I WAS BANNED!!! BLIZZARD'S FAULT!

[Khamballa]

Volonazra knows what happened! I was getting on a bad rider and it bugged out!

I went all crazy and rubber banded around Tarren Mill!

They said that they detected hacking like behavior with my character moving at incredible speed...

So they perma banned my account.

Help guys! I emailed them right now and I dont know if they'll respond.

What should I do?

-Khamballa/Luke

[Volonazra]

NO WAY!

Yes i was on during that. This bites! Ive read horror stories about Blizz banning innocent people. You probably cant log into the offical forums either to ask how to prove you didnt hack. Besides email and perhaps a phone call, im at a loss on how to get your questions answered. Tell us what the respose email says. We'll take it from there.

[Rhoach]

That's incredibly crappy! I would agree with Vol, email and call. Calling would be your best bet I'd think, though I really don't know much of the inner workings of blizzard... just that it's harder to say 'no' to someone's voice than a written message.

[Khamballa]

This is the first Email I recieved.

Greetings Luke,

* * * NOTICE OF ACCOUNT CLOSURE REVIEW * * *

Account Name: MEPHISTOPHELES

Character Name: Khamballa

Realm: Argent Dawn

Offense: Violation of Exploitation and Client/Server Manipulation

Policy - Unapproved Third Party Software

Details: Character witnessed moving at speeds unobtainable by the

standard game client.

The actions detailed above have been deemed inappropriate for World of

Warcraft by the Blizzard Entertainment In-game Support Staff. As a

result, the World of Warcraft account has been given a 72 hour account

suspension and will not be accessible for the duration thereof. This

World of Warcraft account has also been forwarded to our Account

Administration team for review of current and previous policy infractions to

determine if further account actions, up to and including account closure,

are necessary. Our Account Administration team will contact you with a

decision once all information has been reviewed.

Thank you for respecting our position on this matter.

Please visit http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/termsofuse.shtml for

further information and to review the World of Warcraft Terms of Use.

Regards,

Bekyn

Game Master

Blizzard Entertainment

www.worldofwarcraft.com

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

Their next Email.

> Greetings,

>

> ***Notice of Account Closure***

>

> Access to the World of Warcraft account MEPHISTOPHELES, and any World

> of Warcraft account associated with the payment information you have

> provided, has been permanently disabled. The account has been

> identified as having used unauthorized game modifications and thus is

> in violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use.

>

> Please review the World of Warcraft Terms of Use at

>

<http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html>,

> which you accepted when you installed World of Warcraft and

> established the account(s). Section 2, Paragraph C details the

> limitations of game play modifications and use of any third-party or

> "packet sniffing" software. In addition, Section 3, Paragraph C,

> parts iii and iv restrict the use of any hack, scripting or macroing

> software which obtains information from World of Warcraft to gain a

> competitive advantage over other players.

>

> Furthermore, any activities not intended by game design which affect

> the economy, the client, player characters or the world itself have a

> tremendous negative impact on the potential enjoyment for all

players.

> The effects of these activities take many forms including a bloated

> game economy, server instability, and allowing unauthorized access to

> accounts, computers, and player data.

>

> As a result, the account(s) will no longer be accessible and will

> unfortunately not be reopened under any circumstances.

>

> Thank you for your understanding in this matter and respecting our

> position and all statutes within the World of Warcraft Terms of Use.

>

>

>

>

> Regards,

> Razio

> Account Administration

> Blizzard Entertainment

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

My response:

-----Original Message-----

From: -----adrid

To: WoWAccountAdmin@blizzard.com

Sent: 4/17/2005 10:18:44 PM

Subject: Re: World of Warcraft - Account Closure

This is a huge mis-understanding.

I have been an avid player of World of Warcraft. I have only

contributed to your system and Argent Dawn.

I have contributed both with my initial purchase, my monthly fee and

with role playing - ENHANCING the RP server.

The speed at which I was moving is explainable because during the

battle of Tarren Mill, last night, I was taking a Bat Rider back to the

undercity. The bat just sat there at the rider flapping it's wings... and

sat there... so I clicked my mouse and the bat started moving! It

started flying around uncontrolable at first - and then I being moving the

trackball and It was flying around... rubber banding. Since I couldnt do

anything cept rubber band around Tarren Mill people started saying "Get

out of here!" and I couldnt jump off or anything. So I yelled "THE BATS

GONE CRAZY!"

Later I told my guild about stealing a bat out of my troll's sheer

ferocity and riding it into battle. This was role playing. The bat gave me

absolutly no incentive whatsoever. That explains my fast moving speed -

BLIZZARD's ERROR! Not my hacks or anything of that nature. I did not

cheat. The game screwed up. The problem was resolved when the game

crashed and I logged back in. The bat flew from it's zone that it existed in

before the crash back onto it's flight path.

I demand to have my account re-oppened. I am extremely disheartened, I

love this game, I'll keep paying and keep RPing and never cheat, as I

never have on ANY ONLINE GAME EVER. Please, review your data gain,

you'll see that the bat got screwy. Really check it out. You can ask my Clan

"Clan SKullcrusher" the player Volonazra knows exactly what happened.

--------

Their Response:

Hello,

I have double checked your the account MEPHISTOPHELES and verified all

relevant logs for the account. Unfortunately, I am unable to divulge

exactly what evidence we have to preserve the integrity of our

investigation. We apologize for this, yet rest assured that we have

investigated this matter thoroughly and double checked all evidence presented.

It is with regret that we take this type of action, however, it is in

the best interest of the World of Warcraft community as a whole, and for

the integrity of the game, that access to your World of Warcraft

account be cancelled.

Regards,

Ticall

Account Administration

Blizzard Entertainment

www.worldofwarcraft.com

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

My response:

I know I'm just another 15 dollars. That's not worth one hour's worth of an employees lunch break when you do the math. I know it's not in anybody's personal interest whether you hurt somebody or not. It's not in anybody's interest to help a single person when they need help. So, I'm sorry if I'm wasting your time - but hear me out a second. PLEASE, make a difference in a person's life. Whoever is reading this - take a second to hear me. I purchased an Alienware in June, with hopes that the game would come out when I got the computer. The computer was sent to the wrong person. I finally received a week before the game shipped. I had to contact the Attorney General of Florida and threaten them with charges if interstate theft. I talked directly to the vice president of Alienware and that's when things started happening.

I jumped through hoops, spent a whole summer working like crazy to get this Alienware and to pay for the monthly fees (to my mother who pays with the card). I've been a victim of this big-time money making bureaucracy machine before. So if there is a real person at the end of this giant machine - please give me a fair investigation.I have a screenshot of this bat at GROUND level near Tarren Mill, I have a few. The graphics are turned up on full - so the shots are clean and crisp at full size and resolution. I will show you them to prove my innocence. I have the ORIGINAL targas. They prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was a bug and a complete FLUKE that is NOT my fault. Look at the locations at which this was happening, it started at Tarren Mill bat rider and ended after I crashed and logged back on. It has never occurred before or after.

I've never cheated, on any game, ever. I never will.

I have a face, I have feelings, I have a voice.

This injustice will not go unchecked.

So to the human being reading this: give me a chance.

AIM: SilentiumXXX

Phone: 800 701-XXXX (I'll be glad to talk WHENEVER, day night, wherever.

Email: XXXX@XXXX.org I'm willing to talk and do whatever to prove my innocence.

------

I can't believe their rhetoric. They didnt look over anything... they just banned me like it was nothing.

Edited April 18, 2005 by Khamballa

[Martok]

Ack! Call them up on the phone as soon as their offices open!

I am sure you had this effect due to a bug. About a month or so ago I took the windrider from Orgrimmar to Felwood. I don't know how I did it or what caused it, but when I landed in Felwood I had super speed. I could run across the entire zone in about 45 seconds. I did a /bug but never received a response. (also never received a warning email)

Good luck with your dealings with Blizzard today.

[Volonazra]

This is FUBAR! These Blizzard tards are amazing. I cant believe this is happening to you, and i feel bad. I read something similar in the official general forums awhile back. I cant seem to find the thread now....i was going to link it here but it seems to be gone. What happen as i recall, a person got banned due to them supposedly exploiting the z-axis. They had made a video of themselves however. The thread got alot of response, im not sure how it was resolved. I assume you cant log into the official forums. Would you like me to post there in your stead to ask for help/advise in this situation? I know it would TOTALLY suck, but maybe you could create a new account. Unless they ban your IP or cred card too. If you arent utterly pissed and wish not to continue to pay a company that treats people like this. I dont know if i would. In such an event, you would have my complete support in getting back on your feet.

Edited April 18, 2005 by Volonazra

[Volonazra]

Still looking for that thread. It has mysteriously vanished. It had at least 10-20 pages of responses, and hundreds of views. The GM of the banned persons guild posted, then added the video that was made before the banning by the baned player. I recall people were raising hell about it. Maybe its time to raise some hell ourselves. Keep us posted Khamballa.

Edited April 18, 2005 by Volonazra

[Volonazra]

i posted your case on the official general forums since i assume banning means you cant log in. I cut and pasted the BS responses you got, editing you personal info of course. Hopefully we will get some guidance or something usefull. the shock is over, now im getting pissed.

Edited April 18, 2005 by Volonazra

[Volonazra]

Only tid bit of help so far is: Cut and paste from the contact page:

If you are experiencing problems due to an account ban, suspension, or compromised accounts please contact WoWAccountAdmin@Blizzard.com.

Which is who you already have went round and round with.

The post is on page 4 already ever sorting by creation date...gah

Edited April 18, 2005 by Volonazra

[Wolf]

My lord. Definitely, definitely make the phone call. At least that way ypu can ensure that you get a real person that you can follow up with to hold accountable for the resolution

[Volonazra]

well discounting the flamers and trolls, there have been many responses stating they have had the same bug and similar ones. Also the embers of anti blizz angst have been stoked (oopsie >;] ) and people are supporting you and helping to keep the thread near the top. However, now the general pessimistic concensus is that it is a known bug and nobody else has been wrongly banned. Also, people advise anyone experiencing ANY anamoly to logout IMMEDIATELY. (wtf)

Heres a link to the thread. http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.a...l&T=2638068&P=1

Dont give up yet bud.

Edited April 18, 2005 by Volonazra

[Volonazra]

OMG we got a blue response!

Tyren says: Please have your guildmate contact the support teams with a legitimate complaint. Without having both sides of the issue present, there is no way to know if a bug was the source of this suspension.

[Khamballa]

Thanks for helping me out man. I feel bad I couldnt respond recently - I just woke up.

Let me check the forums and stuff. What do they want from me? I am confused? I am using COSMOS - is that illegal? Dont like half the people on WOW use it? God I sure hope that's not it...

----

Already, I cant thank you enougn man.... let me contact this guy again - the exact guy who blew me off.

[Khamballa]

Hello once again, Tyren told me to contact the team again. He said: "Please have your guildmate contact the support teams with a legitimate complaint. Without having both sides of the issue present, there is no way to know if a bug was the source of this suspension." check out the thread: it's right here:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.a...l&T=2638068&P=4

So, let's talk. Look; I have three screenshots - would you like to see them? Here, the link is here. http://altisonus.org/v-web/gallery/Blizzard-Banned-Me They are displayed on my person website at full resolution with fast display at full size. It's clear as day to a human being that I am not cheating, especially not gaining an advantage of anyone. If anything, it shows that faulty programming has caused me the ultimate gaming nightmare - getting banned for nothing. Volonazra, my representative is clearly talking to me there.

These pictures show that I was on a bat rider. Your logs should also show that I clicked the bat rider, certainly there has to be that in the log.

Your admin in front of the whole community tells everyone that I need to contact you, yet you ignore me in private. I cannot believe that. Can somebody please connect me with whoever's job it is to take of this? I will do anything to prove my innocence. Let me talk to somebody.

-Luke (Full name)

A good way to prove I am talking to an actual person is to email at my domain. Personal Email given.

[Khamballa]

http://altisonus.org/v-web/gallery/Blizzard-Banned-Me

By the way... THESE, are the images.

[Khamballa]

Once again, thanks for standing behind me. It means a lot. I garantee that if I get in (which I am pessemistic, but not certain about) I will contribute back to this clan 10 fold. If a guildie is willing to stand behind me here, I'll always be there to do the same.

I hope I get a person to talk to me about this.

[Volonazra]

I have looked at the screen shots. Im not sure how to use those do to help you though, besides prove you were on a bat and we had some dialog and other people witnessed it (Gromish). It seems, sadly, we need to prove you arent a hacker. Since all logs are server side, you have no way to support yourself that im aware of.

[Volonazra]

im going to contact Gromish. That should help if we have his account of the bug also, as he is an impartial party that witnessed it. Can you believe Tyren locked the thread? (Hmm...scared of public awarness much?) So by now its lost in the void of posts about nonsense. Want me to link your pictures on the forums, or will that crash your server?

Edited April 18, 2005 by Volonazra

[Khamballa]

if it does, oh well. Post the pictures. THey havnt responded to me since that post.

IN public they say contact me, in private they ignore me and blow me off. But they're still keeping my credit card income active!

Make sure to tell them that I would gladly contact them, as stated, if only they would contact me in return. Until then you feel that the forum post is needed to educate about this bug. They wont find any proof of hakcs, because I WASNT HACKING!

[Volonazra]

Im sure we may be getting more than usual trafic here. You should edit the post where your personal info is shown. Posted again on the main boards with you screenies, link to the locked thread from this morning, and if it happens to get locked i may link to here.

[Khamballa]

There's nothing I can do. They can make the community loyals (A person I used to be) believe anything... without any evidence... or posting anything. This is a nightmare.

They sent you an automated email.

Automatic response to your response.

Ban you from the forums.

If a public voice is heard, they publicaly tell you to email them.

They ignore your emails.

This could happen to anybody. Is it Cosmos they're talking about? Cosmos is not a cheating device, it's a legitimate addon that was just bought by gamespy or whatever. What pisses me off is they wont Email me telling me what I need to provide them to let them know I am innocent.

I am going to demand the rest of this month's payment returned to me, since I did not breach any contract and am being stolen from.

This is not just about a game, this is about business ethics, this is about bureaucracy and exploitation. right NOW, I am paying for their service, and right now, their service sucks.

[Volonazra]

i agree. You will need to adress the payment with the credit card co. though. Its not Cosmos, like you said its used extensivly. Cosmos could have added to the bug possibly. Someone mentioned recent death, third party UI and hoping on a transport. No clue.

Unless we think of something else...we are about out of options(not that we had any).

[Khamballa]

"4/16/05 $14.99 USD 1 Month Recurring

Active"

I was charged April 16th for a month.

They suspended my account "Sun, 17 Apr 2005 01:31:39 -0700" according to my Email.

Can you believe that bull######? This bug happened on the 16th of april, the day that I shelled out 15 dollars.

[Khamballa]

Aright, I am going to chat with a representative.

I've emailed to billing, administrators, and now the chat.

[Volonazra]

good luck, give em hell

keep us posted. i hope to hear from Gromish. maybe it can help?

Hey while your at it, and good and pissed, why not file a claim with Better Business Bureau. I already looked, they have had many such claims filed but what the heck. Vent some maybe you will feel better.

Edited April 18, 2005 by Volonazra