How to Avoid "Unfair" Bans

First off I would like to say this topic is primarily common sense. I know many of you may already know all of this and it may get to the point of insulting and if it does... just don't read it.

Before we start here is a handy link:
http://forum.duelingnetwork.com/h11-punishments-table


Boosting:

It has come to many admins attention that many users don't know what"boosting" is. The DN Ban Table describes it as:

Using multiple accounts, friends or other resources to gain illegitimate wins in order to raise your rank and reputation.

1st Offense: Perma ban & stats reset

Basically boosting is gaining wins/loses rapidly. This is generally done for trivial purposes such as gaining fast exp or wins. We get many ban appeals were people say they honestly didn't know they were boosting or that it was against site rules. Case in point, actually spend some time and read the necessary documents before starting on DN, or use common sense. Many of them knew they were doing it, and even it you didn't you still did it. If you want the wins... just play legit and win them.


Never Share Your Password:
Common sense. Never share your password with anyone. Period. Not even good friends. Don't come crying to us when you friend used your account to troll or spam the chat. It is your own fault. It is still your account and still under your responsibility. We get many ban appeals stating they let their friend use there account and they were somehow banned, or even worse IP banned. Fun stuff when someone uses your account to spam and break the rules and gets you banned. Seriously, keep your account password a secret and never share accounts. It just cause too many problems.


Be Careful Who Uses Your Wifi/Internet:
This is a similar problem to the sharing a password scenario. Often times a friend uses their friends computer and then does some pretty nasty things and gets them IP banned. For example, before writing this article I banned the same guy 15 times. I then go to the forum and see that a ban appeal was made. In this ban appeal the user stated "I let my friend use my account/wifi and I was then banned, every time I made a new account I was banned!". Of coarse you were. He used your account to spam curse words in the chat, then when banned, made new accounts and spammed even more. This is a waste of time for admins. be careful who you let use your wifi. Since this guy made so many accounts, many with curse words/caps names he was IP banned. If this truly was his friends doing it is still partially his fault. Multiple accounts (see next section) results in an instant ban if used for the wrong purpose. You should know better then to let people abuse your wifi/account. Also, lock your WiFi with a stong password and encryption type. Randoms stealing your wifi can cause problems.


Ban Evading:
Don't do it, simple as that. If you are banned you are banned. Making a new account to evade your ban is not allowed.

Multiple accounts:
Having more than one account for trolling, spamming, ban evading, etc.

Perma ban of all accounts with possible IP ban

Don't complain if your new account is banned, even if it is not "your" fault because someone used your wifi/account/computer.

Don't Fake it!:

Faking evidence
Forging screenshots or other material to show as evidence for malicious purposes.

Perma ban with possible IP ban

Basically don't send admins fake "proof" in order to get people banned. You yourself will get banned. I can't tell you how many poorly edited pictures we receive. Like, just awful stuff. Don't do it...

Cooperate with the Admina:
Do not argue with an Admin, it is a waste of your time and ours. Don't get me wrong, we are NOT perfect, we are bound to be wrong every once in a while. When an admin makes a decision during an admin call you are to do one of two things:
1. Listen to the admin
2. Make an appeal (kindly)

Don't be rude to the admin. If you know you are right and the admin is wrong provide enough proof to back it up. If you cannot, the admins decision is final. The admin ultimately gets the final say. If you are being bullied by the admin or you think they are abusing their power take a screenshot and send it to an admin of higher status (senior or Head admin) and we will review the problem. Bias and ignorance from an admin is something we at DN do not want, and if you experience an obvious case of this please make us aware. Be sure to have significant proof.

If you are rude to an admin during a duel you are more apt to get banned or receive a warning placed on your account. You may also get a game loss for your behavior.

If a player refuses to continue with the decision made by the admin, they have 10 seconds to either continue with your decision or make an appeal. If they choose to make an appeal they have 1 minute to prove the admin wrong. If their appeal is not successful and they do not cooperate after this period of time they will be kicked and receive a warning on their account with a screenshot “not following administrators’ instructions."


Randomly Spamming Admins with PMs:
This really bugs us. Generally us admins are busy. Don't spam us with non-sense. We are dealing with PMs from people who need legit help. Don't spam us profanity or how much of a jerk we are. Please refrain from telling use obscene things such as things of a aggressive or inappropriate sexual nature. The admin will most likely screenshot this and you will receive the appropriate punishment based on the severity and your ban history.


Harassing Admins After A Call:
Come on guys, we are doing this for free. Give us a break. We are just trying to do our job. Most of us are not bad people, do not rage at us after a duel. Please refrain from telling us how bad we are or anything of that nature. You will most likely receive a ban/warning for harassment/disrespect towards a mod. Like I said, if you believe a mod abused their power or did a poor job pm an admin of higher status and they will be contacted and the situation will be dealt with. We are not trying to cover stuff up, we want whats best for DN. So if we have admins doing bad jobs we will deal with them. Just give us enough LEGIT proof. We have fired many admins in the past for stuff like this, so we aren't exactly blind to the situation.


Behave in the Chat(s):
I will keep this one short and sweet. Behave in the chat(s) on DN. This includes any place where you can type. Just because an admin is not in the Public chat doesn't mean they are not watching, I have ninja banned many offenders like this. Silently picking them off one by one between calls. Don't get out of hand in the watchers chat, keep it clean and friendly. Do not harass or pick on anyone. This goes for the duelist chat as well.


User Content:
Now that DN supports custom avatars and sleeves a new trouble arises. Inappropriate content. Inappropriate content such as pornographic of disturbing avatar/sleeves will be removed, you will also lose the privilege of getting customs and a possible ban may be placed. If you are unsure if something is allowed or not contact an admin and ask. Generally anything that shows explicit content (like excessive cleavage, panty shots, nudity, etc.) are not allowed. Keep it kid friendly and PG. This was in the terms of service when you donated, so you are bound to it. Also, please keep you profile text appropriate. Don't use it for malicious purposes or advertising.


Impersonation of Another User:
Please do not impersonate another user. Making a new account with a new user such as BlackLustrSoldier or VantagSP is not a good idea. I have had problems in the past where a member has gone around acting like another member in order to ruin their rep or other malicious things. Please don't do it. If you think someone is doing this, contact an admin and explain the situation.


Duel Notes:
Do not use duel notes to advertise or lurk. Don't use DN for picking up partners. If an admin sees a duel note they deem inappropriate they will kick the user and place a warning on their account. An offender with multiple offense will be banned depending on the severity. Lurking results in a 7-perma ban. Advertising is less severe, so they will receive a more lenient punishment and most likely be asked kindly to stop it.

Dueling Under the Inlfuenece:
Avoid going on DN drunk or under the influence of drugs. Whatever you do while you are under the influence is entirely your own fault. Please be sober when on DN.

More to come!

I wrote this fairly early in the morning so if I am missing anything or need to flesh it out a bit please tell me so. I also would like to hear some suggestions.