Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
SOE to attempt policing all your online activities.
This discussion has been closed.
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Comments
All of the opinions in this thread aside on whether they are able or not able to do this is irrelevant.
People think that lawsuits are free of cost (and time) for the Plaintiff. Do you really think anyone in their right mind would spend an average of $250/hour for representation with a minimum of a $10,000 retainer to file a lawsuit against a major corporation when all that was lost was the ability to pay $15/month to the company you are suing in exchange for playing on their video game?
Any time intellectual property is involved, things get very grey and quite political in courts. Companies would first play the game of changing jurisdiction based on their corporate locations - forcing you to travel to a court on the other side of the country. Also, US consumer rights don't apply the same to non-US residents. So, good luck if you live outside of the US.
Factor in cherry picking which court the case presides (multiple courts in each courthouse can allow you to pick a judge that typically favors the defendants position), some states allowing the defendant to counter-suit legal fees in the event the plaintiff loses, plus a large corporation would drag their heals to make it as long as possible to quickly soak up your legal fund.
And before anyone mentions a "class action suit", it would be too much of an investment for any legal team with the risk of no return. It would be bad business for any law firm to even consider it.
So - This goes back to the reality of: they can do what ever they want until someone challenges them specifically on this issue and wins.
In essence, in most cases - civil laws only apply to those who are willing and able to pay for them. In this case - it's not worth it.
Since its very easy to type bad things, and it just escalates from there.
Once people are continually typing not nice things because someone started to troll, then that atmosphere becomes hostile and not a ideal situation for recreation.
And can you ban someone for calling another person an idiot? If not, then you can't ban a person for being anti social online when its very easy to over react to such criticm and cynicism.
To properly enforce social rules, then they have to go to the root. And like i said if they do, then it becomes over trivial things.
Or they can at least claim such big reprecussions to set the tone for launch. I think launching with a certain majority acting a certain way is their goal with this announcement.
Write bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble
Linda and her team have much more important and much more interesting things to do than what you're suggesting. If you are relentlessly slamming the game you either
a) not playing, at which you aren't negatively affecting their community (remember, this is the community team we are talking about)
or
b) playing, at which point if you're not doing it in game, you're not of their concern.
Your concerns of some evil ultra-censoring behemoth exacting personal justice on innocent people simply sharing the truth to make the world aware or whatever other scenario you want to present is completely irrelevant.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Thats definitely a better analogy. A MMO is a service / subscription rather than a product. You are renting virtual time in their world.
If you had a subscription to a gym and you started abusing the staff there, you would be asked not to return and you would no longer be able to access the service, even though you paid for it.
Well then... DON'T harrass?
Look, we live in an age where game devs have received verbal death threats on social media websites. It is sad, very sad, but I think a MMO company has to draw some lines. One dev I think it was from Bioware recently quit over death threats to their family. Because of a video game! I think it should be in relation to the "crime", but on the issue of harassing... let's... not do this?
Is there a risk for abusing it from SOE? Certainly. But neither game developers nor fellow players are supposed to be target practice for personal insults or death threats.
As to the "freedom of speech" thing. Yes you are free to say developer X is an ugly dimwit, but SOE is free to say, he fine, we no longer make any deals with you.
tl;dr: Be well mannnered are we all are happier.
EDIT: On strictly legal terms, I am NOT so sure a permaban would hold in court. I mean, I am no lawyer, but if you BOUGHT a MMO, and you can't play it because you are banned, you technically have a product that does not function anymore they way you paid for. So CAN a company perma-ban you without a refund of the game? Or at all? Did anyone ever sue a company and fight against a permaban before a court? I dunno. A TOS is not so meaningful as companies tell us, because a TOS can not deprive you of rights. A store can ban you based on a crime, like when you steal. But insulting someone isn't so much a crime by the book. Tricky question. Does anyone know if anyone ever sued succesfully against a permaban?
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Seems like there just trying to control the toxic behavoir of gamerers now aday it has become extreamly bad over last few years since u play solo and when u do dunguens ur with people not from ur server so there no consequents to player actions so they dicks to others. Its basicly online bullying i think this is what they trying to get rid of in their game which is fair enough no one like toxic players. I dont think they go ban people who talk badly about their game and even if u do why does it matter u dont wanna play it obviously anyway. There not gonna ban people who critisice there game especialy constuctive critisism. IMO it will make a game better and if ur not a dick to people you have nothing to worry bout anyway so whats the big deal.
People better start reading and, more importantly, UNDERSTANDING their TOSs and EULAs. Your original purchase did not "give" you unlimited access to their service, in this case EQ1.
If it is free, create another account for free. Get your IP banned, to bad, so sad. SOE "owes" you nothing.
This is what urdriel does not grasp. A car is NOT a service. Neither is a house or any other kind of physical product, NOT a service. A service provider does, indeed, have the right to refuse their services to anyone they deem not worthy, or irresponsible enough.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Want to play SOE games, play by their rules. Don't like their rules? Don't play. Their is no freedoms being censored. No jailtime will be served, hopefully.
PS:
Isn't the "free speech" internet a shining example of the cesspool that humans will create when given no consequences for their actions?
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Frat boys partying in their hotel rooms (legally paid for, service) get tossed out by the cops every day,somewhere. Nope, no refund boys, and that damage is going on your CC too. Is she 21? The cops are going to ask.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
That's exactly it, those opposed to this probably fall in the camp who prefer their chosen forum or lurking ground to be cesspools. Those in it for the forum PVP and striking nerves, getting their +1's or "pwned" acknowledgment from other forum warriors.
For years companies have been asking that feedback be directed in proper channels and not spammed all over, they've asked and warned players to respect one another and to foster constructive debate. It's never worked, this is the consequence of that. Yet this type of person still just wants to argue, simply to cause others as much misery as possible through text. There's no other reason to not get what this is about, not to mention how easily such punishment can be avoided.
Big deal a company doesn't want their site(s) and pages to be a wild west showdown. Can't live with that? You'll have to seek entertainment elsewhere.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Movie theater example again for those who missed it the first time...
Got to a theater, purchase a ticket for a movie, and once inside, start to behave like a douche, making noise and shouting during the movie, launching popcorn and spraying soda on other moviegoers. Let's see how long you last, let's see if they let you finish the movie, let's see if you get a refund.
Point being, if you purchase access to a place with specific rules, be it in "real" life or online, and you break the rules, they can kick you out, and rightfully so, without refunding a cent. They will actually also make you pay the eventual damage you did.
Excellent examples too.
My computer is better than yours.
I agree with SOE on this. This part for sure: "We can control anybody who's playing our games...[but] if we know who you are and you're abusing somebody on Twitter, we will ban your game account and we will not accept you as a customer ever again."
I am 100% behind SOE on this. There is no reason threats, or attacks via twitter should be used. Regardless of circumstance. In the real, if those threats happened to you in person. There would be police or the least. The guy saying those threats(in my case) getting the beat down. Thinking you can hide behind the web to use bad behavior is a mistake..
I am glad SOE chooses to do something about it!
In the EU there is political steam growing behind making websites liable for what is on them, ISP's liable for what data is in their traffic. We have soldiers killing their own blamed on video games and every time CoD, GTA or the like come out, the arguments about the detrimental effects of such games are rolled out in the media.
No wonder gaming companies are getting anxious about anything like this. Politicians always need someone to blame and something to mount a cause against. I remember the days when table top roleplaying was going to corrupt the youth of the nation. Now video games have taken the heat of roleplaying.
Imagine this situation...
You're regularly go to a pub, the owner knows you, you play nice guy in there.
One day, you have guests at home, the discussion comes on the pub, and you start to call the owner names for whatever reason you can have. What you don't know is that one of the guests is the owner's good friend.
Do you think you will still be welcome in that pub after that?
Sony doesn't write rules for sites out of their control. But they can read those sites, and decide to deny you access on their own property if you are a douchebag on those other sites.
Insult me on Facebook, you better not come to my house afterwards.
My computer is better than yours.
Everyone is free to accept rude people in their property... or not.
My computer is better than yours.
No, both good examples. Its a service and they can ban whoever they feel like for any reason unless its illegal discrimination.
A bar could easily refuse service to a known child abuser or KKK member simply because they do not want their custom. SoE is well within their right to refuse service to a douchbag or an internet troll.
Also, they wont be wasting staff time on trawling your social network to see if you were ever mean to anyone. Its clearly policy relating to abuse / trolling that is directed towards SoE or its staff.
Furthermore, any person with a brain has privacy settings set up for social media. SoE checking your troll history should be the last of your concerns. I would be more concerned about new aquantences and employers checking that stuff. Although if you direct abuse at them, and you have your real name and details on display, chances are you will find yourself banned.
Some of you are just really ridiculous. If your abusing people and giving them death threats I can see this policy being needed and being used. But if you are critical of their game then that is just plane retarded that they would ban you for something like that. And that is just what they are doing... I'm going to give my own scenario now...
Player 1 : "Patch 4.5xx sucks! There are bugs that were reported on the test server and they made it to the live client, how does that happen?" "This is the wrong time to be screwing up, the game is hemorrhaging players and **** ***** games are around the corner which will take more players" "These developers need to get their act together"
Player 2 : "I know, I have no idea what the developers are doing!" "Do they even pay attention to bug reports on the test server? Isn't the test server to test things before they push it out?"
Fanboi : "You guys need to get off of (Insert SOE game developers here) They have a really hard job, stop trolling and come back in 3 weeks when everything is fixed"
Player 1 : "You mean fixed like the hotfix they just put up 15 mins ago that is causing people to crash to desktop?"
SOE rep : We apologize for the inconvenience, again. But personal attacks on the Development team WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! A few of you can expect to hear from me soon.
Player 1 : Personal attacks? Wait, huh?
Player 2 : LOL wat?
Player 1 and 2 try to log in 3 hours later and receive this message.
Your forum account has been suspended for 1 week for continued attempts to violate the SOE Forum guidelines. Please use this time to familiarize yourself with the guidelines.. If you wish to appeal this ban, please contact forum-admin@soe.sony.com.
If what player 1 and 2 said offended anyone, I would like to take some time out my day to introduce them to this place I call the REAL WORLD, because it's obvious they have never been in it.
------------------------------
You see, every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with their surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You spread to an area, and you multiply, and you multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.-Mr.Smith
If they can do it then they should allow players to use those same tools also.
For example : If I blacklist xXTwinTurboKiller666Xx ,blacklistin should have effect on every account he have on that game,every SOE game and if they know his social media accounts then on those too.
Which means they give me all his characters names of any game they know he is playing.
Or if i ignore someone then all of his accounts gets ignored.
So, did ESO have a successful launch? Yes, yes it did.By Ryan Getchell on April 02, 2014.
**On the radar: http://www.cyberpunk.net/ **