@NianticPooja Thank you. I try to stick to facts and be concise. I reached out to the cases I mentioned and again, I won't refer agent names, just ticket IDs as they were provided to me:
PlayerA: did not want any follow-up. Gave up on the game.
PlayerB: made a first appeal with ticket 12594281 (denied). Provided bus ticket as travel evidence from Braga to Lisbon with ticket 12626374, never got a reply.
PlayerG: appeal with ticket 12858006 (denied).
PlayerH: only has the ban e-mail and did not make an appeal, as he was told they never got a positive reply and his english is quite poor. Made a new account instead. Is there a ticket ID associated to the first ban notice?
Agents PlayerB and PlayerG do not usually play in the Lisbon area. Happened to be passing by and decided to score some unique portals or hacks, which is a fun part of Ingress in my opinion.
Just providing an update that PlayerE, for which my spoofing report was denied, has since been banned from the game (better late than never).
Again, thank you for your interest and for reaching out @NianticPooja . If those tickets can have a third look over, it would be appreciated. Like @Azhreia mentioned, we cannot be 100% sure that someone other than ourselves plays legitimately, but these 3 cases claim their innocence and were willing to come forth.
It has also been interesting to get some insight into how things are handled and exactly what Vanguards and OPS can/can't do, so this topic has at least helped to make that clearer, which is great!
You achieved a ban? Wow, so lucky! AF08-ROMEO-01 cell hasn't met a single RES spoofing ban in years...
Very offensive, I'd say, when cheaters are passively encouraged to keep it up by not applying any sanction at all. How many times should an agent spoof to get the ban? How many "warnings" required?
Spoofers have their own faction thanks to years and years on unpunished abuse, and ANY of my mates can tell the same tale.
Heck, even some RES left the game because of this!
Let's wait to see what happens to the ENL Agent, sorry the res agent disguised as ENL.... if Niantic awards such a distinction, it will be because it does not value the reports sent and it will crown the excellent work that the res agent disguised as ENL did for the benefit of the res community...... I've already bought the popcorn......
Level 6 account, only glyph badge tier 1 and no other badges, no previous activity in the area, destroyed a key anchor 5 minutes before the checkpoint. ENL agent in the area did not see anyone, or any moving cars.
This time, thankfully, the account in question was banned in a matter of hours. Probably eligible for a fast-track. Still, great progress!
Since this is now the third level 6 account showing activity in the area and getting banned, would it be worth it (or possible) to check the logs for a device ID and have it permanently banned? Just guessing that since the method is the same again and again, it may be the actions of the same person. @NianticBrian@NianticCasey@NianticScot@NianticPooja@NianticOfficial
This is a robot answer. Generic. And from what I read I'm really concern how you ban an account with proofs of the player being there? And this claim would not be here public if the player does not have the video he refers was sent. And the report made by the other faction was obviously about that portal cause that is a restricted portal, where just people that work there can play. If there's a videoproof that's really concerning about the action that NIA made. I already knew you didn't have a lot of concern with videoproof for banning spoofers account. I have a case and a friend has other (last year) that we attached video and nothing happened and I know that there are other actions, but in accounts with several reports we expect bans. But this story that I didnt know about is way more serious. All the claims reported are bad but this one should ashame NIa
Niantic may have found cause to ban an account other than the reported incident. The ban may be completely unrelated to that incident.
Also, video proof is only proof for you. For someone that is not familiar with the area or the agents, video will mean nothing. There's also no way for that person to verify that the video was taken at the right location and at the time of the reported actions.
Well if it's in a place that's nowhere to hide, the only person present was a gardner and I actually made video with printscreen video of the attack on the portal and deploy, and then switch to the camera where I was in the portal, I would say that actually was a very stong proof. At least convinced a player of the faction of the spoofer so in the end a little win. In the end, people play this game less and less
Context. Spoofer group playing their OWN game with their own leadership etc. If there's any connections between spoofer hierarchy and the attempt of one here then there's a big problem.
My name just got mass reported so i have to change it now. I play this game almost everyday for the last 3 years. This ain't fair, my name is Carapau1500 and carapau is a common fish here in Portugal, so what have i done wrong?
I don't think any human being with a bit of knowledge would review and accept such report. Same thing goes with COMM messages, NO ONE is reviewing that, just an automated system that gathers tickets and sends automatic sanction if an amount is reached.
What would be the name of the fish in english? Just for the record.
And them we see a RES account, named "chupa123", that means "suck" (in a 'bad' away - yes, that one that you are thinking - and you can google translate also...), and keeps playing with that name no matter the reports. You must admit this is starting to be ridiculous...
Hi @Carapau1500 - I'm sorry for the inconvenience. After getting some background from Portuguese speaking Vanguards/XMAs, we have restored your agent codename.
I'm glad it was sorted! I'm just wondering... someone playing under the same (harmless) agent name for 3 years was forced to jump through some loops just to keep his name. The one (or ones?) who reported the agent name just to get a laugh at his expense or bully him, will they get any penalty at all? Or will they be left alone to happily do this to other agents randomly?
This name issue proves that Niantic acts based on mass reports. If Niantic just used a simple Google translator or contacted the user to know the meaning of his name nothing like this would have happened.
If niantic acts based on mass reports with agent codename I guess they to the same on other issues like COMM bans or spoofer reports and this show us that if a group of agents wants to punish an agent they can do it by doing a mass report.
Now we want to know what will happen to those agents who have reported this, will they be punished for false reports or nothing will happen and they can do the same to other agents?
However, this fix is only a symptomatic one, not tackling the underlying issue.
The underlying issue is that Ingress' report system is slow, flawed, lacks checks and balances and - as you can clearly see - can and is being abused to promote bullying and persecution.
With your valuable help, the victim got some restitution, but the abusers still walk unscathed and will, most likely, use the same method of misusing support to intimidate, inconvenience or downright ban seemingly innocent players.
This does not embody the welcoming, inclusive spirit that Ingress likes to say it sports, specially during Pride Month.
Abusing support in order to abuse or intimidate other player is also abusing and cheating the system.
This is not the first occurrence, and without meaningful change in the system or retribution for whomever did this (is there one?), it will not be the last.
Just out of curiosity, honestly: Why are you adding the /thia at the end? Shouldn't it be clear that it is you by looking at your name? Or is it especially for people who are not looking at your name?
If that is true could you please explain me why niantic banned me 30 days from the COMM for allegedly harassing/threatening other agents??
The reason I ask is because I am 200% sure that this didn't happen at all, not now or never but still I got banned.
I write in Portuguese in the COMM, how many of you write and understand Portuguese? Last week niantic was forcing an ENL agent to change his name for being offensive, and his name is carapau, a common fish here at Portugal.
And the worsts is when I appeal and ask to tell me the message that supported the ban, so I could translate it to niantic as it seems you guys don't know Google translator yet, all I get is nothing, they can't tell me what I wrote harassing/threatening another person.
This is like the police arresting someone, a judge put that someone several years in jail, and when that ask the reason all they got is that some law was broken, don't even have to say which, where or when...
This is just amazing and very democratic, China and North Korea surely would be very proud...
So, it's fair to assume that Niantic actions are often based on the number of reports, don't mind if valid or false reports as well the number is big enough for niantic.
Comments
The faction of the spoofer has no bearing in any decision that is made by Ops.
@PedroTavares76 Here's what happened:
1- Spoofer drops BAF anchor.
2- Agents report spoofer account, request fast-track and reset.
3- Ops receives ticket, evaluates fast-track.
4- Fast-track request was deemed eligible. Account investigated and evidence of cheating found.
5- Spoofer banned.
6- Reset request forwarded to VG.
What DIDN'T happen:
3- Ops receives tickets, sees reported account is ENL and bans account. The end.
@NianticPooja Thank you. I try to stick to facts and be concise. I reached out to the cases I mentioned and again, I won't refer agent names, just ticket IDs as they were provided to me:
PlayerA: did not want any follow-up. Gave up on the game.
PlayerB: made a first appeal with ticket 12594281 (denied). Provided bus ticket as travel evidence from Braga to Lisbon with ticket 12626374, never got a reply.
PlayerG: appeal with ticket 12858006 (denied).
PlayerH: only has the ban e-mail and did not make an appeal, as he was told they never got a positive reply and his english is quite poor. Made a new account instead. Is there a ticket ID associated to the first ban notice?
Agents PlayerB and PlayerG do not usually play in the Lisbon area. Happened to be passing by and decided to score some unique portals or hacks, which is a fun part of Ingress in my opinion.
Just providing an update that PlayerE, for which my spoofing report was denied, has since been banned from the game (better late than never).
Again, thank you for your interest and for reaching out @NianticPooja . If those tickets can have a third look over, it would be appreciated. Like @Azhreia mentioned, we cannot be 100% sure that someone other than ourselves plays legitimately, but these 3 cases claim their innocence and were willing to come forth.
It has also been interesting to get some insight into how things are handled and exactly what Vanguards and OPS can/can't do, so this topic has at least helped to make that clearer, which is great!
You achieved a ban? Wow, so lucky! AF08-ROMEO-01 cell hasn't met a single RES spoofing ban in years...
Very offensive, I'd say, when cheaters are passively encouraged to keep it up by not applying any sanction at all. How many times should an agent spoof to get the ban? How many "warnings" required?
Spoofers have their own faction thanks to years and years on unpunished abuse, and ANY of my mates can tell the same tale.
Heck, even some RES left the game because of this!
Let's wait to see what happens to the ENL Agent, sorry the res agent disguised as ENL.... if Niantic awards such a distinction, it will be because it does not value the reports sent and it will crown the excellent work that the res agent disguised as ENL did for the benefit of the res community...... I've already bought the popcorn......
Cycle 372 - Checkpoint 22 - 6AM (GMT time) we had another spoofer related incident.
https://intel.ingress.com/intel?ll=39.248286,-8.012157&z=18&pll=39.248286,-8.012157
Level 6 account, only glyph badge tier 1 and no other badges, no previous activity in the area, destroyed a key anchor 5 minutes before the checkpoint. ENL agent in the area did not see anyone, or any moving cars.
This time, thankfully, the account in question was banned in a matter of hours. Probably eligible for a fast-track. Still, great progress!
Since this is now the third level 6 account showing activity in the area and getting banned, would it be worth it (or possible) to check the logs for a device ID and have it permanently banned? Just guessing that since the method is the same again and again, it may be the actions of the same person. @NianticBrian @NianticCasey @NianticScot @NianticPooja @NianticOfficial
Hello NIA my old friends! 😊
I think it's time to go further!
it is time to find a mechanism that directly affects the offender.
it's time to apply a solution that prohibits, blocks, mobile phone access to any other NIA account or app if the person does any cheat.
This is a robot answer. Generic. And from what I read I'm really concern how you ban an account with proofs of the player being there? And this claim would not be here public if the player does not have the video he refers was sent. And the report made by the other faction was obviously about that portal cause that is a restricted portal, where just people that work there can play. If there's a videoproof that's really concerning about the action that NIA made. I already knew you didn't have a lot of concern with videoproof for banning spoofers account. I have a case and a friend has other (last year) that we attached video and nothing happened and I know that there are other actions, but in accounts with several reports we expect bans. But this story that I didnt know about is way more serious. All the claims reported are bad but this one should ashame NIa
How can we solve the fields that was destroyed affecting all the gameplay at AF07-ROMEO-12
At least... two Checkpoints.
Cycle 372 - Checkpoint 16 - 2PM
4 milion MUs
Cycle 372 - Checkpoint 22 - 6AM
4 Million MUs
Or put 0 Zero MUs on CP 17 and 23.
@NianticCasey
@NianticAkshay
@NianticBrian
Thank you for your pacience!!
@NianticOfficial
Niantic may have found cause to ban an account other than the reported incident. The ban may be completely unrelated to that incident.
Also, video proof is only proof for you. For someone that is not familiar with the area or the agents, video will mean nothing. There's also no way for that person to verify that the video was taken at the right location and at the time of the reported actions.
Well if it's in a place that's nowhere to hide, the only person present was a gardner and I actually made video with printscreen video of the attack on the portal and deploy, and then switch to the camera where I was in the portal, I would say that actually was a very stong proof. At least convinced a player of the faction of the spoofer so in the end a little win. In the end, people play this game less and less
Yes there are ways. And you can also validate the video itself.
Assuming there is enough info on the video, one can pinpoint almost exact locations. And you can also say if the video was tempered or not.
During day time you can even calculate the hour at which it was shot.
And if the portal object or picture is visible in the video, why wouldn't it be a good source of info?
Context. Spoofer group playing their OWN game with their own leadership etc. If there's any connections between spoofer hierarchy and the attempt of one here then there's a big problem.
I'm going to start carrying the day news paper, just in case.
My name just got mass reported so i have to change it now. I play this game almost everyday for the last 3 years. This ain't fair, my name is Carapau1500 and carapau is a common fish here in Portugal, so what have i done wrong?
Discusting
I don't think any human being with a bit of knowledge would review and accept such report. Same thing goes with COMM messages, NO ONE is reviewing that, just an automated system that gathers tickets and sends automatic sanction if an amount is reached.
What would be the name of the fish in english? Just for the record.
Horse Mackerel.
Is there any way that i can get my name back? Like.. it's a fish, how can this be even slightly offensive (?).
My fathers ign is Robalo, another fish (sea bass). Should his name be banned aswell?
People can't enjoy this game due to ridiculous reports from res. It's actually so unfair what they do and the way they play this game.
And them we see a RES account, named "chupa123", that means "suck" (in a 'bad' away - yes, that one that you are thinking - and you can google translate also...), and keeps playing with that name no matter the reports. You must admit this is starting to be ridiculous...
Hi @Carapau1500 - I'm sorry for the inconvenience. After getting some background from Portuguese speaking Vanguards/XMAs, we have restored your agent codename.
Please let me know when you are back!
/thia
======
NianticThia
Telegram: @TOASTYthia
Twitter: @NianticThia
I'm glad it was sorted! I'm just wondering... someone playing under the same (harmless) agent name for 3 years was forced to jump through some loops just to keep his name. The one (or ones?) who reported the agent name just to get a laugh at his expense or bully him, will they get any penalty at all? Or will they be left alone to happily do this to other agents randomly?
Just thinking out loud here.
This name issue proves that Niantic acts based on mass reports. If Niantic just used a simple Google translator or contacted the user to know the meaning of his name nothing like this would have happened.
If niantic acts based on mass reports with agent codename I guess they to the same on other issues like COMM bans or spoofer reports and this show us that if a group of agents wants to punish an agent they can do it by doing a mass report.
Now we want to know what will happen to those agents who have reported this, will they be punished for false reports or nothing will happen and they can do the same to other agents?
Thank you for helping @NianticThia .
However, this fix is only a symptomatic one, not tackling the underlying issue.
The underlying issue is that Ingress' report system is slow, flawed, lacks checks and balances and - as you can clearly see - can and is being abused to promote bullying and persecution.
With your valuable help, the victim got some restitution, but the abusers still walk unscathed and will, most likely, use the same method of misusing support to intimidate, inconvenience or downright ban seemingly innocent players.
This does not embody the welcoming, inclusive spirit that Ingress likes to say it sports, specially during Pride Month.
Abusing support in order to abuse or intimidate other player is also abusing and cheating the system.
This is not the first occurrence, and without meaningful change in the system or retribution for whomever did this (is there one?), it will not be the last.
Just posted a thread exposing the matter, perhaps you want to take a look!
A quick follow up: invalid agent codenames are manually reviewed and the number of reports we receive does not impact final decision.
/thia
======
NianticThia
Telegram: @TOASTYthia | @thiaNtoasty
Twitter: @NianticThia
Just out of curiosity, honestly: Why are you adding the /thia at the end? Shouldn't it be clear that it is you by looking at your name? Or is it especially for people who are not looking at your name?
If that is true could you please explain me why niantic banned me 30 days from the COMM for allegedly harassing/threatening other agents??
The reason I ask is because I am 200% sure that this didn't happen at all, not now or never but still I got banned.
I write in Portuguese in the COMM, how many of you write and understand Portuguese? Last week niantic was forcing an ENL agent to change his name for being offensive, and his name is carapau, a common fish here at Portugal.
And the worsts is when I appeal and ask to tell me the message that supported the ban, so I could translate it to niantic as it seems you guys don't know Google translator yet, all I get is nothing, they can't tell me what I wrote harassing/threatening another person.
This is like the police arresting someone, a judge put that someone several years in jail, and when that ask the reason all they got is that some law was broken, don't even have to say which, where or when...
This is just amazing and very democratic, China and North Korea surely would be very proud...
So, it's fair to assume that Niantic actions are often based on the number of reports, don't mind if valid or false reports as well the number is big enough for niantic.
I'd be glad to see your opinion and possible solution tho COMM issue in this post. See you there!
That one is still playing, almost everyday.
And NIA claims win-trading is punishable... I miss to see where.