Update on the usage of multiple accounts

Hello everybody,

As you might have noticed, we have increased our checks and enforcement against users of mutliple accounts. This has always explicilty been stated not to be allowed in our rules and remains true.
However, over the years, we have noticed that there was a group of users that was suspected of using multiple accounts on Legacy for a multitude of reasons, including manipulating selling/buying threads.

We have heard your concerns loud and clear. Many of you have reached out to us, expressing frustration about the impact of this on the community and how difficult it made to deal with the Xunlai Marketplace.

This is a direct response to the messages that you, our community, have sent us. Legacy is a special place and we want to keep it a good and useful resource for many more years.

Due to this, I want to clarify what our rules are about multiple accounts and how we are dealing with them.

The rule

A user is allowed only one account. There are very few - if at all - legitimate reasons why a user should be allowed another account.
From our experience, secondary accounts are overwhelmingly used for disruptive behaviour, such as manipulating threads, bidding wars or circumventing bans.

We do not tolerate this, and we never will.

Actions we can and will take

If we detect that someone is using multiple accounts, be it via technical, behavioural or other measures, we will contact the user in question directly.
It is not because we detect you using multiple accounts, that we will automatically ban your accounts. We will always contact you once we detect this and put forward these options:

1. Merging accounts

We have the option to merge accounts, which takes two or more accounts and merges them into a single surviving account. One account will remain and all the posts, messages, conversations associated to the other accounts will be merged into the remaining account.

This is our preferred solution for mosts cases, as it preserves the activity and contributions of both accounts.

2. Banning one or more accounts

We will give the option to ban one of more accounts to your choosing and allow the continued usage of one of the detected accounts.

The other accounts will be banned. The banned accounts can not be recovered later on.

3. Explaining why an extra account might be needed

If you believe you have a valid reason for maintaining a second account, you may explain your situation. In general, we deny these requests, but we will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

• If approved, only one additional account will be allowed and no further exceptions will be granted. These accounts will be linked to each other in our system to avoid further warnings to be sent out.
• Approval is at our sole discretion and will require clear and compelling justification. I, Iaerah, have the final say in whether this exception is granted or not

What to do you when you are contacted?

1. Be specific and transparant
   • Vague statements or general claims (e.g., "my family uses the same computer) will not help your case. Provide detailed, verifiable information - such as names, relationships or evidence of independent usage if you claim the accounts belong to different people. Explain to us why the accounts might have been flagged.
   • If you have additional accounts beyond those mentioned, disclose them immediately. We will often withhold some details and leave these for you to fill in - failure to do so will in general be very harmful to your case.
2. Be honest
   • If you've used multiple accounts, admit it. We prioritize fairness and honesty can lead to more lenient resolutions (e.g. merging accounts instead of bans).
   • Attempting to mislead or withhold information will result in stricter consequences, including permanent bans.
3. Cooperate fully
   • Respond promptly and respectfully. If you need clarification, ask - we're here to help resolve the issue.
   • If you believe there has been a mistake, explain why with concrete evidence.
4. Avoid retaliation
   • Reporting posts or users that call out your behaviour will not help your case. It will only escalate the situation and may lead to further action against all of your accounts.
5. Choose a resolution
   • Clearly state your preferred option (merging, banning or explaining). Delays or refusal to engage will result in a decision being made for you.
   • In general, you will have 7 days to resolve the issue before we ban all affected accounts.

In general: we want to support and maintain a healthy community. Cooperation and honesty are the best way forwards.

Things to keep in mind

• Transprancy is important. If you are contated about multi-accounting, honesty and cooperation will work in your favor. Attempting to mislead or manipulate the process will result in stricter consequences. We do not contact you as a punishment, but as a way to resolve this situation.
• Appeals: if you disagreew ith a decision, you can appeal once by contacting me through scribe@mail.guildwarslegacy.com. However, appeals will only be considered if new and verifiable evidence is provided.
• Community impact: multi-accounting harms the integrity of Guild Wars Legacy. It undermines trust, distorts and disrupts the marketplace and creates an unfair environment for everyone. We enforce these rules to protect the community.
• Ongoing enforcement: we will continue to monitor and refine our detection methods. Repeat offenders will face permanent bans without warnings.

If there are any further questions about this policy, how we handle things or any other things you might want to ask, feel free to ask them.

Kevin

Quote from Forty Second Rogue

What prevents people with perma banned accounts from opening a new account?

Are accounts tied to a specific IP address? Forgive my internet workings ignorance/

Nothing can stop a determined user from creating a new account. We aim to find out when someone does do that, though.
There are technical checks that we use, which can include IP addresses, but there are also other checks. You'll have to excuse me being vague here, though - I can't fully explain how the technical checks work because that would just help to dodge them.

But it's not only technical checks that we use, there are a few methods we use.

But let me be absolutely clear; we will never be able to catch 100% of the users doing this. That is also not the goal of us. What's most important for us is the health of Legacy - and the game - in the long run.