I recently read here about some players being instantly and permanently banned without previous punishments for review circle participation.
What does this exactly mean? Could you please give a honest and clear answer?
How can Niantic staff demonstrate them to be actually organised circles?
Unfortunately I found nothing in ToS about it not in criteria rejections.
Thanks
A review circle is when users work together to review nominations and edits, and many times try to get theirs approved, or ones that do not meet criteria approved. It could also be someone using more than one account to review, as we are only allowed one account; I do remember a father using his son’s account and vise versa to review and getting a ban because of it.
Basically, review circles really come down to reviewing in a way that goes against criteria and/or manipulates the game board in a way that goes against the ToS, and possibly conspiring with others to do so. Some may not know they are participating, like the example of the father/son above, but the system can flag any unusual reviewing for staff to investigate.
Keep in mind that you do not need to receive a previous warning and/or ban for any offense that goes against the ToS. While there is a punishment ladder, depending on the severity of the offense, one could receive a harsher punishment, and this is listed on the Abuse Enforcement help page:
As part of that commitment, we enforce a punishment ladder against most types of abuse. This policy may provide offenders with disciplinary actions proportional to the severity of the offenses they perform. This means that a first time offender can be punished with any of the disciplinary actions listed below depending on how severe their offense was.
If you have received a warning/ban for review circle, you can appeal that at this link: https://niantic.helpshift.com/hc/faq/4275-wayfarer-abuse-enforcement-ladder-policy/#appealing-your-punishment
But how do they actually prove multi accounts? What about people living together and so having phones close to each other?
How can they prove people actually organized themselves in order to vote in a certain way?
I hope the reply above is helpful.
You asked about how Niantic demonstrate that this behaviour is happening…
As you might expect the Wayfarer Team will not reveal how they do anything like this or else that information could be used in a malicious way.
Edited to add as your second post crossed over.
If a violation notice is issued you have the right to appeal. At that point you can put your individual circumstances and case forward for them to consider.
Yet ToS have to be clear (they don’t mention review circle). Punishment should be based on certainties rather than assumptions.
Let’s suppose a family of 6 plays, nominates and votes REGULARLY (and that way, they vote each others nominations aswell). Would it be considered review circle?
It may fall under the review circle. If families work together to share and approve each other’s submissions, it is a review circle. I believe they should use skips and not review each other’s submissions.
This really falls under the “Play Fair” part of the Player Guidelines, which, in simple terms, says not to cheat.
Companies are allowed to be vague with ToS and other guidelines, as long as they make sure to include that there may be other offensives not listed that could lead to disciplinary action being taken. This is why the term “includes, but is not limited to” is quite common in ToS and guidelines, as the company is making sure they do not need to fully discuss with users what could result in a punishment, and the user cannot take legal action, as the user has to agree to the terms before using any of the services.
I m talking about nominations that meet criteria.
OP, check this thread https://community.wayfarer.nianticlabs.com/t/sudden-permanent-ban/98644
Though I think this might be that what you read before. We don’t know what happened in their conversations but I guess they proved that it was a family reviewing together. What was the proof? Who knows
There were some discrepancies:
Unless they were accepting irregular nominations from each others in the same some, I find it very surprising original ban was even issued. Would it mean only 1 player per home could nominate and/or vote?
I listed a father/son duo that got banned for this reason. The father allowed his son to have a regular Niantic ID account connected to Google, but the son was not yet old enough to have a Niantic ID account and should have been playing with a Niantic Kids account. They would both nominate and review from each other’s accounts, and approve each other’s submissions.
Other families have gotten bans, but most times, they are adhering to the guidelines and ToS. The link provided about the family that received bans for review circles has been posted by another, so you may want to check that out.
Staff and the OP noted that the situation was fully resolved. Do make sure to read the entire thread.
Really, at this point, you shouldn’t worry about getting a warning/ban for review circles if you are following the ToS and Player Guidelines. If you aren’t, then you may need to look at how you are reviewing, and make some changes.
So 2 people nominate. Same 2 vote on wayfarer. As long as they live close, I don’t find it unsurprising they can vote each other’s nominations. But as long as they meet criteria, what are they supposed to do?
I fully read it. Luckily they restored account. Yet it’s annoying to see accounts that get permanently banned for no reason, even if restored.
That’s not review circles. In this case, 2 people found a POI that’s eligible to nominate, and did so at similar times. One will most likely get accepted, while the other will be marked as a duplicate.
Keep in mind that nominations are anonymous, and unless people are conspiring behind the scenes to get nominations approved, there’s no way to know who submitted what.
No one knows their investigation process nor their criteria for evidence. It is extremely regrettable that the OP of that previous thread left without giving us further insight. Regardless, despite Niantic’s having “conclusive evidence” of a review circle, it was still over turned. So it is a situation that can be fought.
Glad you got your account back. Again, at this point, I think it’s best to move on. You won’t get any full answers from staff, and they aren’t required to provide them.
It s not about me, I m talking generally
Again, I still think you should just move on. It’s not always good to speculate on what “could” happen or what “could not” happen. This is a case where that speculation may just dig a hole that just keeps getting deeper.