Community Update: 01/08/2013

[Fiesta News Reporter]

Greetings, Isyans!
There has been a lot of talk lately about players that can no longer access their accounts. We initially did not issue a widespread response for several reasons: 1) All teams were working together nonstop to answer all the tickets and investigate the situation, 2) CSRs were explaining the situation to individuals within ticket communications, and 3) the affected percentage of players was very small, and we did not want to cause alarm when none was necessary. Unfortunately, despite private communication with the CSRs, rumors and misinformation have still spread among players. So, let's discuss.
First, I'd like to create a differentiation of "banned" versus "locked out." The situation in question came about after a (relatively) small group of accounts were locked out of the system by an automatic security protocol. This security measure activated because someone else repeatedly tried to log in to their accounts and from a suspicious location. The activity was recognized as coming from the same source and as being extremely suspicious (i.e. not just someone being on vacation). Accordingly, the accounts were locked out for their own protection.
It's very important to note that outsiders *never* gained access to any accounts, and even though our security regrettably prevented the account owners from logging in, sometimes multiple times, everyone's belongings were kept safe and sound. Even though the side effect was unfortunate, this is something we can all be thankful for. We do recognize the inconvenience caused, especially during this holiday event time, and are discussing an appropriate compensation plan that we will announce when it is ready.
The other category of account actions involve being "banned" or "suspended." These can occur from TOS violations (such as exploiting game mechanics or inappropriate language), chargebacks, inappropriate guild actions, etc., and bans are applied by our CSR team. Banned players have a definite reason for not being allowed access to our games and receive an email explaining why. (Make sure your email address is up to date!)
That being said, let's dispel a few rumors:
1. No CSR account was ever hacked. Accounts were not banned or locked out due to any breach in security.2. The number of accounts locked out is actually not very large. Banned users who joined the conversations were often banned for completely different (and legitimate) reasons.3. The situation is now largely under control. CSRs will continue to work with the few still affected until we reach full resolution.4. This whole situation has absolutely nothing to do with guild politics. Outspark staff is not involved with guilds in any way.
Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion out there.