So... this morning, I was excited because my husband was FINALLY ready to finish the massive hospital project that we have been working on in Yo for the past few months. I had to create one more place (an accident scene) to connect to the hospital and we were going to purchase a few more NPCs to liven the place up. But, the feedback from friends (especially on my husband's account) has been positive, so I was preparing to share a link here in the forums once we added the final touches.

My husband only plays Yo to connect with me and our projects tend to be quite detailed and we spend quite a bit of currency (real cash and in-game currency) putting them together, since much of what we may want or need... like commercial stuff and sci-fi stuff... either has been vaulted, removed or is non-existent. So, it was a labour of love and great fun to pull it off.

Fast forward to now. My hubby and I swapped computers this morning, because I needed to finalize a bit of Ai coding on his PC. Basically, he was watching his Yo videos on my PC and I was watching mine on his while coding. He was waiting on me to join him so we could complete the hospital.

Unfortunately, he has now been "banned permanently" for having alternative accounts when both he and I only have one Yo account each. When I asked him what happened he said that he was watching videos, but took a break and returned to finish his videos while waiting on me.

I have several browsers on my PC and tend to use them for different things. One of the browsers I use for shopping and I turn on the VPN for privacy when browsing and purchasing online. I did that this morning before swapping computers with my hubby. But, apparently I did not turn the VPN off on that browser. When my husband returned to finish watching his videos after a breakfast break, he noticed it was lagging. He basically opened my shopping browser. He realized the VPN was on and he clicked to turn it off. When he clicked the drop down menu, he accidentally chose 'change location' instead of turning it off. He immediately clicked again and turned the VPN off and refreshed to go back in Yo and finish his videos.

He was met with a "permanent ban" for having alternate/alternative accounts. He said he there was an "appeal" option, so he briefly explained what had happened. But, he has not received anything in e-mail. So, I put in a ticket this morning on his behalf.

I'm a bit heartbroken because for me doing Yo things with my husband has more value than anything else that I do in this game. Anything. I was psyched about us having closure on this project and preparing to coax him into doing "just one more".

What baffles me is that I cannot for the life of me understand how logging in to watch videos with a VPN on is somehow harmful to Yo. Since it was an accident, the instant permanent ban is a bit extreme. Neither of us have alternate or alternative accounts and I don't usually leave my VPN on when doing Yo things.

Honestly, I was simply looking forward to the two of us doing our Yo thing and making the final selections for the hospital. It's a huge project, built from scratch. I could see him getting a warning. But, obviously the detection algorithms for Yo are flawed. Oddly enough, I know that I have logged in to Yo with VPNs on before, so this was quite a strange sequence of events.

I am not expecting a response from this in this forum from Viking Admin (as I said... I did put in a ticket and my tickets are generally answered and closed once there is some resolution). I am mainly sharing it so others who use VPNs can be made aware of ensuring you disable them when using Yo.

I'm not in a Yo-ing mood today... or at least not until this gets fixed because my Yo collaboration days with my hubby are sacred to me. Luckily, we are also working on a massive Ai project... so I'll redirect my energy to that for a while. But, I will share a few things with my forum friends as promised.

So heads up people and have an awesome day in Yo and in life!

Sorry

I'm sure it will be sorted out and they will realize there was no wrong doing

omg Amirah and husband, that is heartbreaking
i hope it gets fixed. we need you creative ones around. we thrive on it.
please Vikings, look into this asap.

I know BVG dose not ban alt accounts not unless there breaking the rules but think its because of VPN stuff that alerted them!

As you described it, the appeal will be successful. If you left anything out that might be important, it may not.

Mistyfied

As that old adage goes, "from your lips to Gods ears". Thank you. Appreciate your feedback.

Mistyfied (178761483) wrote:Sorry

I'm sure it will be sorted out and they will realize there was no wrong doing

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Loie
Thank you, Beautiful One! And I definitely include you among all of the Yo creatives. But, we had a great little day out instead... walked on the beach (me like a penguin still and only for 30 minutes). And we had a picnic as well... complete with the basket and all. So, it wasn't so bad. He's the best... honestly. I was even gifted with rare 'contraband' food. It was great.

Loie (9730540) wrote:omg Amirah and husband, that is heartbreaking
i hope it gets fixed. we need you creative ones around. we thrive on it.
please Vikings, look into this asap.

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Mrs Mario,

Thanks for responding. Without a doubt, people who do nefarious things with their accounts should be held accountable. But, that is not who we are or how we spend our Yo time.

Since, neither of us have an alt account, I think this leading to an instant 'permanent' ban instead of a suspension until clarifications are made is over the top. Especially since we actually spend real cash monthly for the privilege of using our accounts (these days mainly me and based on my interest in the theme or time). So, the fact that the ban was instantaneous put a hold on a lot of shared activities that we do on the weekend. But, we found something else to do.

While my hubby and I both often use my PC for Yo things (since he likes to use my larger screen for Events and video watching), neither one of us have an alternate or alternative account. Honestly, neither of us have time for such things... with our current real life project being helping to get me through my recovery after surgery. I'm slowly learning to walk again.

Mrs Mario (104376062) wrote:I know BVG dose not ban alt accounts not unless there breaking the rules but think its because of VPN stuff that alerted them!

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Too true, Tugger. Thanks for responding.

But, I know my husband. His response was short and sweet. Just the simple facts. I giggled when he told me what he wrote. This should NOT be an issue, as no one 'did' anything wrong. His crime... trying to watch Yo World videos (in true lag mode) unaware that the VPN was on. Yeah! I think not. But, getting another day when he will be able to take the time to finish the hospital... well! That's another story. I do believe all things happen for a reason. And maybe the Universe is trying to tell us both something.

Tugger (126579776) wrote:As you described it, the appeal will be successful. If you left anything out that might be important, it may not.

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I'm off to post a few things... then I've got some Beta Game testing to do before Physical Therapy!