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Updated: Unbanned for ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 3:06 am
by Prepared
So it appears that ArenaNet has officially stated using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is not within their rules.

Tonight I was kicked out of the game and when attempting to log back in I am given a message that my account has been terminated due to botting, etc. etc.
I opened a support ticket and indicated that I was playing several accounts at the same time and while playing the game, I was kicked out. I don't use anything other than ISBoxer on 3 computers with 12 accounts. The irony is that I'm doing exactly the same as other players except that I'm grouped with myself instead of with other people. But I complete the game's maps by doing the content in the maps before moving on. I don't farm, I don't sell anything on the trading post, I do nothing that even remotely looks like I'm a bot in any way shape or form. All I do is play the game except with many characters at the same time. But apparently ArenaNet doesn't like that for some reason and brings out the ban hammer and states that I'm using an illegal third party program.

Here is the complete ticket with response from support.

Subject
Account Appeal

Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (GM Talon) 02/05/2013 12:58 AM
Hello,

Your Guild Wars 2 account has been closed for using an illegal third-party program.

I want you to know that we take great care when analyzing accounts prior to termination. NCsoft support staff is both diligent and conservative in determining which accounts are using these programs, and we only terminate an account only after we are able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that such use has occurred.

For additional information, please visit the following links for the Rules of Conduct, the User Agreement, and the Conduct Breaches & Outcomes:
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/gui ... f-conduct/
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/gui ... agreement/
https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/gui ... -outcomes/

Regards,

GM Talon
Guild Wars Support Team
http://support.guildwars2.com
Customer By Web Form (xxx xxxx) 02/05/2013 12:27 AM
While playing Guild Wars 2 today, a message box popped up that said my account was blocked. When I try to log in, I'm told my Guild Wars 2 account has been terminated due to botting, ....
I was playing the game at my keyboard pressing keys and using the mouse. I don't use any form of automation. Earlier I asked a player "How's it going?" and he typed in "I'll say after submitting my report".
I enjoy playing Guild Wars 2 and if there was any whisper or any discussion to me, I would have responded. I even typed to the player and asked him "How's it going?" and for some reason he didn't like that I was playing several accounts at the same time. I'm not exactly sure why I was given this action against me as I play the game. I complete maps by doing all vistas, all points of interest, all hearts and all waypoints. I have 12 accounts that I play on 3 computers.
The Guild Wars 2 User Agreement states that several accounts can be played. I submitted a question to the support team and was given this response by GM Mourdyth:
Thanks for contacting us! Owning and using more than one Guild Wars 2 account is not against the user agreement, as long as there is no automation. If you have any other questions or concerns about this or any other issues, please let us know.

Re: Using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is bannable

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 3:22 am
by Prepared
This is the response I've given to the above message I received from support:

What illegal program was I using? I'm simply playing Guild Wars 2 on Windows 7. I complete entire maps by playing the game not selling anything on the trading post or any farming activity. I still don't understand what I did wrong. I've been playing the game since beta and never had any issues with exactly the same game play style.

If you really take great care in analyzing accounts prior to termination, why was the player that reported me only a half hour later I was kicked out of the game for something I didn't even do? I even chatted with the player that submitted the report against me. He didn't want to chat about it which lead me to believe that he himself could have been doing something illegal.

Like I stated in my appeal, I submitted a ticket before (Support reference number: #121003-001110) and was told playing several accounts at the same time was OK as long as there was no automation which I've not been doing. So I don't quite understand why after paying for the game 12 times buying the Digital Deluxe Edition and simply playing the game online I'm now kicked out. I've read through all of the rules of the game and see nothing in there that I've broken anything.

Thank you for your concern.

Re: Using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is bannable

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 4:42 am
by Prepared
Having done some more research on this subject, I found this famous post that has since been edited by a more knowledgeable person at ArenaNet:

https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/g ... post245276

I found out about the edit to that post from this link:

http://dulfy.net/2013/01/25/gaile-gray- ... ti-boxing/


So I might have a chance to get my accounts back. I'll post any updates here as I get them from ArenaNet.

An interesting note is that not all of my accounts were kicked out and banned. One of the 12 remained in the game and is still active. So apparently the person that kicked me out knew I was multiboxing and not botting because otherwise his explanation for the last account would have still held true. By the way, they got kicked out within seconds. All 11 accounts were kicked in about 5 seconds.


The thing that kills me about all of this is that I'm not doing anything differently from a single player other than having a group with me at all times. So I don't have to keep asking for players to help with group stuff, I can just do it myself. I don't have any any advantage over any one else, I still have to move all of my characters in the direction I want to and it takes a long time to do that so I'm mostly standing around a lot getting all of the characters together to move some where.

Re: Using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is bannable

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 1:44 pm
by Prepared
Latest response I received and the last question I presented to ArenaNet support is below. Ironically the standard response I received from them gives a link to an edited post where it shows multiboxing is allowed in Guild Wars 2. I'm almost at the point where I'm going to demand a full refund for all 12 of my Digital Deluxe Editions of Guild Wars 2 that I purchased and never have anything to do with another ArenaNet game again. 12 copies at $79.99 each is $959.88. Two of those 12 copies were purchased through BestBuy.com though so I'm not sure how that process for a refund will work. The thing is, about 10 copies were pre-purchased in April of last year, but if they are not going to allow me to play the game, I'm still going to demand a full refund.

Subject
Account Appeal

Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (GM Lloyd) 02/05/2013 11:51 AM
Hello,

The decision to terminate the account is final. This decision has been thoroughly reviewed by our team, and we maintain absolute confidence in our conclusion. The account will remain permanently closed and is not eligible for reactivation under any circumstances.

Here is an important article you should read.

https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/g ... ng-allowed

At this time I must also inform you that any further inquiries regarding this account may be closed without a response.

Sincerely,
GM Lloyd
NCSOFT Account Admin Team
Customer By Web Form 02/05/2013 03:52 AM
Please review the following information from Gaile Gray posted on the Guild Wars 2 forums:
https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/s ... ost1281256

This is what I have been doing. I was playing several accounts at the same time which according to Gaile Gray is allowed. So can I please continue playing all of the 11 accounts which have been recently terminated as a false report was made against them.

Re: Using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is bannable

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 3:10 pm
by Prepared
latest response with my reponse:

Communication History
Customer via CSS Web 02/05/2013 02:08 PM
I read the part of "using other third party programs to 'play' the account. And I'm not doing that. I'm playing all of the characters on all of the accounts. Absolutely nothing will happen with any of the characters if I don't press a key or use the mouse. A program is not controlling any of the characters, I am doing that. I have to be present at the keyboard and mouse in order for any game play activity to happen. Therefore, it's not automation because I'm controlling all of the characters. Give any of them a whisper, I will respond. Do a /say or a /map and I will see it and able to respond. Even the person that reported me cannot deny that I was at the keyboard controlling the characters because I asked him "How's it going?".

Your definition of automation is not in-line with the entire MMORPG community. If your definition of automation is software that allows one keystroke to control multiple accounts, then several other questions come up:
1. What is a bot?
2. Why do you not have your definition of automation described in either the User Agreement or the Code of Conduct?
3. Why do you not have your definition of automation described in any forum post by any official GM?

Your definition of automation where you state "Software that allows one keystroke to control multiple accounts" is what the entire MMORPG community would consider multiboxing and not automation. Automation according to the entire MMORPG genre is when a computer program decides on what actions to take for characters. This is what a bot does, it uses automation because there is no player at they keyboard controlling the actions of the character(s).

I am aware that bots are a detriment to any MMORPG because there is no one playing the game when a bot is used.

You're failing to realize that I am a player of the game and not breaking any of the User Agreement rules nor the Code of Conduct as they are posted with the way they are now. I am simply playing the game just like anyone else with a single account. I'm not doing any kind of farming nor any selling of any items on the trading post. I like to play the game and gear the characters to get better at the game and instead of asking for players to join me in group encounters, I like the added challenge of taking on the encounters myself.

It appears to me that you're changing the definition of what automation means simply because you want to get rid of bots in the game, and you are taking multiboxers with them. If your definition of automation were accurately described in any message forum posted by an official GM, please provide that link. If your definition of automation were accurately described any where by an official from ArenaNet, please provide reference to it. As the last response was the first I'd heard that ArenaNet's definition of automation is "Software that allows one keystroke to control multiple accounts".
Response GM Roland via Email 02/05/2013 01:45 PM
Hello,

Thank you for updating us on this issue. What you failed to read in the edit to that post is that you are able to multi-box as long as you are not "using other third-party programs to 'play' the account." Software that allows one keystroke to control multiple accounts is automation, which is what is not allowed and is why your accounts were closed.

Since these accounts were terminated for violations of the Terms of Service, they are not eligible to be refunded.

Regards,
GM Roland
NCsoft Account Admin Team

Re: Using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is bannable

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 3:43 pm
by Prepared
More responses. It appears they are not going to budge:

Customer via CSS Web 02/05/2013 02:42 PM
I'm not using any third party program to "play" any of my accounts. I am playing all of the accounts myself and I must be at the keyboard and mouse in order for any activity to take place on any of the accounts.

I fully understand that using a third party program to "play" my accounts is against the rules, but I'm not doing that.

If you are not able to fully restore my game play nor provide me a refund, you will leave me no choice but to consult a lawyer in this regard to prove in a court of law that I played your game within the User Agreement.
Response GM Roland via Email 02/05/2013 02:19 PM
Hello,

As previously indicated, this account will remain closed. You are using a third party program to "play" your accounts, which has been clarified as illegal in the post at https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/g ... ng-allowed.

All reviews have been made. Further inquiries about this account may be set to Closed without response.

Regards,
GM Roland
NCsoft Account Admin Team

Re: Using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is bannable

PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 2:17 am
by Prepared
It's not just ISBoxer that is bannable with Guild Wars 2. It's any form of multiboxing which they don't provide any details for in their User Agreement nor any where on their forums. If you read the edited forum, you're lead to believe from Gaile Gray that it's allowed, then later this person changes and states that it's not allowed.

ArenaNet is by far the worst gaming company I've ever dealt with. They don't state it's not allowed, but if you do it, they will ban you and then later change what they meant in their descriptions to suit the reason for the ban. They don't even know the difference between a bot and a multiboxer and won't get to the details as to what defines the difference.

Just venting my frustration about this company for the last couple of days trying to sort this out.

My understanding now is that no players can do any form of multiboxing with Guild Wars 2. If you do, you will be banned if someone reports you and players will do that if they see it even if you are nice and try to get a conversation with them.

Even if you are at the keyboard the entire time, to them, multiboxing is not allowed and they combine it with botting.

Re: Using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is bannable

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:32 am
by Prepared
Latest response from ArenaNet support suggests they have had a change of heart as shown below. I never contacted a lawyer, however, I was seriously considering searching for a lawyer that deals in software class action lawsuits. I am aware that ArenaNet banned over 3000 accounts without warning for something they considered to be an exploit in the game but the players considered it a bug on their part. I searched to see if anyone actually filed a class action lawsuit against them but was unable to find one.

I think I will take the GMs advice, because 12 accounts is far too many without a follow command. I'm going to go with 5 max and try to stay out of populated areas while leveling. Thing is, I've already reactivated some expired accounts with WoW, ( I was going to leave WoW permanently because of the games phasing issues and lag associated with cross realm zones ). I actually spent a good deal of time searching for a good game to multibox and thought about Aion, and some others but some of them are just too old. Guild Wars 2 and WoW are the two best in my opinion of all MMOs out today.



Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (Landry) 02/06/2013 06:35 PM
Hello, and thank you for your patience.

After further review, we have decided to unblock all of the accounts in question. You are correct that multiboxing is not a violation of our current policy. Automation software that allows for unattended game play is a violation. Your observed behavior in the game may have been confused for the latter.

It's always possible that our stance on multiboxing by routing commands to multiple instances of the client could change, so I'd keep your eyes on our forums just in case. Also, keep in mind that what you do is rather striking and alarming to most players (and even most GMs) when they see it. It might be in your best interest to tone it down a bit, but that's not an order. That's just a practical suggestion to avoid future reports and investigations.

Thank you again for your understanding. The accounts will be reinstated momentarily.

Landry
Guild Wars Support Team
http://support.guildwars2.com/
Customer By Web Form 02/05/2013 03:02 PM
Why was one account not banned? It had the same keys and mouse clicks going to it that the other accounts had. It falls into the same description you've provided. The account is xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.com and has identical information as this one.

It appears that your GMs do not like multiboxing Guild Wars 2 and are changing the definition of what is termed "automation" to ban multiboxers. Otherwise, why was one account not banned along with the other 11? All 12 were doing exactly the same thing.

This information will be passed along with all of this dialog to my technical software lawyer shortly.

Re: Using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is bannable

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:50 am
by Alge
Good on you for sticking with it until they relented. This is almost invariably what happens in such situations. Maybe you could change the title of your original post now?

Re: Using ISBoxer with Guild Wars 2 is bannable

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 5:36 am
by lax
I was really close to responding to you yesterday to point out that GM Roland clearly has no training on the issue and you should be speaking to his manager.

Really all he had to say was
You are using a third party program to "play" your accounts, which has been clarified as illegal

and I almost popped a vein for at least 3 reasons in this sentence alone.

What Gaile Gray said is clearly still left up to interpretation; as Roland pointed out you can still interpret it as simply "You are using a third party program to play your accounts!" which would be true for you as well as anyone else playing the game. (The game uses DirectX for example and the installer probably even makes sure it's installed, you can't play without this third party program.) But I believe that by quoting "play", Gaile Gray meant what you believe he meant by it -- actually botting.


Glad you got this [almost fully] resolved!

Side note, this was also the topic of my most recent blog post... On multiboxing tolerance and the word automation