Unfair Bans for shiny timer

This message addresses our recent bans from SM and our concerns, especially if the ban is permanent. We wish to explain why we believe the ban is unfair and provide context on the mechanics we used in-game.

Explanation of the Mechanic Usage

Some of us were banned for using an in-game mechanic involving the shiny timer and artist reset. These systems have existed in the game for a long time and don’t require third-party software, bots, or real-life trading. Here's how they work: Shiny Timer: The game allows one shiny rarity or higher to drop every six hours. If a shiny is pulled, the cooldown resets to six hours. If a higher rarity, such as lyric or epic, is pulled, the cooldown resets to 24 or 36 hours. Artist Reset: This mechanic allows players to force-drop songs from favorited artists using premium. Non-premium users could never get favorite drops, making the "10x favorite drop rate" feature misleading. The frequency of this feature depends on the number of songs in the account. By combining these two mechanics, we could increase the chances of getting shiny items for a favorited artist. This involved favoriting an artist, buying genre-specific drops, and waiting for cooldowns. For example, if we owned all rares of a specific artist, we would likely get a shiny rare drop when the cooldown expired. While some epics and lyrics were pulled using this method, it was still luck-based. We optimized existing in-game mechanics, relying on time, coins, and gameplay knowledge—without using any external tools or exploits.

Why the Ban Feels Unfair

It Was an In-Game Mechanic: The mechanics we used were part of the game, available to all players. We used coins to buy drops and a premium account to reset timers. Punishing us for using these features seems unjust, especially since the outcomes were still RNG-based, and we often had to buy many drops for a shiny, with no guarantee of success. Selective Banning: Only a select group of players has been banned, even though the method was widely known in the community. Many others, including some moderators and top players, used this method. Why are only a few being punished? This selective enforcement feels inconsistent and unfair. If it’s an exploit, the punishment should be universal, or no one should be penalized. It feels like a double standard, especially when players who didn’t even pull anything were banned. Precedent with Other Glitches: There have been previous in-game glitches that were widely exploited without resulting in bans: Quest Glitch: This glitch allowed players to pull numerous epics, but no bans were issued because “the whole game” used it. Comment Glitch: This ongoing glitch allows players to identify #1 epics by liking a comment, making it easier to obtain them. Despite its impact, no bans were issued for this. If previous glitches were overlooked or treated leniently, why is this specific instance being met with such severe consequences for a few players?

Our Request

We ask for fairness, consistency, and better communication. If exploiting these mechanics warrants a ban, then it should apply to everyone who used them, not just a few individuals. If the mechanics are considered part of the game’s design, then no one should be banned. We hope this clarifies our perspective and the reasoning behind our actions. Thank you for reading and if you have any questions, we'll be happy to answer them. Please keep comments respectful; I ask everyone to take this seriously, any hate or sarcasm will be ignored and blocked.