A Method To Stop Smurfing In CSGO: A Proposition To Valve

[Yoshi]

A Method To Stop Smurfing In CSGO, Proposed To Valve:

PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING BEFORE COMMENTING ABOUT ITS VALIDITY OR LACK THEREOF

TL;DR We will track performances of people's wins if they are reported. These will be a specific algorithm (details below) to see if they are smurfing. If someone is caught smurfing, they will be ranked up (seen as punishment for smurfs) No punishment for innocents (except a rank up?) More details in the Original Post.

Disclaimer: The plan that is described below is exceptionally flexible. If the plan is implemented, our numbers (or anything else, for that matter) can be altered, or removed completely for optimization. The purpose of this post is to get our idea out for the general public to view, discuss, and ameliorate, with the end goal being to generate enough support for it that it pops up on Valve’s radar. This idea was created by two people, but it can be made better if the whole community inputs ideas to fix the flaws that we can not see. If you have any ideas that will make this proposal more effective, more efficient, or more viable, please don’t hesitate to share. I think we may finally have found a way to end the problem of smurfing once and for all.

Smurfs are (as we all know) high-ranking players who purchase a different account (or who derank on their main accounts) to play on a much lower rank for the purpose of crushing opponents with a lower skill level and generally making the world a sadder place. They ruin the competitive viability of Counter-Strike by destroying the possibility of a fair and evenly-matched game. Average players who work hard to improve but who are matched against smurfs have their ranks set back and their spirits crushed by someone who believes his fun is more important than anyone else’s. Thus far, Valve has nobly attempted to solve this issue, but it is a hard one to combat without also punishing innocent players. Because of this, smurfs have slipped through the cracks of the preexisting system. Even Prime Matchmaking has not kept smurfs from ruining the game for some. That is why the following solution should be implemented in addition to the steps Valve has already taken to keep smurfs out of the game.

Idea: We create an algorithm: this will be a difficult one to create, but it is very well possible. The technicians at Valve should be able to craft something of this sort. This algorithm will look at the smurf’s recent games (20ish?) and look for patterns.
“What patterns?” you may ask. Well, allow us to elaborate:

Pattern 1: The algorithm will look at the games and the scores of the smurf, their team, and the opposing team. The algorithm will see if the smurf has a score (the number generated that is based on the player’s overall performance throughout the match) that is proportionally larger than the average scores of their opponents’ and their team’s.

Example: If team A beats team B, but team A’s scores are proportionally similar to each other (each player with 25-20 kills) then the algorithm sees this as a match that one team was just ‘better’ than the other, and it passes.

We must remember that there are times when a team is just out-matched completely and is ruined by the opposing team.

Example 2: But if Team A beats Team B and Team A’s scores are largely disproportionate with each others’ ( if “the smurf” is doing about 2 times better than the average of their team (example: Smurf: 30 kills, rest of their team's average ~15 kills)) then the algorithm flags this.

When a team loses and there is only one person leading (or “carrying”) their team to victory, the algorithm will notice.

But what about when you have a really good game here or there?

That's why we check the past 20 wins (notice only the wins here). If half of the wins fall into the category represented by example 2, the algorithm red flags this.

Noticed that we only look at wins?

This will combat smurfs who win a few, lose a few, win a few, lose a few, etc.


Pattern 2: This may just be included in the 1st pattern, but Kill-to-Death ratios:
If a suspect has 30 kills, but 25 deaths… Not too strange.
But if they have 30 kills, but 5 deaths… Suspicion is raised.


Pattern 3: Headshots. This will be compared to the entire lobby of players. If the headshots are proportionate, it’s ok. But, if one player (smurf) has a far larger headshot count (about 60%) than any other individual (ie: smurf has 15ish but the next highest was 8 or 9) then this is flagged as well.
(The numbers are examples, we understand that higher ranks involve a larger volume of headshots, but 60% better than the next highest player in any rank is usually a suspicious act)


Disclaimer: The patterns listed are the ones we feel should be included, but in no way are we saying that it can only not only limited to these three. We believe pattern One should be the largest part in the algorithm, with Two and Three following suit.



So what happens when the algorithm ‘catches’ someone?

They are ranked up (rapidly)...
Stick with me. This may sound as a gift to them, but by definition smurfs play at lower ranks. If they move up… there is no more smurf. By ranking up players who do abnormally well, we move them farther away from the people who are most vulnerable to them. Smurfs only have an incentive to play if the people they play against are worse than they are. If the system ranks these smurfs up rapidly, they can’t maintain their low rank, and therefore can’t smurf. For example, if a DMG is smurfing on a GN2 account, once that player’s rank gets closer and closer to DMG again (and this will happen very quickly in our system), they won’t be able to smurf unless they grief to keep their rank low.



What if they griefed (threw the match) to screw up their score?

Well firstly, if they lose, it won't count.
Secondly, if they win but grief during the match, then overwatch will catch them.



Will this hurt normal players?

In this method, there are no punishments for normal players.
If you manage to be flagged by the algorithm and you are not a smurf, congrats!, you probably deserve that rank up.
This does not make deranking easier; it only ranks up those marked as smurfs.



How would this work?

In theory, there would be a button in the “Report” section called “Smurf” or maybe something more understandable like “JackAss” or “ that SOB”
And then the algorithm will look at the Smurf’s past games, records, etc. and look for flags. Note: the algorithm won’t scan everyone in the lobby, just the person reported.



If I lost my rank against a smurf, and they get ranked up because of the algorithm, do I get my rank back?

Simple answer: We haven’t the slightest clue of an ethical way of dealing with this issue. Our view: the player may not have been a smurf, but they may have been good enough to be flagged. We understand you want the rank back, but we’ll just leave this up to Valve to deal with on their own.



This system of stopping smurfs from ruining the game is, in our opinion, an ideal one. Not only does it effectively curb smurfing by rapidly pushing smurfs from their fake lower ranks closer to their real ranks, but it does so in a way that leaves rule-following players free from consequence. Reporting someone for smurfing won’t ever result in someone being unfairly punished. In fact, it might help someone who is doing well get to the rank that he or she deserves. This is, as far as we can tell, a risk-free procedure. Is it perfect? No. It is not a panacea for all that ails the Counter Strike community. Once implemented, it will not immediately remove the threat of smurfs from competitive matchmaking. But given enough time, it will certainly at least make smurfing more challenging, more risky, and more frustrating, if not downright impossible. Every person who decides the benefits of smurfing are not worth the trouble that one has to go through to smurf effectively is one fewer person that the larger community doesn’t have to deal with. Eventually, the game might reach a utopian state in which the fear of smurfs has been so utterly quelled, it exists not as an active part of our growing game, but as a far-off memory of times past. This is a naïve perspective to take, but if steps like the ones described above are implemented, it may become a partial reality. There is hope yet that we can make the game a better game to play.

Edit: A lot of the concerns expressed have involved the concept of people being ranked up without deserving their rank. This is not an invalid concern, but it is a risk mitigated by the design of the system. For someone to be flagged as a smurf, they need to perform above and beyond the rest of the people in the game on a consistent basis. It's not as if the first time someone is reported for smurfing they get ranked up insanely. The only time when someone who is reported for smurfing gets ranked up is when that person has demonstrably been doing exceptionally well in his recent games. This means that there is a very small risk of low skill players mistakenly being put in higher ranks. And on the off chance that this does happen, the natural process of the ranking system will put them back to their original ranks, so no long lasting damage will be done.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
-Winston Churchill
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Credits:


Yoshi- The Mastermind of the idea

Duckstotherescue- The Great Rhetorician of the 21st century



*Adapted from a document, fonts and sizes may be different*

[risible]

no

[Duckstotherescue]

Repost this idea on other forum sites if you think it is a good idea. This needs as much exposure as possible.

[dem]

no

[4Devianz]

I skimmed through this at first and thought it to be extremely stupid due to extremely good players stuck at lower ranks; however, I hope something of the sort gets brought up to valve.
+1 +rep ggggg

[thundeR]

Originally posted by Yoshi:

A Method To Stop Smurfing In CSGO, Proposed To Valve:

Disclaimer: The plan that is described below is exceptionally flexible. If the plan is implemented, our numbers (or anything else, for that matter) can be altered, or removed completely for optimization. The purpose of this post is to get our idea out for the general public to view, discuss, and ameliorate, with the end goal being to generate enough support for it that it pops up on Valve’s radar. This idea was created by two people, but it can be made better if the whole community inputs ideas to fix the flaws that we can not see. If you have any ideas that will make this proposal more effective, more efficient, or more viable, please don’t hesitate to share. I think we may finally have found a way to end the problem of smurfing once and for all.

Smurfs are (as we all know) high-ranking players who purchase a different account (or who derank on their main accounts) to play on a much lower rank for the purpose of crushing opponents with a lower skill level and generally making the world a sadder place. They ruin the competitive viability of Counter-Strike by destroying the possibility of a fair and evenly-matched game. Average players who work hard to improve but who are matched against smurfs have their ranks set back and their spirits crushed by someone who believes his fun is more important than anyone else’s. Thus far, Valve has nobly attempted to solve this issue, but it is a hard one to combat without also punishing innocent players. Because of this, smurfs have slipped through the cracks of the preexisting system. Even Prime Matchmaking has not kept smurfs from ruining the game for some. That is why the following solution should be implemented in addition to the steps Valve has already taken to keep smurfs out of the game.

Idea: We create an algorithm: this will be a difficult one to create, but it is very well possible. The technicians at Valve should be able to craft something of this sort. This algorithm will look at the smurf’s recent games (20ish?) and look for patterns.
“What patterns?” you may ask. Well, allow us to elaborate:

Pattern 1: The algorithm will look at the games and the scores of the smurf, their team, and the opposing team. The algorithm will see if the smurf has a score (the number generated that is based on the player’s overall performance throughout the match) that is proportionally larger than the average scores of their opponents’ and their team’s.

Example: If team A beats team B, but team A’s scores are proportionally similar to each other (each player with 25-20 kills) then the algorithm sees this as a match that one team was just ‘better’ than the other, and it passes.

We must remember that there are times when a team is just out-matched completely and is ruined by the opposing team.

Example 2: But if Team A beats Team B and Team A’s scores are largely disproportionate with each others’ ( if “the smurf” is doing about 2 times better than the average of their team (example: Smurf: 30 kills, rest of their team's average ~15 kills)) then the algorithm flags this.

When a team loses and there is only one person leading (or “carrying”) their team to victory, the algorithm will notice.

But what about when you have a really good game here or there?

That's why we check the past 20 wins (notice only the wins here). If half of the wins fall into the category represented by example 2, the algorithm red flags this.

Noticed that we only look at wins?

This will combat smurfs who win a few, lose a few, win a few, lose a few, etc.


Pattern 2: This may just be included in the 1st pattern, but Kill-to-Death ratios:
If a suspect has 30 kills, but 25 deaths… Not too strange.
But if they have 30 kills, but 5 deaths… Suspicion is raised.


Pattern 3: Headshots. This will be compared to the entire lobby of players. If the headshots are proportionate, it’s ok. But, if one player (smurf) has a far larger headshot count (about 60%) than any other individual (ie: smurf has 15ish but the next highest was 8 or 9) then this is flagged as well.
(The numbers are examples, we understand that higher ranks involve a larger volume of headshots, but 60% better than the next highest player in any rank is usually a suspicious act)


Disclaimer: The patterns listed are the ones we feel should be included, but in no way are we saying that it can only not only limited to these three. We believe pattern One should be the largest part in the algorithm, with Two and Three following suit.



So what happens when the algorithm ‘catches’ someone?

They are ranked up (rapidly)...
Stick with me. This may sound as a gift to them, but by definition smurfs play at lower ranks. If they move up… there is no more smurf. By ranking up players who do abnormally well, we move them farther away from the people who are most vulnerable to them. Smurfs only have an incentive to play if the people they play against are worse than they are. If the system ranks these smurfs up rapidly, they can’t maintain their low rank, and therefore can’t smurf. For example, if a DMG is smurfing on a GN2 account, once that player’s rank gets closer and closer to DMG again (and this will happen very quickly in our system), they won’t be able to smurf unless they grief to keep their rank low.



What if they griefed (threw the match) to screw up their score?

Well firstly, if they lose, it won't count.
Secondly, if they win but grief during the match, then overwatch will catch them.



Will this hurt normal players?

In this method, there are no punishments for normal players.
If you manage to be flagged by the algorithm and you are not a smurf, congrats!, you probably deserve that rank up.
This does not make deranking easier; it only ranks up those marked as smurfs.



How would this work?

In theory, there would be a button in the “Report” section called “Smurf” or maybe something more understandable like “JackAss” or “ that SOB”
And then the algorithm will look at the Smurf’s past games, records, etc. and look for flags. Note: the algorithm won’t scan everyone in the lobby, just the person reported.



If I lost my rank against a smurf, and they get ranked up because of the algorithm, do I get my rank back?

Simple answer: We haven’t the slightest clue of an ethical way of dealing with this issue. Our view: the player may not have been a smurf, but they may have been good enough to be flagged. We understand you want the rank back, but we’ll just leave this up to Valve to deal with on their own.



This system of stopping smurfs from ruining the game is, in our opinion, an ideal one. Not only does it effectively curb smurfing by rapidly pushing smurfs from their fake lower ranks closer to their real ranks, but it does so in a way that leaves rule-following players free from consequence. Reporting someone for smurfing won’t ever result in someone being unfairly punished. In fact, it might help someone who is doing well get to the rank that he or she deserves. This is, as far as we can tell, a risk-free procedure. Is it perfect? No. It is not a panacea for all that ails the Counter Strike community. Once implemented, it will not immediately remove the threat of smurfs from competitive matchmaking. But given enough time, it will certainly at least make smurfing more challenging, more risky, and more frustrating, if not downright impossible. Every person who decides the benefits of smurfing are not worth the trouble that one has to go through to smurf effectively is one fewer person that the larger community doesn’t have to deal with. Eventually, the game might reach a utopian state in which the fear of smurfs has been so utterly quelled, it exists not as an active part of our growing game, but as a far-off memory of times past. This is a naïve perspective to take, but if steps like the ones described above are implemented, it may become a partial reality. There is hope yet that we can make the game a better game to play.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
-Winston Churchill
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Credits:


Yoshi- The Mastermind of the idea

Duckstotherescue- The Great Rhetorician of the 21st century



*Adapted from a document, fonts and sizes may be different*

This is actually really smart. This needs a lot of exposure.

[nrf]

Post this on Reddit ASAP, CSGO forums aren't the place for huge and possibly great ideas like this.

[WONKY WILLIAM]

Duckstotherescue- "I love smurfing"

[Herr Kruelbar®]

Hey Yoshi, make sure you upload this to cs:go reddit. Its a REALLY good idea.

[The Senate]

Can I have the link to the reddit post? REALLY good idea, man, Gaben should hire you and your friends. Love to see someone who opposes smurfing.

[76109108007942031]

If someone is really good at FPS games but new to CSGO will getting flagged automatically ban them?

[chavarombitoz]

sounds good i could finally rank up lol

[pope]

tl;dr
make csgo f2p

[Slyfox]

Switch to prime matchmaking, 90% less smurfs, and better and more communicative players. I was just getting matches full of smurfs, and hackers, and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and autistic kids on my team, then i switched to prime and boom, back to the old days when you can have a great game and the team actually uses mics.

[HOLD W WIN GAME]

What if a person is exceptionally well in tap shooting and brusting + they played maps like Dust II over and over and decides to make the transition to CS;GO, or what if I am to take over a friends' account?

[bayloR]

but i like smurfing