EDIT: ADMIN RESPONSES
Listed below are the consolidated responses from admins concerning the scope of their authority and their understanding of the official server rules. I have edited the formatting of a few responses for clarity's sake. Please use this thread to consolidate the various (and conflicting) positions of admins on their interpretation of server rules and/or the apparently complete lack of oversight.
Canary: No oversight ensuring admin competence. Bro-coding is not against the rules. "The only (NA) admins who have assuredly been directed to the rules" are new.
1. Currently, the only (NA) admins who have assuredly been directed to the rules are those who've been picked more recently, since our old head NA admin was replaced. Any future admins will be made to understand to follow not only the rules written on that post, but also try to adhere to a set of less apparently precedents of rulings which, unfortunately, are not specified and listed there and include elaborations on major rules (those listed) and some which are not identified in the official rules post (such as the strategus server rules).
I am fairly certain, though, that all current NA admins have read the rules and understand most of the 'between-the-lines' aspects to them. There's always room for improvement, of course.
If an admin makes a contentious decision we have an entire forum board devoted to the NA admins for us to discuss such things as past decisions, rules clarifications, and players whose behavior we should be wary of. In part it's a sort of system of peer review. Consistent improper administrative action can be dealt with by removal of admin power. Such cases are rare.
2. There is a little link in the bottom right of every post you may click to report a post to the moderators. Without reporting a post, it's hard to expect mods to read every single post in every single thread just to determine which ones are in breach of the forum rules. Moderators will give out warnings (which increase 'warning level' and can lead to forum mutes) for things like improper use of the ban section. Regular admins can not give out forum warnings.
In Ulfson's case, he was there when it happened, which can be credible even in spite of not directly seeing the exact issue the ban request was made for, and had some relevant things to say about the nature of ban requests. Whether he's warned or not is not really your concern beyond the 'report' button, which I'm afraid you or anyone else neglected to use.
3. Almost none of the rules are as black and white as, surprisingly, most of the people posting in this thread seem to make them out as. Even intentional teamwounding isn't as easy to determine as you might think, because actually knowing a person's intent is not as easy as watching a teamhit take place.
Here's the rub: It's not as simple as "bro-coding is okay" versus "bro-coding is against the rules".
What is bro-coding? It is basically choosing not to fight your friends on the opposite team. Is that intrinsically against the rules? No. You are allowed to choose who and where you fight on a server, as long as you are fighting. If you decide not to fight a particular person, that does not automatically mean you did something that harms your team or something that is against the rules (also note that something "to harm your team" and something "against the rules" are not inexorably linked).
Can bro-coding be against the rules? Yes, in some cases. I'll use a scale of examples to show what I mean.
- Not against the rules: seeing an opponent you wouldn't like to fight on one end of the battlefield, moving to the opposite side.
- Not against the rules: seeing a friend of yours in a row of enemies facing your row of teammates, choosing not to move over to attack him.
- Not against the rules: running away from a specific opponent, as long as delaying rules do not apply.
- Borderline, probably doesn't warrant admin action: choosing not to chase a player on the opposite team who is moving to attack your teammates without being contested.
- Borderline again: choosing to stay out of a fight against someone on the enemy team, such as the last player alive, when he's fighting some of your teammates. (unless you're the last person alive on your team, and possibly if there's only one or two others on your team)
- Light rule breach (merits warning at least): coming into contact with a friend on the opposite team, acknowledging but refusing to attack him to allow him access to fight your team unhindered. *this is the example as per the ban request, I think
- Breach of rules: blocking your teammates from being able to attack a player on the opposite team (also includes griefing rule).
- Breach of rules: attacking teammates for trying to attack a player on the opposite team (also includes intentional teamwounding rule).
This is how I interpret the rules are they pertain to the concept of bro-coding. The way I handle issues is not the way every admin may handle them, but should another NA admin consult the rest of us on these kinds of issues this is what I would personally tell them. It's up to the admins at hand to make of a situation what they can see, and all necessary information is not always available. It can be difficult to determine fault even in the case of a true breach of the rules. There are also no definite rules on it, except in the case of the last two examples where other rules are involved.
We try to keep in sync with one another and remain consistent, but because so many of the concepts in the rules are open to interpretation and there are no guidelines for issuing punishments beyond our personal judgment, there tend to be intermittent discrepancies.
Shadowren: No oversight ensuring admin competence. Bro-coding is against the rules.
[What measures are taken to ensure admins understand the rules?] Read rules, ask other admins if unsure and learn as you go 
[Why isn't bro-coding punished?] Bro-Coding is against the rules. Easy warn/kick/ban
IG_Saint: No oversight ensuring admin competence. Bro-coding is not against the rules. Do not "expect a lot of profesionalism [sic] from a bunch of unpaid admins in a mod."
[What measures are taken to ensure admins understand the rules?] None, mainly because the rules are incredibly vague. Go take a look at http://forum.meleegaming.com/announcements/official-server-rules/. Then come back here and tell me which rule applies to this situation. Admins are trusted enough to use their own judgement in situations like this, but not every admin is going to have the same opinion.
[Why isn't bro-coding punished?] One admin considering it the same as teamwounding, doesn't mean that every admin does. Again, there are no official rules on this issue. Personally, I have no problem with "bro-coding", as long as it doesn't result in intentional teamwounding.
I probably should have put this in my other post, but nothing I say is an official response in any way. It's just my opinion, I have nothing to do with, nor any knowledge of this situation, or how the NA admins operate in general.
That said, you completely missed this part of my post: "Admins are trusted enough to use their own judgement in situations like this, but not every admin is going to have the same opinion." The common sense rule is exactly what I'm talking about there.
Bypassing the autobalance is something entirely different, it was implemented to stop people trying to endlessly joining one team, then the spectators and back again till they got the team they wanted.
Leeching only applies when the person is not contributing to the team for a longer time and usually repeatedly. Chatting, being afk for a couple of seconds, running away from somebody you know you can't beat, all of those could be interpreted as not contributing and none of them should result in a ban. Muuki's post is his opinion, my opinion is that "bro-coding" really isn't an issue.
The rules are honestly just there as rough guidelines and most of them can be interpreted in 50 different ways, the admins in question are the ones that interpret the rules and decide which action (if any) needs to be taken.
Your entire problem is that you think these guys hurt your teams win chance. I dread the day a rule that forbids that gets implemented. That day will be the death of fun in crpg.
You also seems to expect a lot of profesionalism from a bunch of unpaid admins in a mod.
Granpappy: (Ignored question about oversight.) Bro-coding is not against the rules. Necessary to provide screenshots to adequately describe bro-coding.
I asked you specifically, "Were they forcing duels?". Your answer: "No." So Kelugarn's reponse of "forcing duels is against the rules" do not apply.
What happened? "They were walking past each other and did a little up block and went on by." So they weren't interfering with teammates attempting to kill that player, so again, "instances of bro-coding that negatively impact your team" also didn't apply.
The only thing you described was players choosing to bypass each other, and since as you personally described it, there were other players alive on both teams, the round was not being delayed.
The rules are enforced as written. In lovely Smoothrich's example, the rule that says you cannot switch characters as I did 2 years ago, which allows you to spawn again in a round did not exist. Now that it does exist, it has been adhered to and enforced as written.
In this case, choosing not to attack the closest enemy also is not against the rules with the above caveats (forcing duels, interfering with teammates via bro-coding, or delaying the round by refusing to engage as one of the last alive). Otherwise, by that interpretation, I would be forced to ban dozens of players every round, including every cavalry that races past each other to spawn rape wouldn't I?
I'm sorry you didn't get the result you felt you deserved. However, you provided no screenshots that could perhaps have filled in where your words have failed to describe a situation where rules were broken. I feel bad for you that you've allowed the loss of a round to consume you for such a long period of time. Shadowren's reminder to have fun and remember that it is a game meant to be played as such as very pertinent.
Kelugarn: Bro-coding is not against the rules. "Making a thread bitching and moaning about how someone didn't take the game seriously enough is not going to get you anywhere."
Kelugarn's last three admin actions in the ban request forum:
Kelugarn gives a warning (bro-code throwing a match)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/kolee-and-angkorwat_of_chaos/Kelugarn gives a 2h ban (teamwounding)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/ban-request-try_cikel/msg823421/#msg823421Kelugarn gives a 16h ban (teamwounding)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/good-ol'-prayamantus/msg823901/#msg823901Kelugarn bans and then unbans 2 players who are new to the community. Their first infraction ever.
http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/unban-faldemir/msg819730/#msg819730
If we served bans for every player that bro-coded on occasion then we'd end up banning half of the NA population. The only time when bro-ing it up is close to "game breaking" is when the last man alive is getting hugs from the entire enemy team, and even when that happens it only lasts for a few seconds before someone goes for the kill. . . Try and remember that it's just one round in a mod about internet horses and two-handed swords, and sometimes the other people that play like to be creative and have fun in ways other than murderorgy2010. Making a thread bitching and moaning about how someone didn't take the game seriously enough is not going to get you anywhere.
Kelugarn's attempt to clarify quote in OP:
Wrang I'd like to point out how the quote you chose to put next to my name is misleading. The part about bitching and moaning refers strictly to the manner in which people present their complaints and the lack of formality and respect found in most ban threads. As with most things being civil and sensible works in your favor far better than coming off as a flippant egocentric and that's what the line you chose refers to, not to my interpretations of the rules.
I'd also like to say that as I have spent more time viewing the community and playing the game as an admin my views have shifted and the ways in which I've dealt with punishments and offenses have shifted too . As an unpaid volunteer making calls on my own it's hard to set a precedent and stick with it early on, that's why my stance on things like bro-coding is changing.
Muki: Bro-coding is against the rules.
"bro-coding" with the opposite team is consider leeching "Not contributing is leeching"
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Original Post below
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Yesterday, Kolee and Khmer purposefully threw a match on NA1 so their friend could win. The only admin on at the time, Granpappy, did nothing about it. Moments later, I described to Granpappy what happened as precisely as I could. Granpappy told me that the scenario I described was not against the rules, both in-game and again in a forum thread on the issue:
"I'll let another Admin lock the thread for you Wrang" Question 1: What measures are taken to ensure admins actually understand the rules? http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/rules-and-guidelines-(please-read-this-before-posting)/Admin Kelugarn on the issue:
"Forcing duels in NA_1 and NA_2 is against the rules, and instances of bro-coding which negatively affect your team are also against the rules. . . This is game is about team play, intentionally hurting the performance of your team is no different from team killing and team wounding." Why does Granpappy not understand that this kind of bro-coding is against the rules? Why do members of the community need to create threads to remind some admins that the rules exist? Will Kelugarn be forced to admin the admins in perpetuity? More on Kelugarn to come!
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Frustrated by the only online admin refusing to take action on an obvious violation, I created the following thread in the ban request forum.
http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/kolee-and-angkorwat_of_chaos/ Question 2: Why was no action taken against Ragnar_Ulfson who "didn't see what happened either" yet continued to post no less than nine separate times in my thread?How can admins expect the playerbase to take ban requests seriously when the majority of responses are irrelevant mudslinging? Admins selectively enforce rules, personally flaunt them, and do a disservice to the entire community-driven ban request section.
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After I told Granpappy about Kolee and Khmer throwing the match, he did not take any action. He offered an excuse - "dueling is not against the rules." Except: dueling IS against the rules, except in limited situations where players consent to it. I have been playing cRPG for a while. I am a generally articulate and responsible player. I have never been the subject of any admin warn/ban/kick/mute/etc. And yet when I identify a problem to an admin, instead of being taken seriously I am treated with the most dismissive possible attitude. Granpappy even came to my ban request thread and added his own insipid commentary:
"I'll let another Admin lock the thread for you Wrang" What is the end result of all this? Kelugarn says
"intentionally hurting the performance of your team is no different from team killing and team wounding," and then locks the thread, preventing any other players from contributing relevant commentary. Kolee and Khmer get off with a warning. Here are Kelugarn's three most recent admin actions for team killing and team wounding, you know, those actions that are no different than throwing a match:
Kelugarn gives a warning (bro-code throwing a match)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/kolee-and-angkorwat_of_chaos/Kelugarn gives a 2h ban (teamwounding)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/ban-request-try_cikel/msg823421/#msg823421Kelugarn gives a 16h ban (teamwounding)
http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/good-ol'-prayamantus/msg823901/#msg823901Kelugarn bans and then unbans 2 players who are new to the community. Their first infraction ever.
http://forum.meleegaming.com/na-(official)/unban-faldemir/msg819730/#msg819730 Question 3: if bro-coding your team to defeat is the same as teamwounding why isn't the punishment? Kolee and Khmer have been around a while. What is their prior ban/warn record? Why are they treated much more leniently than two new players? I guess the only positive thing to take away from this all is the admins don't expect veterans like Kolee and Khmer to understand the rules, probably because the admins don't either.
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