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 M¢55  Funded By Mahalo ? |  October 05, 2009 09:08 PM

Account Cancelled: PLEASE HELP!

Guys, please help me. You might know me as know_it_all, I had the Dodge symbol as my picture. Here's the story: this afternoon I tried to log on and it just gave me the message: "Your account has been banned due to violation of Terms of Service." I don't remember doing anything wrong, so I read the Terms of Service, and the only thing I could think of is that my son has an account also. Mahalo really needs to upgrade their scam security. MY ACCOUNT GOT BANNED FOR NOTHING. And truth be told, I really enjoyed my time here on Mahalo. I hope with all my heart that this never happens to anyone else. Mahalo Bigshots, please solve this. I'm afraid I can't even refer anymore of my friends to this site if the mistakes like this are present. It's a very sad day.
Interesting Question?  Yes (2)   No (0)   

Interesting: buddawiggi M$0.05, defolts M$0.25

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psynopsis psynopsis
 
October 06, 2009 09:41 PM
That is scary, I had my account banned on twitter and another site. I first felt scared, disappointed, and then angry. All in that order. I think you have explained your situation and if not you should ask a Mahalo staff member.

I was sure there was a member missing, I think it was you Know it all. You did give good answers and seem like an honest person. If you didn't do anything wrong then I'm sure you will get your account back. Have faith and most likely patience! :D

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defolts defolts
 
October 06, 2009 09:55 PM
could it be Mahalo shows you and your son logging in from the same computer? I sometimes use a computer lab at one of the Cal State Campuses and there are other Mahalo users there (it was how I first heard about this website) and I certainly hope they know the difference between me and them, I can think of at least 3 other people I see using the computer, but the only one I know by name is socalsue. I would ask them why they banned you and find out if it is because they show more than one person with the same IP address. they seem like they have reasonable staff. they should be able to help.

Tags: jeff-hoard, jason-calcanis, sarabond, lesliec

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jeffhoard jeffhoard
 
October 06, 2009 10:06 PM
We certainly understand that some users might be in the same location and using Mahalo, which is why we look for obvious patterns of abuse. Which is what happened in the case of @know_it_all

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defolts defolts
 
October 07, 2009 12:08 AM
I guess they were gaming the system. I first met socalsue when you introduced the where in the world feature, I saw someone else here and I said what, who is that? I looked around, and the lab closed and she asked, you must be the other person on Mahalo. then from time to time I will see a couple of other people that are using or talking about Mahalo in the lab. now I a someone that understands how page linking and other technical areas work and I can ask in person when I see her instead of having to wait for a email reply. one of these days when I hear of a local meet up I will go and see who is all there.

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jeffhoard jeffhoard
 
October 06, 2009 10:03 PM
In this particular situation we found that you were violating the Terms of Service

A second account was created at the same location to where you are. Your @Know_it_all account asked questions on Conundrum and immediately rewarded best answers (M$3 tips) to the 2nd account named @masterpuppet

It became obvious at first when the actual best answers were not being rewarded. It became a Terms of Service violation when the location match returned positive. You were basically funneling Mahalo Dollars to yourself (or somebody sitting beside you) this is clearly stated as in the TOS as a violation.

http://www.mahalo.com/answers/history/would-you-cut-holes-in-your-nemesis-socks
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/history/would-you-tell-your-boss-if-his-her-shoe-was-untied
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/history/if-you-were-running-a-marathon-would-you-trip-someone-if-it-meant-you-would-win
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/history/what-is-the-craziest-thing-you-have-seen-in-the-last-48-hours
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/history/would-you-tell-your-boss-if-his-her-shoe-was-untied
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/food-and-drink/is-conundrum-your-favorite-wine
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/history/who-is-your-favorite-lady-superhero
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/parenting/do-you-favor-one-of-your-children-over-another
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/parenting/what-is-the-most-effective-punishment-for-children
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/food-and-drink/is-it-effeminate-for-men-to-drink-wine-coolers
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/history/would-you-tell-your-boss-if-he-she-had-bad-breath
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kty2777 kty2777
 
October 07, 2009 12:19 AM
If we believe this is happening with other accounts who should we direct the question to so the circumstances can be investigated?

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defolts defolts
 
October 07, 2009 01:27 AM
Sad, I guess those quarters must have really meant something. Maybe they will find a fountain at a mall or public place and take them out instead of resorting to these types of shenanigans.

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kty2777 kty2777
 
October 07, 2009 02:23 AM
defolts - that's what I keep reminding myself. The value of a dollar is so different for everyone here, for some $40 Mahalo dollars might indeed feed a family a five for a week.

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buddawiggi buddawiggi
 
October 07, 2009 12:52 PM
How much higher did you want to artificially raise you sons best answer percentage? His best answer percentage now is 137%, that needs lowering the way I see it.
http://content.screencast.com/users/buddawiggi/folders/Jing/media/aec8ca3d-8446-4458-bf84-8c4b55bcb644/2009-10-07_0849.png

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lesliec lesliec
 
October 07, 2009 04:18 PM
Congratulations! Your answer won second place in our Answer of the Day contest! You win $3.00 and are now the proud owner of the Mahalo Tiki Torch!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33749589@N07/3916894609/

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defolts defolts
 
October 07, 2009 08:00 PM
I could see how someone in a foreign country might try to scam but, I think this guy was a local, it seems to me though that Jason is trying to build something better than what is currently out there, I wish the people at Yahoo took as much care as he and his staff does.

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