Aliandren Recieves a 3 Day Ban revisited

#0 - Sept. 9, 2007, 6:33 a.m.

To whom it may concern;

Twice now a guild mate of mine Aliandren has been banned for using an engineering trinket within Warsong Gulch. He has been accused, falsely, of using third party software and essentially hacking because players with less knowledge of game mechanics have reported him for 'moving too fast'. In fact the first time he was accused of this one such accuser pointed out the fact that his feet glowed as evidence of the hack. The fact that the game generated an animation that is connected directly to the trinket used was proof that he was hacking, not only affecting his speed, but he was so amazing he could alter the client side graphical display of another user.

Now, the fact that players are ignorant enough to not be able to make this distinction is understandable. But the fact that your game masters are so unaware of the items and game mechanics used in the game is not. Their knee jerk reaction to assume use of a complicated piece of third party software or hack is moronic. Anyone could even look at his equipment notice he has a set bonus to increase speed, at one point a talent spec to increase it further, and engineering trinkets to increase it even further still. With all that information at your Game Master's finger tips plus the detailed and exact explanation from Aliandren himself when approached in game the decision to ban him is inexcusable.

Unless you wish to see a large number of friends and supporters of Aliandren leave this game I suggest you take steps to rectify these actions. These steps should include:
1. Restoration of his account to good standing and removal of both fraudulent offenses.
2. Compensation for the 6 days of banned time he was falsely charged for.
3. A written letter or email of apology to the account holder for the inconvenience and inappropriateness of the accusations.

Sincerely,

Nicholas *******

+++++++

The above is an open letter to the Customer Service Staff of WoW. I have already contacted Account Management regarding this issue and will continue to spread this information and letter through every media outlet at my disposal. This is the same song and dance performed by the GM staff as can be found in this thread: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=712401775&sid=1 which was locked following a lack of any realistic evidence to support the GM's claims of Aliandren moving 'quite fast' despite his detailed and complete description of events that could have easily resulted in the observed actions.

If you are offended by the treatment of Aliandren please show your support. And if you are a troll just looking to flame and kiss the posterior of Blizzard keep away. I'm not saying they are massively incompetent on the whole, but they make mistakes and when they do they often fail to correct them in a timely manner because there is little apparent accountability for bad GMing.

Pavonum

#87 - Sept. 9, 2007, 8:56 p.m.

It is clear that you are supportive of your friends, Faedra, and I commend you on the impressive level of concern you have for your guildmate's well-being; your efforts to defend his honour are duly noted. That having been said, I'm sorry to say that your testimony — touching and eloquent though it may be — is ultimately immaterial in the face of the investigation that was conducted into your friend's activities before any action was taken against him. This was not a "knee-jerk" reaction to legitimate game mechanics, nor was our judgment as uninformed as you claim.

Although there is little to be gained, and much to be lost, by making our methods of verification known — the more transparent they become, the more easily they may be circumvented — suffice it to say that your friend was personally observed, for a period more than three times as long as the prior offense, moving at speeds that far exceed those available through normal means or even via an improbable string of class mechanics, tradeskill items, and sundry Battleground-based buffs. Steps were taken specifically in the interest of ruling out both the Engineering trinket to which you refer and a certain Cat Form ability, either of which might otherwise be wrongfully perceived as an exploitation of game mechanics.

The evidence against your friend is compelling, Faedra, but he is still, as always, welcome to contest the prior judgment by opening a dialogue with Account Administration; please note that you, not being the registered user of the affected account, are not awarded the same privilege. Any attempts you make to contact that department regarding this matter shall be disregarded. That said, your devotion does not go unnoticed. :)

Pavonum

#95 - Sept. 9, 2007, 9:52 a.m.

This requires no further discussion through this forum; the means have been provided by which the matter may be pursued. :)