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Banned for cursing??Follow

#1 Nov 08 2007 at 2:36 PM Rating: Decent
Hi people. I do not expect your symphathy or your jeers yet I know I shall get the later.

I was playing but an hour ago and trying to sell my glorious Black Mushroom Pot when I started being harassed by people for asking too much money. I used the trade channel and was perfectly polite about it. After many taunts from some real jerks I finally lost my cool and cursed at them. Now I find myself banned for two days. While this alone is confusing and angering because I know there is a filter in the game for these specific reasons they add insult to injury by having the absolute worst customer server I have ever experienced in an online game.

Not only am I banned from the game but I am banned from the boards. I wanted an explaination as to why I was banned but no one can tell me. No one talked to me in game I just suddenly had a black screen with white letters saying "banned".
I have never been banned from an online game before in my entire history of 10+ years gaming so as you can imagine my first thoughts where that this was some new bug but, alas I was mistaken.

This is where I began to grow increasingly angry. I talked to account services and they told me there was nothing they could do and that I must send an email and wait a day for a response. Wait a day? I work full time and go to school full time. I have very few hours to play as it is. I feel like some scummy gold seller. I feel subhuman. I paid 200 dollars for a Founder subscription for what?

Well.... I asked for a full refund because I was so disgusted. They said they could cancel my account but no refund. I was shocked at my mistreatment by Turbine. To be banned and not even allowed to defend myself?! Not even given a reason. Is this the way they treat customers? Is this all we are to them is cash, cold hard and cruel? They took my 200 dollars and are happy to keep it and simply dismiss me.

How can this happen? I ask you all if this is standard practice? Was I a fool to think I would be treated fairly and justly?



Edited, Nov 8th 2007 5:37pm by Auldrek
#2 Nov 08 2007 at 2:57 PM Rating: Good
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Pretty much standard practice in most games, perhaps even stricter in some games. I have heard of people being suspended for two weeks in Everquest for similar. While I do agree that talking to Turbine can be disheartening (I had 3 of my friends banned because they leveled too fast or something back in May - it was overturned later), they are simply reading from a manual most likely, and if a GM put you on a 2 day ban just move on. Like you said you have a lifetime account, and what is 2 days gonna do? The major problem I see down the line is that now these same people will try to harass you. Look at it this way, you'll have rest XP when you return (unless that is disabled during the ban). Sorry to hear about the banning. I never use TRADE channel to sell or buy stuff, it is just extra spam to me. I like the AH for when I am ready to shop, etc. Enjoy your 2 day break.

#3 Nov 08 2007 at 3:18 PM Rating: Default
I'm a little suprised a GM responded so quickly to anything.
#4 Nov 08 2007 at 4:38 PM Rating: Decent
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4,575 posts
Well they may have taunted you with non-curse words, but if you used the curse words, it's logged for a GM to check and ban you.

Keep in mind, it may not be the people you were conversing with you requested your ban. It might be the people who didn't care at all about your conversation, and suddenly they are exposed to stuff they wanted to report on.

I think you're jumping the gun by asking for a refund, esp if you already paid life-time. After 2 days, go back and play, you'll be fine.

Sometimes when I get caught by the police doing something illegal when driving (eg I slowed down only instead of coming to a complete stop), I think about how why they are spending time writing me a ticket, taking up my time, with something that isn't even really a horrible infraction. But ultimately, it's against the law, or in your case, TOS, even a one-time or minor offense, and you know you cursed, you know why you were banned -- just like I know my little yield wasn't a complete stop, so we just have to take it.

Also keep in mind, as I heard, if you cancel the account and reactivate later, you'll be paying regular non-founder prices.


Edited, Nov 8th 2007 6:39pm by bluegayle
#5 Nov 08 2007 at 4:42 PM Rating: Excellent
Auldrek wrote:
Hi people. I do not expect your symphathy or your jeers yet I know I shall get the later.

I was playing but an hour ago and trying to sell my glorious Black Mushroom Pot when I started being harassed by people for asking too much money. I used the trade channel and was perfectly polite about it. After many taunts from some real jerks I finally lost my cool and cursed at them. Now I find myself banned for two days. While this alone is confusing and angering because I know there is a filter in the game for these specific reasons they add insult to injury by having the absolute worst customer server I have ever experienced in an online game.

Not only am I banned from the game but I am banned from the boards. I wanted an explaination as to why I was banned but no one can tell me. No one talked to me in game I just suddenly had a black screen with white letters saying "banned".
I have never been banned from an online game before in my entire history of 10+ years gaming so as you can imagine my first thoughts where that this was some new bug but, alas I was mistaken.

This is where I began to grow increasingly angry. I talked to account services and they told me there was nothing they could do and that I must send an email and wait a day for a response. Wait a day? I work full time and go to school full time. I have very few hours to play as it is. I feel like some scummy gold seller. I feel subhuman. I paid 200 dollars for a Founder subscription for what?

Well.... I asked for a full refund because I was so disgusted. They said they could cancel my account but no refund. I was shocked at my mistreatment by Turbine. To be banned and not even allowed to defend myself?! Not even given a reason. Is this the way they treat customers? Is this all we are to them is cash, cold hard and cruel? They took my 200 dollars and are happy to keep it and simply dismiss me.

How can this happen? I ask you all if this is standard practice? Was I a fool to think I would be treated fairly and justly?



Edited, Nov 8th 2007 5:37pm by Auldrek


Well, given the nature of most of the ppl who come to our lotro forum, you aren't likely to get much in the way of sympathy but I seriously doubt you will get much in the way of jeers. Most, if not all, of us are long time MMO players, with a wide background of MMOs and experiences with policies in games.

Suspending your account for two days for using profane language in a global channel is pretty standard practice in most of the games I have played, even lighter than a few. DAoC and EQ were extremely militant about such things. EQ had items called "soul marks" that were placed on your account for these types of infractions. Get enough of those and you got a permanent bye bye from the game.

I don't think it's right for the ppl who hassle others to get away with it and the person who they pushed gets a 2 day break but the reality is that you let them get to you and goad you into a reaction. Sadly enough, we tend to get a lot of overflow of the idiots from every other MMO (maily WoW and FFXI it seems) who think they can log in and act like a total assclown here like they did in wherever they came from.

I would say you probably over-reacted a bit in wanting to cancel and get a refund for this but you should have been given more information from them. I would suggest, when the suspension is lifted, email a GM and request it be escalated to find out what the deal is. Odds are they won't tell you, and they technically don't have to tell you anything, it is their game and their rules we ALL agree to everytime we launch the game. But you might get lucky.

Going forward, my suggestion (and I oughtta know this one, I have quite the temper when dealing with assclowns) is to do two things. One, use the AH. A lot of ppl just look for an excuse to goad someone in any public channel so they can get you in trouble. Sad but true. Two, use /ignore. It really is not worth wasting your limited playtime dealing with some *** who only lives to grief other players.
#6 Nov 08 2007 at 10:01 PM Rating: Decent
Hey guys! Well I appreciate the support. Honestly I had never heard of anyone being banned from lotro for cursing because there is the curse filter. I heard if you try to get around the filter with curses that you can get banned. I see people curse constantly in the game especially in Kin chat. So I dont like that I was made an example of. Truly I believe that it is someome who knows a GM that got me banned. You all know you can't get a gold spammer banned in 10 minutes so why the quick action on me? Unfortunately I am not the type of person who will let this go without some kind of compensation for my time lost or that the people who harassed me get banned too or the GM that banned me gets fired if it is found out he knows the guy who asked for it. If it has happened to me it has happened to others and its just not right. Therefore I will fight the good fight until I am satisfied. If I do not get an email from them tomorrow for instance I will start searching for emails of execs and they will hear about it.
There are few things I despise more than censorship. No one was forced to listen to me. They could put me on ignore or remove the channel.
Now there where other games I played with no filter or a very limited one. That I would understand the banning and I did not curse for that reason. This game has a filter. You turn it on if you want to hear curses and you turn it off if you dont. Personally I have the filter on! Ironic eh? :)
#7 Nov 08 2007 at 10:35 PM Rating: Excellent
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7,466 posts
Banned/Suspended for cursing is definitely something that really shocks people the first time they hear about it or have it happen to them. Especially considering there is a filter. Now, if you typed in a way to get around the filter... In general, it's something that most long-term players know who hang around public boards. Swearing in general chat=bad idea. Kin chat, party chat, sometimes tells, they don't care about. But take it to public chat and you're out.

As for a GM friend... doubtful. Likely it is just turbine has their support staff (GMs) split between RMT activities and general things, which you'd fall into. Hence why it can take awhile for RMT to be banned by a GM can respond quicker (sometimes) for other things.
#8 Nov 09 2007 at 2:11 AM Rating: Decent
46 posts
What is the point of a filter if they are going to ban you anyway for saying expletives. I say they were in the wrong.
#9 Nov 09 2007 at 7:11 AM Rating: Excellent
Hmm, maybe we should report gold spammers as cursers?

/report Hey this guy named Bltxflk just said in advice to 'stop getting f*** by the game, come to scumbagsrus.com and get your lotr serviced'

Yeah I would say just chalk up the two days to getting penalized for retaliating (happens all the time in the NHL) when the instigators have skated off scott-free.
#10 Nov 09 2007 at 7:26 AM Rating: Good
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1,058 posts
From the TOS:

Quote:

3. Publish, post, upload, transmit, distribute or disseminate Content that is harmful, abusive, vulgar, sexually explicit, defamatory, libelous, obscene, infringing, embarrassing, unwanted, invasive of another's right of privacy or publicity, hateful or racially, ethnically or, in a reasonable person's view, otherwise offensive or objectionable.



Profanity almost always, in any game, falls under similar guidelines. Others have been banned in other games for it.

Filters or not, its still YOUR responsibility to adhere to the TOS.

You aren't 'banned'. A ban is permanent. A suspension is a brief period. You got a 2 day suspension. It's not the end of the world. It was a minor offense, you got a minor penalty for it. end of story.
#11 Nov 09 2007 at 7:26 AM Rating: Excellent
It has nothing to do with the filter and everything to do with where it took place. Basically, the filter is in place to cut stuff out if you don't want to see it, true. But that is not a license to be excessively profane in the global/public channels, no matter what the reason.

Our kin has it's bawdy moments, as well as several groups I've been in. However, this is something that is kept "between friends" or kept private. If we were to take some of our antics public, the same thing would happen to us or anyone else.

You can certainly follow up in whatever manner you see fit to, that is your right as a consumer, but bear in mind that they tend to see the profanity issue the same way as I have described it above. Private is fine, public is not.
#12 Nov 09 2007 at 1:34 PM Rating: Excellent
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Malrasdor wrote:
What is the point of a filter if they are going to ban you anyway for saying expletives. I say they were in the wrong.


Turning off the filter still does not give anyone the right to swear in public channels. As stated, foul language in private, kinship, tells, is not as harsh, but swearing in the game itself (even with the filter on) is an offense no matter how you look at it.

  • Controll your temper, dont let others control it for you
  • If you get mad enough that you want to swear, do it constructively (Noone will know what youre talking about if you call them a mother-trucker)
  • Ignore it, and move on (Seriously this is the most important, the ignore button is your best friend)
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