IMVU Responses to Account Deletions (re poses)

Here are two different responses from IMVU Customer Service, both dated today, to users who had their accounts deleted, then filed a Help Ticket via a new or different account:

__________________________________

From: imvusupport@imvu.com
To: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2009 xxxxxxxx
Subject: Ticket #xxxxxxxxxxxx: Solution Suggested ()

THIS IS AN AUTOMATED RESPONSE, PLEASE DO NOT DIRECTLY REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.

A solution for your issue has been suggested.
Solution:

Hello,
Thank you for contacting IMVU.
Your account was disabled because we discovered that you submitted products to our catalog that were unsuitable for IMVU (UFI). Our Terms of Service and Virtual Goods Policy are explicit in their prohibition of graphic sexual content. Also, we understand you may have given your password to another user to deposit these products into your account. This is also against our Terms of Service.

This one time, we will turn your disabling into a suspension. Your account will become active again 2 weeks from today. Any future infractions may require us to permanently disable your account. It is your responsibility to alter the products in your account once you regain access so that they are no longer UFI.

Regards,
xxxxxxx
Customer Care & Education
IMVU, Inc.

__________________________

Hello,

Thank you for contacting IMVU!

Your account was disabled due to multiple submissions of UFI products to the IMVU catalog.

When a UFI product is discovered, it is immediately pulled without warning. Due to the number and nature of the items submitted your account will not be reactivated.

Please see the Virtual Goods Rating policy for more information:

http://www.imvu.com/catalog/web_info.php?topic=mature_content_policy

If you have any further questions, please let us know.

Regards,

xxxxxxxx

Customer Care

IMVU, Inc.

__________________________

As you can see, two different treatments of one problem. One account permanently closed, the other given a two-week suspension. No matter what criteria they are using (number of poses installed, etc.), this is arbitrary treatment. IMVU needs to establish a uniform policy ASAP, as what is going on now is clearly unfair.

They need to set up an Amnesty on this. Okay, so a lot of people screwed up. The two-week suspension notice is a good idea - make it apply across the board. Most of the users who are dealing with this, ME INCLUDED, had already moved to change the items to non-UFI (Unfit For IMVU) status. I have not yet lost my account, but I probably will.

Illegal (non-TOS) Items (poses, etc.)

Friday, August 28, 2009

I've talked to a Twinkle installer about removing the illegal items from my inventory. He says they cannot remove them but can change them to "legal" items (chairs, whatever).

I'm having this done, so we'll see how it goes. It requires submitting to the Installer a list of items to be "cleaned up", by Private Message in IMVU. Needless to say, this is a pain in the ass, and will take me most of the day, since I'm having several accounts cleaned, and each item number is unique to the account.

He also says Twinkle will not replace the poses or install them in another account unless I pay for them again. Strictly speaking this is not a violation of Twinkle's oft-stated promise to replace them, since IMVU is not deleting them from our accounts, but deleting the ACCOUNT ITSELF. I'll deal with this in other posts.

Illegal (non-TOS) Items (poses, etc.)

IMVU is on the warpath bigtime for non-TOS items, especially "installed" poses, etc., i.e. items that are installed in your inventory that show you as the developer. They are now concentrating on "Twinkle" poses and items, bought from "Twinkle2U", "Twinkle4U", etc. IMVU is closing accounts at a rapid rate, and has a high priority on doing so. I kid you not, this is an All-Points Witch-Hunt, people.

At this time we can't figure out how the items are being detected in inventory. We have contact with a person inside IMVU who is involved in this effort, but that source can only say so much, and could be fired just for talking with us. We did get a tip though: hide your non-TOS items in your inventory. It isn't absolute insurance against detection, but apparently DOES make them harder to find. I infer from this that the search is occurring on other levels.

Of course everyone can do as they please, but my take on this is: I want the stuff out of my account ASAP, and that's what I'm trying to get done. I've got too much invested in my account to lose it over this issue or any other. We have a general message from Twinkle stating their installers can and will DELETE their items from your inventory. So far we have not confirmed this, and at least one competing installer says that cannot be done. I'm inclined to think it can be....we'll keep you posted.

Please, anyone with any input or info on this, post a reply here.

Known ways to get busted:

1) Publish the item, and/or attempt to sell it.

2) Install or use the item in a public room.

3) Post pics in your Gallery of the item in use. This HAS caused accounts and items to be lost, and IMVU has plenty of blue-nose prudes who voluntarily spend their time searching galleries for pics of non-TOS items in use.

4) Use the item with or in view of someone you don't know and trust. Also, someone you DO know and trust may turn on you after a fight, etc., and report you.

Experiences I've had personally in IMVU:

Bought 100,000 credits from a third-party seller, GameIM. IMVU confiscated the credits, saying they were bought by GameIM with a fraudulent credit card, and they had to refund the money. The people hit by this deal were given a "choice" by IMVU. Let them take the credits from our account to reimburse the victim, OR.... we could repurchase the credits FROM IMVU at the standard price. Naturally I asked wtf kind of choice is THAT? And got no answer except to say give us the credits or have your account closed. I challenged IMVU to show some evidence they actually refunded the money to ANYONE, since there is nothing to suggest that is so.

As stated, here you may post your experiences with IMVU, their so-called Customer Service, and anything else you have a complaint about but can't get a hearing in IMVU. it probably won't help, but you can say it anyway. This is especially for Content Creators (Developers, aka "devs"), but any IMVU user is free to post.

I have NO legal affiliation with IMVU. I do NOT represent them in any way (I'd pimp my Mom out first).

You are hereby warned NOT to post your IMVU avatar name here, or any email address that you use on IMVU, because IMVU WILL use it as cause to delete your account! And yes, they have done so.