a smarter way would have been to make multiple accounts that each had 10-20k shards

To be fair, we usually hear about the exploit well before the ban hammer comes down. 

You share an exploit with me and get banned?  That's a tragedy.

You keep an exploit to yourself, your guild and in-game friends?  Fuck you, I'm glad you got banned.

I had ~ 500k but was down to 150k when they looked. my friend that got hit had ~60k now I feel bad because I am 37000% positive I got a friend banned by just sharing with him, I didn't even dupe shards, I was given them. I did dupe rems though just to check it out. I was only planning on making 3-4 k but the method worked too well and made 110k so my ban is not totally un earned. i filed an apeall for what good it wont do, mostly to take responsibility for said friends shards and beg them not to drop a ban hammer on him, i was just trying to say ty cus he helped me out financially irl a few months ago

Cause if it's been said once, it's been said a thousand times - if there's one thing this dying game with its empty servers needs, it's less players.

One might be tempted to wonder if developers or DMs aren't present on these forums as well.  There would be no way to tell, would there?

If they had half a brain, they'd do a bug bounty program.  "Spill the beans* and we'll GIVE you a thousand shards.  And a cosmetic."  These dingleberries would sell out their mothers for a custom pet.