Blizzard customer service etiquette

[Byleth]

But if you did get banned for some random software running on your comp. Which could happen to anyone if you're doing other things while playing wow. Like for work.

You would get nothing and would cry, no one cares that you've escaped the random acct death. So have I. I'm not very confident in why that is tho beyond when I do play competitive games I generally turn all my crap off because I'm paranoid.

This is a very common complaint, and if you think everyone who the automated system bans is guilty...I have a bridge to sell you.

That's why blizz reps are so outta control. They don't acknowledge the failure rate of their system lol

The real truth is, I have had my original account banned.

I tried some botting software that all my guild mates at the time were using, for a total of 45min one morning, then went to work. A few hours later permaban.

Luckily they took some pity on me upon my appeal and didn't ban my secondary account on the same bnet, so I got to keep all my cheeves, mounts and whatnot.

I guess the real point is, the only time I ever had an issue - no matter what I was doing in the background - is the one, and only one, time I encountered any punishment.

Read into that what you will.

(P.S. In case you were wondering, none of my other guildies using the same software ever had an issue before, but I don't know if they did after, as I decided to move on and associate with more reputable peeps.)

[Scifix]

So here`s an update, since i see alot of trolls and different opinions going on in this thread.

Yes, i am just a bloke on the internet who could be lying, it`s the internet, believe me, or dont, up to you.
I spoke to a different GM about my appeal, where i went as far as admitting that YES i do slightly AFK in AV sometimes when it`s a bad game and we are just getting farmed and whatnot, the GM`s response to this was that this was "considered cheating and the suspension will remain for the full duration of 181 days"

Isnt 6 months a little harsh for being a lazy slacker some times? I mean, they banned me on a hunch from getting some reports from other players in AV, but i know for a fact that they cant have found any clue anywhere NEAR my account that i have been using any third party software, so it seems excessive, yet blizzard refuses any attempt i make at actually clearing this up.

[Mukind]

The real truth is, I have had my original account banned.

I tried some botting software that all my guild mates at the time were using, for a total of 45min one morning, then went to work. A few hours later permaban.

Luckily they took some pity on me upon my appeal and didn't ban my secondary account on the same bnet, so I got to keep all my cheeves, mounts and whatnot.

I guess the real point is, the only time I ever had an issue - no matter what I was doing in the background - is the one, and only one, time I encountered any punishment.

Read into that what you will.

(P.S. In case you were wondering, none of my other guildies using the same software ever had an issue before, but I don't know if they did after, as I decided to move on and associate with more reputable peeps.)

yes again your anecdote doesn't matter

Statistically speaking most people aren't gonna eat a ban, what is your point?

How does that help some one who did eat a BS ban?

Automated systems like this are always going to be full of flaws.

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So here`s an update, since i see alot of trolls and different opinions going on in this thread.

Yes, i am just a bloke on the internet who could be lying, it`s the internet, believe me, or dont, up to you.
I spoke to a different GM about my appeal, where i went as far as admitting that YES i do slightly AFK in AV sometimes when it`s a bad game and we are just getting farmed and whatnot, the GM`s response to this was that this was "considered cheating and the suspension will remain for the full duration of 181 days"

Isnt 6 months a little harsh for being a lazy slacker some times? I mean, they banned me on a hunch from getting some reports from other players in AV, but i know for a fact that they cant have found any clue anywhere NEAR my account that i have been using any third party software, so it seems excessive, yet blizzard refuses any attempt i make at actually clearing this up.

That means a GM came and whispered u, and u didn't respond. Shoulda just not admitted to anything

Probably after watching u jump

[Deathsenemy]

uff.... activision owns little under 25% of blizz stocks...
im not saying all is great there, but blizzard is avoiding a lot of blame they should take...

So, so wrong. They have majority stake after the purchase of stocks from Vivendi in 2013.

[Lolites]

So, so wrong. They have majority stake after the purchase of stocks from Vivendi in 2013.

please, check information before correcting people
after purchase in 2013 they own 24.7% of company

https://investor.activision.com/news...rchase-company

[kaminaris]

That means a GM came and whispered u, and u didn't respond. Shoulda just not admitted to anything

Probably after watching u jump

Yep that was my guess as well, either autohotkey or mouse macro.

[Byleth]

yes again your anecdote doesn't matter

Statistically speaking most people aren't gonna eat a ban, what is your point?

How does that help some one who did eat a BS ban?

Automated systems like this are always going to be full of flaws.

Let me make my stance perfectly clear. My opinion is that the system is working as intended, and there is plenty of manual oversite to catch statistically low outliers.

It is also my opinion that most of these "BS bans" that come up on forums so often, are in fact legit bans, and people know perfectly well how they earned them.

[Mukind]

Let me make my stance perfectly clear. My opinion is that the system is working as intended, and there is plenty of manual oversite to catch statistically low outliers.

It is also my opinion that most of these "BS bans" that come up on forums so often, are in fact legit bans, and people know perfectly well how they earned them.

No for 3rd party programs there really isn't lol, they would have to hire engineers to look. That's obviously not going to happen.

OP's case seems to be a simple GM check via whisper, which is maybe why they were so rude. He was at best caught just AFKing in BG's.Jumping and walking away. At worst using something automated to do it.

That is not what I was referring to. THere are millions of subs even a .05% false positive would leave huge numbers messed up.

Valve's anticheat has similar problems

Just random programs doing other things can trigger the anti cheat. Or simple glitches. Customer service reps should NEVER be rude to people who might be just screwed by the anti cheat for no reason. Which they of course are.

[Belloc]

The thing I hate about threads like these are that OP almost always has either straight-up been cheating, sharing their account with other people, or using public PCs/PCs that aren't theirs... and we'll never know the truth.

Most of the time, OP is just lying and knows exactly why they were banned. Blizzard, however, will never share the details because then the cheaters and cheat developers will have more information on what cheats are detected, and OP is often given the benefit of the doubt by the vocal aspects of the community that love to shit on Blizzard.

In OP's case? Best case scenario, he let someone else use his account (or used his account on someone else's computer) and the third-party software was detected on that machine instead of his own. Realistically, though? Odds are that OP is just lying.

If none of this actually applies to you, OP, then sorry... but I'm sure you can understand why I'm not giving you the benefit of the doubt.

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Automated systems like this are always going to be full of flaws.

Sure, if this automated system is looking for vague patterns. If, however, this automated system is looking for data representing known signatures of cheat programs, then, no, it's not going to be full of flaws. An anti-cheat program isn't going to say that you were using AutoFarm 2.0 unless it detects that program. No other program is going to be detected as AutoFarm 2.0.

OP was told that third-party software was detected. That tells me that the likelihood of this being a false positive is very low. That, combined with OP's post admitting a lesser crime (those of you with lying/cheating partners know this one -- it's called "trickle truth"), leads me to believe that this ban was probably deserved -- OP, or someone using his account, was using an unauthorized program.

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Valve's anticheat has similar problems
OP's case seems to be a simple GM check via whisper

This post absolutely reeks of someone who blindly believes the people claiming to have been falsely banned while not putting any effort into understanding how the anti-cheat programs actually work... and this is coming from someone who actually received a false ban in MW2, way back in the day, and had it reversed a few weeks later when the texture bug (bug, not other programs) that caused it was identified. The only reason you think that OP was directly banned by a GM is because of OP's claims, which should be automatically suspect. Spoiler alert: Blizzard isn't going to say that you're banned for a third-party program when they're actually banning you for AFKing in a BG. Furthermore, we have no reason to suspect that Blizzard GMs are even allowed to institute bans of this severity (181 days) for such an offense. None of these details add up and it's silly to automatically accept OP's accounting of the situation.

[Mukind]

It's simple math bro

There is an error rate, millions of players

Why this eludes you and you think anecdotes of liars matter I have no idea...

If there were 10 people playing this game I would understand your small minded thinking....There are not.

Could find me 99% liars I would be worried about the 1% as blizzard. Providing decent customer service would be as simple as admonishing these terrible reps. Cost them nothing

[Seranthor]

It's simple math bro

There is an error rate, millions of players

Why this eludes you and you think anecdotes of liars matter I have no idea...

If there were 10 people playing this game I would understand your small minded thinking....There are not.

Could find me 99% liars I would be worried about the 1% as blizzard. Providing decent customer service would be as simple as admonishing these terrible reps. Cost them nothing

Wait... you say the error rate affect millions of players ... Let's look at your claim here... if .05% are affected (your number) and you claim that is 'millions' are affected (also your number) . Then there would need to be at least a 2,000,000,000 (2 BILLION) players being flagged (not just playing, flagged by the system)... and we all know that isn't even close to the truth. You should dial back the hyperbole and try again.

[Mukind]

Wait... you say the error rate affect millions of players ... Let's look at your claim here... if .05% are affected (your number) and you claim that is 'millions' are affected (also your number) . Then there would need to be at least a 2,000,000,000 (2 BILLION) players being flagged (not just playing, flagged by the system)... and we all know that isn't even close to the truth. You should dial back the hyperbole and try again.

I know reading is hard

There is an error rate, millions of players

reread that one more time

I'd say this is a straw man but i suspect you just are not reading it carefully

[Seranthor]

I know reading is hard

There is an error rate, millions of players

reread that one more time

I'd say this is a straw man but i suspect you just are not reading it carefully

It's you that isn't reading junior... the math is solid... your dishonesty isn't... There are plenty of reasons to shit all over Blizzard, this just isn't one of them.

[Kanegasi]

Blizzard doesn't owe anyone "etiquette". In fact, I would love it if they increased ban time for every forum post banned people make. The initial ban message should simply say "Get rekt".

[Mukind]

Blizzard doesn't owe anyone "etiquette". In fact, I would love it if they increased ban time for every forum post banned people make. The initial ban message should simply say "Get rekt".

What? We're Americans that's not how we do things.

It may not be standard in other places. In the US it most certainly is

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It's you that isn't reading junior... the math is solid... your dishonesty isn't... There are plenty of reasons to shit all over Blizzard, this just isn't one of them.

You made up the equation, it was a straw man

There is an error rate. And there are millions of players.

Not it affects millions of players. No one cares about your ridiculous strawman.

In context i've postulated at maximum a 1% error rate. How could it possibly affect millions of players with a 1% error rate. Are there 100 million accounts? Of course it couldn't. Reacting to context is part of reading comprehension, which is why you never did very well on the tests. In context it was absurd for you to even think that's what I meant.

[Kanegasi]

What? We're Americans that's not how we do things.

It may not be standard in other places. In the US it most certainly is

I'm born and raised American. Never lived outside the US. The whole "customer is always right" thing is bullshit. Even then, Blizzard is not Walmart. Stop expecting CS reps to make you warm and fuzzy.

[Mukind]

I'm born and raised American. Never lived outside the US. The whole "customer is always right" thing is bullshit. Even then, Blizzard is not Walmart. Stop expecting CS reps to make you warm and fuzzy.

It's industry standard. No one but blizzard trains their customer reps to be so rude.

They pay dudes nothing in India at comcast and you get more tact lol

It's not BS it's good business. And again industry standard

[Merin]

I don’t mind any CS being flippant with botters. You’re just wasting their time.

[Mukind]

I don’t mind any CS being flippant with botters. You’re just wasting their time.

Well OP got caught by a human, but they are flippant with people who just have a ping on the anti cheat too.

If you press for information on what got you banned. They will not only stonewall you, which is reasonable because of the nature of the problem. They will be rude about it. Pretending they don't know it's wholly possible you were wrongly banned.

[Skulltaker]

Well OP got caught by a human, but they are flippant with people who just have a ping on the anti cheat too.

If you press for information on what got you banned. They will not only stonewall you, which is reasonable because of the nature of the problem. They will be rude about it. Pretending they don't know it's wholly possible you were wrongly banned.

Do you have actual proof for people being wrongfully banned? Or rather, is there actual proof?

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I know reading is hard

There is an error rate, millions of players

reread that one more time

I'd say this is a straw man but i suspect you just are not reading it carefully

Hate to break it to you, buddy, but the way you express yourself is the only issue here. What you are saying is ambiguous at best. The underlined part can easily be read as millions of players being the margin of error. Don't attack people just because no one ever taught you proper use of the English language.