Summary

Temp Ban

As you can plainly see from this earlier ban, I was at least given some explanation as to why I was banned from the forums in the context of a post I made, which was also attached to the ban notice.

The following is a response email I sent to the WoW CM Feedback Team concerning this ban, as I did not feel it was fair to be banned for "spamming" or "trolling":

11/17/2009 10:50 AM PSTHello,


I received a temporary ban from posting privileges in the World of Warcraft Forums. The reason is given as:

Suspended from the World of Warcraft forums for a 24 hour period for trolling the forums.

* 1. Re: So when can shaman get looked at by the d 11/12/2009 08:48:07 AM PST

Your gear is bad... this is the answer for why your HPs are low.


Deadly -> Relentless = ~4k hp


Stop complaining about things that are fine. The only way to fight pretentiousness is with pure unadulterated trolling, please enjoy some of my best of the latter.

http://druidify.blogspot.com/

I understand that you are unlikely to revoke this ban, being as it is such a short-term infraction, however I wanted to leave some feedback regarding said ban. Most notably, I found it odd that I was given this 24-hour ban for "Spamming and Trolling" when I only posted twice in said thread, and it truly isn't a "troll"-esque remark -- that is, the original poster was complaining that shamans have too low hp, and I was simply instructing him that upgrading to the latest season's gear would alleviate that problem.


Additionally, the only piece of my post that actually violates any of the forums terms of service is that the last sentence ("Stop complaining about things that are fine", the last two are actually my signature) comes off as a bit rude. I know that section 5 of the ToS suggests that any account can be banned for any reason at any time for anything listed or not, but this seemed a bit much for this comment.


Lastly, this comment, which I am being punished for, was written on 11/12/2009 (I went back to check that this was true, but it seems that in addition, this particular reply by me has been deleted) or at the very least 11/16/2009 which was the last post in the thread posted before my receiving the ban. I suppose I am simply wondering why a 24-hour ban is in order for a post that is likely over 4 days old... wouldn't have simply deleting said reply been just as effective?


I suppose that I'm just griping...


I AM glad that the "Account Banned" functionality was finally built into the forums. This is a very handy feature for hot-heads like myself who tend to get a little too spirited for the forums and receive temporary bans on a bi-monthly basis. The one critique I have here is that the banner should have the ability to (or should if he does have the ability to) leave a detailed description; "suspended ... for a 24 hour period for trolling the forums" is a pretty broad statement, particularly when I truly did not feel like I was trolling.


Perhaps an added feature for future development could be a button which would let you plead your case and try to appeal the ban. However, I can imagine that this seems like a moot point for a temporary ban, and I am sure that the mods have more important things to do than going over appeals for such matters. Oh well.


Thanks,

Reygahnci

I received this response:

11/17/2009 5:28 PM PSTHello,


After reviewing your account's forum record, we have determined that the appropriate action was taken and will not be repealed. While the Code of Conduct does list penalties for certain categories each incident is reviewed on a case by case basis as stated in the Code of Conduct:


http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/policy/forum-coc.html


"Blizzard Entertainment reserves the right to suspend your access to these forums at any time for reasons that include, but are not necessarily limited to, your failure to abide by these guidelines.


We reserve the right to evaluate each incident on a case by case basis. The action we take may be more lenient or more severe than those listed under each category."


It's important for us to provide a civil and friendly environment on the forums, where all players can feel comfortable sharing their thoughts with each other. Your support in helping us maintain this goal is appreciated.


- The World of Warcraft Community Team

However, when I received the permabanhammer, rather than getting a useful message regarding why I was banned with a quotation of my wrong-doing, I got the following on the forums:

A little more shaken than with the temporary ban, I checked my email to find the following message:

7/8/2010 11:02 AM PSTGreetings,


This email is to inform you that your account has been permanently banned from the World of Warcraft forums for harassing other players.


It's important for us to provide a civil and friendly environment on the forums, where all players can feel comfortable sharing their thoughts with each other. Your inability to help us maintain that goal has caused us to permanently suspend your forum privileges.


If you feel that you have been wrongly banned please send your reasons to this email address: wowreportedpost@blizzard.com


- The World of Warcraft Community Team


World of Warcraft Forum Code of Conduct: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/policy/forum-coc.html

After wracking my brain for a good while, I could not come up with anything I had done which could be constituted as harassing players; as many of my readers know, I am usually the first to offer help or suggestions to players in the forums and I try my best to keep a polite demeanor and not get under anyone's skin while following the forum code of conduct and terms of service to the best of my ability. I then sent a response to the email they suggested, pleading my case and putting it in no uncertain terms that I have never intentionally or unintentionally harassed anyone on the wow boards:

7/8/2010 11:58 AM PSTGreetings,


I received this email at 11:02 AM PST. I feel that I have been wrongly banned. It says here that I have been permanently banned from the World of Warcraft forums for "harassing other players," which I have never done, ever. Let me be clear on this point, I have been posting on the boards for almost five years now and have never intentionally or otherwise harassed another player.


I would like to see the post in question so that I might be able to understand this reaction better and/or help explain my meaning behind the post if said post actually comes across as harassment.


Again, I have never intentionally harassed another player, a VIP-poster, a forum moderator, or a Blizzard developer; I believe this ban is unjust.

I have not yet received a response from Blizzard as of 7/9/2010 10:58 AM PST.

I have just received an email from the Blizzard Support Customer Satisfaction Survey department with the following frustrating text:

7/9/2010 11:02 AM PSTThank you for contacting Blizzard Entertainment Support.


We hope that the information that was provided to you was helpful in resolving your issue. Customer satisfaction is a top priority here at Blizzard Entertainment, and we would like your feedback on the level of service you have received. Your response would be very much appreciated.


Here is a link to the survey:

http://us.blizzard.com/support/survey.xml?i=<deleted for privacy sake>


This link is uniquely tied to this survey and your email address; please do not forward this message.


Thank you for your participation!


Rygarius

Blizzard Support


To unsubscribe this email address from all future Blizzard customer service survey requests, please click here: http://us.blizzard.com/opt/support-survey/unsubscribe.xml?id=<deleted for privacy sake>

So, I went to the survey page, which simply asks me to rate the level of support I receieved from Blizzard Customer Service. I rated them lowest in every regard and put a rather long explanation into the "Is there anything else you would like to tell us about? What could we have done to make this a better experience for you?" field along the lines of my appeal email. In addition, I found this nice little bit of text at the top:

Please note, you will not receive a response regarding any information provided in this webform. If you would like to ask a support-related question, please visit our Support e-mail form by clicking here.

Okay... I cicked there, and it has taken me to a direct Blizzard Support page with a product selection drop-down, a category (from which I chose "Account Penalty Inquiry"), and drop-down indicating which type of inquiry I will be making (from which I selected "Account Action"). There is a rather detailed part of this page asking about your account information (no passwords obviously, but account name and your name and what-not) followed by a description field which I can only assume is the "inquiry" area. So, I am putting a description of my situation in there and I guess I just have to wait until they get back to me. The following is my statement on their support page:

7/9/2010 12:20 PM PSTI received a permanent ban from the World of Warcraft forums for allegedly "harassing other players."


I have never, intentionally or otherwise, harassed or defamed another player, a forum moderator, a vip, a Blizzard developer, or anyone connected or not with the World of Warcraft in the official World of Warcraft Forums.


When I responded to the email I received (wowreportedpost@blizzard.com), I received another email the next day (today) that said essentially "we hope that the information provided was helpful" and there was a link to quality survey.


I never received ANY information as to the context I was banned for, and I feel the banning was unjust. I have complied with the standards of the forums and the Code of Conduct, and I simply want to know why I was banned and to try and explain any statements made which might have been construed as harassment or defamatory because I did not make any harassing statements or defamatory remarks.


I feel I have been treated unjustly.

Another email from Blizzard regarding my permanent ban from the WoW Forums just came in, this one actually feels like we are getting down to the point now:

7/15/2010 11:55 AM PST
Hello,

A character on this account posted the following excerpt in violation of the Forum Code of Conduct:

* 39841. Re: Battle.net Update: Upcoming Changes to Fo 07/08/2010 10:41:28 AM PDT

I really don't think the people in here that have threatened the safety of Blizzard employees are helping your cause.

How have they not?

They have proved the point... giving out your REAL IDENTIFICATION is dangerous on the internet... there are, without a word to give proper due, bad people on the internet... and if all they have to do is spend 15 minutes Googling your information off of this public forum before harassing you in the real world... how does that bode for RealID as a SYSTEM?

Micah put his name on the internet and 15 minutes later his dog was killed just to prove this point: your real information is private and should stay that way.

---

The only way to fight pretentiousness is with pure unadulterated trolling, please enjoy some of my best of the latter.

http://druidify.blogspot.com/

This post encourages harassment towards a Blizzard employee. After reviewing your account's forum record we have determined that the appropriate actions were taken, and this account will not have forum privileges restored under any circumstances. We regret to implement such severe action, but at times it is necessary to maintain a positive forum environment.

World of Warcraft Forum Code of Conduct: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/policy/forum-coc.html

- The World of Warcraft Community Team

I of course, replied to this email pleading my innocence, or at the very least: non-guilt:

7/15/2010 11:55 AM PST
Hello,

I respectively disagree with the statement that "this post encourages harassment towards a Blizzard employee." My post was arguing against the RealID system because of alleged repugnant actions taken by a person other than myself. I am publicly abhorrent of the system because of the alleged actions taken by some crazy person on the internet. I did nothing but use this as a cornerstone of the argument against RealID being mandatory in the forums. I never meant to harass the Blizzard employee in question or egg any other reader on to do so.

I do not think it is fair to ban me permanently from the forums for an isolated incident which was construed in a completely different way than I meant it. I obviously harbor no ill-will towards this person, I have not (nor would ever) wish anything negative upon them or anyone for that matter, and many people in the forums before me used his name in good faith (as I did) to illustrate their point(s). I do not see why this penalty should be anything more than a temporary ban, particularly given that I have now explained my statement as a good faith attempt at making a point and not encouraging harassment.

I concede that my post could be misconstrued as an attempt to incite harassment or misdeed, but you must believe me that I made no effort to do so. I posted in good faith that I was not violating any terms of use or the code of conduct, and I am truly apologetic if the Blizzard employee felt harassed or threatened by my statement directly. I am not one to condone outwardly negative comments about real people's lives (which was the crux of my statement in that post concerning RealID).

Again, I posted my comment in good faith that I was not harassing any person and that I was within the forum code of conduct and terms of service. Why should my penalty be a permanent ban for an accidental infraction?

-Reygahnci@Laughing Skull

At this point, I have to feel like I am at the end of my rope. I have only posted in good faith that I have been adhering to the forum code of conduct while within the official Blizzard terms of service, and I have been permanently banned for an accidental infraction, which the moderation administrators seem perfectly content with. I am hoping that my apology and sincerity in trying to explain my statement as a good faith post at best and an accidental incitement at worst will sway them... but who knows.