Rossocuore: Can someone explain why I have to add the line including "parole" after the two convictions in order to authorize arrest?

Thanks in advance

Pidgeot: ...because that's how the game was programmed?

Before an arrest can be authorized in the system, someone must have two prior convictions and a parole violation.

When the game looks for the parole violation, it really just looks for the words "parole" or "Parole" (case-sensitive, so "PAROLE" would not work).

If the thing you're actually confused about is what parole means, it's a way for a prisoner to be released from prison early, under the condition that they follow certain restrictions [see Wikipedia). A parole violation is when they don't follow those restrictions, and that means they can be sent to jail immediately - which is very handy for you, since that's what you're trying to do.

Rossocuore: I understand it better now. I was actually confused about the legal meaning of the word. Still I find it difficult to imagine how someone would understand all of this procedure without looking at a guide..

Pidgeot: Well, clicking the Authorize Arrest button without satisfying the requirements shows you the following message, which is supposed to be enough to figure it out: Pidgeot: If you don't know what it means to "have broken parole", it is of course a little tricky, but if you manage to pick up on "parole" as the keyword and try entering it, that's enough to pass the check (as long as the "2 prior convictions" part is also satisfied, not counting the parole violation itself).

The game doesn't care what the prior convictions are, so you can actually add 3 parole violations, and it'll pass the check - even though that makes no logical sense (you can't break parole if you're not on parole, and that requires some previous conviction).

Sufyan: I just want to say this is by far the laziest design decision in the game. Framing someone for a crime in order to ruin their lives fits the mood of the game and it is supposed to feel like "Wargames", but why would anyone end up in prison just because their criminal record says they are conviced criminals, but no record of these crimes exist (nor are they even referenced in the criminal record) and somehow the subject is on parole but from what prison and who is the parole officer?

I know you must suspend disbelief to enjoy the fantastical elements of the game but this is just too nonsensical, more so than all the other stuff which at least seem to be plausible in the Uplink universe. I can imagine that changing someone's grades Wargames style could be useful in job applications where you can extract the grades "straight from the source", if only in the Uplink universe.