used tiny instances with no oversight and open registrations to ban evade for a long time even before this debacle when it was just normal Nicole spam.

A copycat spammer started sending gore pictures to people using the same Nicole copypasta text. A lot of people got upset and there was a flurry of discussion over like a 24h period. Some people seemed to think it was a serial killer and Nicole had been doxxed and killed. In reality if I recall right the picture was from a morgue somewhere in China.

Anyway the whole thing led to a general “okay maybe the joke has run its course and we shouldn’t encourage this” type of moment and the sub was shut down. Presumably the spammer stopped spamming once they no longer received attention, but maybe the admins found and IP banned them or something. I have no idea.

That’s some slop for sure.

Slopornot has a great ring to it I must say.

Interesting.

Will this be enough to quell Dominator, I wonder?

I hate Falcons but Cr1t getting an Aegis is still a feelgood moment, so I guess that’s something.

Maybe he can have enough name recognition to make the panel, we need some new blood on the “main” panel. The quality difference in terms of analysis - especially during drafts - from the Road to TI panel with Misery and Fly etc compared to the TI proper was stark.

I had a good time watching this TI as always, but there is just something missing the last few years, ever since Valve stepped away from being involved. A little bit of that magic I used to associate with the event. I miss the International Archives, I miss Remember When and the TI aftershow. I miss the all star matches (I know the pros hated them but cmon, they are entertainers at the end of the day) and the spectacular hero announcements. I miss main stage events lasting longer than 4 days and every invited team getting at least one match in front of the fans.

There were a lot of good matches but it felt just like an upscale major tournament, not like the TIs of old. Or am I just old, cranky and addicted to nostalgia?

I’m not too fond of Skiter either if I’m honest. He’s been in some situations before where he’s looked pretty bad.

If Ammar could micro he’d probably be within the discussion of the overall best player right now. He’s very very talented.

I am categorically unable to just blanket feel happy for Falcons winning. I hate Saudi sportswashing, they have some players I don’t vibe with and I don’t really enjoy their playstyle. That being said, I am very happy for Cr1t finally winning TI, and I am happy for Aui_2000 who has come back from once being disrespected and underrated to now practically forcing the world to recognise him as one of the greatest minds of Dota. Also, nobody can say Falcons wasn’t the overall best team of the tournament, so in that sense it was at least a fair victory.

I am with you though, Heroic were the stars of the tournament for me in terms of entertainment value, but they actually also played really well. That one Aegis steal is going to haunt their dreams for the coming year. I so wish we got to see more of them.

If PV stay together they can be a force, Noone still has some left in the tank and 9Class just needs to practice some more heroes like Void Spirit or maybe Weaver for his play style. Satanic might be the best young player in a long time, the kid is so fucking good.

Naga has been banned in 90% of the games for a reason (IceFrog please just remove the ult nobody likes what it does to Dota) and Jugg is literally not a hero. What a hill to die on for a game 5.

Credit where it’s due to Ammar though, he knew XG like to play for the late game so instead of running the usual Falcons gameplan he just set up an ultimate late game inevitability. I think there maybe was still a path to victory for XG if they were able to play fast, but they just weren’t.

Real ones remember POTM Bottom

I hate Falcons and want them to lose, but I fear we might be nearing the point where we have to admit there might be a reason Ame is the Uncrowned and not Crowned King, my friend.

It’s also a very Xiao8 move to pick Jugg and give up Naga in game 5 of a grand final.

Falcons are too good to let themselves get caught out like that. XG played this game too slow from the start and made too many individual mistakes. Ame choking, honestly whole team kind of choking.

With how XG like to play this just felt like a complete soul read and outdraft by ATF.

I don’t see how Falcons lose this unless they make a series of uncharacteristically spectacular misplays. Naga can always stall and late game looks physically unwinnable for XG.

It was the freest Ursa game ever, the Gyro was either an insane draft bait that caught Xiao8 totally off guard or it was the most ballsy and inspired improvisation by ATF.

Also when will people stop giving Malr1ne Sand King and Cr1t Hoodwink? I’m so sick of seeing SK getting stacked camps uncontested and then killing everyone with Hoodwink.

And finally, it’s fascinating in a sense to see this chess game between the drafters, but it’s also kind of disappointing that every game in this finals has been predetermined from the lineups.

This has been an insane game, and after Heroic yesterday here’s another series turned on its head out of a single Aegis steal. Fantastic strategy by XG proving again that they are incredibly competent at the 4-protect-1. These late game farm fests aren’t my favourite thing to watch, but XG are putting their hopes and dreams on the back of Ame.

It’s unfortunate they will get 3-0’d in short fashion by Falcons. I really hope I’m wrong though.

I’m exhausted by that Falcons PV game three, some absolutely crazy Dota on display there. Looks like people finally figured out that you just have to ban Slark and MK and 9Class suddenly looks like a completely different player.

Wonder if PV stumbles at the finish line.

I didn’t do predictions, but XG looked quite good earlier today. I still think they gave a strong shot against BB.