Banned for a Non-Existent Bot?

[Komari]

What's worse is that the admins aren't answering my tickets, so I have no freaking clue how they came to the conclusion I have a bot. (Short of someone on here tattling on me for buying items and treasure...which no one will ever confess to!)

Has anyone had this happen? Did you get your account restored? I'd buy the treasure and things I need to start over again, but I don't know if I feel safe anymore. :(

[Aura]

I hope the FR team has more sense than TNT. :( Do they have a FB or anything you could message them on?

[Synth Salazzle]

Everyone's getting hit hard with bot bans. Even if you ran a harmless script you'd get hit right now.

I got banned for using adblocker before tbh

[Irohh]

FR team never unbans an account afaik, you're out of luck there. :(

[Komari]

Aura Yeah, there's a Facebook...but how do I say, "Why aren't you responding to my tickets?" in a polite manner? (Saying exactly what I just said sounds a tad rude.)

Ahsoka An adblocker is seriously all I'm running--ABP, just as I've used for my entire FR life. After being banned for multiaccounting, I know it's too hard to fool the FR admins--TNT they are not.

Platinum Why aren't they responding, though? I tried to fib my way out of my multiaccounting bans and they responded to those both times. Now when I didn't do a g**d**n thing, they're not responding? What the hell?!

[Aura]

MissKotora
Your mentions didn't work, probably because they were touching your tags, but I'd say "Hi there, I was wrongfully banned for supposedly using a bot and my ticket hasn't been handled yet. Could you please check out ticket ####?"

[Crobeus]

Everyone's getting hit hard with bot bans. Even if you ran a harmless script you'd get hit right now.

I got banned for using adblocker before tbh

Who is "everyone"? FR admins are incompetent tumblrinas.

[Synth Salazzle]

Who is "everyone"? FR admins are incompetent tumblrinas.

My group of friends mostly. And no, we didn't share IPs, or even send things to eachother's accounts.

I agree with you on them being incompetent tumblrinas, but I think someone's been salt reporting random people lately.

[Komari]

@Aura ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) Yup. (Note to self: if you want to ping, leave out the fontage.) I will copypasta that into a message post-haste!

I'm wondering about the two new people I did business with. (I also need to check the email address I'm using on here, because I'm not getting notifications.)


---

Oops...no option to message them, and it's too long for twitter. (And I don't know how to message them on tumblr because I almost never use it.)

[Irohh]

The FR team has a tendency to completely ignore its userbase when it comes to these things (ex. the great coli banning of 2014/other instances, not a single account's been restored even it if was unfairly frozen), so in a sense they're worse than Neopets. Don't know why they're not answering, they never answer my tickets either. :P Even if every single person banned was legitimately cheating, for all we know there were a handful of people unfairly frozen and FR staff is just terrible at handling bans.

[I_royalty_I]

I'm pretty surprised my account still isn't banned tbh. I've had it... man, idek how long now and been perfectly fine. It's definitely disheartening to hear all this about their support. They have an option to buy the gems with USD on there, right? Why would anybody feel secure doing that if their staff won't even look into things at all? That is much worse than TNT.

[Komari]

Platinum Then F them for the times they got my hopes up by communicating with me for being banned for a legit reason! :P

@I_royalty_I ([Only registered and activated users can see links]): Yes, they do. You can buy them through PayPal, but I don't think you'd get your money back, because they'd side with the admins. I had something similar happen once--bought a second reading from an astrology site and it was literally the same damn thing over again, despite being a time-sensitive reading (and having been done a month or so later). I told PP as much and they sided with the site. They (the site) didn't win, though--I'd done it on my credit card and the company that handles it on behalf of my credit union agreed with me. ;)

[Synth Salazzle]

Try chargebacking FR.

What are they gonna do? Ban you?

[Komari]

Ahsoka I suppose they could try to IP ban someone, but in the days of VPNs (which is how I'm straggling along at the moment) and everything else, it's difficult to nail someone down. (Not to mention that in certain situations, IPs are shared, which unfairly targets innocents--I ran into that with satellite.)


Okay, let's assume this account is not coming back. (Which I think is the consensus from everyone at this point, correct?) How long do all of you suggest I wait before I try to rebuild? (I already registered a "temporary" account last week just in case, as I didn't want to have to wait until June 11.) Is there any techniques you'd suggest? (I've already decided to rebuild "backwards"--purchase a copy of the last dragon in my old lair first and so forth--to make it less obvious that it's me.)

And this is the question I dread...I'm going to have to hide behind this VPN and semi-English-speaking persona for the rest of my gaming life, right?

[Synth Salazzle]

Ahsoka I suppose they could try to IP ban someone, but in the days of VPNs (which is how I'm straggling along at the moment) and everything else, it's difficult to nail someone down. (Not to mention that in certain situations, IPs are shared, which unfairly targets innocents--I ran into that with satellite.)


Okay, let's assume this account is not coming back. (Which I think is the consensus from everyone at this point, correct?) How long do all of you suggest I wait before I try to rebuild? (I already registered a "temporary" account last week just in case, as I didn't want to have to wait until June 11.) Is there any techniques you'd suggest? (I've already decided to rebuild "backwards"--purchase a copy of the last dragon in my old lair first and so forth--to make it less obvious that it's me.)

And this is the question I dread...I'm going to have to hide behind this VPN and semi-English-speaking persona for the rest of my gaming life, right?

I honestly doubt they even IP ban. I'm on what? My 14th ban now?


But as far as your VPN question goes, stick with that. And you don't have to speak semi-english just change up your typing habits in general, don't use the same grammar, punctuation, etc. Pretend you're from the country you're using a VPN from, is it primarily english speaking? Then keep it up.

[Crobeus]

Ahsoka I suppose they could try to IP ban someone, but in the days of VPNs (which is how I'm straggling along at the moment) and everything else, it's difficult to nail someone down. (Not to mention that in certain situations, IPs are shared, which unfairly targets innocents--I ran into that with satellite.)


Okay, let's assume this account is not coming back. (Which I think is the consensus from everyone at this point, correct?) How long do all of you suggest I wait before I try to rebuild? (I already registered a "temporary" account last week just in case, as I didn't want to have to wait until June 11.) Is there any techniques you'd suggest? (I've already decided to rebuild "backwards"--purchase a copy of the last dragon in my old lair first and so forth--to make it less obvious that it's me.)

And this is the question I dread...I'm going to have to hide behind this VPN and semi-English-speaking persona for the rest of my gaming life, right?

???

tbh I see 0 reason for having to speak to anyone on that website if it doesn't involve some sort of trading. It's a site made for breeding pixel dragons - that's honestly all it has going for it and you can do everything through the AH. Only reason I signed up was because a friend mentioned it and I saw the potential for profit.

I don't think I can ever understand any sort of social appeal the place might have

[Komari]

@Ahosoka You asked what would they do with a chargeback. That was my answer/theory.

I've been pretending to be Dutch, so it probably depends on where in the country this person is supposed to be from. And pretending to not speak English very well is probably the best way to vary your typing. (If it's a long enough sentence/message, I put it through google translate and then run it back again--that usually messes with word choice and grammar. ;) )


@Crobeus Just because you're a social hermit on FR doesn't mean the rest of us are. I shop the "stores" in the forums, have friends I talk to (or used to, before I was banned), I had things I was involved in (I was co-mod of Water Flight Writers and was already signed up for a GG event, special dragon and all), etcetera. If I'm not involved in the social aspect, what's the point of being there? I'm certainly not the sort that procures items and treasure like those on here--I don't know how, and even if I did, I'm certainly not going to risk it less than a week after I got banned!

[Synth Salazzle]

I'll tell ya straight up dude.

If you do anything slightly wrong, or even irks the community at all in any way they will report bomb you

FR's non cheating community is absolute ass cancer.

[Komari]

One thing that occurs to me that may have looked like botting--the introduction (within a few days) of the updated AH system. With the new autofill system, it's very easy to mindlessly list a bunch of stuff quickly and make it look like the stocking function in some Neopets cheat programs. In that case, it's their own fucking fault and I shouldn't have been banned--but they'll never admit that.

At this point, I just want one of my two regular sellers to come back so I can buy a bunch of treasure and slowly start reassembling my life. (Especially with festival starting Sunday!)

[dragoncave13]

MissKotora from what I know user allow to make another account after being banned, as long as they behave. In drama rising, there is a user make a second account and her behavior so obvious that everyone know it's her. She only got banned the second times (or third?) because she harassed a newbie.

[Komari]

dragoncave13 I already knew that--the account that was lost was a new account after an incident in 2015. If you'd read the entire thread, maybe you'd be aware that I was behaving, there was no bot, and I was banned for no real reason other than they apparently felt like it. The only reason I have to hide is because there is no explanation for my banning. If they're going to ban the real me for seemingly nothing, then I have to pretend not to be the real me. (Besides, I've already taken advantage of Ice as a "newbie"--to come out now and say it was all a lie would invoke a shitstorm I have no interest in.)

[Synth Salazzle]

MissKotora from what I know user allow to make another account after being banned, as long as they behave. In drama rising, there is a user make a second account and her behavior so obvious that everyone know it's her. She only got banned the second times (or third?) because she harassed a newbie.

Are you talking about SD?

[Irohh]

If you're planning on rebuilding, you probably shouldn't make the same dragons. That one user that started the 5-minute auctions made a new account not too long ago, but it was obvious it was them since they had the same avvie dragon & came out of nowhere with large amounts of money, predictably they were banned :P

[Komari]

Platinum That's why I was thinking of adding them backwards from their original order (and slowly). And leaving the few dragons right now I have in the forefront. Plus putting geneing-for-achievement projects in front of them, too.

At this point, I'm more interested in having the treasure than having the same dragons back...

[dragoncave13]

MissKotora You may already do this but I must ask, have your check your email, the email you use for register? Usually, they will tell the reason in email.

Recently, do you buy gem/treasure in $$? That's forbidden too. What's the state of your's seller accounts?


Ahsoka yeah SD or H1

[Synth Salazzle]

MissKotora You may already do this but I must ask, have your check your email, the email you use for register? Usually, they will tell the reason in email.

Recently, do you buy gem/treasure in $$? That's forbidden too. What's the state of your's seller accounts?


Ahsoka yeah SD or H1

Yeah, I'm pretty sure SD/H1 is a kid.

I'm 90% sure I found SD's new account already too lmfao

[Komari]

dragoncave13 I'm 99.99% sure the email I used for that account is the same I use for this one, so I wouldn't miss it--especially since I've been checking it like crazy for the past week just in case. (Now I'm waiting to hear back from my usual sellers.)

As for treasure, I've been doing that for months...the most recent time was when I used two people other than the ones I've usually used, which is why I mentioned my suspicions earlier in the thread.

[PabstBlueRibbon]

Ahsoka

Late to the party (but I did spot one of Gamerkid's accounts be down), so what's going on? There was a bit of a uptick of "new" members here selling last month when I last did any buying. Is the problem someone salty trying to make everyone's lives hard?

[Bela Lugosi]

FR team never unbans an account afaik, you're out of luck there. :(

what does AFAIK mean?

[Synth Salazzle]

Ahsoka

Late to the party (but I did spot one of Gamerkid's accounts be down), so what's going on? There was a bit of a uptick of "new" members here selling last month when I last did any buying. Is the problem someone salty trying to make everyone's lives hard?

There was a huge ban wave with the last registration window. Every one of my accounts except my 100% legit main got hit :/ which now I have to reestablish my accounts before I can start selling again.

Which is also bad because that's my only source of income.

Fuckin hell FR stop shitting on the poor lol

[PabstBlueRibbon]

Ah, thanks for the info. I made myself a new shell last reg window, but I hadn't been using it due to work keeping me out of the house and I didn't want it to do something dumb (it's a really lightweight one). Hmmm.....

Glad to hear you didn't lose your main, at least.




-----------------
Bela Lugosi

AFAIK means As Far As I Know.

I'm still trying to figure out what SMH actually means, lol (I read it as "suck my hat" so it gets a layer of funny to me).

[Crobeus]

I'm still trying to figure out what SMH actually means

smack/shake my head

typically used when someone facepalms

[Banette]

Dude, FR is so bad with responding contact us. I've had a couple go completely ignored.

[Komari]

epicigon If they changed their minds and contacted me, I'd never know, because I changed my email.

I do miss the sellers here, though...I need some treasure and no one seems to be around. (Must be that banwave that caught me, as the others have mentioned.)

[Banette]

MissKotora

//squint
That is a very familiar icon.

Anyways, I think you could email them with the new one, and ask them to contact using the new one. And if they think it's someone else, give em proof that it's you (what you had in the vault n such).

[Synth Salazzle]

epicigon If they changed their minds and contacted me, I'd never know, because I changed my email.

I do miss the sellers here, though...I need some treasure and no one seems to be around. (Must be that banwave that caught me, as the others have mentioned.)

I'm going to be selling again soon

[Komari]

@epicigon ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) If they didn't respond in the 10+ days before I changed my email, they're not going to now. (And then there's the part where the new address is now associated with the account I bought last week. :P | I know I could give them another, but I give up.)

As for my avatar, not only have I used it in several different places on the internet, it's also the colophon of my publishing company.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Synth Salazzle]

@epicigon ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) If they didn't respond in the 10+ days before I changed my email, they're not going to now. (And then there's the part where the new address is now associated with the account I bought last week. :P | I know I could give them another, but I give up.)

As for my avatar, not only have I used it in several different places on the internet, it's also the colophon of my publishing company.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Just have to wait to make sure it's safe to transfer and my selling thread will be back up :P Feel free to buy copious amounts of treasure and pay my bills in the process lmfao

[Komari]

Ahsoka I got an unexpected refund, so I've been spending money like a complete nutter. xD

(Also, it turns out I ​do know epicigon...we were laughing about it late last night. :D )

[Komari]

Literally three months to the day, I got banned for botting again.

I'm getting really sick of FR.

[Bowsette]

Literally three months to the day, I got banned for botting again.

I'm getting really sick of FR.

Actually sounds like fr is worse than neo

[Komari]

If Neopets wants to improve their security, they should talk to FR. I've botted there plenty of times before and never got caught (when I was careful, obviously--I've gotten caught when I wasn't), but I've never botted at FR and gotten "caught" twice.

[Synth Salazzle]

I got banned for botting on a shell that wasn't even linked to botting.

FR's getting crazy now.

[Komari]

...o the irony.

What if they have a bot that sniffs out suspicious behavior and flags it for further review?

[graciea]

They probably also have their eyes peeled the most during welcome week; they're aware there's people who make alts during it and they probably keep a lookout for any newbies who may suddenly produce a lot of treasure/get a team of lvl25s and grind the coliseum immediately.

[Bowsette]

Why the hell are they so strict

[Komari]

graciea Then they should target those people, not an account that was opened the same year as the site.

---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:07 AM ----------

Okay, I had someone tell me that they didn't think I was banned?

So I went and I logged in and I'm not, all of a sudden?

All my treasure is gone, but the dragons and items are still there, so I guess I'll survive. O.o

[Bowsette]

graciea Then they should target those people, not an account that was opened the same year as the site.

---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:07 AM ----------

Okay, I had someone tell me that they didn't think I was banned?

So I went and I logged in and I'm not, all of a sudden?

All my treasure is gone, but the dragons and items are still there, so I guess I'll survive. O.o

What the fuck....:/Did the team clean you out?

[Komari]

Impala Yeah, that was actually a minute or two right before they banned me. That's all the warning I had.

I was in the middle of a CR and it was saying I didn't have the 27k I needed, so I was like, "What? I have 1m+ 'in my pocket' and another 20m in the vault!" I was headed to the bug reports to say something and the next thing I know, I'm logged out and the "you've been banned for botting" sign is up.

I have an abandoned account that I messaged my "guest nesters" on--one got hers out because it was in the CR? (Or maybe I was already unbanned by then and didn't know it?) And the other was like, "{Regular account} doesn't look banned. Are you sure?" So I tried to login and there I was, like nothing had ever happened--except for my treasure being cleared out.


1m of my holdings was legit and I'd bought the other 20m. I'm not going to say anything, though, lest they get the idea that they should re-ban me. =O

---------- Post added at 03:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:27 PM ----------

Okay, I did ask for it back. (The 1m legit, I mean.)

Mainly because I couldn't stand the mental argument anymore. x_x

[Bowsette]

Wow that would be too much effort for me to hide everyday lol