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Once banned, now rejoined.

Discussion in 'AdSense' started by super_kid, Jul 23, 2010.

  1. #1
    Hello, fellows.

    Lemme get straight to the point - 5 or 6 years ago, when I was younger and sillier, I got myself banned from Adsense. I never made much money from the program. I still lived with my parents, and my site was just a personal blog, so I didn't sweat it much. It was just an experiment for me at the time, is what I'm trying to say.

    I never clicked my own banners nor did I employ someone to do so (seemed like an awful lot of work just a couple hundred dollars a month), but my blog posts DID have a hint of incentive for readers to click the banners. Which, I admit, is grounds for termination.

    I was later targeted by a clickbomb originating from a forum where I made a handful of enemies. I promptly reported said clickbomb to google, but I suppose that the resulting red flag ended up revealing the less than fair way I was getting some of my clicks (that is, through convincing my readers to click on them).

    Years later I became heavily involved in the social media market and my new website pulls much more traffic and is a lot more serious. As can be expected, my mentality changed wildly from those days and now I see the business with much more seriousness.

    My site brings a lot more traffic and I've since developed better morals and work-related ethics, so I figured, what the hell? I'll try to re-register with Adsense.

    Much to my surprise, my application was accepted. I placed the ads on my site (mind you, it's a completely new site - albeit with the same type of content - and most of my personal info has changed since), and I started pulling the same numbers I was getting before.

    Except this time, I'm doing it legitimately. It feels good t be pulling these digits in an honest fashion and, in retrospect, I feel embarrassed to have done my share of harm to this business model as a young man.

    But a lingering feeling troubles me. In the TOS, Google makes mention to pursuing legal action (in addition to terminating accounts) against those who re-register after a ban.

    Now, I'm not looking for sympathy from you guys. I understand the rules of the game - if an Adsense ban is a lifetime ban, so be it - I messed up in the past and I'm deserving of punishment. If my account is banned again just days/cents short of my first pay, I have no one to blame but myself.

    My question pertains to the "legal action" part of that clause. I know it's pretty much SOP to include legal threats in most terms of service, but is there any truth to this? Would Google sue me for re-registering? I've found no record of such a thing ever happening, but you never know.

    It's nice to be rewarded with some extra money in a legitimate way after all the years of hard work put into my website (you guys know how that feels), but if this is at the expense of legal action being levied against me, it's definitely not worth it. Back then I was a stupid kid with a blog, now I have a family who depends on me. I can't afford to get involved in a courtroom battle over a few hundred bucks a month.

    Any thoughts and personal accounts would be appreciated. Thanks, guys.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2010
    super_kid, Jul 23, 2010 IP
  2. super_kid

    super_kid Peon

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    #2
    This is what worries me, in a nutshell. In the Prohibited Uses clause:

    (x) create a new account to use the Program after Google has terminated this Agreement with You as a result of your breach of this Agreement

    (...)

    You acknowledge that any attempted participation or violation of any of the foregoing is a material breach of this Agreement and that we may pursue any and all applicable legal and equitable remedies against You, including an immediate suspension of Your account or termination of this Agreement, and the pursuit of all available civil or criminal remedies.

    Am I worrying too much, or is it best to not mess around with Big G?
     
    super_kid, Jul 23, 2010 IP
  3. super_kid

    super_kid Peon

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    #3
    So... Can anyone help me out here?
     
    super_kid, Jul 24, 2010 IP
  4. inspiroHost

    inspiroHost Peon

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    #4
    Email them directly and ask.
     
    inspiroHost, Jul 24, 2010 IP
  5. Chuckun

    Chuckun Well-Known Member

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    #5
    Plenty of people reapply after being banned.. I don't think it's much of an issue tbh.. I think they'd only really be bothered, if you were signing up with a different name to repeat what you did before..

    You should be fine, but the best thing you can do with google is to ask them.. Always.
     
    Chuckun, Jul 24, 2010 IP
  6. mjewel

    mjewel Prominent Member

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    #6
    Google isn't going to take legal action against you unless you use the new account for some type of fraudulent scheme. Registering a new account isn't a criminal act, it's against their TOS. You already know there is a good chance they will terminate this account before you are paid, but other than not getting paid, you don't have to worry as long as you are 100% compliant with their TOS. Forget about emailing google and asking - a ban is for a lifetime and they aren't going to say anything different.
     
    mjewel, Jul 24, 2010 IP
  7. super_kid

    super_kid Peon

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    #7
    I see. Thank you.

    As you can probably tell from me being overly paranoid about simply breaking TOS, I'm the last person who'd try any fraudulent schemes or criminal activities. Mind you, I don't even live in the States - I'm in Canada.

    And frankly I'm embarrassed to have been banned to begin with and I blame no one but myself.

    It's just, you can never be too careful, I suppose. I have a family to worry about now and despite having a decent paying job, some extra money with a website I've so far done nothing but SPEND money on would have been a nice change of pace.

    I haven't closed my Adsense account yet (I tried but there was a server error, and I was on my way out), so I'll wait a while and decide how to go about it. Ethics are highly subjective, I know, but as far as I see it there's nothing MORALLY or LEGALLY wrong about re-applying, especially considering my intentions are in the right place and I have learned from my mistake - assuming, of course, they banned me for the few isolated times I hinted at my readers to click the banners (months prior), and not for the clickbomb that happened just days before the ban. I'll never know for sure.

    Of course this is all moot since Google ultimately decides bans are lifelong. I just wanted to let you guys know I'm not some assh*le scammer trying to get rich quick by fooling Google or anything like that. I'm just a guy who screwed up when he was younger (and who hasn't, really...) and was looking for a second chance.
     
    super_kid, Jul 25, 2010 IP
  8. Black Fire

    Black Fire Well-Known Member

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    #8
    Yeah, many people get banned and make new accounts, there is very little chance for them to pursue legal action against you, unless of course, like other people have said that you are doing a scam which it looks like you aren't.
     
    Black Fire, Jul 25, 2010 IP
  9. Jontish

    Jontish Well-Known Member

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    #9
    I doubt they will press charges against you.
     
    Jontish, Jul 25, 2010 IP
  10. super_kid

    super_kid Peon

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    #10
    I'm almost debating putting the ads back up.
     
    super_kid, Jul 26, 2010 IP
  11. SeoBut.com

    SeoBut.com Peon

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    #11
    cum`on, Go ahead and get yourself a new account! They dont care about you as much as you care about them!
     
    SeoBut.com, Jul 26, 2010 IP
  12. Just Jump

    Just Jump Peon

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    #12
    Make a new account slim chances of anything happening.
     
    Just Jump, Jul 26, 2010 IP
  13. super_kid

    super_kid Peon

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    #13
    Haha, to make my dilemma even worse, youtube has just asked me if I'd like to become a partner (ie, I'll make money because of my videos, via Adsense).

    Funny that it should happen NOW, of all times. Well.

    By the way guys, you may have misunderstood my posts here. I already got a new account. It's been approved, I had the ads running for some time. It was after I checked the TOS and saw the mentions of legal action being pursued due to TOS violations that I became worried and took down the ads.
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2010
    super_kid, Jul 26, 2010 IP
  14. Yaniman

    Yaniman Peon

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    #14
    You don't need to worry super_kid, I never heard any legal actions took by Google for reapplying to Adsense account. As you seems genuine in second time, I don't know how Google thinks, you should be allowed to continue in the program. Best of luck
     
    Yaniman, Jul 26, 2010 IP
  15. riverpoem

    riverpoem Guest

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    #15
    i think you apply new.
     
    riverpoem, Jul 26, 2010 IP
  16. eimroda

    eimroda Peon

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    #16
    I think the best thing to do is to communicate with them. Goodluck mate!
     
    eimroda, Jul 26, 2010 IP
  17. lightless

    lightless Notable Member

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    #17
    Don't worry. They may ban you again if they come to know what you did, but they will not sue you or take legal action against you.
     
    lightless, Jul 26, 2010 IP
  18. super_kid

    super_kid Peon

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    #18
    I think I'll put the banners back up today.
     
    super_kid, Jul 27, 2010 IP
  19. Romanorc

    Romanorc Active Member

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    #19
    @ OP - I did something similar back in the day and got an adsense account banned. After a couple of years, I reapplied, got accepted and now do a lot of money with adsense. Just last month I did over 10K.

    My "new" account is over 2 years old and not issues at all... I think you are in the clear.
     
    Romanorc, Jul 27, 2010 IP
  20. super_kid

    super_kid Peon

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    #20
    Has anyone EVER been sued by adsense, other than those guys that made $50k using fraudulent clicks?

    http://www.clickz.com/3440341

    And another question - by violating the TOS (which states I cannot re-apply after having been banned), am I guilty of the criminal definition of fraud?
     
    super_kid, Jul 27, 2010 IP