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#freebugc
To offend without speaking is an ability few possess. :espresso:
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tldr; Reported a moderation exploit to MacDGuy, They/Them covered it up and banned me across all platforms>

PixelTails Moderation Trumps Fairness
One week after calling out PixelTails moderation team for lacking proper decision-making and maturity. PixelTails leadership rolled out a brand new web-appeal system.
thread | ((deleted comments archive))[web.archive.org]

I used this to appeal a permanent mute I received a few months earlier, PixelTail couldn’t produce any evidence for the ban, claiming their moderation team had "lost it.", which says everything about how professionally they operate.
Instead of showing proof, they fell back on a vague claim that my permanent chat ban was because I had been reported over 35 unique times.

Months after I was chat banned, PixelTail alleged that 4 players had reported me between -March and April- and that a trend of reports since 2019 was the reason for a permanent chat ban.
This trend of reports were in relation to, "exploiting the Leaderboards."
https://i.imgur.com/jTMIehm.png

The problem was, I wasn’t exploiting.


Leaderboard Bans Loophole
MacDGuy confirmed in a forum post that cheating scores remain an unresolved problem, and any users who cheat are permanently banned from the leaderboards and their scores wiped.
https://i.imgur.com/8DghpLV.png

But that's not how it works.
I received the very first leaderboard ban in 2020, and I can tell you firsthand: Scores aren't wiped.

What actually happens is sometime during the day your entry is temporarily removed from the leaderboards. Your score is still retained in their backend, but if you were play the game as normal you'd reappear naturally on the leaderboards as if you never had a ban to begin.

Leaderboard banned players would resurface and generate fresh reports for "exploiting" and "ban evasion".
Those duplicate reports get recycled into your record, making it look like a “pattern of abuse.”
https://i.imgur.com/3bOCe4k.png

PixelTail didn't know about this problem, or chose to ignore it.
So I officially reported it.


1st Official Report
During a Laser Tag weekend with an active leaderboard ban I played a single game which shot me to rank #1 on the leaderboards with 437k points - instantly overtaking legitimate players.
That one game triggered a handful of ‘exploiting’ reports, the same 4 PixelTail later cited in my appeal.

I reported this flaw on PixelTail’s forums under a thread about another player reappearing on the leaderboards. I explained that leaderboard bans don’t work, showed before-and-after screenshots of my own banned account reappearing at rank #1 (unchanged since 2020)

My entire report on the issue was deleted by PixelTail staff, and the thread was locked.[forums.pixeltailgames.com]


2nd Official Report
I filed a new "bug report" with the same screenshots, offering to demonstrate to MacDGuy in-game how leaderboard bans fail, because it was technically a coding error on their end.

MacDGuy then *edited* my new thread, deleted the "Evidence" section by removing the attached screenshots to make it appear as if I never reported the issue to begin with, because what I had done directly exposed a flaw in their system.
https://i.imgur.com/73nTHSv.png

MacDGuy concluded that my report "discussed how to exploit the leaderboards" which is against their rules, and evidence should be reported to our moderation team - exactly what I was doing.

I understand why they did it.
They clearly didn’t want the player base to realise the leaderboard ban system hadn’t been functioning properly for nearly a decade. Excess reports were being recycled and counted multiple times, creating repeat appearances that inflated a player’s “history” long after the fact.

So instead, it was covered up and I was banned from the PixelTail Forums for Harassment. Undeniable proof I caught wind of something.
https://i.imgur.com/VNvd1xk.png


MacDGuys Retaliatory Response
After reporting the leaderboard ban loophole and receiving a forum ban - he also removed me from the PixelTail Games Steam Group and banned me across the Steam forums - which entails uploading workshop maps, screenshots, artworks and replying under my own review.
Any avenue of participation in the Tower Unite community was shut down.

The strangest twist: Someone in PixelTail forum‑banned me from their new Elevator game before the demo was even released.

Then came another wave of retaliation,
Any player that typed “freebugc” in‑game received an automatic chat ban for, “Promoting Banned User.”
The rule didn’t "exist" to be reported, players literally couldn't report it.
It was if my name itself was being automatically flagged by their chat system
https://i.imgur.com/Yt6lhai.png

After I exposed PixelTail for banning players under undisclosed rules, that same unwritten rule suddenly became official two months later, rebranded as “challenging PixelTail’s decisions.”

During the same period, a poster of my condo was shared in their Discord, only to be removed by PixelTail for “Advertising a Banned User,” along with the claim that I had been removed from the game for, “creating an unsafe environment.”
None of it was true, It was just an attempt to bury me.

The user received a time-out ban for associating with me. This is the 4th player to be punished for having any reference to me.
https://v1.steam.hlxgame.cc/id/Caleegi/recommended/394690/


Biased Moderation
It doesn't stop there, I've now been permanently condo-banned for displaying "Transphobic artwork".
PixelTail wrote in my appeal that I have agreements with public figures who are associated with transphobic beliefs and comments which is a bannable offence.
This being posters of Donald Trump, Jordan Peterson and Charlie Kirk.
https://i.imgur.com/pDpDvDc.jpeg

Yet the developers have pushed a message that condos are user hosted and the rules are up to the host.
Developer Sketchman said, "If you truly feel the need to discuss politics with other users, you can still do so in your personal condos."
Considering I'm permanently chat banned, the only form of "political discussion" solely comes down to condo building.
https://i.imgur.com/2HeWWd2.png

Their contradictory rules turned a simple display of conservative political figures into a transphobic offense that warranted a permanent condo ban.


Conclusion
I reported core issues, appealed my bans and attempted to resolve conflicts - Instead of dialogue, MacDGuy blocked me in‑game and on Steam, and even had his wife block me as well.

This is the highest-rated negative review on Tower Unite, yet no developer has responded to it publicly or contacted me privately. Not once.

Every attempt to handle this quietly was met with bans, blocks, and censorship.
At this point, I no longer want a developer responding publicly to this review; it should have been addressed privately long before it reached this stage.

Any attempt to “fix” it now would only reinforce the same pattern I called out from the start: moderation fueled by personal immaturity rather than professionalism, and a complete absence of accountability.
Those failures are exactly what pushed this situation into the open in the first place.

Do not support a game developer who punishes players for exposing moderation failures instead of taking responsibility for fixing them
Workshop Showcase
Welcome to, \\\ Theater du Bug /// The original Theater of Tower Unite that showcased full-length films with synced autoplay to watch with your Friends. 🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿🥤🎥🍿 8-5-24
525 ratings
Created by - bugc and nephco
caZ 9 Mar @ 2:49am 
:steamthis:
success is my cologne 24 Feb @ 10:14am 
I just wanna have a chat friend
jodavski 20 Feb @ 3:02pm 
:bsskull:
CatFood 15 Feb @ 2:17am 
👨‍🍳:reheart:
Alice 6 Feb @ 12:39am 
I was actually going to do a review, even before I made that post. It just hasn't been a priority. I will at some point. They deserve the horrible game-death they're going to get. They made a great game but they let the culture war ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ take over the ship. Oh well.
Alice 6 Feb @ 12:26am 
Indeed they did ban me. I at least saved the post as artwork. Whatever. I haven't even played Tower in a long time. Was just bored and drunk and starting flame wars for the ♥♥♥♥ of it. They killed their own game. They can rot.