ETF2L Policy Update on Cheating and VAC Bans

Cheating Bans and TF2 VAC League Bans for first-time offenders now last for two years

We would like to announce a policy update on how ETF2L will hand out league bans for Cheating offenses and Team Fortress 2 VAC bans in the future. Currently we give cheaters the chance to redeem themselves and return as a clean player after a year of forced retirement. While we would like to continue giving this opportunity to players, looking back at the past there have always been some bad actors who do not really seem to care about quietly returning to the community.

After receiving a lot of community feedback over the years and a recent internal discussion we have decided that we are going to increase the ban length for cheating and TF2 VACs from one year to two years. This two-year ban length only applies to those players who were caught cheating for the first time. This additional year will give the cheaters a longer time away from the scene so that they hopefully change their ways. It will also decrease the workload on our Anti-Cheat staff, while putting us in line with other TF2 competitive leagues as well.

Please note that this will not affect the ban lengths of players who are currently still banned for cheating or receiving a Team Fortress 2 VAC on their account.

That is not all, however.

Permanent League Bans for Repeat Offenders and Appeals

From now on we will punish second/repeat offenders, those receiving a second+ TF2 VAC, or those with a combination of the two with a permanent league ban from all ETF2L competitions.

6.2. Cheats are not allowed
Any kind of cheats are not permitted. Players who are found guilty of using cheats will be banned from all ETF2L competitions according to the following:

• First Time: 2 Years
• Second Time: Permanent Ban

There is no appeal process for cheating bans. ETF2L league bans for Team Fortress 2 VACs count as a cheating ban.

6.5. VAC Bans
As of March 15, 2012, any player with a VAC ban on the Source engine will be banned for 2 years. Players with VAC bans that do not apply to Team Fortress 2 will not be affected.

6.5.1. Multiple Team Fortress 2 VAC Bans
Any player that has received a Team Fortress 2 VAC ban while already having been ETF2L league banned for a VAC before will receive a permanent ban.

Appeals for permanent cheating bans
Sometimes it just takes a little longer for some people to see reason. Sometimes that means almost half a decade. We believe that even those with a history of repeated cheating on ETF2L can turn over a new leaf. Whatever their reasoning for cheating was, if they truly wish to return as a clean player after a long time away from the ETF2L community, they should have the opportunity of doing so without having to resort to evading their ban on alternate accounts and so on.
In order to lower the amount of potential ban evaders who have nothing to lose after receiving a permanent ban we are introducing an appeal system. Players who wish to appeal their ban will have to meet certain conditions in order to be eligible. This allows us to easier distinguish between those players who appear to have a had genuine change of heart and those who have no interest in changing, and it keeps the latter from officially returning to the scene. Decisions will be made at admin discretion and each appeal will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

General conditions for a permanent cheating ban appeal:

• Their permanent ban was applied at least 2 years ago.
• There have been no attempts to evade their ban. This for example includes creating alternate accounts on ETF2L or sharing accounts with other players.
• They have not cheated again or received a TF2 VAC during their ban time.
• There have not been any substantial behaviour reports made against the player after their ban.
• The ban did not happen after a previous appeal was already successful.

6.2.1. Permanent Cheating Ban Appeals
Players who have been permanently banned from ETF2L for cheating may appeal their ban if certain conditions are met.

A lower Demo Infraction Limit for players with an appealed Permanent Cheating Ban

Players who have successfully appealed their permanent ban have a lower limit of possible demo infractions before getting the maximum punishment:

2.1.2. Lower demo infraction limit for players with an appealed permanent cheating ban
Player penalties:

•  1st time – no penalty
• 2nd time and onwards – player is banned for one year from all ETF2L competitions

The decision to have this lower limit was made in order to pressure those players with an appeal into always being able to provide their demos when requested due to their history, while ruling out players getting banned because of a technical error or demo corruption. The chance of that happening more than once is low, so the limit was put at one.

You can find the complete versions of the new rules here!

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