An unfair policy on Bans in FM4?

  • Thread starter Raggist
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Raggist

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I have been banned twice now in FM4. No reason has been given for either ban. The Banned messages have a Details option , but nothing happens when it is clicked. The messages state that I have been banned "from this feature" without specifying the feature. The ban spread from just the Storefront, to the Auction House then to my Club Garage and now also to Gifting.

In the official Forza Forum they have a policy of not discussing bans. Any posts concerning bans get censored or just never posted. They give an email address for "forzafb" at microsoft to contact regarding bans. I tried it but have had no reply from the fb in over a week.

I have contacted the XBox Live enforcement team on their forum, but they cannot help as the ban is totally down to the game developer. although in the official forum they give the impression that it is the other way around.

So in FM4 you can be banned for no apparent reason and you have no way of appealing against it, receiving an explanation or even discussing it.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

🤬
 
I've been banned since last Friday and haven't received a single message explaining why I got banned. I don't know if it's because they thought I was glitching my driver level or in-game credits, but at that time I had only been doing event list races since release date. Also, because I had a limited amount of time to play during the weekdays, I would race on Benchmark (Layout A) and would earn 105K per race and 50K affinity points. On the day I was banned, I had just gotten to level 50 affinity for Chevrolet then went to the auction house and purchased two inexpensive cars (which I sent one to a buddy of mine as a gift). A few hours later I log back onto my xbox and all of the sudden I have no access to the same features you mentioned. I emailed T10 this past saturday and I understand that they get lots of emails but I still haven't gotten an in-game message or email explaining why I got banned.
 
Iv'e been hearing allot about this happening. Iv'e been staying away from the storefront and auction house for this exact reason. From what I have been hearing if you have anything for sale and someone buys it with glitched credits then you both get banned.
 
zr1chris
Iv'e been hearing allot about this happening. Iv'e been staying away from the storefront and auction house for this exact reason. From what I have been hearing if you have anything for sale and someone buys it with glitched credits then you both get banned.
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That's pretty lame if it's true. So, I can get banned if a complete stranger buys something from me with glitched credits? I have no control over how someone else gets their credits...I'd be pissed if this happened to me.
 
Wiggs
That's pretty lame if it's true. So, I can get banned if a complete stranger buys something from me with glitched credits? I have no control over how someone else gets their credits...I'd be pissed if this happened to me.
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That's exactly why so many people have been exactly that... pissed. The FM.net site has been full of rants about it and that's what allot of them are claiming (getting banned for no apparent reason after selling something).

Don't know how true it is but allot of people have been claiming no wrong doing. That didn't happen in FM3. I think that T10 have decided they were going to really crack down on cheaters this time around but unfortunately some of the innocent are being banned just for being linked to cheaters.
 
OP, what did you do before getting banned? I am not accusing you of anything but it might help us if you explain things a bit better.
To the guy who kept racing a race for 105k credits and 50k affinity, you don't see how you could get mistakes for cheating? I am not saying how grinding is wrong cause it ain't but I suspect most people do not grind much anymore cause credits are easy to come by. And with what I can guess is a very significant amount of money you have plus a level 50 affinity, I guess t10 figured you got it from cheating. I am not saying you are in the wrong, just trying to find a way to see how you could have gotten banned.
Me, I don't play a lot but have earned 5-6 mil in credits so far. I buy a bunch from the auction house and forefront. I have easily spent a million or more in the two combined.
Maybe I have been lucky or maybe I play it safe. My highest affinity level may be like,level 14 and I have like,300k in the bank right now.
 
BryCivicSi
OP, what did you do before getting banned?
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+1.

Don't mind me saying this, as I don't want to be offensive, but I've seen far too many people claim they have been doing nothing wrong and got "banned for no reason" from various online services over the years.

I'm not saying you actually did do something you shouldn't have done, OP, not all. It's just a bit hard to assess such a situation from just hearsay.
 
BryCivicSi
OP, what did you do before getting banned? I am not accusing you of anything but it might help us if you explain things a bit better.
To the guy who kept racing a race for 105k credits and 50k affinity, you don't see how you could get mistakes for cheating? I am not saying how grinding is wrong cause it ain't but I suspect most people do not grind much anymore cause credits are easy to come by. And with what I can guess is a very significant amount of money you have plus a level 50 affinity, I guess t10 figured you got it from cheating. I am not saying you are in the wrong, just trying to find a way to see how you could have gotten banned.
Me, I don't play a lot but have earned 5-6 mil in credits so far. I buy a bunch from the auction house and forefront. I have easily spent a million or more in the two combined.
Maybe I have been lucky or maybe I play it safe. My highest affinity level may be like,level 14 and I have like,300k in the bank right now.
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I hear ya, and I agree with you, but what gets me is the fact that I haven't received a message stating why I was banned. If it's because of racing on Benchmark then I'll make sure I don't race on that track again. If it's for buying those two cars from the auction house (Audi A4 touring car for 200K ish and 599 GTO for 200K ish as well) then that's just freakin' ridiculous. I've purchased so many cars from the auction house since release date and haven't had a single problem.
 
So I must have done something to get banned eh? Hehe! You are probably right, but the point is I have no idea what and so I probably did it again and got banned a second time.

Let's see... As soon as I got FM4 I imported a Vinyl Group from FM3 that has been selling for 50K in the hope that I could accumulate credits to buy cars in FM4. I slapped it on a car, took a photo and uploaded both to my storefront. Both the Vinyl and the photo went immediately into "Under Review". I thought no more about it and began playing the game offline.

They remained Under Review for a couple of days and then I got the banned message. No reason, just "banned from this feature" without saying which feature. During the week I was banned I noticed that FM4's Vinyl graphics are different to FM3. The swimsuit of my Pinup was rendered more transparent, not that there was anything much to see beneath it, but when you are searching for a reason its all about grasping at straws. Anyway, I cleaned it up completely.

After the ban I uploaded the new squeeky clean vinyl and a new photo. This time the photo was allowed, but the vinyl went Under Review again. It stayed that way for 5 days. Then I did a new vinyl that simply said "Why are my Vinyls still Under Review?" and uploaded it. It immediately went Under Review as well. :lol:

2 days later I got another banned message, for 1 month this time. Again no reason given. This ban then spread over the next few days to include the Auction House, my Club Garage and Gifting.

So perhaps I did do something to get myself banned, but what exactly? The original Vinyl is still selling on FM3. I attach some images of the squeeky clean one from FM4 below to show that I am not a pornographer.

If they don't tell people what they have done wrong, what's to stop them doing it again in all innocence? If there is no appeal, redress or discussion allowed then the entire system needs revising. Turn 10 are probably in breach of contract suspending people's services without providing a specific reason and they are probably causing Microsoft to be breaching theirs too.

pinupcleanup.jpg


dtype.jpg
 
Nice pinup. And now I see why. It may be harmless image to you and I but to someone with far more conservative views, I could see them hitting that "offensive" button. And then to egg on the mods with an image. Not the most intelligent thing if you want brownie points.
It would be nice to get a response for your bans but how many people play/ get banned from this game vs the number of in-game mods or customer service reps that answer emails.
 
This reminds me of prison. They're all innocent if you ask the inmates... Offensive paint jobs = instant ban if reported.

If you're pissed about the ban, why not get even? Make the most offensive looking cars you can and plaster them everywhere on the internet you can giving full credit in bold to T10, MS and FM4 ? Just a thought...
 
To be perfectly honest the image is borderline permissible on here under the AUP and as such I can see why an issue was made of it on the Storefront.

It does beg the question of why you never checked before uploading it? After all the responsibility to ensure that content meets the T&C's of the storefront are yours and in failing to do so you effectively gave them all they needed to issue the ban.

Sorry to say that wittingly or not you gave them pretty much all the ammo they needed.


Oh and I've edited your thread title, we ask that Godwin's law be left at the door.

Sorry

Scaff
 
A mate of mine got banned on Forza 3 he had a
"Hows my driving call 0xxxxxx" on his car.

The phone number was the Microsoft complaints dept lol.
 
LickitySplit
This reminds me of prison. They're all innocent if you ask the inmates... Offensive paint jobs = instant ban if reported.
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Pretty much. And then they tell their tale, and it becomes appearent that it didn't just happen "for no reason".

Oh, and let me ask you one thing, OP: You opload a vynil, it goes under review, you get banned. You upload a slightly altered version, it goes under review again, you get banned again and you need someone to tell you why you get banned? I mean, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
 
Wow, I am truly shocked that anyone would find this image offensive and I can only apologise sincerely. I must be so out of touch with current moral standards as I find it difficult to believe that an image from calendars of the 1950's could be considered offensive 60 years later.

With regard to checking to see if my vinyl was permissable before posting - how? I looked at what was being offered in the other storefronts and quite frankly, I considered mine to be utterly tame in comparison, but then obviously my judgement is not to be relied upon.

If you go to FM3 and search for vinyl groups using the keyword Anime you can find images that are totally pornographic and can be downloaded for free. If my Pinup is offensive in FM4 why is it ok in FM3? If there is no consistency between FM3 and 4 how can anyone be blamed for transgressing if they are not made aware of the new rules?

Yes, I am guilty of winding up the moderators, but that was the only way open of communicating with them as all other attempts via normal channels failed. Had they communicated with me properly in the first instance and given some kind of indication as to why I had beem banned then everything would have been fine.

Apologies once again. :guilty:
 
Raggist
Wow, I am truly shocked that anyone would find this image offensive and I can only apologise sincerely. I must be so out of touch with current moral standards as I find it difficult to believe that an image from calendars of the 1950's could be considered offensive 60 years later.
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The game comes with a PEGI 3 rating... It's supposed to be playable by little kids of all ages. And with the Kinect steering, that's probably more true than it ever was.

Dunno, but if you had kids, would you hang a 1950's pinup calendar up in their bedroom? I know I, for one, wouldn't find that suitable. Granted, most people who'll be playin the game won't be that young, but I think that shouldn't make much of a difference.
 
Luminis
The game comes with a PEGI 3 rating... It's supposed to be playable by little kids of all ages. And with the Kinect steering, that's probably more true than it ever was.

Dunno, but if you had kids, would you hang a 1950's pinup calendar up in their bedroom? I know I, for one, wouldn't find that suitable. Granted, most people who'll be playin the game won't be that young, but I think that shouldn't make much of a difference.
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Online content is not rated, however. At least by the ESRB ratings. I've seen a lot more questionable content that gets to stay. Guess we can't let the kids look at any WWII aircraft noses. That said, however, I wouldn't have put it up again. But why not just take it down instead of banning?
 
disinfected
Online content is not rated, however. At least by the ESRB ratings.
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It might not be rated, because the publisher can't be held responsible for the customers acting up. However, that doesn't mean that the publisher shouldn't be concerned with what's happening in their game and what isn't. I actually think it isn't suprising to see the developers being kinda strict with the content that's released into a game that's supposed to be suitable for the whole faimily.
disinfected
I've seen a lot more questionable content that gets to stay.
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The OP probably got reported, as opposed to that questionaable content you mentioned. Doesn't make it a good excuse, does it?
disinfected
Guess we can't let the kids look at any WWII aircraft noses.
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Which seems to be a bit easier for a parent to keep his or her eye on, than the player created content in a video game.
disinfected
That said, however, I wouldn't have put it up again. But why not just take it down instead of banning?
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They took it down. Then he uploaded it again. Presto, banned. I doubt T10 would've went that far if the OP didn't upload the whole thing again.
 
I don't know. I'd much rather see the tons of weed leaf and drug reference vinyls taken down. Can't regulate everything, I guess. I can see it happening, and can see their reasons, but how do they decide what is appropriate and what isn't?
 
disinfected
Not the point. They don't put real liveries with Cigarette or beer logos in games on real liveries that have them.
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The Patron logo on the Muscle Milk Aston's number plate and Halleroder window banner on the Opel touring car and BMW GTR say otherwise.

Tobacco logos are a different tale as it actually is illegal in most countries to advertise tobacco.

Edit: The Patron logo is also on the 458GT and LMPC cars.
 
Still not quite the point I am getting at. Can't have a pin-up vinyl but can make any drug reference vinyl you want?

I'm not defending that he should have put it up twice, but I don't understand who's the decide what is more moral/appropriate over anything else.
 
disinfected
but I don't understand who's the decide what is more moral/appropriate over anything else.
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Turn 10, because it's their game.

Like it or not they can ban you because it's cloudy and their barista(sp?) made their coffee wrong and there isn't much you can do about it.
 
disinfected
Can't have a pin-up vinyl but can make any drug reference vinyl you want?
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As long as it's not reported, you can make pretty much anything, anyways.

Thing is, what's more likely to get noticed and reported? A pin-up vynil that spans across the whole flank of the car, or your average weed leaf bumper sticker?


[smartass]By the way, the brand of beer that's been sponsoring Opel's DTM cars is called Hasseröder :D[/smartass]
 
disinfected
Still not quite the point I am getting at. Can't have a pin-up vinyl but can make any drug reference vinyl you want?
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It's a pin-up girl with a transparent swimsuit. She's practically nude. If the swimsuit wasn't at all transparent then there probably wouldn't have been a problem.
 
Simple way of not getting banned?

DON`T BUY, SELL OR TRADE STUFF!

SIMPLES!

Why do you need that feature anyway, what`s the point of it?

I`m new to the whole forza thing, so don`t know may way around stuff yet.
 

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