- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I've sent the email below to bungie about 30 times since I got banned on the night the new maps were released. The short story is I downloaded the maps, got an error and the next morning i was banned. You can read the attached below to get a more detailed explanation of what happened. I writing in the forum in the hopes that somebody acknowledges my needs.
To Whom It May Concern:
This will be my third follow up email. I would like my questions answered. As a long time customer I believe it is your obligation to ensure that I am happy with your product. This is not the case.
By reading copies of the emails I have already sent below, you will be informed of my situation.
I will also attach a list of issues which I have observed in the bungie.net forums that relate to the issue at hand. There have been numerous problems with the map downloads and I find it unthinkable that you, Bungie, would ban a longtime customer in the midst of such large scale problems for such a supposed "minor" offense. I say minor because nobody was affected by what I supposedly did. There have been numerous reports of a corrupt file causing download problems across a wide range of the populous. Why is it so unthinkable for that corrupt file to cause errors in validating content on my Xbox?
I inquired yesterday about the gamer tag TJH being banned. Here is what I wrote
Dear Bungie,
I awoke this morning seeking to play Halo 2 only to find out that I
had been permanently banned. I was shocked. I didn't know what to
think. I logged on to bungie.net to see if there was some system wide
glitch or anything, and I looked at my recent games. I verified that
no games had been played last night or anytime after the 14th of April
which eliminates the possibility of anybody else playing anytime
during that period. Last night I did however try to download the new
maps, but to no success. I got an error message but I don't remember
what it said and I do not know where the error occurred in the
download as I left the room. When I got the error I looked on
bungie.net and read that there were some networking issues with Xbox
Live, so I figured I would just try again tomorrow. I honestly have
no idea why I was banned. I am writing this letter to inquire as to
the reason why I was banned and make a request for reinstatement into
Halo 2 Matchmaking.
I have thought a lot about what could have possibly happened; and I
really only see two possibilities. Before I continue I'll state that
I live in a dormitory and that my Xbox is in a private room that is
not my bedroom that only one other person has a key to.
My first explanation involves a glitch related to the downloading of
the new map pack. Perhaps when the download failed it left fragments
of the maps on my Xbox and when your anti-cheating system checked to
see if the possibly corrupt maps were valid it marked them as modified
content, thus I got banned.
The second explanation is more far fetched and involves somebody
tampering with my Xbox in some way. I don't know what this would
involve, but I'm sure it's possible. Like I said my Xbox is in a
private room, but it wouldn't be impossible for somebody to gain
access and do something to my Xbox. There's nothing different about
it so I'm just going to assume this didn't happen. This leaves
explanation number one, something which is completely out of my control.
I do not deserve to be banned. I have played halo relentlessly since
its release having totaled over 6,000 games. I have been a dedicated
member of Xbox live since its inception. I have never ever done
anything suspect during that period. I have already paid for the next
9 months of my account and have no motivation or money for that matter
to buy a 360 as I did not get into the Halo 3 beta; therefore doing
anything that could possibly result in a ban would just be foolish.
I am pleading to be reinstated in Halo 2 Matchmaking as a life long
halo fan and a long time member of Xbox Live.
And your response:
According to our records this account was flagged as playing with modified content. This can happen for a variety of reasons beyond modifying our data files on your Xbox. Modified profiles are often used and there is the possibility that you played on a friend's Xbox that was deliberately modified. This is a permanent ban that will affect all accounts that play on your Xbox.
The only resolution is to completely clean all Halo 2 files off of your Xbox, delete any banned profiles and to get a new Xbox Live account. You will also need to contact Xbox support at 1-800-4MY-XBOX and have a tech walk you through clearing your cache.
At this time there is no appeal process.
DisembodiedSoul | EmotionalSupport | Bungie
Thank you for your response. I still have a few questions that I feel I have a right to have answered. You say I was flagged for modified content, when did this happen, and what map was it on? When I look at my games played on bungie.net there are no games after April 14th. So if I was banned before that, why was I able to log into my account yesterday and start searching for a Team Slayer game? It never found any players, because the school network is horrible and I often have this problem but now I get the ban message before it even starts to search. This leads me to believe that it happened last night, but since there are no games listed, this indicates that nobody was playing and therefore nobody was using modified content.
You also stated that I could have used a friend's Xbox. This straight up just did not happen. My account has been on the Xbox in question for at least the past year, with no problems.
In my search for answers I also looked at the cheating FAQ on bungie.net and read that, and I quote:
"Our banning tools are complex and secret but initially we spend time scouring gameplay data for indications that someone has cheated. Once we have adequate proof, our team reviews these players and then enters them into our "Banhammer" tool. Once a player is listed in our ban list, he or she will be unable to play Halo 2 matchmaking on Xbox Live.
[bold]In general, a first-time offense will result in a 7 day ban from matchmaking. If it's a secondary offense or a serious issue, a PERMANENT ban will be issued. This means players will not be able to play any online matchmade games ever again."[/bold]
I would like to emphasize the portion in bold. Even if I did modify files or profiles or whatever your system says this would be my first offense and getting a permanent ban is grossly unfair considering the game in question wasn't even recorded on your site. The other point I find interesting in the above quote is that it says the team reviews each game. If it happened the night of the 17th as I suspect it would have happened between around 10pm and 7:30am. It seems unlikely that the team would be available to view my "ban" case during that time.
There have also been numerous issues in relation to downloading the new maps that are out of my control as made readily apparent by looking at the front page of the Halo 2 forum. Why is it so unbelievable that the download was corrupted and remnants were left on my hard drive resulting in the modified content and eventually to my ban?
I am still asking to be reinstated into Halo 2 matchmaking and would like my questions answered.
I'd also like to point out that there is a sticky thats about 8 pages long of people that are still having problems with the map downloads, so im obviously not the only one with such issues.