As well, please remem-
ber that you will not exploit
any bug or system in the
Service or in any EA product
to gain unfair advantage
and you will not commu-
nicate the existence of any
such bug (either directly
or through the public post-
ing) to any other user of the
Service. We want to thank
you for your cooperation in
this matter and hope that
you continue to support fair
and safe gameplay.”
Dog, I believe my son
when he says that he did
not cheat his stats because
we usually play on the same
servers together. I think the
stats system is flawed, and
until now, I just put up with
it. When they delete the
stats for a player who has
logged hundreds of hours of
game time, this should not be
ignored. They should at least
be required to show proof
that something was abused.
—Keith SoreghenThe Dog contacted Electronic
Arts for an explanation
regarding its policy on stats
wipes and a player’s recourse
in such an event. The company
said: “We receive many ques-
tions like this from customers
who have had their stats reset
for scoring abuse or other
terms of service violations.
In each case when someone
is reported by a customer, or
submitted for review by an EA
Employee or Ranked Server
Provider, we fully review the
account in question. We scru-
tinize the stats and compare
them to a set of numbers that
EA Support (and development)
has determined are outside of
normal general gameplay.These stats can include
(but are not limited to) knife
death/kill ratios, pistol death/
kill ratios, best kill streaks, best
rounds, and support related
ratios. These policies and stats
are periodically reviewed to
make sure our comparison
data is relative to current play
style and game mechanics. In
the event a customer contacts
us about their stat reset, EA
Support reviews each appeal,
making sure the original
employee who wiped the stats
followed policy and that the
stats wipe is valid. In the event
an error is made, those stats
are restored and the customer
responded to. In the event
that the stat review points to a
valid wipe then the customer
is told this as well.
Unfortunately, in almost
all cases we cannot disclose
the evidence we gather to a
customer, as this could lead
to that information ‘leak-
ing’ to the public and then
our review process wouldbe compromised and cheat-
ers would then just cheat to
‘right below’ the line we use.
In all cases, the gains the
customer attained were done
outside of normal gameplay
and for the sole benefit of
themselves. This type of
behavior, if unchecked, can
ruin an online community
quickly, and in light of that,
the franchise it belongs to.
Only through fair, consis-
tent, constant, and honest
review can abuse like this be
checked and removed fromthe game for the benefit of
the community.”
The upshot, Keith, is
that you have no recourse.
The company has “proof”
that you cheated, but it
can’t share it with you. Call
the Dog a card-carrying
member of the American
Gaming Liberties Union, but
this just doesn’t sit right,
even though the Dog thinks
cheaters should be garroted
with a PS/2 keyboard cord.
But let’s be fair to EA: It’s not
the only company to eject
and nuke stats based on
cheating allegations. Almost
every online game company
is known to punish play-
ers without presenting any
actual proof of cheating to
the accused.
Some folks will assume
you’re blinded by loyalty to
your son and that he was
indeed cheating—otherwise,
why would EA erase his
stats? Still others will blame
EA for acting like secretpolice, making people or their
stats disappear in the middle
of the night. All sides would
be aided by greater transpar-
ency from game companies.
Introducing justice to online
gaming, however, would not
be easy. Would the companies
impanel a jury of gaming
peers and present it with
stats and videos of the person
cheating? There’s simply no
clear-cut answer. For now,
your son has been judged
guilty and there’s no way to
prove his innocence.EMAIL THE WATCHDOG If you feel you’ve gotten a raw deal and need assistance
setting a vendor straight, email the Dog at [email protected]. Please
include a detailed explanation of your problem as well as any correspondence you
have sent concerning the issue.ÌTrojan Mouse
The company has ‘proof’
ThaT you cheaTed, buT iT
can’T share iT wiTh you.