Joystiq

Blizzard's banhammer visiting Diablo 3 cheaters in 'near future'

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:30:00 EST

Have you used any "hacks, bots, or modifications in any form" that would violate Diablo 3's instinctual scroll wheel-friendly end user license agreement? Well, don't come crying to us when the company drops the banhammer.

"Playing Diablo 3 legitimately means playing with an unaltered game client," Blizzard warned today. "Suspensions and bans of players that have used or start using cheats and hacks will begin in the near future."

The permaban from Battle.net means players will not be able to access their account for Blizzard's single-player, online-required game. Perhaps Blizzard would be so kind as to allow purchase of an unbanning from the real-money auction house?

Blizzard's banhammer visiting Diablo 3 cheaters in 'near future' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA finally responds to forum bans also banning Origin game access

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:30:00 EST

EA has proven that it's not afraid to bring the banhammer down on Origin users who defy their Terms of Service; though its stringent adherence to that policy has, on occasion, provided cause for concern. In March, a user on the Dragon Age 2 forums was banned for breaking the forum's rules, only to find out he'd been prohibited from using his purchased copy of the game as well. Though EA reinstated his Origin access and chalked it up to a system error, Rock, Paper, Shotgun reported that it was not an isolated incident.

EA has never explicitly said that handing out Origin bans alongside forum bans was its modus operandi; however, RPS finally received an official statement on the bans from EA Corporate Communications' John Reseburg. According to him, "when someone violates our Terms of Service, we are forced to take actions that can include suspensions and other measures." That's not a clear confirmation of the policy, though Reseburg later added, "We have listened to our customers and are planning a policy update which will include more equitable rules on suspensions - we want to make sure the time fits the crime."

It seems utterly bizarre that EA wouldn't be explicitly clear about a policy that carries as heavy a punishment as this. We can understand wanting to keep a forum free from the blight of obscenity, but if that comes at the cost of preventing legitimate purchasers of EA's products from accessing said games, those purchasers deserve to know about it ahead of time. As it stands now, Reseburg simply suggests, "any user with a question about suspensions or our policies to please contact us at (866) 543-5435 so we can address their specific situation."

EA finally responds to forum bans also banning Origin game access originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft: 'The Pro' Xbox Live moderator 'followed protocol'

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST

A video, depicting an Xbox Live moderator (Gamertag: The Pro) banning an Xbox Live gamer during an online match of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, has caught the attention of Microsoft since its posting on YouTube yesterday. Entitled "The Pro : XBOX Live Moderator Abuses His Power," the carefully edited video, which can be viewed after the break, attempts to portray a "corrupt" moderator mercilessly wielding his banhammer and perhaps abusing his authority.

Microsoft's Major Nelson quickly made note of the production on his Twitter account, and passed the video off to Stephen Toulouse, director of Xbox Live policy and enforcement, who tweeted several comments of his own. Toulouse noted that The Pro was "policing" Modern Warfare 2 modding, which can result in an Xbox Live Gold account suspension (banning a user from online play) or a complete console ban (rendering Xbox Live inaccessible).

In a statement to Joystiq, Toulouse said, "The player behavior in question and subsequent interaction with the moderator violated the Xbox Live Terms of Use and Code of Conduct. The Xbox Live moderator followed protocol and, while he regrets his tone, the video was heavily edited to omit the inappropriate behavior and we fully support the moderator's decision to take action against the offending players."

It should be noted that iTzLuPo, the YouTube user who originally uploaded the video, admits that he is a modder in his user bio, stating, "I am now part of one of the best Glitching/modding clans there is on Xbox LIVE." He also lists "Glitching/Modding/tutorials" as so-called hobbies.

Continue reading Microsoft: 'The Pro' Xbox Live moderator 'followed protocol'

Microsoft: 'The Pro' Xbox Live moderator 'followed protocol' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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64K signature petition delays German govt's game-banning bill

Majed Athab — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EST

There has been a string of unrest in Germany over violence in video games as of late, which is why the government there is working on a bill to ban violent games from the country. While the man in the Bundestag has plans of censorship, German gamers are fighting back with a petition. And not just any old petition, mind you; the one already submitted contains 64,824 signatures, which means there's enough cause (by German law) for the government to open a public hearing.

In specifics, the government is looking to ban any software "where the main part is to realistically play the killing of people or other cruel or un-human acts of violence against humans or manlike characters." Basically, kiss all those lovely shooters goodbye -- that is, if the delay spurred by the petition won't change the government's mind.

Considering Germany is a place that enjoys the sound of the banhammer falling (examples: coked up Red Bull, genetically modified corn products and even 26 years of its own history have all been outlawed), there's no guarantee the bill will be deterred. In fact, the source Gamezine notes Germany passed the internet censorship bill (which was a similar case that had double the petitioners) earlier this year.

[Via Game Politics]

64K signature petition delays German govt's game-banning bill originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA update: Forum bans do not equal in-game bans

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:45:00 EST

Filed under: News

Hey, remember last week when an Electronic Arts community manager announced that being banned from an EA forum would simultaneously ban users from playing their EA games online? Well, it's okay. All of you naughty forum dwellers can turn on the lights and open the shades, because it turns out that the community manager in question, known as eaapoc on the forums, was mistaken. Said eeapoc on the forums, "I had a misunderstanding with regards to our new upcoming forums and website and never meant to infer that if we ban or suspend you on the forums, you would be banned in-game as well. This is not correct, my mistake, my bad." He elaborates that being banned from the forums or from a game are separate process, so those banned from one need not fear being banned from the other.

So there you have it. You'll have to be some sort of super-jerk in order to be banned from both the forums and a game. Don't worry, internets, we know you're up to the task.

EA update: Forum bans do not equal in-game bans originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA goes Big Brother: Banning on forums could lead to game ban?

Xav de Matos — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Rumors

Apparently the internet police are in full force for people who want to talk out of turn. According to EA forum user 'eeapoc' -- allegedly, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 community manager Aaron Kaufman -- EA forum users who are hit with a banhammer for acting out could see themselves locked out of their own library of purchased EA titles.

As stated in the post, EA is implementing a new regulation that forum users must tie their message board account with their EA master account, created during the EA game registration process. A ban of the forum account would then ban players from games tied into their master account and other EA titles. Presumably the ban would restrict online capabilities of a master account's purchased games, only.

"If we ban you on the forums, you would be banned from the game as well since the login process is the same. And you'd actually be banned from your other EA games as well since its all tied to your account," the post from user 'eeapoc' told forum goers. "So if you have Spore and Red Alert 3 and you get yourself banned on our forums or in-game, well, your Spore account would be banned to. It's all one in the same, so I strongly recommend people play nice and act mature."

Two things to note, this process only seems to pointed at PC users but EA does run their own servers over Xbox Live and, as Kotaku reported, neither EA's Terms Of Use page or the general Forum Help information list any criteria for behavior that may get you banned, so it may be a moderator's own judgment call.

Well EA, Orwell called. He wants his totalitarian society back, please.

EA goes Big Brother: Banning on forums could lead to game ban? originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft wields the Xbox Live banhammer again

Dustin Burg — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: News, Xbox Live

Just in time for the holidays, Microsoft decided to dust of the good old Xbox Live banhammer and has swung swiftly and promptly. According to the forum goers over at Xbox-Scene, members are reporting being banned initially thought to be due to modded 360 firmware versions. But that wasn't the exact case and now we know Microsoft dropped the banhammer on those who are using "bad discs" (burnt game copies in modded drives). So, be careful console modding kittens, because when the hammer drops ... it hurts.

Microsoft wields the Xbox Live banhammer again originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Halo 3 'early adopter' banned for many lifetimes

Ross Miller — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Hacks, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters, Online

An Xbox 360 user by the gamertag Scar allegedly obtained a copy of Halo 3 Epsilon, the near-final build of the game, and went online with the title. Busted. According to this picture at Homicidal Insomniac, the name Scar won't be able to post his Geometry Wars high scores until a time where the universe is actually threatened by power-hungry polygons.

You can read a response allegedly from Scar here. We've contacted Major Nelson to find out if there is a planned server maintenance scheduled for January 1, 10000 AD. (Which, not to concern anyone, is January 1 7990 AR, or After the Robot Revolution.)

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Halo 3 'early adopter' banned for many lifetimes originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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