Can we talk about the elephant in the room - Permanent Bans from the Official Forums

[Warghoul570]

The way I see it if people are afraid to give their feedback on here because they’re afraid of being banned, as several have expressed, than that is a serious enough issue for a Q and A. I’m not talking about asking him to unban a specific account but make him aware that there’s something wrong with the way the forum is operating that’s causing players to withhold their feedback. After all this is one of SE’s main sources of gathering feedback from the community

[Mikhaill]

The way I see it if people are afraid to give their feedback on here because they’re afraid of being banned, as several have expressed, than that is a serious enough issue for a Q and A. I’m not talking about asking him to unban a specific account but make him aware that there’s something wrong with the way the forum is operating that’s causing players to withhold their feedback. After all this is one of SE’s main sources of gathering feedback from the community

Giving feedback to the forum (even when GM's directly tell you to do so) results in a ban some times.
So I guess you're right there, but I think more people just want questions that deal within the game.
I agree with Alimdia. I'm scared to say much of anything anymore lol.

[Beckett]

Uh oh, testing to see if I'm banned.

Edit: Hurray!

The rules have been the same as they have always been since 1.0. Action being taken is going to be entirely dependent on a moderator seeing it/being reported.

http://support.na.square-enix.com/ru...la=1&tag=forum

"Use of inappropriate or aggressive language."

Double edit: I'm dumb, there's totally a link in the general forum rules.

Good to know. Though it's kind of crazy that they have rules listed on the forums themselves, then they have a whole different set of rules on a different site that we're supposed to know about, without so much as a link in the rules on the actual forums.

[Enlial]

Whats sad is that there must be a handful of trolls going around clicking "report" in order to get people banned for ridiculous things. I say trolls because I dont think its possible for anyone to be that much of a total snowflake. (lol anyone who legit feels threatened by "popotoes" should seek professional help)

I'd like to think that the mods look at people post history before taking action, but I kind of doubt it after seeing one of the nicer and more helpful members of the pvp community get perma banned for trying to draw attention to the bot problem.

Incidentally, the only time Ive ever reported someone was for actively encouraging botting. Ofc nothing came of it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Shurrikhan]

By the rules there are, expressly, no actions for which you cannot be banned if the forum moderators desire to ban you.

"Posting seeking to damage or disparage Square Enix" can include any and all criticism, constructive or otherwise, while "Taking any other actions that are deemed inappropriate by Square Enix in our sole discretion" covers literally everything.

That said, the vast majority of people I know who've been banned have been banned because, in descending order of frequency, they reported a player here, rather than in-game; they released game information such as stat weights; engaged in heated, though still useful and topic-appropriate, discussions; or they gave detailed criticism of directorship, constructively aimed and, by most readers, received. Though that last part is by far the smallest, and the first the largest, it's still enough to make me regret posting honestly in some cases, and has certainly trimmed down the amount of constructive feedback I'm willing to give, especially any parts that compare the suggestion to the current state of the game to highlight the problems I perceive in the latter. In other cases, though, I can't help but be honest about it, at which point I just use whether or not I get banned from the forum to decide for me whether or not I'll keep playing XIV at all.

[Enkrateia]

I understand that the process for appealing an account action is somewhat vague, and this is something that we are certainly working on improving.

Greetings, everyone!

I had previously noted that we are working on improving the process for requesting a review or appeal of an account action. I am happy to note that we have implemented a process that should make this more efficient for customers looking to have this done.

We worked to create a form for requesting a review or appeal of an account action for a game service account or forum account, and you can access it here.

• Please note that this will require you to log into the account in question.
• If it is the Square Enix ID that has been terminated, then you would need to contact the Support Center for the review.
• You can also find a Knowledge Base article with the link and details on the Support Center, since that will be easier to find in the future than digging around for this forum post.

There are a few things to note about these reviews:

1. The review or appeal will not provide additional details about the account action unless it was determined to be issued improperly.
2. The account action review can only be conducted once per account action. Additional reviews for the same account action, without new, mitigating details, will be provided the results of the prior review.
3. If the account action was the result of an account compromise, please submit the request for Game Data Recovery instead.
4. If the account action is a result of a billing issue, please contact the Support Center to obtain assistance.

I hope this new form and process makes it easier to raise your concerns about account actions, as well as get better answers and responses about the reviews.

LGM Enkrateia

[Freyt]

We worked to create a form for requesting a review or appeal of an account action for a game service account or forum account, and you can access it here.

I've submitted an appeal through the previous method, and have been told it will be given to the Lead Game Master, and have not seen a response since then. Should I submit a new appeal under this system, or would it be redundant?

[Enkrateia]

I've submitted an appeal through the previous method, and have been told it will be given to the Lead Game Master, and have not seen a response since then. Should I submit a new appeal under this system, or would it be redundant?

Greetings, Freyt.

Without looking too much into the prior request, I would recommend using this new method to follow up on it. In the event that there was an issue that could have made responding difficult before, this should get you a response.

I hope this helps.

LGM Enkrateia

[Lunafreya]

Why do posts get deleted sometimes? Is it because we may have quoted a bad post?

[Mesarthim]

Why do posts get deleted sometimes? Is it because we may have quoted a bad post?

Probably. I've had one deleted before for quoting a post with a bad word but they delete my post and not the one I quoted.

Their forum moderation leaves something to be desired.