Comments on: Blizzard closes my unused World of Warcraft account for being “exploitative” http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons Web Development, startups, entrepreneurship, books, art, and other stuff Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:22:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Phil Crissman http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1096 Phil Crissman Mon, 12 Mar 2007 04:28:02 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1096 It sounds like this thread could grow indefinitely, so I'm going to close comments -- thanks to everyone who stopped to make a comment, and I hope everyone's account issues are resolved asap. Have fun... It sounds like this thread could grow indefinitely, so I’m going to close comments — thanks to everyone who stopped to make a comment, and I hope everyone’s account issues are resolved asap. Have fun…

]]> By: Geoff http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1095 Geoff Sun, 11 Mar 2007 17:26:27 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1095 Well I could start like the last 30 letters but what can you do......Yes the same has happened to me, same BS letter same rude Blizzard CS. All in all Blizzard is making a ton of money and doesn't care what the hell you or I think. I believe that in the long run word of mouth will prevail and Blizzard will fall like Napster or FIX! their CS and security system....Hummmmmmmmmmm.....well see............. Well I could start like the last 30 letters but what can you do……Yes the same has happened to me, same BS letter same rude Blizzard CS. All in all Blizzard is making a ton of money and doesn’t care what the hell you or I think. I believe that in the long run word of mouth will prevail and Blizzard will fall like Napster or FIX! their CS and security system….Hummmmmmmmmmm…..well see………….

]]> By: danger http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1094 danger Sun, 11 Mar 2007 06:46:17 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1094 i've just been banned like the rest of you guys. it seems like you all are very gracious about this. but i remember spending hundreds of dollars over the years, not only on the games themselves, but the blasted monthly bill. where's my refund? i’ve just been banned like the rest of you guys.

it seems like you all are very gracious about this. but i remember spending hundreds of dollars over the years, not only on the games themselves, but the blasted monthly bill.

where’s my refund?

]]> By: BigBlizzardBrother http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1093 BigBlizzardBrother Sat, 10 Mar 2007 10:14:06 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1093 Same problem here except I have an active WOW account I use daily and this hit me in the face. I had 2 70's and 2 60 on multiple servers and have been playing the game solid for 3 years. I have done extensive research of WOW, spoken to several GM’s privately, worked with programmers, etc. over the years and have discovered a great deal about how the program and company operates. Blizzard runs an Orwellian (1984) gestapo style system of monitoring, data basing, and profiling that would make doublethink cheerleader Sean Hannity himself cringe. Not too much has been reported on the “Blizzard Warden" recently but I can confirm with all honesty and affirming my oath that the program has upgraded and has secretly gotten worse and worse. It has capability to scan emails, check open web browser locations and report back to headquarters on what it finds. They do claim that “no personal information” is mined, but this has been proven time and time again blatantly false, Blizzard circumvents users definition of “personal information” to not really be personal but “relative material” that falls within its realm of scrutiny. When scrutiny comes down upon blizzard itself from any notable source for privacy rights they always fall upon their infamous legal wiles and invariably (as of yet) escape the public humiliation they rightly deserve and which has been the downfall of other institutions employed in similuar shady operations. Allot of people are getting very wealthy from WOW and have a great desire to maintain that wealth at any cost, right or wrong as we have seen in this post. You personally mean nothing to WOW. You represent a drop of water in an ocean to them. True there are many programmers and people involved in Blizzard who are very creative, fun and innocent but where the buck meets the majority of the thugs at the top you and I and our issues are completely irrelevant. Same problem here except I have an active WOW account I use daily and this hit me in the face. I had 2 70’s and 2 60 on multiple servers and have been playing the game solid for 3 years. I have done extensive research of WOW, spoken to several GM’s privately, worked with programmers, etc. over the years and have discovered a great deal about how the program and company operates. Blizzard runs an Orwellian (1984) gestapo style system of monitoring, data basing, and profiling that would make doublethink cheerleader Sean Hannity himself cringe. Not too much has been reported on the “Blizzard Warden” recently but I can confirm with all honesty and affirming my oath that the program has upgraded and has secretly gotten worse and worse. It has capability to scan emails, check open web browser locations and report back to headquarters on what it finds. They do claim that “no personal information” is mined, but this has been proven time and time again blatantly false, Blizzard circumvents users definition of “personal information” to not really be personal but “relative material” that falls within its realm of scrutiny. When scrutiny comes down upon blizzard itself from any notable source for privacy rights they always fall upon their infamous legal wiles and invariably (as of yet) escape the public humiliation they rightly deserve and which has been the downfall of other institutions employed in similuar shady operations. Allot of people are getting very wealthy from WOW and have a great desire to maintain that wealth at any cost, right or wrong as we have seen in this post. You personally mean nothing to WOW. You represent a drop of water in an ocean to them. True there are many programmers and people involved in Blizzard who are very creative, fun and innocent but where the buck meets the majority of the thugs at the top you and I and our issues are completely irrelevant.

]]> By: Medchem http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1092 Medchem Sat, 10 Mar 2007 06:40:54 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1092 By the way, I would appreciate if everyone keeps updating their situation whenever it changes. It appears a lot of us had our accounts hijacked and then banned. It would give some hope to us if you all shared your stories as they developed. Thank you. By the way, I would appreciate if everyone keeps updating their situation whenever it changes. It appears a lot of us had our accounts hijacked and then banned. It would give some hope to us if you all shared your stories as they developed. Thank you.

]]> By: Also a victim http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1091 Also a victim Sat, 10 Mar 2007 01:58:12 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1091 Account was hacked - Gm said "feel free to use our product while we investigate" ... and now my account has been banned. So far no luck. It's been 3 days. :-( Account was hacked - Gm said “feel free to use our product while we investigate” … and now my account has been banned.

So far no luck. It’s been 3 days. :-(

]]> By: Medchem http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1090 Medchem Fri, 09 Mar 2007 21:45:45 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1090 I just received this email also. I called Blizzard, and just as others have noted, they tell you to respond to the email with no promises of what may happen or when you will get a response. The Blizzard rep told me to check for viruses or key-loggers. I can do that, but I do not think these are on our computers. My wife has an account too, but she has not been banned, and sometimes, we swap computers. Also, a couple of friends have played at our house recently, and their accounts were not banned either. The only thing I can think of is that I have occasionally logged on at a gaming store near my house. I am checking with some other friends who also logged on at this store to see if they had any problems. Anyway, it's just the waiting game for me now, and I have no clue what will happen. Very sad :( I just received this email also. I called Blizzard, and just as others have noted, they tell you to respond to the email with no promises of what may happen or when you will get a response. The Blizzard rep told me to check for viruses or key-loggers. I can do that, but I do not think these are on our computers. My wife has an account too, but she has not been banned, and sometimes, we swap computers. Also, a couple of friends have played at our house recently, and their accounts were not banned either. The only thing I can think of is that I have occasionally logged on at a gaming store near my house. I am checking with some other friends who also logged on at this store to see if they had any problems.

Anyway, it’s just the waiting game for me now, and I have no clue what will happen. Very sad :(

]]> By: Same Here... http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1089 Same Here... Fri, 09 Mar 2007 07:51:29 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1089 I havn't had an active account in over a year and then all of the sudden today I get that same email saying I was exploiting the economy. WTF Blizzard the account hasn't even been logged onto or payed for in over a year... I havn’t had an active account in over a year and then all of the sudden today I get that same email saying I was exploiting the economy. WTF Blizzard the account hasn’t even been logged onto or payed for in over a year…

]]> By: yet another victim http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1088 yet another victim Fri, 09 Mar 2007 07:20:40 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1088 i just got this email as well, had a 64 warlock and have been playing on and off for nearly a year with thousands of hours on this toon...i am quite frankly surprised at blizzards reaction, and feel frustrated and disalusioned with their service...i was also a victim of internet hacking and as a result got my account banned...i will not be purchasing another copy of the game....this needs to stop i just got this email as well, had a 64 warlock and have been playing on and off for nearly a year with thousands of hours on this toon…i am quite frankly surprised at blizzards reaction, and feel frustrated and disalusioned with their service…i was also a victim of internet hacking and as a result got my account banned…i will not be purchasing another copy of the game….this needs to stop

]]> By: Pat http://philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons#comment-1087 Pat Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:05:55 +0000 http://www.philcrissman.com/2006/09/25/blizzard-closes-my-unused-world-of-warcraft-account-for-unclear-reasons/#comment-1087 I have not played this game for a very long time (>year) & they have banned my account.("for abuse of the World of Warcraft economy or for being associated to accounts which have been closed for activities in violation of the Terms of Use" They have also banned my credit card "from being used in any form with Blizzard Entertainment" I emailed them and a few days later they sent back that they had confirmed their findings. wtf??? Well, I have several other credit cards and I will make sure I NEVER purchase a product from this company ever again. I have not played this game for a very long time (>year) & they have banned my account.(”for abuse of the World of Warcraft economy or for being associated to accounts which have been closed for activities in violation of the Terms of Use”

They have also banned my credit card “from being used in any form with Blizzard Entertainment”

I emailed them and a few days later they sent back that they had confirmed their findings. wtf???

Well, I have several other credit cards and I will make sure I NEVER purchase a product from this company ever again.

]]>