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I keep getting banned

This is my third account. I was a lichess supporter on both of my prior accts (at $10/mon) but it's a pain to keep canceling and restarting support.

I get into moods where I berserk a lot. I am 1200-1600 rating and I will berserk anyone below 1600 if I'm feeling good. But this often tanks my rating. If I'm getting paired with 1600+, I won't berserk and I can win a lot this way, which boosts my rating. As a result, my rating varies a LOT.

Also, I get into moods where I'm very frustrated and I may resign in a position where I'm only down a pawn. Or I may resign in a winning position because it's clear I'm going to lose on time.

Eventually I get banned for "deliberately raising and/or lowering rating." The first ban took 3 months; the 2nd ban took 1.5 years. I'm now on my third account.

What can I do to avoid being banned again?
I don't understand how this is pertinent in lichess feedback, but don't resign early and you shouldn't have a problem! Meaning don't resign if you are down only one pawn or are low on time.

I can't look at your previous accounts for the games you played, but the mods must have had a good reason to ban you for sandbagging.
Are you resigning or are you just exiting out of your browser? If you are actually hitting the resign button this shouldn't be a problem. On the other hand, if you are just leaving active games and opponents have to sit around waiting for your time to expire, then that would be a legitimate reason for banning you. Just make sure you are actually hitting the resign button...
"Are you resigning or are you just exiting out of your browser? If you are actually hitting the resign button this shouldn't be a problem. On the other hand, if you are just leaving active games and opponents have to sit around waiting for your time to expire, then that would be a legitimate reason for banning you. Just make sure you are actually hitting the resign button..."

I never leave games. My stats for "abandoning games" was < 1%. But that's not what they're looking for. If they think you should play on instead of resigning, they ban you. It's not your call, it's theirs. I sometimes run afoul of people playing black like this against me:

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Bg4 3. Nc3 Bxd1 But you CANNOT resign even if you just lost your queen. You must play on. If you resign, you get a warning, "Losing games on purpose will result in a permanent ban."

Have fun playing on down a queen.
well...im rated 1200-1300,...and i have to say

2...Bg4 and 3. Nc3 both seem really dubious, and as an investigator, I would assume if these players are both 1200+, they are colluding to lose rating for white on purpose. these are like elo 800-900 moves... if that. i think my 9 year old nephew is rated like 900 on a good day. he might play Bg4 if he is being silly or something, but if he was white after Bg4, even he is gonna say "oh no, not my queen!!!" and play f3 or knowing him, probably something more like 3. Ne2.

anyways, imo berserk is a terrible feature. its not part of chess, its some random gimmick thing that only causes problems. ive seen lots of debates about whether elo is being calculated correctly when some players use berserk. if someone tried to berserk in a real rated game, it would just be an invalid game, or they would be disqualified or something. i dont understand why lichess is making random rule changes to the game like this.

but, back to the point of the thread, and finding a solution for you, my advice would be to pretend the berserk function doesnt exist. just dont use it, ever. that should hopefully smooth out your rating, FWIW, I see your whole issue as being Lichess fault for even making berserk a thing.

p.s. also dont play moves like that 3. Nc3. is this type of game happening in some insane fast time control? if thats the issue, imo, those kind of time controls arent even real chess. play 10+0, or at least 5+5 or something....whatever it takes to not have games where the queen gets blundered on move 3.
@Toadofsky You're my hero
@Daeburon I love berserk. It's the main reason I play here over anywhere else: it's more fun. And I only play chess for fun (ie, I don't play chess for a living or because I have to). And the games I'm talking about are bullet or hyperbullet where people try to lefong and cheapo you out of the opening.
GoodChessMind "but don't resign early and you shouldn't have a problem! " what kind of advice is this. Absent an intent to manipulate ratings, a person should be free to resign whenever the hell they want to. Maybe the dishwasher is malfunctioning. I see a lot of games where people are playing really strong games like 2000 level and their rating is maybe 1000. I've also seen games where I am clearly lost and have maybe 5 seconds left on my clock and my opponent keeps giving me time, like they are lecturing me on chess etiquette, which I think is arrogant and rude. Taking 5 seconds to make a move isn't excessive or poor sportsmanship. So given the uneven terrain of decency, I don't see where lichess gets off banning me for aborting games or resigning early or whatever. If I'm not using a computer or if I am playing unrated games, why is this a public issue.
@fixee I don't know how you keep getting banned I am following several people who are clearly sandbagging (like winning U1700 arenas while rated 1100) and lichess mods don't ban these people.
@Bobkingmen3

You said: "I am following several people who are clearly sandbagging (like winning U1700 arenas while rated 1100) and lichess mods don't ban these people."

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I know very little about Lichess Admin policies regarding how they deal with sand-bagging; however, there is absolutely no chance, at all...AT-ALL...that your statement is the whole truth.

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It doesn't seem to matter how far Lichess Admins bend over backwards to write programs, code the site, moderate the site, and do their best to serve the Lichess community...it seems like someone is always right there, making with the furious 'clickity-clack' of their keyboard, to ensure that minimal credit is given, maximum lies are told, and all this so that it can no doubt serve to further encourage and motivate Lichess Admins to continue to bend over backwards and do their utmost to provide the best chess-resource available.

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I wonder how much better this site would be, if there wasn't a seemingly endless slew of people, just like you, Bob, to thoroughly discourage Lichess Admins, and ruthlessly, gracelessly, maliciously, denigrate and slander their best intentions and their tireless and selfless efforts?

People do their best work when they can believe in their work.

If that work happens to be providing a service to a community, then, hearing the same people that they're serving, thanklessly drone on and on and on and on about how 'they're doing such a terrible job', MUST have a negative effect on their productivity.

There is no way around this logic. None whatsoever.

It's entirely possible that YOU are actually the cause of the effect that you're complaining about.

Answer this question for me:

What's wrong with gratitude, tact, positivity, upliftment, good-faith, appreciation, fellowship, common decency, encouragement, motivation, nurturing a positive and rewarding atmosphere, and everything else that's the exact opposite of what far too many people think passes as a worthwhile forum post?

Say these 12 words with me:

"Thank - You - Lichess - Keep - Up - The - Hard - Work - It - Is - Much - Appreciated."

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