My ban - and the road to unban.

[x-pl0it]

- UPDATE 26th of april, 2024 -

Hey guys. When our admin answered me I will create a new thread with a plan and update-log. I know many of you became tired of waiting and some of you lost the rest of hope. But please keep watching into this thread and group. Things going slow, but when I started the new thread you will see we will do big steps forward. And after this steps we will know if you will become unblocked by valves side.

- -

Dear members,
With this post I would like to tell you my story. A true story, full of positive and negative emotions, although the question remains whether this story ends with a happy ending or a tragedy.

About me:

Im 29 years old, I live in germany and im an real estate business man.

After years of switching to XBOX and Playstation, I recently decided to switch back to the PC. One of the triggers for this was the release of Counterstrike 2, as I had played Counterstrike 1.6 and CS:S many years ago.

I also play a lot of CoD, but no game has a stronger foundation than Counterstrike. In Counterstrike it's not about who has the better skin or the newest weapon that can be purchased to win. It's not about combining the best attachments and copying the best weapon setup. It's all about skill. Everyone has the same requirements and with enough skill and the right team you can win every round. And if not, you can at least try to have fun while playing.

I really dug into CS2 and racked up a lot of hours of play in a short space of time (by my standards). I have built up a considerable inventory because I love the versatility of the skins and with some skins it is a prestige to own them. So, in parallel with my renewed love for Counterstrike, I have built up an inventory worth around 15,000 USD.

My Ban:

I play with a Logitech G502 gaming mouse, which has DPI adjustment buttons on the left side. Every now and then I hit this button while playing when I react hastily or get frightened. Then my DPI adjusts upwards and the mouse speed is much too high. The Logitech program also causes problems with CS and causes my mouse to stutter. That's annoying! I was already looking for another mouse and just wanted to continue playing with the G502 until my new mouse arrived.

One day I was playing on the map "Inferno" and started on the CT side. As is often the case in the warm-up phase, my mates did some funny things and I got caught up in it. "What could be funny?" I asked myself and came up with the idea of throwing a few decoil grenades and shooting around wildly with my Negev - "That will definitely look fun for the others!"

Then the match started and we played 2 rounds. When the third round started I ran to B and was kicked out of the game - I thought my internet was having problems.
But no - shortly afterwards I received the message that I had been banned!

I was perplexed and thought that maybe I had been banned for a day, maybe a few days, for trolling in the warm-up round (although I've never seen this before).

Shortly afterwards, I discovered to my shock that I had been PERMANENTLY banned for using cheating software.
Ich wusste dies muss ein Fehler sein, da ich nicht cheate und der Ban würde bestimmt gleich wieder gelöscht werden bzw. würde mich der Support nach einer kurzen Nachricht meinerseits entbannen.

Leider musste ich feststellen, dass ich nun wirklich permanent gebannt bin und dieser unrechtmäßige Ban nicht so schnell verschwinden würde.

Vom Steam Support habe ich leider nur vorgefertigte und veraltete CS:GO-Antworten erhalten, welche weder individuell verfasst noch offen für einen Diskurs waren.

Also entschloss ich mich ein paar Tage zu warten.

Am Folgetag erzählte mir ein Freund von dem Reddit-Thread über den reproduzierbaren DPI Ban-Bug und da ging mir ein Licht auf. Ich war auch Opfer dieses Bugs geworden.

Im Folgenden werde ich euch die Chronik meiner Situation auflisten. Ich werde nicht aufgeben mich entbannen zu lassen, denn ich habe nie gecheatet. Und ich bin mir sicher, dass Steam & Valve ebenso Empathie für ihre Comnunity und Kundschaft haben werden, wenn es darum geht ungerechtfertigte Bans zu beheben. Derzeit werde ich von einer rechtlichen Auseinandersetzung absehen, dies wäre in letzter Instanz zu klären. Ich werde auf jeden Fall vorerst an dem kollegialen und partnerschaftlichen Miteinander zu Steam und Valve festhalten, solange Steam und/oder Valve mich nicht vom Gegenteil überzeugen (zum Beispiel durch Untätigkeit).

----

Road to unban - my chronicle

Below I will list the chronicle of my situation and will try to keep you up to date.


Date: November 15, 2023
Happened: Received Game Bun in CS2
Notes: see above

Date: November 15, 2023
Happened: Message sent that I didn't cheat.
Notes: 17 minutes later, Steam Support responded to me with an outdated, boilerplate, negative message.

Date: November 15, 2023
Happened: I responded to support's response saying I didn't cheat and the ban needs to be reversed.
Notes: No response received.

Date: November 16, 2023
Happened: Sent message again after learning about the DPI Ban Bug on Reddit. Link sent from the Reddit thread, as well as the process in the game regarding the DPI described again in detail.
Notes: No response received.

Date: November 16, 2023
Happened: Message sent to Jared Christen from VALVE USA asking him to process my case and of course I also pointed out the DPI ban bug (with a link to the Reddit thread).
Notes: No answer until today.

Date: December 4, 2023
What happened: Letter written to the authorized representative of Valve GmbH in Germany, hoping that he can at least pass on my concerns regarding the ban and the bug via short-term ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ channels.
Notes: No answer until today.

Date: December 12, 2023
What happened: talked to a lawyer specialized in internet law (accounts, etc.).
Notes; It would be highly likely that the ban must be removed through legal action, as long as no one answers me. For now I will refrain from taking legal action because I still assume there is a partnership between Steam, Valve and myself. I hope to receive an answer by January 5th.

Next step: Write to Jared Christen again on January 5th, 2023 and,wait some days. When Ill get no answer I will go to a lawyer and have the case reviewed. Attention, this is about the applicable law in Germany, so not necessarily for your country! There are several possible approaches to a legal approach, which I do not want to disclose at this time for tactical reasons.

----

I will try to keep this chronicle up to date. If I get unbaned, maybe you'll be able to build on that. Wish me good luck.

Best regards
x-pl0it

[Windeldachs]

@[GER] x-pl0it
Wie hat dir denn Valve den Bann deklariert? Zufällig folgender Text bei dir auch?

"Das Verhalten Ihres Accounts hat dafür gesorgt, dass andere Spieler diesen gemeldet haben. Overwatch-Ermittler haben sich Aufnahmen der betroffenen Spiele angesehen und festgestellt, dass externe Software benutzt wurde, um einen unfairen Spielvorteil zu erlangen und deshalb ein dauerhafter Ausschluss angemessen sei."

[x-pl0it]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Windeldachs:

@[GER] x-pl0it
Wie hat dir denn Valve den Bann deklariert? Zufällig folgender Text bei dir auch?

"Das Verhalten Ihres Accounts hat dafür gesorgt, dass andere Spieler diesen gemeldet haben. Overwatch-Ermittler haben sich Aufnahmen der betroffenen Spiele angesehen und festgestellt, dass externe Software benutzt wurde, um einen unfairen Spielvorteil zu erlangen und deshalb ein dauerhafter Ausschluss angemessen sei."

Ja genau!

[3474D04Hblu_6074Ч]

If as a result of your judicial machinations, all accounts falsely banned will be unbanned. You'll be a hero

[Pistachio]

Even if I do end up getting my false-ban removed... I don't think I'll go back to playing CSGO/CS2... I just have zero confidence in their system and don't want to risk it. Such a shame, I put in thousands of hours into the game and I loved playing it. :(

All I want is for the stupid ban message on my profile to disappear... It makes me look like some sort of criminal, I hate it.

[Matiboux]

Personally, I would play it again from time to time, but it really killed my mood about the game. Also lose faith in the VAC system. In Sept, I was so hyped I played it almost every evening. Since then I played it like 3 times on a secondary account. Lol. Probably will not play much more if I'm unbanned. Would just be great to recover my stats & inventory.

[nizuna]

any updates on this? @[GER] x-pl0it

[x-pl0it]

my lawyer was this week in vacation, she wasnt able to send out the letter this week... Coming week we will send out the letter to valve

[x-pl0it]

We have sent the letter to valve now and gave them a deadline to 15th march citing previous court rulings

[FiD]

Diposting pertama kali oleh GER x-pl0it:

We have sent the letter to valve now and gave them a deadline to 15th march citing previous court rulings

The hype is real!

[nizuna]

Diposting pertama kali oleh GER x-pl0it:

We have sent the letter to valve now and gave them a deadline to 15th march citing previous court rulings

Awesome news, looking forward to a possible verdict

[moD]

Hey OP, I've been thinking about taking this to court recently too.

1. They swapped out CS:GO for CS2 which is a totally different product. It is like buying one product and receiving something completely different. This isn't just an update; they've completely replaced the game with another.

2. I've tried every possible way to get in touch with Valve, but it's like talking to a wall. Customers have zero power, and it seems like Valve is way too confident in their VAC system, thinking it can do no wrong.


Some might argue, "If it's a false ban, the system will automatically lift it." But that's just it—'automatically' depends on programmed conditions, all set by Valve. What if those conditions are flawed? This means innocent players could remain banned until a significant number of us face the same issue and finally catch Valve's attention. They really need to have actual people review these cases, because as of today, I still have no idea why I was banned.


Also, banning a player essentially strips away their right to access the game. They owe us detailed proof to justify the ban, not just a vague - "you cheated, so you're banned. We can't tell you why because it helps the cheat dev. If you have something want to say, leave it on the wall, goodbye."

Imagine being taken to jail by a cop who thinks you're guilty but won't provide any evidence, claiming it might "help the criminals." This doesn't make any sense. If the VAC system is designed to catch cheaters, then it should just do its job, it doesn't need to keep the details secret.

[Someh0w-_-]

Diposting pertama kali oleh moD:

Hey OP, I've been thinking about taking this to court recently too.

1. They swapped out CS:GO for CS2 which is a totally different product. It is like buying one product and receiving something completely different. This isn't just an update; they've completely replaced the game with another.

2. I've tried every possible way to get in touch with Valve, but it's like talking to a wall. Customers have zero power, and it seems like Valve is way too confident in their VAC system, thinking it can do no wrong.


Some might argue, "If it's a false ban, the system will automatically lift it." But that's just it—'automatically' depends on programmed conditions, all set by Valve. What if those conditions are flawed? This means innocent players could remain banned until a significant number of us face the same issue and finally catch Valve's attention. They really need to have actual people review these cases, because as of today, I still have no idea why I was banned.


Also, banning a player essentially strips away their right to access the game. They owe us detailed proof to justify the ban, not just a vague - "you cheated, so you're banned. We can't tell you why because it helps the cheat dev. If you have something want to say, leave it on the wall, goodbye."

Imagine being taken to jail by a cop who thinks you're guilty but won't provide any evidence, claiming it might "help the criminals." This doesn't make any sense. If the VAC system is designed to catch cheaters, then it should just do its job, it doesn't need to keep the details secret.

Perhaps only through their local legal means? Players who want to contact the official mostly receive repetitive replies

[Matiboux]

Diposting pertama kali oleh moD:

[...] They owe us detailed proof to justify the ban [...]

Absolutly with you on this, and agree with what you said on topic of Valve's accountability.

Basically, a better system would require:
- Being able to know why I was banned (meaning: for what exact reason, for which match, and having access to a replay I can watch).
- Also having an actual appeal process.

Right now we don't have any appeal process, which is problematic. All we have is:
- Send a one-way message to CS2 team, to "provide additional information about my ban", with them clearly stating I would not get any answer.
- Send emails and messages to Valve through unofficial channels. Low chance for a reply. Also unfair if some have access to exclusive channels others do not have.

Also fun yeah that, in my case, I was false banned on "CSGO", most likely for playing CS2 Limited Test, and now it's a ban for CS2. But rebranding do happen sometimes so that argument is less solid imo.

[nizuna]

March 15th is here, i expect valve/CS2 team to not answer

[FiD]

Diposting pertama kali oleh nizuna:

March 15th is here, i expect valve/CS2 team to not answer

They a busy with making stickers