[Sticky] My GW2 Account Was Banned Over a Guild Name - Here's What Happened

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share a frustrating experience that might be useful for others in the gaming community. My Guild Wars 2 account was permanently banned because of my guild's name - "Gamingitem Com" - which ArenaNet claimed violated their Naming Policy.

What Happened?

• I created a guild named "Gamingitem Com" (a reference to our project site, gamingitem.com) about 1.5 years ago

• The guild reached level 63 and existed without issues all this time

• The site has never been commercial - no payments, no ads, just a small project we were working on

• ArenaNet suddenly banned my account without any prior warning

• I offered to rename the guild to something neutral, but they refused to unban me

Was the Ban Fair?

Technically, yes - ArenaNet's Naming Policy bans names tied to external sites. But:

• No malicious intent (we weren't advertising anything)

• No prior warnings during 1.5 years of the guild's existence (first offense, about 2000 hours played)

• Extreme punishment (permanent ban instead of a rename request, despite long trouble-free history)

Lessons Learned

1. Avoid any names resembling domains/brands - even if completely harmless

2. GW2's enforcement is unpredictable - they might suddenly enforce old rules after years

3. Even high-level guilds with long history aren't safe from sudden bans

What's Next?

Right now I'm not sure what to do - losing years of progress and a level 63 guild is really disappointing. If anyone's faced similar issues, I'd appreciate hearing your experiences. Has anyone had success appealing such bans after long periods of no issues?