"Not distributed on Creator Store" message persists even after approved appeal

[Daw588]

On October 4th, 2024 I received a random false warning, and my plugin got almost completely wiped from the Creator Store.

On October 6th I contacted Roblox Support and received a response from the Appeal Team on October 7th. They approved my appeal and my plugin was partially restored.

The icon and the asset link no longer redirected to an error page. However, both name the description remained “[ Content Deleted ]”, as well as the “Not distributed on Creator Store” message which blocks me from editing the asset in any way.

On October 4th prior contacting Roblox Support, I contacted @moderators on DevForum but received no response despite them seeing my post, I even posted an update (hence the 1 reply) to bump the post and provide more information after seeing the asset still moderated despite appeal approval.

On October 9th, I have replied to the original ticket to let the Roblox Support know that my asset was still partially considered moderated.

On October 13th, I received a response, and this time the support decided to completely disregard what I wrote, and proceeded to overturn the initial appeal decision without any explanation (besides the same vague reason provided in the account warning).

On October 13th, I have contacted a person who through direct means asked Roblox staff to escalate my support ticket in attempt to get more capable team to look into the issue. They responded and stated that the rejection after initial approval of the appeal was done in an error.

I was asked to update the name and the description of the asset, however, I am unable to, due to the “Not distributed on Creator Store” message preventing me from accessing any of the actions available on the configuration page.

Today marks 24th day since my paid plugin got falsely taken down. I am still unable to make money and help other creators by providing them with tools. I ran out of options, so I chose to file a bug report because I don’t what else I can do to get help. I have also provided the original support ticket number and a link to the private post in the private message associated with this bug report.

Page URL: https://create.roblox.com/dashboard/creations/store/115309102902058/configure

A private message is associated with this bug report

[riddlemasta (riddle)]

Hey @Daw588 , sorry that you had to go through this. Must not be a great feeling for you, sorry about that.
Two things:

1. Did you file the appeal through the appeals portal or the support form? It looks like it may have been the support form. We recommend using the appeals portal for Plugins, since using the support form may lead to things not working properly. I see how this can be confusing.
2. I’d recommend checking out the 3 bullet points here and making sure your plugin doesn’t do any of these. If you publish a new version of your plugin (same asset id) that doesn’t do any of those 3 things, then your issues should be resolved.

[Daw588]

I have tried filing appeal through the appeals portal but the option was not available, I only had “Appeal something not shown” option.

As for the the 3 bullet points, they are completely unrelated to the reason my account was warned for. I don’t see why I should believe that my asset is violating any of them when the warning doesn’t suggest it.

Even if I were to consider the points you mentioned: My plugin doesn’t attempt to obscure engine features, it doesn’t require remote assets that are not related to my plugin’s functionality, and it doesn’t attempt to conceal its functionality. The only thing I can think of is the code may appear obfuscated due to the pre-processing done on the code by toolchain I use, but I already asked Roblox staff on DevForum about it, and they said that it was fine.

Source: Are minified plugins allowed? - #2 by riddlemasta

I’m reluctant to update my asset because I still don’t know what the current moderation status is for my asset and the account. The appeal was approved, then denied, and then approved again, but the asset is still blocked, so I really don’t know what to make of the situation. I fear that if I update the asset, my account may receive another moderation action and it will lead to it getting banned. Roblox is my main source of income and getting banned is the last thing I want to risk.

I want to know why my asset is still partially moderated after being told that the appeal got approved. Clearly something is wrong because the message is telling me to appeal, even though I already did, and Roblox staff seems to be unaware of its existence, as if they can’t see it on their end.

[james_pe (Jamas)]

Holy moly save the brothers plugin

[riddlemasta (riddle)]

@Daw588

As for the the 3 bullet points, they are completely unrelated to the reason my account was warned for. I don’t see why I should believe that my asset is violating any of them when the warning doesn’t suggest it.

Yeah you’re right on this one, the economy one was due to a bug that has been fixed. Note that the moderation you received and the “Not distributed on Creator Store” message you see are unrelated, so a reversal of the Roblox Economy violation won’t affect the distribution.

@Daw588

I have tried filing appeal through the appeals portal but the option was not available, I only had “Appeal something not shown” option.

Gotcha, I think this is a result of the bug above.

@Daw588

plugin doesn’t attempt to obscure engine features, it doesn’t require remote assets that are not related to my plugin’s functionality, and it doesn’t attempt to conceal its functionality. The only thing I can think of is the code may appear obfuscated due to the pre-processing done on the code by toolchain I use, but I already asked Roblox staff on DevForum about it, and they said that it was fine

Yeah, I see what you’re saying. That post was from May 2023, and we published that new page I linked in May 2024. Minification is arguably an elementary form of obfuscation, but I see how that can be unclear, so I’ll work to update the docs.

I’d recommend adjusting your asset to fit the standards and then publish a new asset version. You shouldn’t receive an economy violation. Let me know once you’ve reuploaded and I can verify.

[Daw588]

@riddlemasta

Minification is arguably an elementary form of obfuscation

I think you should put that renaming variables through tools like Darklua counts as form of obfuscation.

@riddlemasta

I’d recommend adjusting your asset to fit the standards and then publish a new asset version.

I have removed the rule that renames variable names and added beautification step to make the code more readable. Even after uploading a new version of the asset, I’m still blocked from making changes to my asset.

[riddlemasta (riddle)]

@Daw588

I have removed the rule that renames variable names and added beautification step to make the code more readable. Even after uploading a new version of the asset, I’m still blocked from making changes to my asset.

Thanks! If you check now, it should be unblocked.

Thanks for bringing this up. I know minification vs obfuscation is tricky and there was that post from me >1 year ago that led you in this direction, so I’m sorry that this wasn’t the greatest experience for you