RuneScape Forum Archive | Appeal for recent false bans

sarfernab123

Posts: 16 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Hi everyone (and hopefully a jmod reading this),

I have recently came back to OSRS on my main (user: myron51) just about 2 week ago (reliving nostalgia), and I was just falsely issued a permanent ban last night on my main account of 10+ years for macro / botting.
It happened when I was afk cooking lobsters at Grand Exchange, as I wanted to afk train a f2p skill before subscribing to membership in a few weeks time when I have more time off work.

I have been using the official jagex launcher on my pc and the official osrs app on my ipad to play the game.
(TO BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR, I AM NOT USING ANY THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE.
I AM USING OFFICIAL JAGEX LAUNCHER / APP)

In fact, I was banned while I was doing some work while afk cooking lobsters, and sent my appeal immediately after. (Idk if this proves that I wasn’t macro / botting, as I was literally at my computer appealing the ban right after)
I don’t know what proof I can show to jagex that I wasn’t macro / botting, as I was simply afk skilling, with official launcher / app.

I have done some “research” online and realised that there has been a recent wave of “false bans”.
I can only guess jagex has only just realised this wave of false bans not too long ago, and is still finding a long term solution to it.

I have found out that there were recent cases of false bans that got lifted before, due to the same reason as mine.
However, it not shared how they managed to get a jmod to lift their ban.
Hence, I am curious as to what to do next, as my appeal has been instantly denied the next morning after the ban was appealed.

Naturally, my priority would be to find attention and a solution to lift the false ban from my account, especially given that my appeal has been automatically denied the next day.
However, I guess this thread can also serve a greater purpose in finding out what players can do and what to expect when appealing a false ban. (Especially when the appeal seems to be automatically denied)

21-Mar-2023 01:19:04

sarfernab123

Posts: 16 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Update.

As I haven’t played in ages, I wasn’t familiar with the appeal process and just realised that I was able to “view evidence” of my denied appeal.

The evidence simply stated that jagex has reviewed my appeal, and is able to confirm that they detected use of illegal third party software.
However, no real evidence of any form was provided.
(Acknowledging that Jagex reserves the right to withhold any evidence)

This is extremely unsettling as I have been strictly using the Jagex Launcher and official OSRS app on iOs.
All my efforts of my account of 10 years is gone with this ban, and as a returning player, this is really sad.

Not am I only not macroing / botting, I was not even using any third party software at all!
I’m just hoping someone can point me to the right direction, or a jmod can review this.

It’d be really sad that returning players like myself are falsely kicked from the game.
I know jagex advises that we should read the rules before creating a new account, but it is really uncalled for given that innocent players are getting wrongly banned.
I would imagine most of us innocent returning players would just sadly quit the game

21-Mar-2023 02:52:36

Feb

2015

Nick 119

Posts: 6,345 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Hello sarfernab123,

If you had an appeal and was denied, then unfortunately there is nothing more that can be done.

These are primarily player-response forums. So, the best way to contact Jagex is by the appeal process, which you have. Bans are checked by a second JMod, then another check on appeal. So, at this point 3 different JMod's have reviewed the ban. They also will not revel some evidence as to not show how their detection system works. Bans are also not instant bans. The offense could have happend weeks before the ban.

Check out the Banned Account info post.

@Nick119RS

21-Mar-2023 04:09:53 - Last edited on 21-Mar-2023 04:10:54 by Nick 119

sarfernab123

Posts: 16 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Thank you for the info you have provided.
However the issue here, is that I have been banned for an offence I did not commit.
Not to mention, there has evidently been many cases of false bans.

I am using official launchers / apps, and not using any third party software.
In fact, I appealed immediately the moment I was logged out due to the ban.

I understand my ban could be from an activity that was done days before.
But it is painfully obvious that I have been off this game for years, and I have been on for about two weeks now, and that I’ve just recently been banned.
This obviously points towards my ban being as a result from an activity being wrongly detected during my two weeks of coming back to the game.

Does this mean that innocent players are at risk at being flagged for rule breaking, banned (with all their hardwork down the drain), without any form of recourse, or chance to prove their innocence?

To put it more bluntly, if a player has not broken any rule, he is forced to accept a ban if Jagex says so and he has no only that appeal window.
If his appeal is denied with little explanation, he has no form of recourse or chance to prove his innocence, and he is forced to accept the ban, even though he is innocent.

Edit:

If this game makes it such that innocent players are forced to accept that their appeal is denied, and give little to no explanation, or any chance to explain their innocence, I am so glad I hesitated subscribing for membership.
I was intending to subscribe for 12 months.
Imagine being wrongfully banned on your first month of membership, and being denied.
I’ve been playing this game since before 2006 now, and it is really sad in 2023 (17 years later), this is the state of the game.

21-Mar-2023 05:16:47 - Last edited on 21-Mar-2023 05:19:35 by sarfernab123

sarfernab123

Posts: 16 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

This is the message I got as evidence.
“Evidence” was in the form of comment by moderator.

“Account banned for macroing in OldSchool. Our macro detection system has been monitoring your account closely and has detected that you are using illegal 3rd party software which violates the rules of the game and breaches your terms of service with Jagex. Our team have reviewed the evidence and can confirm that you were using illegal botting software. Jagex are able to accurately detect all illegal 3rd party software and any promises from their makers about being totally undetectable' or 'no ban guaranteed' are inaccurate. As such your account has been permanently removed from game. Please take this time to familiarise yourself with the rules should you wish to create another account.”

I have simply been using official Jagex Launcher, and OSRS official app in iOs.
I have not been using any third party software.
Lets not even talk about whether or not I am using a third party software that is authorised / approved by Jagex or not, I am completely and totally NOT using one at all.
I have just been F2P AFK skilling in the past 2 weeks.

This is a case where an innocent returning player of more than 10 years, is being banned, and forced to accept that he has been using a illegal third party software, when he trusted Jagex’s apps, such as the official Jagex Launcher on PC and the official app on iOs.
By using Jagex launchers, he is playing it safe, and ensuring he is not using any “shady” third party launcher, and in facts made it a point to not even use any.
But he is still susceptible to the ban, and being accused of using illegal third party app.

It is painful that I am innocent, and I am being punished for an offence I didn’t commit.
I just hope there is going to be recourse to this…

21-Mar-2023 05:35:28

sarfernab123

Posts: 16 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

I understand that by the time my appeal is denied, at least 3 mods have reviewed my appeal already. (Impressive how 3 mods denied my appeal in 1 night)
My account is most likely a lost cause. (10+ years of effort gone from 2 weeks of AFK cooking lobsters at GE)

I stand firm by my innocence, as I wasn't botting at all.
However, based on the replies (including other false ban posts), I am largely convinced that I have no choice but to accept the fact that I am a "innocent casualty", and I have no choice but to accept that I committed an offence, regardless of the fact that I was innocent.

I'm still coming to terms with accepting this punishment even though I'm innocent, and accepting that 10+ years of effort of my main is wrongfully wiped clean, when all I have been doing was AFK cooking lobsters at Grand Exchange.

I've read most of the replies about being careful of third party software.
Again, I was using OFFICIAL JAGEX LAUNCHER / OSRS APP ON IOS, and I WAS NOT USING ANY THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE AT ALL.
I still got banned for macroing nonetheless.
If I am already doing the above, which is supposedly the safest way to play the game, and still got banned, how do I ensure that I won't be banned again? What more can I do?

I found the post "Banned Account (Info)" posted by Malua:

"I appealed but was denied!
Unfortunately this means the of the road for your banned account.
Each ban gets just one appeal chance.
Jagex need to see clearly that you were not in control of your account at the time of the offence.
If you honestly believe you did not commit the offence, you need to consider that your computer is not secure. The Security Software support page has links to scanning software you can use to check your computer."

But the "Security Software" link doesn't work.
Can anyone point me to the right direction so that I can do this scan on my computer for the now, before I decide whether I still want to play this game, which wiped by 10+ years effort away wrongfully.

21-Mar-2023 09:04:51

sarfernab123

Posts: 16 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Update: I just did a scan on my computer
No virus / corrupted files detected
I use my PC for work, and I don’t download anything else other than steam engine and recently jagex launcher.

To whoever reads this in the days to come, if you know of anyone who has been falsely banned by Jagex’s macro detector, and found a way to turn a denied appeal, please share with me how I can prove my innocence too.
It is a painful silence day 2 of being ban, as no one in the community can really help.

At this point, it is painfully obvious that jagex’s macro detector is detecting macros wrongly from their own pc launcher / instore ios app.
Based on the facts of this case, it is not safe to play this game.
Imagine putting hours into playing and you get banned out of no where.
The biggest joke is I got banned inefficiently cooking lobsters at grand exchange lol…

Anyway it is just really sad that this is the welcome I get from 2 weeks of coming back to this game as an old osrs gamer from more than 10 years ago.
I guess I have no choice but to put OSRS behind me, along with my childhood.
I’m glad though it happened 2 weeks in, as I would imagine I would be so devastated if I was banned months in, and even worse still, after buying membership.

21-Mar-2023 13:57:50 - Last edited on 21-Mar-2023 13:59:54 by sarfernab123

Mrs Ana

Posts: 9,010 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Hey, sarfernab123.

I know that you are upset, but please understand that you are talking to regular players here and not Jagex Moderators. Posting on these community-led sub-forums is not meant for players to seek the help of J-Mods nor it's to contest a ban, which is the reason why most of these threads are locked. There is nothing that may be done about a banned account here on the Forums other than a Community Helper or someone like me directing you to the informational threads and/or the Appeal an offence Support page to appeal the ban.

You have mentioned a few points and I'd like to opine on some of them. Furthermore, I'm also going to suggest something at the end that MAY OR MAY NOT get you an answer to your main concern. Please also remember that those players that claim to be innocent are directing their voice at regular players -- as said above -- and we are incapable of reviewing your account to determine if that's true or not. Only Jagex is capable of doing that. That's another reason why we are unable to assist anyone with banned accounts -- other than directing them to the correct place for further information and/or how to appeal the ban -- because we simply lack the tools to do so, as it's obvious that only Jagex has access to your account.

Let's dive into this conversation.

Important: I want to make it clear that I am not accusing you of anything as I am incapable of doing so. I don't have access to the evidence and neither does anyone else here other than a J-Mod so we can't say for certain that you are guilty or innocent.

21-Mar-2023 15:37:59

Mrs Ana

Posts: 9,010 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

sarfernab123 said :
It happened when I was afk cooking lobsters at Grand Exchange, as I wanted to afk train a f2p skill before subscribing to membership in a few weeks time when I have more time off work. It's important to mention that whenever a ban is added to an account, you are not necessarily banned for the actions being carried out at that specific time. The actions could have been committed a few weeks prior to the ban wave and you just happened to have been doing that at the time the account is disconnected from the game with a ban. Macroing and/or use of bots bans are carried out in waves to ensure that 1) they are as accurate as they can be after investigating the accounts and/or hotspots in question and 2) Jagex removes as many guilty accounts as possible.

" Note: these bans are issued at a random time interval after the macroing is detected to protect the macroing detection systems. It is very possible to get a macroing ban on a day you didn’t play or during a moment that you’re not using the detected macro ."

Source: Macroing & RWT bans [Info]
Page 1, Post #2.
_____
sarfernab123 said :
However, it not shared how they managed to get a jmod to lift their ban. It isn't guaranteed , but you can try to reach out to the Anti-Cheating Specialists on Twitter. Please note that they are doing this at their own free time and it's completely their choice to do so. They are not obligated to respond and even if you try to reach out to them, you aren't assured to be responded to. In any case, it's worth a try, no?

https://twitter.com/JagexTwisted/

https://twitter.com/JagexTrident

21-Mar-2023 15:38:04

Mrs Ana

Posts: 9,010 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

sarfernab123 said :
I understand that by the time my appeal is denied, at least 3 mods have reviewed my appeal already. (Impressive how 3 mods denied my appeal in 1 night) No, 3 different J-Mods do not check your appeal in one night . It's true, though, that by the time you send in an appeal, two distinct Jagex Moderators would have already seen the ban and its evidence. Once the appeal is processed, then 3 J-Mods would have reviewed it.

"All bans get a follow up check within 24-48 hours after the ban has been placed.
The follow up check is done by a second JMod , just to check that the previous JMod made the right call.
If the account has been banned by mistake, it will be picked up at this point and the ban removed (no appeal necessary).
If you find your account remains banned beyond the 48 hour mark, it means there was no mistake, an offence was committed on your account."

Source: Banned Account [Info]
Page 1, Post #2.
_____
sarfernab123 said :
But the "Security Software" link doesn't work.
Can anyone point me to the right direction so that I can do this scan on my computer for the now The correct link is this one: Security tips . Malua's thread hasn't been updated since the Support Centre was revamped and that's the reason why links may not properly direct you to the correct location.

21-Mar-2023 15:38:08