Reporting a kingmaking/alternate/ghost account that was closed

[livingfortheblue]

Hi, new to the forum - I tried searching this but didn't find anything relevant.

I think I played someone today who had created an alternate account, maybe for kingmaking purposes? The game we played, he had a 0 ELO and BGA warned me it was his first time, but when I asked in the chat if he had played before, he said, "of course." Later in the chat he said he had had an ELO of 450 at one time. That struck me as odd because as I understand it, on BGA, you can't go back down to 0 ELO after you cross 100. Then he conceded the game when he was losing, and when I went to give him a thumbs down/report him, I got a message that "This player does not exist (account closed by player or for inactivity)". His username also changed between our gameplay and when I went to find his profile.

I want to report him/his IP address, but with his ghost account closed and the fact that it was the ghost account's first time playing that game, I can't! All I can do is give a red thumbs down and say that it's my opinion. I couldn't find anywhere in the FAQ/Support section to report it either. Does anyone have any advice?

[Meeplelowda]

maybe for kingmaking purposes?

Did you observe that account actually engage in kingmaking, or are you just speculating about why they have an alt? Unfortunately, having an alternate account is not forbidden. Only misusing it is.

[livingfortheblue]

Did you observe that account actually engage in kingmaking, or are you just speculating about why they have an alt?

I guess technically not, and maybe I shouldn’t have speculated kingmaking, but the player did quit around 35% of game completion because he didn’t draw good cards (he said as much in the game chat). It certainly came across as not in the spirit of BGA, creating and closing an account just to avoid karma for their actions, and it ruined the game for me, because it’s one I’m not great at but enjoy playing, and was finally winning.

Unfortunately, having an alternate account is not forbidden. Only misusing it is.

It just doesn’t seem right that someone can create an account, play a third of a game, quit because they’re losing, and have absolutely no repercussions for their actions. Isn’t that a form of misusing an account?

[Shobu]

Wow alt account is allowed?!!

[Meeplelowda]

Wow alt account is allowed?!!

In this thread you can see there is inconsistent language on the site. In the TOS it says don't have multiple accounts. In the FAQ is says it is forbidden to "[c]reate multiple accounts and play against oneself to boost one's ranking." That second admonition is redundant if you aren't supposed to have a second account in the first place. Full stop. Also, why isn't there a heading "Can I create multiple accounts?" in the FAQ. It definitely is frequently talked about (based on a quick search for "alt account" or "multi account" or "multiaccount").

Now, I'll accept that maybe whoever wrote the FAQ has never even actually read the TOS. But the way to harmonize that inconsistency is to say that, practically speaking, they only really care about alt accounts if they are used for ELO boosting, kingmaking, as a partner in a partner game, and various other forms of cheating that I lack the creativity to think of. Also, using it to evade a ban. The TOS likely has the blanket prohibition so that they don't have to try to come up with an exhaustive list of things you can't use an alt account for, and then have to deal with people who push the edge cases and find some way to use the alt in a harmful way that isn't expressly forbidden. If there is a blanket ban on alts, you don't have to deal with edge cases.

So is it technically allowed? No. You are correct that it is not. But I would offer long odds that no action will ever be taken against an alt unless the alt does something egregious (and even then often no action is taken).

[livingfortheblue]

But I would offer long odds that no action will ever be taken against an alt unless the alt does something egregious (and even then often no action is taken).

Sigh, I figured this would be the case, given how limited the player reporting options are. I appreciate you responding!