I was waiting and waiting for this...can't believe it took so long for the first banning bots proposal!

As far as this specific proposal goes, while it would be easy enough to make the ToS updates being proposed, there are no details at all about how this restriction should actually be enforced (or maybe it's not intended to be enforced at all?). For example, is Splinterlands responsible for identifying accounts that are using bots? If so, how should we go about doing this? What should be done if an account is found to be violating this ToS policy? What happens if someone feels that they were incorrectly identified as a bot? Is there some type of review/challenge process? There are probably even more things I couldn't come up with off the top of my head here, but the point is that there is a lot to think about and detail out when it comes to a realistic plan to ban bots and it's not just as simple as updating the ToS.

That being said, even though I don't personally support any type of ban on using bots, I do fully support the collective, super-majority decision of the SPS stakeholders via the proposal system. So if you, or anyone else, is serious about a bot-banning proposal, here's what I would propose:

Since the SPS DAO controls the SPS token, but not the Splinterlands game or things like the Splinterlands Terms of Service, I would suggest that the proposal be structured around not allowing bots to earn SPS rather than updating the ToS and/or banning them from the game. The proposal could be for SPS stakeholders to elect a committee that would be responsible for identifying which accounts are using bots to play and then no SPS tokens would be awarded to accounts on that list for winning ranked battles, in loot chests, or other areas that the committee decides. The committee would be responsible for coming up with a reliable mechanism for detecting bot use and for handling any disputes or other issues that come up from accounts identified as bots. If it is the wish of the SPS stakeholders then the Splinterlands company would work with the elected committee to provide any relevant information and data they may need for performing their duties.

There would need to be some more details about how the committee gets elected and things like that, but at a high level this would be a workable proposal to prevent accounts using bots (or at least those identified as using bots) from being able to earn SPS tokens in the game, which is fully within the control of the DAO and not up to the discretion of the Splinterlands company as something like updating the ToS would be.

I just want to clarify that I in no way would be in favor of such a proposal, and would likely vote my personal SPS stake against it. I don't ever think there should be a person or group of people responsible for deciding who can or cannot participate in a supposedly free and open system like this and it leads to a very slippery slope of censorship, personal biases, and politics, which can easily bleed over to other areas of the ecosystem.

However, like I said above, even though I am personally against it, it is not up to me (which is a good thing), and I would be happy to work with the community to effectively implement any solution they collectively approve.