I fought the law and the law won.

Q u o t e:
A GM whispered me while I was on my Tichondrius character and told me I would get suspended if I "continued to violate the Zone/Area Disruption policy" but he refused to tell me what exactly I was doing wrong... I kept asking him what I needed to stop doing but he refused to respond then gave me the whole "Thanks have a nice day" macro and after that I couldn't whisper him anymore.

When I email Account Administration ALL THEY DO IS COPY / PASTE THE POLICY!!! They don't bother saying what I did wrong, which leads me to believe I'm right and they're just hoping I'll give up.


I did not violate that policy in any way whatsoever, nor did I do anything similar that isn't explicitly mentioned in the policy.

Actually, based on the evidence I was able to review, you know exactly what you were doing, and you were warned specifically to refrain from doing so.

You were even provided a specific warning to desist, but responded by disparaging the name of the Game Master that attempted to prevent this action from occurring on your account. Unfortunately, the Game Masters were not bluffing, and strangely, have a keener understanding of the policies than you might think.

Was there anything else you wished to discuss?

Q u o t e:


True, but incoming will be the "little brother" was playing his account at that time, and therefore he is completely innocent.

Why they never blame little sisters I have yet to determine.

I rather expect an attempt at policy interpretation. Hopefully, I can save some time by discussing the Zone/Area Disruption policy briefly:

Q u o t e:

Zone / Area Disruption Policy:
This category includes language and/or actions intended to disturb groups of
players or areas of the world, such as:
* Disruption of player sponsored events or gatherings
* Excessive use of in-game sounds or visuals
* Excessively casting spells with noticeable effects in crowded areas
* Impeding or blocking access to an NPC, doodad, doorway, or any other area
of the world that a player would normally be able to access

This is the policy, as listed. However, you'll note the words 'such as'. 'Such as' indicates an example. While all the listed examples can indeed represent a violation of this policy, all possible interpretations of the policy are not included in these examples - these are just some of the more common forms that such a violation might take.

The real meat of this policy is here:

Q u o t e:
This category includes language and/or actions intended to disturb groups of
players or areas of the world

This is the most important part of the policy, though one that seems to have escaped notice, for some reason.

Q u o t e:
I have every right to be in Orgrimmar at any time and a single person cannot cause the server to lag, only an entire city full of people could do that. Therefore, if I received a suspension for lag (which we don't know yet since the CM and GM didn't explicitly say that) then everyone in the city at the time was equally responsible, regardless of whether or not they died.

Keep in mind the GM and CM have not cited lag as the issue, and if the GM had responded by saying I was causing the lag I would have gladly left the city.

Are we supposed to be hardware / tech experts who know the exact capacity / threshold of their servers so as not to cause any lag? Maybe if they had been more forthright there wouldn't have been a problem.

I'm frankly surprised that this thread has gone on so long, when I've already more than adequately addressed your concerns.

Your definition of what Zone/Area Disruption is, or is not, is factually irrelevant. This may come as a surprise, but it is not for you, or any other player, to interpret our policies. Regardless, by your admission here, and in-game, you were participating in an event, via in-game physical actions and speech, that a Game Master specifically told you not to participate in.

You willfully participated in this event, and moreover, discussed the matter with your guild members. You claimed that the Game Master that warned you was bluffing because you had read the policies, and had cleverly decided that they didn't apply to what you were doing. The only flaw in your plan is that you were gravely mistaken.

Those policies cover the event that you were participating in (let us not forget both physically and verbally), and you violated them. You disobeyed a Game Master's instructions as well, which, coincidentally, is also a violation of our policies.

No amount of debate or argument here will change that fact, and moreover, you seem to be the only one that is not clear on why you were actioned, despite my rather explicit explanation.

Protests are not, nor will they ever be, an appropriate means of achieving change for your class. If you wish to see change for the Shaman class, then I encourage you to make use of the Suggestion forum, or the Shaman feedback thread that has been posted in that class forum.

Q u o t e:
If your definitions are so vague and left to the whim of the GM how can I ever play the game without fearing suspension when some 13 year old crybaby may be upset by me falling off a building?

It may be subtle, but a Game Master contacting you in-game and requesting that you no longer participate in the event is usually a significant clue.

Q u o t e:


At this moment in time, the OP was not in any trouble. Had he stopped doing it, that would have been of it all. No suspension, no problem.

Continuing the activity = one violation.
Refusing to do as instructed by a GM = another violation.

Actually, he was in violation merely by participating, but the Game Master in question was using discretion to give him a chance to log out and cease participating.

Q u o t e:


Nothing in your Terms of Use says anything about "riots" and the definition of the word "riot" in this context is, therefore, extremely ambiguous.

My argument still stands. I would assume a riot includes spamming of chat, emotes, spells, etc. but none of that was happening at the time... I still contend it was a rather amusing event overall both for those participating and those who were not.

I'd also like to know how, exactly, gameplay was disturbed.

As others have stated, I've already informed you that you are in violation of our policies, and what that policy was. You are not owed a more detailed explanation, yet, for the sake of completeness, I don't see any harm in providing one.

How, exactly, was gameplay disrupted? It could have something to do with multiple alts swarming a capital city saying slogans in /trade, spamming and otherwise making nuisances of themselves.

A single player doing such a thing is not likely to be an issue. Strangely, an organized mass of players engaging in this kind of behavior tends to generate a large number of petitions. It's sweet that you are under the impression that it was a gathering that warmed the hearts of young and old, and I hate to disabuse you of that notion, but the simple fact is that the majority of players in the area (and in the other areas affected by the Trade channel) did not appreciate the presence of you and your compatriots, and made as much clear to us.

Q u o t e:


Thank you for vindicating me, I rarely said anything in trade and if that was the only real disturbance I was not guilty of any violation.

You may want to inform your fellow GMs of their errors.


... I do believe you disagree with the other GM but I won't bother explaining that, your reasoning seems to be at odds with his.

You were a participant in the event. Such an event, where otherwise 'harmless' activities can become a violation of policy due to the number of players participating, and the intent. You participated, thus, you are in violation of our policies.

I will not explain this to you again.

Q u o t e:
<~~~~~~~~~~~ i think it's time, Mal :)

Nope. But I thank you for the suggestion.

Q u o t e:



Regardless, I was confused at first by your lack of explanation but now I understand and no longer feel any guilt at all. I had initially thought the GM was asking me to stop jumping off the flight tower but it seems you're referring more to people talking in Trade chat.

There is no need to explain anything, I was right all along and you've now confirmed it twice. The GMs mistake was his vagueness, rude attitude and refusal to answer my questions.

You have my permission to post any logs from that "event" you have pertaining to my character though... I really don't even remember how much I talked in Trade chat.

*rubs temples*

You are clearly beyond my assistance, Konwayz. I wish you luck in your endeavors, and I truly hope that you get help.

From Account Administration.

Errare humanum est, sed perseverare diabolicum.