Valve to punish people who use the idler?

[Creep Gnome]

Found in tf_english.txt, located in "team fortress 2 content.gcf"

Code:

"TF_CheatDetected_Title" "WARNING"
"TF_CheatDetectedMinor" "Your account has been flagged for circumventing the item distribution
 system. We have removed the items that were illegally obtained.\n\nFuture violations will result in the loss of all your items."
"TF_CheatDetectedMajor" "Your account has been flagged for circumventing the item distribution
 system. We have removed all items in your inventory.\n\nFuture violations may result in your account being disabled."

Check it yourself if you don't believe me.

Original thread:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=953306

[Combat Wombat]

So... Valve wants to ban ALL the people who have idled? That's a lot of lost business...

[Creep Gnome]

So... Valve wants to ban ALL the people who have idled? That's a lot of lost business...

No. Read the warning. They will remove illegal items, then all items, THEN ban. You'd have to be a complete dumbass to continue idling after the second warning.

[Crit Goes Where?!?]

I'm curious if this is for unique weapons only.  If valve knows that there are ways to get them illegitimately, whether idling or some other exploit and they want to detract from this.

"123"
{
"name"   "CheatDetectedMajor"
"enabled"   "0"
"item_class"   "tf_wearable_item"
"item_type_name"   "CheatDetector"
"item_name"   "#TF_CheatDetectedMajor"
"item_slot"   "misc"
"item_quality"   "unique"
"min_ilevel"   "100"
"max_ilevel"   "100"
"image_inventory"   ""
"image_inventory_size_w"    "128"
"image_inventory_size_h"    "82"
"model_player"   ""
"used_by_classes"
{
}
}

[Combat Wombat]

Ah, okay. It's late, I just kind of glanced at it.

[Mr.MiYuggi]

touch the book....pet the book...lick the book! lick the book, lick the book.....book...book....book.

[StaFForD]

it is unconfirmed that it is for the people that idle, its just for "cheaters" and that could mean many sorts of things

[DM]

it is now confirmed:

http://teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2787

Over the next few days we'll be removing all TF2 items that were earned using external idling applications. We're going to adopt a zero tolerance policy for external applications used to manipulate the persistent item system. Due to us not having a policy in place prior to today, this time we're only removing the items earned through cheating the system. Going forward, if we find users using external applications, we'll remove all of their items. If you're interested, only about 4.5% of the players in TF2's community will be affected by this cleansing process.

Meanwhile, everyone who took the moral high road will soon be finding a new hat in their inventory. We've also significantly increased the chance of finding any of the existing hats.

We realize there is a high level of demand for items, and we're still working on systems to allow you to find them in new ways (via Trading, and crafting duplicates into desired items). However, we need to draw the line at running external applications.

[Combat Wombat]

Item crafting??? Lolz.

[WhosDelicious?]

wow, interesting stuff - thanks for the info DM

do i get to pick my new, sweet hat I wonder?

[Mama Luigi]

My Cute little Pywo has a cute little halo to piss people off more :3

[Combat Wombat]

Also, due to the fact that I couldn't distinguish between my idle-gathered items and my items I gained through playing, I now am short a Cloak&Dagger, a Bonk!, and a Backburner at the very least. Oh well.

[StaFForD]

yeah they took a few of my normal items even though i had it delete all the normal duplicates and was just using it for hats

[Creep Gnome]

Alas, I lost my precious Sandman... that I earned via Scout achievements.
Not like I used it anyways

[Sweno]

my secondary account is completely wiped for all but aout 3 items, and my primary is only missing the backburner

[Dominator]

Wow I never idled but damn they shouldn't have go that far, just a warning would be fine

[Dark_Stool]

.
..

I got the Halos  ... too bad that people could see it floating on an invisible spy.

..
.

[DM]

i got them and then i accidentally discarded them 
my backpack was full and i meant to delete some of the extra items and i ended up discarding the new ones 
oh well

[Creep Gnome]

I really wish that the "Account flagged for cheating" was equippable, instead only showing up in your backpack on tf2items.com

[Crit Goes Where?!?]

I lost all three of my hats, and about every single unlockable that I never used.  Anything of consequence is still mine, although i mildly miss the hats.  Having so many kind of made me not care about them...as for the halo, i'm sure its nice, but I don't care much anymore.  Since the scout update my faith in valve has steadily diminished and in all honesty I'm having a hard time having fun on tf2 anymore.  If you want me, I'll be on a created server, idling with my craptop.

Fuck you too valve.

[Dominator]

I agree crit, I liked TF2 the way it was.  They just need to fix the exploits and crashes, I really don't like the unlockables that much, sorry you guys lost items, im sure it was because someone complained.  All I wanted was kenyan's sexy hat, that's all.

[Creep Gnome]

And now, there are reports of people obtaining items without even being logged in, or playing TF2.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=955798


On the subject of the idler, I'd have to say that we deserved it. It violated the EULA, and they punished us for it.  It isn't like we were VAC-banned or had our accounts suspended.

Also, I'd say TF2 started going downhill after the pyro update.

[Combat Wombat]

And now, there are reports of people obtaining items without even being logged in, or playing TF2.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=955798

Hooray, now I don't even need to turn on my computer anymore!

[Crit Goes Where?!?]

Also, I'd say TF2 started going downhill after the pyro update.

I'd say scout update, but thats just me.

[Creep Gnome]

It seems Valve is planning to back through and give items back to people who earned them via achievements. (Sorry, I can't get a source on this one- someone said they made a post on the Steam forums, but I'm too tired to find it.)

[Crit Goes Where?!?]

why did they take items from people who got them through achievements?  Unless it was a glitch that seems completely bogus.

[kn3ll_]

i idled, and would do it again in a second. now it really pisses me off, because i just want to idle MORE since i STILL don't have any hats. The halo isn't all that cool, though.

[StaFForD]

And now, there are reports of people obtaining items without even being logged in, or playing TF2.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=955798

I have a backburner and sandvich that I did not have last night

[Benny Burnsalot]

SEE, WHAT DID I SAY KN3LL_, WHAT'D I SAY!?

Still, it was a little odd for valve to go "A-Okay with us! " on the entire situation, wasn't expecting the entire thing to last for long

[DickTater]

i still use my memory hack for achievements and get my weapons through there =)} i havnt gone to an idle server...

[WhosDelicious?]

I got my halos, although the only thing that kept me from idling was fear of retribution so I'm not sure if that really makes me morally superior or just scared of valve.

Valve created a bad system and then punished people who just wanted some dumb hats.  They need to figure out a better system for hats and spend their time going after the real cheaters - people who use aimbots, wall hacks etc.

They also need to give me a tyrant's helm. 

[Dark_Stool]

.
..

I think the halos were a great move on their part.
however, I think the community would have felt less sting if they had released devil horns for idlers.
That way, both sides would get a unique hat for doing what the other was not willing to do.

..
.

[Crit Goes Where?!?]

Well the vast majority of idlers were long time players that felt that they deserved a hat for being a long time customer of valve.  Instead we were labelled cheaters.  Giving the horns would be a good way of apologizing for going overboard with the labeling.

[StaFForD]

the thing is

Valve was fine with it for a long while, but now all of a sudden its bad and we were "cheating"

also:

Due to us not having a policy in place prior to today, this time we're only removing the items earned through cheating the system.

not having a policy in place for this, a warning would have been more appropriate especially since the creator said that if Valve had a problem with it he would gladly shut it down

[DickTater]

lol apparently im an honest player... hehe =)}

[kn3ll_]

i'm not particularly concerned with getting hats everyone else had, if 96% of people have angel hats right now they aren't actually rare and lose the shinyness that all other hats have. I'll sit here and wait for my devin horns, because not having anything in the policy means what we did was legal and not cheating up until valve changes the rules against our favor. It's really not making me want to play any more, i just want my hat even more now.

[LiquidSnake]

idler never gave me anything good anyway.

[Dominator]

idler never gave me anything good anyway.

Oh so I'm nothing to you, I see how it is...

[Creep Gnome]

i'm not particularly concerned with getting hats everyone else had, if 96% of people have angel hats right now they aren't actually rare and lose the shinyness that all other hats have. I'll sit here and wait for my devin horns, because not having anything in the policy means what we did was legal and not cheating up until valve changes the rules against our favor. It's really not making me want to play any more, i just want my hat even more now.

No. It WAS NOT LEGAL
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=956394
Before you even try making some silly claims, no they didn't change the EULA. The idler was illegal, and they punished us.

[StaFForD]

they said themselves that they didnt have a policy in place, as you can see when in what i quoted or you can go read on the blog, which means it was not covered exactly in the EULA

[Mama Luigi]

I just love the little link in the bottom of that.

[Crit Goes Where?!?]

I doubt gabe even thinks much about tf2 anymore.  I think its just robin walker and his team.

[Undakada (UOM)]

I still have my 2 hats so HA! I only lost an axe and a minigun

[Crit Goes Where?!?]

People are actually doing the banning thing.  The way I understand it is that eg0 nation started banning people on any of their 40+ servers that wears a halo (or doesnt) then other servers followed suit.  People are smrt.

[Benny Burnsalot]

My Cute little Pywo has a cute little halo to piss people off more :3

AIEEEE!!! we gotta do the guitar emote together!

[kn3ll_]

I don't like it that valve called me "immoral". Billy Mays never called me immoral. And none of my friends do. So why should I support a company that calls me immoral?

[Benny Burnsalot]

*Affixes halo* DOES IT BLIND YOU, HITLER?

[Stu]

[Creep Gnome]

TF2. TF2 never changes.
Since the dawn of Steam, when Valve first discovered the killing power of hitscan and projectiles, blood has been spilled in the name of everything, from Gabe Newell's cruelty towards cheesecakes to justice to simple, psychotic rage of the community.

In the year 2009, after two days of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer.
The world was plunged into an abyss of holier-than-thou halos and dirty idlers.
But it was as some had predicted, the end of the world.
The apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history.
For Valve had succeeded in destroying the world - but TF2, TF2 never changes.

[DickTater]

thank you Metal Gear Solid 4

[Crit Goes Where?!?]

Thats Fallout 3.  (or both, i'm not interested in watching msg4)

[DickTater]

epic