[cpnichol]

Don't take it personally or let a few "not enough proof" replies put you off recording demos of players you think are cheating.

I didn't review your last demo submission so I can't comment on the reasons for that being turned down.

There are 3 main reasons why a demo will not result in a ban:

1. The player isn't cheating. Sometimes a player can look like they are cheating but on review suspicious things can often be explained using sound, visual or radar.

2. The demo didn't have enough information for us to be able to identify the player who was being recorded. No status or the players name not being shown in the demo account for most of these.

3. A player is cheating but the demo does not show it conclusively. If you are recording someone you think is aimbotting make sure to get several examples of them firing, 1 kill demos aren't always easy to be certain of unless it is a very obvious aimbot. If you think a player is wallhacking then a longer demo, or several demos are usually required to show conclusive use of a cheat. An experienced wallhacker who hides it well can take a long time to get enough of demo to conclusively show the player cheats.

We also get demos of players doing other things like glitching, console buying awps, spamming, teamkilling, being racist etc. Not all of those will warrant a global ban for a first offence, depending on the severity of the racism. Though submitting demos is a good way of notifying us of problem players so we can notify admins to watch out for certain players.

I understand having a demo turned down of someone you are sure is cheating is frustrating, Steambans had the cheek to turn down a few of mine, mostly for being too short. It takes a bit of practice to know what is required to prove someone is cheating, but stick with it and you'll soon get get some cheats banned. We have high standards and need to be certain that someone cheats before adding them to the ban list.

I'm happy to briefly discuss reasons for not banning someone and tips to help people record better demos, just remember I'm not going to change my mind or spend ages justifying my decision .