D3 Go! CS Failures & Selective Alliance Harassment (Take 2)

San Narciso

My previous post was deleted within minutes due to "offensive content and misinformation". (I didn't know things MPQ related could happen that quickly!) I am unsure what misinformation is in here (everything in this post is true) but I have replaced all the "offensive" language with the word "hamburglar" so the message can still be heard despite me simply mentioning, in this post, names that D3 Go! currently permits to exist in the Marvel Puzzle Quest universe.

Below is the edited version:

Recently my alliance and our brother alliance decided to do some reshuffling and form a new group.
Fortunately for me, my new alliance is filled with creative types and there was no shortage of alliance name options.
After days of deliberation, we decided to settle on a name: Alpha hamburglar Up.

The idea was this: we're the Alpha team to Q you up and hit you. Of course, if you kind of say it fast and mumble it a little bit, it may phonetically resemble a certain curse. Whether or not this was intentional is besides the point. The name is Alpha hamburglar Up, with a specific meaning and completely devoid of foul language was changed within a day or two to the completely ridiculous "Alpha Dance" without any communication with anyone in our alliance. A number of us sent in tickets, and D3 Go! refused to reinstate the name. But when we told them the name Alpha Dance was ridiculous and a source for chastisement from the online aggressors who play this game, they changed it (again without talking to us) to Omega Q Up. Which doesn't make sense. Why would we want to be the LAST team to Q you and hit you?

We are an alliance with no rules, and we travel together as a pack and hit shards that are supposedly "owned" by other alliances. It keeps the game fun and fresh for us. However, I do know that this makes us the "enemy" to these mega teams who love to chase points and the invisible grand prize, and spend way too much on shields. That's how they find joy in this game, so more power to them; I respect that. I hope they can learn to respect how we decide to find joy in the game. However, that means they don't like us and are champing at the bit to target us any way they can. But I digress.

I understand somebody probably reported us. In fact, I know who it is. However, this made us, not only a target in the MPQ Line community, but also target to D3 Go!, and I believe we were unjustly dealt with due to Terms and Conditions that CS refused to provide me a copy to. I requested several times to see the T&C that said we could not have a (potentially) phonetically offensive name (if said and enunciated correctly). They followed this exchange up by denying us the name Therapists (because we decided it would be funny to consider ourselves point Therapists by taking them away from other people. However, because it has the word "hamburglar" built in, they refused us that as well. This may not be so insulting if D3 Go! hadn't proceeded to ignore the great deal of names selected by others that are much more blatantly offensive.

You would think with an alliance that has a bank roll of at least $200,000.00 paid to D3 Go! for these rosters, that they would give us the time of day and show us some respect, but they were very rude, terse, and (in my personal opinion, though I am sure they would disagree) failed to provide any relevant info. They treated us poorly, and I have since been very disappointed in the administration behind the scenes of Marvel Puzzle Quest.

We requested some sort of compensation for the ISO I spent creating different alliances due to the name "nerf" and the time we all spent dealing with CS but that was refused as well. Not even a reimbursement because selecting a new alliance name for the season had to happen over the weekend when CS was unavailable.

I spent about 10 seconds looking for more offensive names than "Alpha hamburglar Up" and would like to share them now.

Type "hamburglar" in the alliance search engine and this is what you find:
BadMotherhamburglar
BADMuthAhamburglar
hamburglard_Up
hamburglaremup
hamburglaridk
hamburglaritol
hamburglarKIN MONSTER
hamburglaryhamburglary
hamburglarYoCouch
idontgiveahamburglar
squid_hamburglar
Team hamburglar It

And in shuffling through Qs we found IGNs such as:
hamburglar1977
hamburglarAlova64
hamburglar Critler (not a curse but offensive to an entire race of people)
and of course Ih8uhamburglar (who likes to target my alliance in s5).

The cold, non-personal dealings my entire alliance experienced with D3 Go! during this event was very disheartening and I know there are CS horror stories out there. I would invite others to share as well as this is a game many have made large investments in and has become a hobby for many of us. We put our time and energy into a system that I do believe once cared for its players, but no longer respects the individuals who continue to make the game work. This is one of the factors that will ultimately kill the game, so I would advise D3 Go! to start listening to its players and start showing them/us a little respect.

Cheers,
JB

AtlasAxe

Hugh Hamburglar is an example

Peej13

The Hamburglar is a presumably dangerous criminal who is currently at large. If you have any information as to his whereabouts, please report to your local authorities.

If you see the Hamburglar, do not attempt to take action by yourself. He has evaded police for years, and will undoubtedly put you in a bit of a pickle.

I reported the Hamburglar to CS and they gave me a standard, template response that said: "Lettuce ketchup to him. Don't try anything onion."

I just don't think CS has taken this, like many grievances, seriously. I am worried for the safety of my two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onion, on a sesame seed bun.

spydoorman

Yo, i saw that hamburglar dude running away with an amorphous asexual purple blob carrying working team ups while screaming something about a decent MMR.

Just sayin.

Ludaa

Maybe changing names keeps the job "fresh and fun" for the CS people. Who are we to encroach on others enjoyment?

TxMoose

Ludaa wrote:

Maybe changing names keeps the job "fresh and fun" for the CS people. Who are we to encroach on others enjoyment?

and don't forget challenging...

Jarvind

You were obviously trying to sneak a curse word past a curse filter. I don't see how this qualifies as "harassment" so much as "CS doing their job" and "you not taking it well at all."

Quebbster

I don't expect this thread to last longer than its predecessor.

firethorne

Jarvind wrote:

You were obviously trying to sneak a curse word past a curse filter. I don't see how this qualifies as "harassment" so much as "CS doing their job" and "you not taking it well at all."

Agreed. If your argument is nothing more than, "Other people are doing it," them they should also be flagged.

San Narciso

firethorne wrote:

Jarvind wrote:

You were obviously trying to sneak a curse word past a curse filter. I don't see how this qualifies as "harassment" so much as "CS doing their job" and "you not taking it well at all."

Agreed. If your argument is nothing more than, "Other people are doing it," them they should also be flagged.

I understand their reasoning, but the way they dealt with us and the way they would not show us the terms and conditions regarding our forced name change was problematical, in my opinion. Further, the fact that they aren't putting any effort into patrolling blatant curse words in names shows how we are being specifically targeted. Our name did not involve any curse words nor was the meaning offensive. Read allowed in the correct way could sound phonetically offensive (and CS even admitted it was "clever"), but it's not the same situation. I believe you're comparing apples to oranges in this case. But I do believe they should absolutely be flagged especially if they are going to flag us. The current season "Season XX" could be essentially more offensive to some than our previous alliance name.

Vhailorx

Surely it can't be surprising that demi/d3 want to maintain some control on alliance names and will filter whatever they think is obscene content. That's pretty standard fare for every mainstream game company.

I don't see how that has anything to do with how much money you spent on the game.

Stax the Foyer

I got a kick out of the original name.

Your fatal mistake was admitting that there was an aspect of the game that brought you joy. The Anti-Silliness Squad was immediately dispatched (the team from Harmful and/or Offensive Lexicography Enforcement, in particular). I hear those guys can be real ... well, you know.

San Narciso

Vhailorx wrote:

Surely it can't be surprising that demi/d3 want to maintain some control on alliance names and will filter whatever they think is obscene content. That's pretty standard fare for every mainstream game company.

I don't see how that has anything to do with how money you spent on the game.

I personally have spent very little money on the game (I was referring to other members of my alliance and their combined spendings); but what is relevant here is that allegedly, certain big spenders receive special treatment and more respect. In fact, one player who was disgruntled and has spent an incredible amount of money, had even reportedly received a phone call to discuss his misgivings with D3 Go!. We were not communicated with in the type of manner they have been known to communicate with other big spenders. That's my point.

AtlasAxe

Vhailorx wrote:

Surely it can't be surprising that demi/d3 want to maintain some control on alliance names and will filter whatever they think is obscene content. That's pretty standard fare for every mainstream game company.

I don't see how that has anything to do with how money you spent on the game.

My question then is: "Why don't they actually do that?" There are a huge number of names that are directly offensive out there. This is on the cute side, compared to some that are purely nasty. Somehow their filter catches this one because it could be offensive if you look at it sideways?

Understand given the general situation why OP feels singled out. Either make an effort to enforce rules or don't bother having them.

Linkster79

Atlas Axe wrote:

Vhailorx wrote:

Surely it can't be surprising that demi/d3 want to maintain some control on alliance names and will filter whatever they think is obscene content. That's pretty standard fare for every mainstream game company.

I don't see how that has anything to do with how money you spent on the game.

My question then is: "Why don't they actually do that?" There are a huge number of names that are directly offensive out there. This is on the cute side, compared to some that are purely nasty. Somehow their filter catches this one because it could be offensive if you look at it sideways?

Understand given the general situation why OP feels singled out. Either make an effort to enforce rules or don't bother having them.

I would be surprised if it were flagged via a filter, it is far more likely that it was reported by persons not liking the behaviour of the alliance not conforming to the unwritten rules for the greater good. Many top alliances do not like their system being messed with and have an attitude of "play by our rules or we will make things difficult for you.". This is one of the ways of striking back at those who rock the boat and refuse to conform.

fmftint

San Narciso wrote:

firethorne wrote:

Jarvind wrote:

You were obviously trying to sneak a curse word past a curse filter. I don't see how this qualifies as "harassment" so much as "CS doing their job" and "you not taking it well at all."

Agreed. If your argument is nothing more than, "Other people are doing it," them they should also be flagged.

I understand their reasoning, but the way they dealt with us and the way they would not show us the terms and conditions regarding our forced name change was problematical, in my opinion. Further, the fact that they aren't putting any effort into patrolling blatant curse words in names shows how we are being specifically targeted. Our name did not involve any curse words nor was the meaning offensive. Read allowed in the correct way could sound phonetically offensive (and CS even admitted it was "clever"), but it's not the same situation. I believe you're comparing apples to oranges in this case. But I do believe they should absolutely be flagged especially if they are going to flag us. The current season "Season XX" could be essentially more offensive to some than our previous alliance name.

It's a simple case of naming policy being reactive instead of active. They don't have the man power to actively enforce naming policy so they rely on player reports. Your alliance name was reported, investigated, found to be in violation and changed.

San Narciso

Linkster79 wrote:

Atlas Axe wrote:

Vhailorx wrote:

Surely it can't be surprising that demi/d3 want to maintain some control on alliance names and will filter whatever they think is obscene content. That's pretty standard fare for every mainstream game company.

I don't see how that has anything to do with how money you spent on the game.

My question then is: "Why don't they actually do that?" There are a huge number of names that are directly offensive out there. This is on the cute side, compared to some that are purely nasty. Somehow their filter catches this one because it could be offensive if you look at it sideways?

Understand given the general situation why OP feels singled out. Either make an effort to enforce rules or don't bother having them.

I would be surprised if it were flagged via a filter, it is far more likely that it was reported by persons not liking the behaviour of the alliance not conforming to the unwritten rules for the greater good. Many top alliances do not like their system being messed with and have an attitude of "play by our rules or we will make things difficult for you.". This is one of the ways of striking back at those who rock the boat and refuse to conform.

I agree our play style leaves us more prone to being reported than others, and I believe I expressed that in the original post. In this situation, it wasn't someone that was "hit" or "sniped" by any of us. It was someone we used to work with who takes the game very seriously and falsely accused us of reporting him for illegal actions before, and reported us in an act of revenge. I'm not saying someone else didn't report us for hitting them during a shield hop and being bitter, but that is the only confirmed report on my end.

Sm0keyJ0e

Linkster79 wrote:

I would be surprised if it were flagged via a filter, it is far more likely that it was reported by persons not liking the behaviour of the alliance not conforming to the unwritten rules for the greater good. Many top alliances do not like their system being messed with and have an attitude of "play by our rules or we will make things difficult for you.". This is one of the ways of striking back at those who rock the boat and refuse to conform.

This is the most illuminating response I've ever read on here.

OneLastGambit

What's in a name? An alpha by any other action would still dance with grace

San Narciso

OneLastGambit wrote:

What's in a name? An alpha by any other action would still dance with grace

Someone mentioned Power Rangers making the name Alpha Dance great. But about 75% of our alliance had no idea what they were talking about. So I'm sure some appreciate this!

The Bob The

Of course, if you kind of say it fast and mumble it a little bit, it may phonetically resemble a certain curse. Whether or not this was intentional is besides the point.

Come on, man. If you liked the name, fine, but don't be coy about your intentions. As for "therapists," pretty much everybody here has probably seen the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketches, so in the context of your previous attempt, it's not like it was any great stretch for them to guess what you were going for. You tried and you got caught - it happens.