Greetings Readers,
So I finally heard back from Blizzard regarding my account suspension. The email is included below.
From: wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com
Sent: Fri 9/04/09 12:48 AM
To: [REDACTED]
Subject: World of Warcraft - Account Access Restored
Greetings,
We have restored access to the World of Warcraft account [REDACTED]. You should now be able to log in with your old password.
For your own security, we recommend you scan the computer you are using to remove all viruses, Trojan files and key-loggers. We also suggest you change your password at your earliest convenience. For tips on selecting a secure password, please visit http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/20574. For additional safety and security tips, please visit http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/20572.
Thank you for your understanding and please feel free to contact us at wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com with any further questions you may have. Enjoy yourself in Azeroth!
Sincerely,
[EMPLOYEE NAME REDACTED]
Account Administration
Blizzard Entertainment
www.blizzard.com
Nothing like getting a form-letter response that does not actually address the issue. Also note the time, Fri 9/04/09 12:48 AM. That means they helpfully "restored access" approximately 13 hours after the suspension was automatically lifted. Of course, they still don't actually address my prior message at all, and I still have no idea exactly what happened.
Admittedly, I had hoped that, since there was an employee name there, that employee may have actually read my email. However, that does seem like it would be too much to ask.
Anyway, I responded to that email again. Response below:
From: [REDACTED]
Sent: Fri 9/04/09 8:15 AM
To: wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com
Subject: RE: World of Warcraft - Account Access Restored
[REDACTED],
Thank you for your assistance. By the time I received this message, the 72 hour suspension had already been automatically lifted. However, I am still interested in the reason why my account was suspended initially, and whether this incident is remaining as some sort of black mark on my account record. The suspension itself does not concern me as much as the fact that it was a final warning.
Thank you for your assistance.
[REDACTED]
So, of course, now I'll be waiting again to hear back from them, probably receiving another form letter. I've already received the automated email again, as shown below:
W
From: donotreply@blizzard.com
Sent: Fri 9/04/09 8:19 AM
To: [REDACTED]
Subject: World of Warcraft - Account Administration
Thank you for contacting the Account Administration team regarding this issue. This is an automated email to let you know that we have received your inquiry. Please do not reply to this email; a response to your message will be sent to you as soon as possible.
While we will attempt to address all concerns as promptly as possible, it may be several days before we are able to respond depending on the total inquiries we receive. We must ask that no additional emails be submitted regarding this issue, as additional emails will ultimately result in undue delays in response time.
In the meantime, we offer other forms of support that are immediately available to you while we process your email.
======================================================
Website Support:
A wide variety of Account Administration questions and answers are available on our web site at: http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowaa
======================================================
======================================================
Server Status Forum:
If you cannot log onto World of Warcraft, you may want to check the Server Status Forum for current maintenance downtime and information at: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?sid=1&forumId=11113
======================================================
======================================================
Game Masters:
Game Masters (GMs) are Blizzard Entertainment personnel that are available in-game to assist you with your gameplay related questions, problems, etc. Learn more about Game Masters, including how to contact them at http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowgm/
======================================================
======================================================
Best regards,
World of Warcraft Account Administration Team
http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowaa
Blizzard Entertainment
So, time to play the waiting game. Sometimes, my own patience for this sort of thing amazes me.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Suspension Lifted, But Not All Good News
Greetings Readers,
So, the suspension is over, which gave me action to the forums finally. Still haven't logged in to the account itself. Being at work isn't conducive to that.
The bad news is that I still haven't seen a response on my email to Account Administration, so I still have no idea what triggered the ban. I'm hoping strongly for an update very soon. I've read cases where people were banned yesterday for "economy exploit" as well, but received notice from Account Administration and their bans lifted already.
Admittedly, I wonder, if they answer their emails in order, why is it the large group of people that got banned for such on August 31st are still waiting on responses that someone who was banned September 2nd already received. I won't spend much time on the thought, though, since it would ultimately serve no purpose to me to continue thinking about.
I am also wondering, though, why so many people were banned for the same reason on the same day. Was it an "end of the month" or a "Monday" thing? I have no idea, but I'm kind of curious to find out.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
So, the suspension is over, which gave me action to the forums finally. Still haven't logged in to the account itself. Being at work isn't conducive to that.
The bad news is that I still haven't seen a response on my email to Account Administration, so I still have no idea what triggered the ban. I'm hoping strongly for an update very soon. I've read cases where people were banned yesterday for "economy exploit" as well, but received notice from Account Administration and their bans lifted already.
Admittedly, I wonder, if they answer their emails in order, why is it the large group of people that got banned for such on August 31st are still waiting on responses that someone who was banned September 2nd already received. I won't spend much time on the thought, though, since it would ultimately serve no purpose to me to continue thinking about.
I am also wondering, though, why so many people were banned for the same reason on the same day. Was it an "end of the month" or a "Monday" thing? I have no idea, but I'm kind of curious to find out.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
A Quick Update Regarding Suspension Time
Greetings Readers,
Rather than alter the prior messages, I simply thought I would note here that I was wrong on the UTC offset, and therefore the earlier messages regarding the amount of time since my suspension, and the time of my reactivation, were off by one hour. MDT is an offset of -6 to UTC, and thus 11:33 AM would be the time my account would be reinstated. The times shown in the emails earlier also appear to be PDT, and thus the times are all 1 hour earlier than the local time when I received them.
I apologize for the incorrect nature of that information, and it is why I felt the correction important.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
Rather than alter the prior messages, I simply thought I would note here that I was wrong on the UTC offset, and therefore the earlier messages regarding the amount of time since my suspension, and the time of my reactivation, were off by one hour. MDT is an offset of -6 to UTC, and thus 11:33 AM would be the time my account would be reinstated. The times shown in the emails earlier also appear to be PDT, and thus the times are all 1 hour earlier than the local time when I received them.
I apologize for the incorrect nature of that information, and it is why I felt the correction important.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
Zalmoran Account Action - 68 Hours Later
Greetings Readers,
So, there's approximately 4 hours to go in my World of Warcraft account suspension. To be honest, at this point I'm more concerned than I have been. Ironically, the closer the suspension is to being over, the more the idea of it being over is starting to bother me.
Of course, I still have not heard back from Blizzard. It's not a surprise to me that this is the case. However, since I honestly still don't know what happened, I'm very concerned that it will happen again. I am particularly concerned that it will happen shortly after the suspension, at which time I would be at work anyway and unable to do anything about it. I kind of wish I could actually get them to extend the account suspension until my email (and possibly email conversation) with Account Administration is complete.
So, at this point I've done a full anti-virus scan of all my files, registry keys, internet plugins, stored email messages, recorded TV shows in Media Center, literally everything I can think of. I've scanned the system more than twice with 3 different pieces of software, all mentioned earlier in this thread. It honestly bothers me that I still haven't come up with anything. I'd have more peace of mind if it found something than in the fact that it hasn't.
At this point I am about to begin yet another scan of my system. This time, instead of just using existing anti-virus definitions, I'm running a full heuristic scan of all memory and files, looking for any and all activity that could be considered even remotely threatening. Due to the nature of my job, it is particularly important to me to be certain now that this is an absolutely secure system.
In the mean time, I've also changed my account password for World of Warcraft again. I did it shortly after I got the message telling me to do so, but then it occurred to me that if there was a key-logger on my system it would provide no protection. Further, after finding the viruses on my roommate's computer, I decided that I did not trust our home network at all. While it's fairly reasonable to expect that Blizzard uses a fairly strong method of encryption when dealing with account information that should theoretically be well-protected against remote packet sniffing, I don't want to take a chance. Instead, I changed my password on my cell phone using the Edge network. It's the only way I can have some peace of mind that at least the password should be secure.
Speaking of cell phones, I recently read about Blizzard's Mobile Authenticator. It's much like the existing hardware device they'll send, but available on most phones. The fact that I said "most" becomes particularly relevant as this does not include my phone, any other Android phone, or my entire phone network. I am admittedly disappointed.
Anyway, at this point I've finished updating my anti-virus software, and need to begin the heuristic scan. I expect it could take quite a bit of time, but hopefully it will be done before I have to leave for work. If not, I'm going to be worried about this all day.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
So, there's approximately 4 hours to go in my World of Warcraft account suspension. To be honest, at this point I'm more concerned than I have been. Ironically, the closer the suspension is to being over, the more the idea of it being over is starting to bother me.
Of course, I still have not heard back from Blizzard. It's not a surprise to me that this is the case. However, since I honestly still don't know what happened, I'm very concerned that it will happen again. I am particularly concerned that it will happen shortly after the suspension, at which time I would be at work anyway and unable to do anything about it. I kind of wish I could actually get them to extend the account suspension until my email (and possibly email conversation) with Account Administration is complete.
So, at this point I've done a full anti-virus scan of all my files, registry keys, internet plugins, stored email messages, recorded TV shows in Media Center, literally everything I can think of. I've scanned the system more than twice with 3 different pieces of software, all mentioned earlier in this thread. It honestly bothers me that I still haven't come up with anything. I'd have more peace of mind if it found something than in the fact that it hasn't.
At this point I am about to begin yet another scan of my system. This time, instead of just using existing anti-virus definitions, I'm running a full heuristic scan of all memory and files, looking for any and all activity that could be considered even remotely threatening. Due to the nature of my job, it is particularly important to me to be certain now that this is an absolutely secure system.
In the mean time, I've also changed my account password for World of Warcraft again. I did it shortly after I got the message telling me to do so, but then it occurred to me that if there was a key-logger on my system it would provide no protection. Further, after finding the viruses on my roommate's computer, I decided that I did not trust our home network at all. While it's fairly reasonable to expect that Blizzard uses a fairly strong method of encryption when dealing with account information that should theoretically be well-protected against remote packet sniffing, I don't want to take a chance. Instead, I changed my password on my cell phone using the Edge network. It's the only way I can have some peace of mind that at least the password should be secure.
Speaking of cell phones, I recently read about Blizzard's Mobile Authenticator. It's much like the existing hardware device they'll send, but available on most phones. The fact that I said "most" becomes particularly relevant as this does not include my phone, any other Android phone, or my entire phone network. I am admittedly disappointed.
Anyway, at this point I've finished updating my anti-virus software, and need to begin the heuristic scan. I expect it could take quite a bit of time, but hopefully it will be done before I have to leave for work. If not, I'm going to be worried about this all day.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Quick Update Regarding Account Ban
Welcome Readers,
So, this is just a quick update regarding my account suspension. Since I still haven't had a response, and still cannot login, I figured I'd troll the forums a bit and watch what's going on, particularly in customer service. I keep hoping someone with a similar problem will post on there and from that I may be able to deduce the problem I'm having.
Today I noticed something interesting. There are actually other people whose accounts have been suspended who are able to post on the forums. I get the notice that I cannot. This makes me more curious about the nature of my suspension. I can't determine, if they can separate the access of the forums from the game, what sort of "economy exploit" I could have used that would be dangerous to also allow me access to the forums. I would assume, based on that, they have blocked me due to a perceived exploit of an in-game bug or unexpected feature, and do not wish me to disclose the nature of that exploit. I can't imagine that the use of an add-on, power-leveling service, or gold for money trade would warrant a forum ban, since talking about such things would not empower or embolden other players to perform similar actions.
Again, as with all my cause posts, this is speculative. I certainly have not used any exploit of which I am aware. Though I do program for a living, reverse-engineering is a skill I don't think I'll ever really comprehend. Just a bit above me, to be honest.
I do look forward to the account suspension ending tomorrow at 10:33 AM MDT, so that I can finally go on the forums and try to get some answers. I am still afraid to log in until I know what happened. I'm too afraid that I'd make the same mistake that I may have made, and with final warning, one more mistake is one more than I have.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
So, this is just a quick update regarding my account suspension. Since I still haven't had a response, and still cannot login, I figured I'd troll the forums a bit and watch what's going on, particularly in customer service. I keep hoping someone with a similar problem will post on there and from that I may be able to deduce the problem I'm having.
Today I noticed something interesting. There are actually other people whose accounts have been suspended who are able to post on the forums. I get the notice that I cannot. This makes me more curious about the nature of my suspension. I can't determine, if they can separate the access of the forums from the game, what sort of "economy exploit" I could have used that would be dangerous to also allow me access to the forums. I would assume, based on that, they have blocked me due to a perceived exploit of an in-game bug or unexpected feature, and do not wish me to disclose the nature of that exploit. I can't imagine that the use of an add-on, power-leveling service, or gold for money trade would warrant a forum ban, since talking about such things would not empower or embolden other players to perform similar actions.
Again, as with all my cause posts, this is speculative. I certainly have not used any exploit of which I am aware. Though I do program for a living, reverse-engineering is a skill I don't think I'll ever really comprehend. Just a bit above me, to be honest.
I do look forward to the account suspension ending tomorrow at 10:33 AM MDT, so that I can finally go on the forums and try to get some answers. I am still afraid to log in until I know what happened. I'm too afraid that I'd make the same mistake that I may have made, and with final warning, one more mistake is one more than I have.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
Zalmoran Account Suspension - 48 Hours Later
Greetings Readers,
It's now been 48 hours since my World of Warcraft account was suspended for "economy exploit". Again, I wish I could report that I have received a response from Blizzard at this point but, sadly, I have not.
I spent yesterday evening checking and rechecking my system for viruses to ensure that there was not a Trojan or key-logger on the system. In order to ensure I was as likely to catch anything as possible, I used a trio of security software. First I used the built in Windows Defender. I do not have a great amount of faith in it, but it's a start. I then also did a full system scan with Lavasoft's AdAware. It turned up 3 cookies, and nothing else. Figuring it was very unlikely a cookie could have created a security vulnerability for a key-logger or software for tracking the login, I pressed on.
At the recommendation of several friends, and because it's a recognized partner of Microsoft, with Vista-compatible anti-virus software, I used Panda Security's 2009 Anti-virus software. Running in safe-mode, I did a full system scan once again with Panda, Windows Defender, and AdAware. The net total of this effort: the removal of 12 cookies. No additional suspect software located.
All in all, it does not seem likely that a virus or key-logger was used to track my account information. However, we did find 2 viruses on my roommate's computer. For his security software, he had chosen AVG Anti-Virus. As mentioned, two viruses were detected on his machine. Unfortunately he did not provide me the information on what these were, so I am unable to relate them further. However, I would hope they would not have provided a threat toward my account, since the only way to deal with that from another system should be through packet-sniffing the router, and I would sincerely hope that Blizzard is using proper encryption algorithms and either SSL or TLS for transmission.
Luckily, since my roommate is still able to access his account, we were able to both post in the forums regarding this issue (which I will provide a link for when I am able. Work systems do not allow access to World of Warcraft), and we were also able to contact members of the guild for me to get outside contact information.
I have to say that I am very thankful to our guild master, RayneRaven. After I explained the situation to him, he has been proactive in assisting me in at least gaining more information on what is going on with my account. He is posting a ticket in game to try to get a GM response on at least a more detailed reason for the suspension. I appreciate it greatly as I am somewhat concerned about logging in again, even after the suspension, without knowing what caused it. I wouldn't want to have another infraction, since I'm already on final warning.
Anyway, that's about all I've got to say about the situation at the moment. I hope that I will be able to provide more information soon, but I do have my doubts that I will be hearing anything today. I figure I'll be lucky to hear anything before the suspension is automatically lifted.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
It's now been 48 hours since my World of Warcraft account was suspended for "economy exploit". Again, I wish I could report that I have received a response from Blizzard at this point but, sadly, I have not.
I spent yesterday evening checking and rechecking my system for viruses to ensure that there was not a Trojan or key-logger on the system. In order to ensure I was as likely to catch anything as possible, I used a trio of security software. First I used the built in Windows Defender. I do not have a great amount of faith in it, but it's a start. I then also did a full system scan with Lavasoft's AdAware. It turned up 3 cookies, and nothing else. Figuring it was very unlikely a cookie could have created a security vulnerability for a key-logger or software for tracking the login, I pressed on.
At the recommendation of several friends, and because it's a recognized partner of Microsoft, with Vista-compatible anti-virus software, I used Panda Security's 2009 Anti-virus software. Running in safe-mode, I did a full system scan once again with Panda, Windows Defender, and AdAware. The net total of this effort: the removal of 12 cookies. No additional suspect software located.
All in all, it does not seem likely that a virus or key-logger was used to track my account information. However, we did find 2 viruses on my roommate's computer. For his security software, he had chosen AVG Anti-Virus. As mentioned, two viruses were detected on his machine. Unfortunately he did not provide me the information on what these were, so I am unable to relate them further. However, I would hope they would not have provided a threat toward my account, since the only way to deal with that from another system should be through packet-sniffing the router, and I would sincerely hope that Blizzard is using proper encryption algorithms and either SSL or TLS for transmission.
Luckily, since my roommate is still able to access his account, we were able to both post in the forums regarding this issue (which I will provide a link for when I am able. Work systems do not allow access to World of Warcraft), and we were also able to contact members of the guild for me to get outside contact information.
I have to say that I am very thankful to our guild master, RayneRaven. After I explained the situation to him, he has been proactive in assisting me in at least gaining more information on what is going on with my account. He is posting a ticket in game to try to get a GM response on at least a more detailed reason for the suspension. I appreciate it greatly as I am somewhat concerned about logging in again, even after the suspension, without knowing what caused it. I wouldn't want to have another infraction, since I'm already on final warning.
Anyway, that's about all I've got to say about the situation at the moment. I hope that I will be able to provide more information soon, but I do have my doubts that I will be hearing anything today. I figure I'll be lucky to hear anything before the suspension is automatically lifted.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Zalmoran Account Suspension - 29 Hours Later
Greetings Readers,
It's been 29 hours since my World of Warcraft account was given final warning and suspended for 72 hours. I wish that at this time I had more to report in terms of communication with Blizzard regarding the issue, but I have not received an email at this time.
This post largely will be speculative, serving to provide an account of my activities as I'm certain most people would be wondering exactly what I had been doing up until the suspension. The information I provide here, again, is speculation, and has not in any way been confirmed by Blizzard or any representative of Blizzard at this time.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I do use Auctioneer in order to handle my interactions with the Auction House. This does not provide additional access away from the auction house, nor do I use it to provide me any notifications that I could not get through the existing, Blizzard-made interface. Literally all of my interaction with this app must be done at the Auction House. That said, there is a supplemental addon, AucDb, which provides material costs, action recommendations, and average prices that the items sell for on US and EU servers. However, it has been mentioned on several forums that this addon has not caused bans in the past, and does not fall within a Term of Service violation. It also could not reasonably lead to me controlling the auction house, as prices are only recommended. It does not automate the sale or purchase of items. It also, as mentioned above, does not notify me of when I've been undercut, outbid, or any other interaction, except when I search my auctions at the Auction House. Thus, I figure it is not likely that this was the cause of my suspension.
The next possibility would be a belief that I was gold farming. I have admittedly made on average for Zalmoran 50g per day according to my statistics. I do not know if that is a high number, but I do attribute the success to careful attention to the trends in inscription sales on my server, and making glyphs that either sell high or are not represented often on auction. An hour before my ban, I had flown all over Zangarmarsh collecting herbs and ingredients to fill my new 32-slot inscription and herbalism bags. I then proceeded in similar fashion in Elwynn Forest to collect low-level ingredients to continue my minor inscription research, since I had been getting low on those supplies. I suppose it is possible that, since I was on in the morning before work and performing mind-numbingly repetitive tasks, they may have believed that I was not manually controlling the character. I would be surprised if this was the action that got my account suspended, since I'm fairly sure I wouldn't be the only person going around performing mind-numbingly repetitive tasks. This is an MMO after all, and I've seen people with 450 fishing skill.
It's possible that they believe I was selling gold, I suppose. I have, on several occasions, provided small gifts of gold and items to family or friends that start an account on my server, as well as primary characters joining our guild at low level. An accounting of these would show that I have given approximately 30g, 1 guild tabard, and 1 bag or pet to each of these individuals. In total that may come to about 120g (one person refused cash), 5 guild tabards (which I spent 1g on each), 2 pets (both cats, given to family members, 30s each), and 3 netherweave bags (about 8g each). That would make my total in contributions toward all of the characters almost 150g. Divided between them that still only comes to 30g each. If I had sold that to them, I couldn't imagine I'd have gotten much since the common ads on my server list 1000g for $15. (Yes, we get enough of them for me to remember the offers rather easily. Not much of a price war there.) Based on that as a market rate, if they had paid me for that stuff, we're talking a microtransaction of about 45 cents each. I can't imagine it would be worth it to me, since I have a full-time job that pays me far more than 45 cents per hour, which would be a generous estimate on the time I've put toward those contributions.
Also, there's the possibility that they would believe I was using a power-leveling service. It is true that, in less than 3 months, I got my primary character up to 72, a couple alts up to 33, a couple more alts in the 20s, and a couple more into the teens. I don't know the average rate at which a person levels. To me, it does seem that this could have been fast, but it can easily be explained. When I began my account, it was under recruit-a-friend with my sister. Shortly after, I used recruit-a-friend with my significant other. This meant that every time I grouped with either of them, for the first 90 days of my account, I was gaining triple experience on all enemies and quests. In addition, the Midsummer Festival occurred during that time, and the daily quests it provided were easily giving me more than 10,000-15,000 experience at level 30. I believe the high end got it up to almost 20,000. I was very quickly leveling at that time, when you account for 3 daily quests each day and several honor/extinquish the flames quests. For my alts, most levels were gained this way, though one used the recruit-a-friend free levels from my partner's primary in order to gain approximately 20 levels. The recruit-a-friend levels I gained through this translated 1:2 for me to give levels to my sister. I did as many as I could from that character to her primary on the same server, and then switched to my primary to level her up further with the levels he had earned. This resulted in us each having fairly high level characters with admittedly minimal work, but all through approved perks in the recruit-a-friend program administered by Blizzard. Ultimately, it seems most likely to me that this progression was monitored and inadvertently translated to power-leveling. The fact that I put a little time in each morning doing the short, repetetive, tasks before I play again when I get home from work could be a contributing factor to this theory.
The only other possibility would be an accidental association. When I first arrived in Northrend, a player immediately sent me a group invite. I accepted and was surprised to see a level 59 player. Not wanting to appear rude, I continued with the quests I was working on. I attempted several times to talk to the person, and ask them what quests they were on, etc, and didn't get any response. I became suspicious and asked my guild for advice. While they were responding, I noticed he'd go invisible during a battle, then claim the loot. At that point I booted him from group, angry that he was not assisting, and under the advice I received from my guild. It occurred to me at that time that the person may have been a farmer, and that I had assisted them in getting a very small amount of loot to sell. On retrospect, this could be the most likely case for the issue, though I don't think it would fall under an 'economy exploit'.
Anyway, that's all I've got. I'm hoping to get some people I talk to in game to read this blog and provide insight. Anyone else who has any, please post. I also could use the support on this. I've been going without sleep, and feeling highly stressed, trying to figure out exactly what happened.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
It's been 29 hours since my World of Warcraft account was given final warning and suspended for 72 hours. I wish that at this time I had more to report in terms of communication with Blizzard regarding the issue, but I have not received an email at this time.
This post largely will be speculative, serving to provide an account of my activities as I'm certain most people would be wondering exactly what I had been doing up until the suspension. The information I provide here, again, is speculation, and has not in any way been confirmed by Blizzard or any representative of Blizzard at this time.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I do use Auctioneer in order to handle my interactions with the Auction House. This does not provide additional access away from the auction house, nor do I use it to provide me any notifications that I could not get through the existing, Blizzard-made interface. Literally all of my interaction with this app must be done at the Auction House. That said, there is a supplemental addon, AucDb, which provides material costs, action recommendations, and average prices that the items sell for on US and EU servers. However, it has been mentioned on several forums that this addon has not caused bans in the past, and does not fall within a Term of Service violation. It also could not reasonably lead to me controlling the auction house, as prices are only recommended. It does not automate the sale or purchase of items. It also, as mentioned above, does not notify me of when I've been undercut, outbid, or any other interaction, except when I search my auctions at the Auction House. Thus, I figure it is not likely that this was the cause of my suspension.
The next possibility would be a belief that I was gold farming. I have admittedly made on average for Zalmoran 50g per day according to my statistics. I do not know if that is a high number, but I do attribute the success to careful attention to the trends in inscription sales on my server, and making glyphs that either sell high or are not represented often on auction. An hour before my ban, I had flown all over Zangarmarsh collecting herbs and ingredients to fill my new 32-slot inscription and herbalism bags. I then proceeded in similar fashion in Elwynn Forest to collect low-level ingredients to continue my minor inscription research, since I had been getting low on those supplies. I suppose it is possible that, since I was on in the morning before work and performing mind-numbingly repetitive tasks, they may have believed that I was not manually controlling the character. I would be surprised if this was the action that got my account suspended, since I'm fairly sure I wouldn't be the only person going around performing mind-numbingly repetitive tasks. This is an MMO after all, and I've seen people with 450 fishing skill.
It's possible that they believe I was selling gold, I suppose. I have, on several occasions, provided small gifts of gold and items to family or friends that start an account on my server, as well as primary characters joining our guild at low level. An accounting of these would show that I have given approximately 30g, 1 guild tabard, and 1 bag or pet to each of these individuals. In total that may come to about 120g (one person refused cash), 5 guild tabards (which I spent 1g on each), 2 pets (both cats, given to family members, 30s each), and 3 netherweave bags (about 8g each). That would make my total in contributions toward all of the characters almost 150g. Divided between them that still only comes to 30g each. If I had sold that to them, I couldn't imagine I'd have gotten much since the common ads on my server list 1000g for $15. (Yes, we get enough of them for me to remember the offers rather easily. Not much of a price war there.) Based on that as a market rate, if they had paid me for that stuff, we're talking a microtransaction of about 45 cents each. I can't imagine it would be worth it to me, since I have a full-time job that pays me far more than 45 cents per hour, which would be a generous estimate on the time I've put toward those contributions.
Also, there's the possibility that they would believe I was using a power-leveling service. It is true that, in less than 3 months, I got my primary character up to 72, a couple alts up to 33, a couple more alts in the 20s, and a couple more into the teens. I don't know the average rate at which a person levels. To me, it does seem that this could have been fast, but it can easily be explained. When I began my account, it was under recruit-a-friend with my sister. Shortly after, I used recruit-a-friend with my significant other. This meant that every time I grouped with either of them, for the first 90 days of my account, I was gaining triple experience on all enemies and quests. In addition, the Midsummer Festival occurred during that time, and the daily quests it provided were easily giving me more than 10,000-15,000 experience at level 30. I believe the high end got it up to almost 20,000. I was very quickly leveling at that time, when you account for 3 daily quests each day and several honor/extinquish the flames quests. For my alts, most levels were gained this way, though one used the recruit-a-friend free levels from my partner's primary in order to gain approximately 20 levels. The recruit-a-friend levels I gained through this translated 1:2 for me to give levels to my sister. I did as many as I could from that character to her primary on the same server, and then switched to my primary to level her up further with the levels he had earned. This resulted in us each having fairly high level characters with admittedly minimal work, but all through approved perks in the recruit-a-friend program administered by Blizzard. Ultimately, it seems most likely to me that this progression was monitored and inadvertently translated to power-leveling. The fact that I put a little time in each morning doing the short, repetetive, tasks before I play again when I get home from work could be a contributing factor to this theory.
The only other possibility would be an accidental association. When I first arrived in Northrend, a player immediately sent me a group invite. I accepted and was surprised to see a level 59 player. Not wanting to appear rude, I continued with the quests I was working on. I attempted several times to talk to the person, and ask them what quests they were on, etc, and didn't get any response. I became suspicious and asked my guild for advice. While they were responding, I noticed he'd go invisible during a battle, then claim the loot. At that point I booted him from group, angry that he was not assisting, and under the advice I received from my guild. It occurred to me at that time that the person may have been a farmer, and that I had assisted them in getting a very small amount of loot to sell. On retrospect, this could be the most likely case for the issue, though I don't think it would fall under an 'economy exploit'.
Anyway, that's all I've got. I'm hoping to get some people I talk to in game to read this blog and provide insight. Anyone else who has any, please post. I also could use the support on this. I've been going without sleep, and feeling highly stressed, trying to figure out exactly what happened.
In time, this and all things will pass into eternity.
Zalmoran (US - Kirin Tor)
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