Because of recent threads about accounts being banned or hacked, I made a thread to help other users protect theirs. If yours was stolen or disabled unfairly, you can use this guide to figure out why.
Questions/premises to consider before talking to a staff member about your disabled account:
1.) Who do you associate with?
This notion is also known as guilty by association. If you hang out on forums notorious for cheating or trading accounts/invites, then you might be seen as a cheater/trader yourself, even though that's just an assumption. Be careful who you associate with, and know what and who you're getting something from.
2.) Is the account yours?
Did you register your account? If you didn't (trading for it or it was given to you [an account]) there's your answer, maybe. Accounts and invites are not meant to be traded, and accounts are not meant to be given away. If you're not going to use your account, have a staff member disable it.
You're putting your account at risk by sharing it with someone. If someone wants to use your account, invite them to the tracker. If you can't, don't access the account from two places at once.
3.) Where did you get the invite to that account?
Most trackers don't like it when invites are given out in public, especially in a forum as big as this. You could be a great user, but ultimately their F.A.Q./rules will decide whether you get your account back or not, so make sure you read them.
A cheater may have invited you (or vice versa) and yours or their invite tree may be at risk for disabling. This is a common reason why a lot of users lose their accounts.
4.) Do you know how your data is being recorded and by what it's being recorded from?
Some trackers have rules of which clients users should use to transfer data; some trackers require you to use an outdated client because they're more stable or some other reason. Make sure your client is the correct build and avoid banned clients.
You might be cheating or spoofing data and not know it. Sometimes clients report false data to the tracker even if you're seeding normally. Make sure your transfer data is correct, if it looks irregular, take a break from leeching or seeding.
5.) Do you protect your personal data?
Another reason why accounts are lost is by not protecting your personal data. If you access your account in a public place, the risk of losing your account is high. Your account may be stolen if you didn't logout and/or if you left your password stored in a cookie.
If you're not using a firewall, you're also at risk for theft of personal data.
Keep your e-mail account(s) safe by choosing uncommon passwords. Your account might've been stolen by someone recovering the password of your account via e-mail and then changing your personal details.
6.) Are you a bad user?
Your account might've been disabled due to harassing users, spamming in the forums or torrent comments, degrading uploads, bugging the staff, etc. Take time to evaluate your reputation.
Hitting and running or having a low ratio is also being a bad user.
If you cheated on purpose, you deserve to never get your account back. Don't do it.
7.) Do you have duplicate accounts or IP addresses?
Your account might've been disabled for having a duplicate one: they're not allowed pretty much anywhere. If you're accessing your account from different IP addresses and they're numerically similar, you may get it back. If the IP addresses are different, it looks like an account trade or a hand-off.
8.) Do you use your account?
If you leave your account idle, it will eventually die. Different trackers have different no activity grace periods, so make sure you use your account if you don't want it to die. Park your account or tell a staff member if you're not going to use your account for a while.
9.) Use tracker resources to assist in you getting your account back.
Every tracker has their own IRC channel, whether it be for support or chatting or PRE times. If you need assistance with your account, the tracker's IRC channel would be the best place to go. (m)IRC is easy to use, and can greatly improve your relationship with not only with the surrounding community, but also the tracker staff. A good first step of any new tracker membership is to join the IRC channel, introduce yourself, and start making friends. Who knows, it may result in that precious F*** or U*-* invite you've always dreamed of. (New!)
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Epiolgue
a.) Tracker staff have the final say in all account-related matters, they're also always right until proven wrong.
b.) Important things about your account are most always found in the F.A.Q./rules, make sure you read them.
c.) If you don't like how a tracker is run, refrain from complaining about it here. Instead, don't use it.
d.) Nobody condones cheating or selling invites, don't do it.
e.) If you think your account was disabled unfairly, please move on rather then throw dirt around here. It creates a bandwagon of unnecessary and negative attention that the tracker doesn't deserve. (New!)
That's it, PM me if you want me to add anything. This guide isn't intended to circumvent rules of any tracker, if you do, it's your doing. Your account is living and evolving, please take care of it.
- th0r
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Originally Posted by th0r
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