Very disappointed in banning guidlines

#9 - Aug. 14, 2013, 5:34 p.m.

We are always sorry when someone is caught in a “false positive.” But I want to explain that in order to take out thousands — and it has been thousands — of botters, cheaters, and gold sellers, we need to review data and make decisions that may, occasionally, result in an innocent person getting caught in the net. This is something we deeply regret, and this is something we work to address on a daily basis, by reviewing the instances where a block is placed in error, reviewing the data around it, and adjusting the parameters by which an innocent player is blocked.

I feel we need to do two things: We need to reduce the “false positives” to as close to zero as humanly possible. And we need to address the legitimate appeals as quickly as possible. The first will never be 100%, but we can and should strive to get as close to 100% as possible. The second should be a focus, but quite frankly, virtually everyone whose account is actioned (suspended, terminated, “banned,” or what have you) will submit an appeal. Some of the most vociferous appeals are from those who are absolutely and positively cheaters, exploiters, botters, or gold sellers. But because we feel that everyone deserves a review, and because we show each player respect in investigating the situation to affirm the action on the account (or reverse it, in cases of error) the number of tickets can be high, and the turnaround time can be longer than we — or you! — would like.

There’s no way to “pre-screen” tickets. Each person deserves “his/her day in court” and that means that if XX% of those who appeal are guilty — and I’d call that percentage very close to 99% — and even if the action on their account is upheld, that appeal and that review stalls the review of the innocent player.

Let me talk to the team and see what we can do about addressing both situations: The false-positives and delays in addressing appeals. We want to do the very best we can for every legitimate player, while we want to serve the legitimate player by removing the cheaters, the exploiters, the botters, the scammers, and the other unsavory individuals who negatively impact your gaming experience.

#10 - Aug. 14, 2013, 5:42 p.m.

One more thought, if I may:

If the appeal process seems overly detailed, or if you feel a bit resentful of the amount of info that we require before restoring an account or reviewing a case of alleged botting or RMT activity, know this: We must and will take extreme care with each player’s account. We will ask questions, and ask more questions, if need be, to ensure that you are the account holder, or that you’re the victim of an account compromise and we safely can turn the account over to you. You. Not the person who gained your credentials through a third party and is pretending to own your account. You, the person who bought the account, who played it, and who cares about it as something more than a bunch of stuff to steal.

If the alternative to answering questions, up to and including the brand of your kitchen sink is that the bad guys gain access to your account, you would not want it any other way!

#15 - Aug. 14, 2013, 9:34 p.m.

It would be very helpful to have the display names of the accounts impacted by this. I mean those whose accounts were mentioned here as having been terminated in the last day or two, specifically.

Thank you.

#24 - Aug. 15, 2013, 11:57 a.m.

Axaren.5342:

Gaile, I sent you a PM. I don’t think I am supposed to post other people’s display name in forum.

I have looked up the account in question, and the ticket. Apparently, this post was made immediately upon submission of the ticket. I certainly can understand that you’d want a very prompt response, but to submit a ticket and post on the forums immediately afterwards is just not appropriate. Our means of follow up is here: https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/support/account/Tickets-for-Review-3-days-and-older-merged/first#post48339

It has been 24 hours now, and I wish that you had received a response more quickly than this. The team is backed up (we had some issues with the ticketing system, darn it!) but I think your husband will hear soon.

Thank you for understanding the process that we request, and thank you, also, for patience as the team reviews the ticket.

#25 - Aug. 15, 2013, 12:08 p.m.

Astral Projections.7320:

Yeah, the same thing happened to me. I traded gold with 2 other guildies, using the guild bank to transfer between us. One guildie loaned 175 gold, I loaned 25 gold and the 3rd loaned nothing, only borrowed the 200 from us. I got a ban and they didn’t. It took 27 hours to get unbanned, most of which was waitng for them to contact me. Once they contacted me, they resolved it in minutes. I guess once they actually looked they could see the gold entering and leaving the account within a few minutes span. It did make me wonder why they couldn’t see this before they banned me.

We try like crazy to avoid these, but sometimes one slips through the cracks. As you noted, we are able to verify the details and get you back on your account, but we’ll continue to see how we can avoid these altogether.

#27 - Aug. 15, 2013, 1:17 p.m.

Posting to complain about a process within a few minutes of submitting a ticket is not appropriate. Best to see the ticket resolved and fully understand the facts of the case before posting. A submit-and-post can be perceived — although I do not in the case — as nothing more than a “rant.” Again, I do not perceive the OP to be ranting, but I am making provably effective suggestions for the best way for us to work together on these individual issues.

Rest assured that I’m making substantive suggestions for improving things on every side. And you also can be sure I am pursuing — have in fact already pursued — internal information about the processes and an assessment of how we can reduce false positives.