(Staff, please move this thread if this is not the right place for this. Sorry for the inconvenience)
Lately I've been seeing player reports where people are posting screen shots of Skype as proof. I would like to point out that Skype logs can be easily edited and should not be considered proof that a person really said what they did. I have checked the relevant stickies and I see no mention of what constitutes "fair" evidence, so I would like to respectfully propose that Skype logs not be allowed.
How Skype handles chat messages
When you receive and send a chat message with another person on Skype, the program will save this data in a SQLite file called main.db, which is located in your C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Skype\<skype id> directory on Windows Vista and newer. This file can be edited with free tools available online, meaning that if someone wanted to, they can make it seem like someone said something they didn't.
You can only edit your own messages on Skype, not other people's
The log file contains both people's messages, so you can edit both your own messages and the other person's messages if you edit the file.
Won't it show the Message Edited symbol near that message then?
This only happens if you edit your own message in Skype itself. If you edit the file, then Skype won't even know that it was altered in any way.
People can already edit Skype chat screenshots, that's why you can also screen share with them to make sure it's legitimate.
Screen share won't help, because when a Staff member screen shares with you and looks at the Skype history, they are seeing what is contained in the file, meaning that they will not be able to tell the message has been edited.
I don't believe you
In this screenshot, Mike was kind enough to add me on Skype so I could demonstrate how easy this is for you guys. It takes less than a minute to do. Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/ecugflE.png
So please, when reporting someone, do not submit Skype chat screenshots because it is impossible to tell if they have been altered. Some people may want to get innocent people banned for whatever reason, and unfortunately because of them, no Skype screenshots can be trusted.
