Suspended for not doing anything

#0 - Jan. 15, 2009, 8:42 p.m.

So yesterday morning I was playing wow at work, Left for lunch, while sitting in winterspring. Came back and i was disconnected, tried to log back on, and it said my account was suspended.

I have 2 accounts, and the one with the 2 80's was affected, So now im stuck playing this character.
I wasn't even notified why I was suspended, even though thats what the wow websites say, that I will receive an e-mail. Which I didn't. I had to contact them and ask why.

So i receive this generic E-mail from blizzard :

Greetings,

This account has recently been identified as being involved in actions deemed inappropriate for the World of Warcraft. This conclusion was reached based on the results of a thorough investigation and therefore, the following account action has been issued:

Account Name: *********

Account Action: 72 hour suspension, the loss of all current honor points, and/or all items recently gained through the use of honor points.
Offense: Abuse of Game Mechanics
Details: Exploitation of the PvP honor system. This may include, but is not limited to the following:

*Use of add-ons, "mods", external hardware, or any unapproved third party software to automate gameplay.
*Abuse of game mechanics or "bugs".
*Any behavior that has been found to be outside the intent of these Player versus Player matches.

This action has been taken in accordance with the World of Warcraft Terms of Use (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html) and our game policies (http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20309). Any further inappropriate behavior could result in penalties ranging from a temporary suspension to account closure, and may also include loss of any rewards the exploitive character has received.

Any disputes or questions concerning the following account action can only be addressed by Account Administration. To learn more about how Account Administration is able to assist you, please visit us at http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21505. To maintain the integrity of our investigation methods, we may not be able to disclose specifics regarding this.

Thank you for your time and for understanding our position in this matter.

Regards,

Creativus
Account Administration
Blizzard Entertainment
www.worldofwarcraft.com

------------------------------------------------------

So I know exactly what you are going to say,

**Well maybe you shouldn't do things against the TOS**
**Thats what you get for afk BGing**
**You must have deserved it**

All of which are completely untrue. I had only BG'd on sunday for a few games, all of which I was top dps and kills, least killed. I did 10 games on 2 charaters in arena's. And thats it.
I also find it odd that a guildie had received the same treatment as me, and he hasn't played since sunday, at all. And even then, he was only questing. Is Blizzard receving wrong information, or did they make a mistake? or are they not actually investigating issues? Have they been hacked? Did someone get fired and decided to randomly screw a bunch of wow players?

I would definitly at least like a response as to Why my other account had been suspended, because I'll tell you, I have absolutly NO idea.

Malkorix

#14 - Jan. 15, 2009, 8:59 p.m.

Q u o t e:
So yesterday morning I was playing wow at work, Left for lunch, while sitting in winterspring. Came back and i was disconnected, tried to log back on, and it said my account was suspended.

I have 2 accounts, and the one with the 2 80's was affected, So now im stuck playing this character.
I wasn't even notified why I was suspended, even though thats what the wow websites say, that I will receive an e-mail. Which I didn't. I had to contact them and ask why.

Well, if you'd like to dispute an account action, the only effective means to do so is to send an email to [email protected] from your registered email address.

If you'd like to furnish me with the name and realm of a character on the affected account in the meantime, I just might be able to shed some light on this situation, though it's possible that I may not have much that I can add.

Malkorix

#20 - Jan. 15, 2009, 9:10 p.m.

Indeed, it seems as though this may be related to honor or achievement related issues via World PvP in a particular location.

Perhaps this sounds familiar?

Malkorix

#30 - Jan. 15, 2009, 9:18 p.m.

Q u o t e:
The Kitty's response makes me curious.

As a cat myself, I'd like to let you know that it totally isn't all it's cracked up to be. Curiosity that is.

Malkorix

#39 - Jan. 15, 2009, 9:30 p.m.

Sometimes all it takes is the push of a button.

That's all I'll be saying on this topic though. Those involved should be fully aware of the issue at this point. Any further discussion should be taken up with our Account Administration staff.

Malkorix

#69 - Jan. 16, 2009, 12:30 a.m.

Q u o t e:
I think I know exactly what it was. After searching my memory for anything world PvP that all took place in one specific location, it occurred to me. Wyrmrest Temple. Were you there when the alliance took over and spawn camped Wyrmrest Temple, killing everyone who spawned in the center? I was leveling my death knight at the time, and there was a large group of alliance that killed me while turning in a quest. When oyu die in Wyrmrest, you spawn in the center of the bottom floor of the temple, so I made numerous tries to try to escape the boundaries of the temple so I could spawn outside in a dragonblight graveyard instead to leave. Instead, I was killed repeatedly, and after probably thirty or more tries I just gave up and logged on my main until they left later that night. The GMs must have thought that this was some sort of honor trading or something, when in fact it was just a bunch of people trying to leave the damn place so they could just get back to questing. Is this correct?

Are you sure?

Could it just possibly have been a few more than 30 times?

Q u o t e:
Cept I would like to note one more thing, If the offense was taken place after dec 23rd, I'd really like this resolved Because My accout had been hacked, IT was fully investiaged, SO perhaps that was something overlooked by the ban crew who were doing these mass bans?

** Edit **

AND when I got my account back, My character was logged out in wintergrasp!

This event did not occur until long after that period, and during a time when the account in question appears to be firmly under your control.

Malkorix

#89 - Jan. 16, 2009, 12:59 a.m.

Q u o t e:
What's the Blizzard # again. Im calling right now. if its not somehow resolved in 2 hrs, Im canceling my account, and im not even kidding. I don't pay money (i dont care how much or how little) to be treated Like this. I work in a customer Service field, And I would be fired in a heart beat if I EVER treated a customer like this.

**edit**

Because of this :

Account Action: 72 hour suspension, <b>the loss of all current honor points, and/or all items recently gained through the use of honor points.</b>

I've already provided the appropriate point of contact on this, which you ignored in the interest of speculating about the cause.

If you wish to dispute this account action may feel free to email Account Administration as I originally suggested. Please keep the following in mind, however:

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20224

Speaking seriously though, we aren't talking about 30 or 50. We're talking about hundreds. It's probably a very good idea to cease the discussion here and take this matter up with Account Administration.

Q u o t e:
If I Robbed a bank, Is it the tellar who gets charged with robbery?

If the teller aided and abetted a robbery, that's a distinct possibility, yes. Let's please stray away from real world analogies though, as they tend to draw threads off course.

Malkorix

#112 - Jan. 16, 2009, 1:23 a.m.

Q u o t e:

OK, So lets say, Im running into OS, and i get killed in wyrmrest by 20+ horde.

So imdead.

I click the release button.

I spawn.

In the exact same spot.

Alive.

My guild is waiting.

So I spawn again.

and Again

and ONE HUNDRED more times.

How am I supposed to know taht this action Is bannable.

The only way I see it is that those 20+ horde abused the 'no deminishing returns' mechanic of the game. Where as I abused the 'durability of my gear' mechanic of the game?

Most often a mechanic functions properly. On occasion, something occurs which enables a normal mechanic to be exploited - and sometimes it takes the cooperation of the opposing faction to do so.

Once again, I advise you to review the following article. I will quote the relevant pieces here for your edification:
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20224

Q u o t e:
Bug Exploitation

We have a top notch Quality Assurance team who tirelessly stamp out bugs and design inconsistencies within World of Warcraft. However, a handful of trained professionals can never isolate and resolve each and every bug in such a deep and complex game accessed simultaneously by thousands of players. You may come across the occasional bug during your adventures. Some bugs are minor and do not affect gameplay, but sometimes these bugs can be used to provide an unfair advantage to certain players or affect the service itself. Factors included in determining the appropriate penalty:

* Whether or not the exploit is performed intentionally, maliciously, and/or repeatedly
* Whether or not the exploit damages another character, their gameplay, the service itself and/or its economy
* Whether or not an attempt has been made to conceal the exploit's use

Regardless, if you believe that this account action was levied in error, you may contact the appropriate parties to dispute it. Debating this subject with me here serves literally no purpose.

Malkorix

#128 - Jan. 16, 2009, 1:38 a.m.

Q u o t e:
If you could please do your job, Get me an official E-mail from blizzard on the final verdict on this, then We can all stop wasting our time on here.

I'm not a member of our Account Administration team, nor am I in a position to hasten an investigation.

You've already taken the correct steps, and your case will be reviewed. If there was some kind of error, then I'm sure our staff will be more than happy to correct it.

In the meantime, I'm going to lock this thread, as there really is no reason to discuss this further in this format.