Free Speech Denied, SC moving to become a 1984 universe?

VorpalChicken28

Ok first a link...

http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2016/01/star-citizen-backers-can-be-perma-banned-for-off-site-activity/

It would seem that you can no longer criticize Star Citizen, without facing the chance of being banned.

As a long time supporter of SC (and backer) I find this more than slightly worrying, while I find that the notion of free speech can be overused sometimes, don't we as users/backers/supporters have a right to say something negative about SC without getting banned?

FlyByKnight

Pick an alias. Talk your s#!t. Problem solved.

The fact that they're this in the weeds is indeed ridiculous but why make it easy for them to be petty?

Kefo

Oh don't worry the SC news network already covered this and was trying so very hard to poke holes in the article when it just succeeded in pokes holes in it's own argument. Should go have a read, its good for a laugh. I'm sure someone will be around shortly to link to it.

tawess

Well if you act like a total tool and put the smackdown on the company. Why would they like you as a customer? 

Not saying what they do is necessarily right but the internet is not a magic place where all responsibility goes away. If you strive to be a nice and balanced person i have a hard time seeing them banning you for critizeing them. Thing is... The people who get all twisted about this are the same people who get bent out of shape about "PK" when in reality they are angry for not being able to be arseholes. 

Also there is a fair bit between what CI does and a Orwellian dystopia... Just saying. 

Iselin

No. Stalking users on twitter and elsewhere on the web is normal accepted business practice of gaming companies... nothing unusual happening here at all

tawess

Well the the customer use the "right"  # then there is not much need to "stalk" then now is there. =P Especially is said person also inlcudes actual threats... real or not. 

The days of the top web being a free for all, lawless playground are gone. Now even this you do on the web have effects on reality. 

Iselin

tawess said:

Well the the customer use the "right"  # then there is not much need to "stalk" then now is there. =P Especially is said person also inlcudes actual threats... real or not. 

The days of the top web being a free for all, lawless playground are gone. Now even this you do on the web have effects on reality. 

Yes. I'm sure there are tally sheets out there with an "Iselin" column. I'm guessing the NSA, CIA, MI6, Scientology and  CIG have me on their books. Any other gaming company in the world? Nah... I doubt it.

Solar_Prophet

It's well within their rights to do so, but that certainly doesn't make it any less ridiculous or pathetic. I'm also not the least bit surprised. Remember, this is the same guy (Roberts) who threw a hissy fit and threatened to stop talking to the media because they didn't lick his boots when the Arena Commander was released. That whole episode was nothing compared to what he / they did about the whole Derek Smart fiasco just a few short months back. 

They can't take criticism or negativity, they refuse to be held accountable for the money they've been given, and they often resort to character assassination and libel to shout down detractors. If you don't see the red flags at this point, then you're color blind. Even the usual cheerleaders for the game have been fairly silent lately. 

On the positive side, this game has provided quite a bit of entertainment, especially for one which I haven't paid for and isn't anywhere close to release. 

SpottyGekko

Talking smack will get you a smackdown !  

I have never seen anyone banned for constructive criticism on any forum. It's often not what you say, but how you say it that makes the difference.

I have seen plenty of people banned for exercising their "right of free speech", which on the internet apparently includes filthy language, threats, slander, incitement to riot and a raft of other unsavoury things that would result in far worse than a "forum ban" in real life.

People are very brave on the anonymous internet.

jesteralways

Honestly, i don't like this business practice, stalking customers in social media is just plain wrong.

tawess

But stalking a company´s employees otoh is fully ok it seems.... judging by some of the topics in the SC section. =P 

Anyway... this is still not related to free speech. 

Azaron_Nightblade

jesteralways said:

Honestly, i don't like this business practice, stalking customers in social media is just plain wrong.

That is a bit crazy, yeah. Although I do somewhat understand where they're coming from...
I'm just going wait for the outrage now of someone who's dropped several hundred bucks on that game, getting banned for running his mouth on some other site. It'll be priceless. xD

Kyleran

The underlying theme is CI is monitoring communications on Something Awful, aka the Goons, and this does not surprise me.

I'm sure they are aware of the huge influence and impact the Goons have had on EVE and it would not surprise me if there was a definitive anti Goon strategy in place.

Associate with Goons, expect to be banned is the message I got, and I can't say I blame them for trying to prevent their sort of "emergent" game play from being brought to SC.

jmcdermottuk

SpottyGekko said:

Talking smack will get you a smackdown !  

I have never seen anyone banned for constructive criticism on any forum. It's often not what you say, but how you say it that makes the difference.

I have seen plenty of people banned for exercising their "right of free speech", which on the internet apparently includes filthy language, threats, slander, incitement to riot and a raft of other unsavoury things that would result in far worse than a "forum ban" in real life.

People are very brave on the anonymous internet.

Absolutely. Everyone has their right to an opinion and as long as you phrase it politely there's nothing wrong with criticism. Going on a rant and using abusive language should get you banned. Using a well worded argument to get your point across shouldn't, regardless of whether it's for or against.

scorpex-x

vorpal28 said:

Ok first a link...

http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2016/01/star-citizen-backers-can-be-perma-banned-for-off-site-activity/

It would seem that you can no longer criticize Star Citizen, without facing the chance of being banned.

As a long time supporter of SC (and backer) I find this more than slightly worrying, while I find that the notion of free speech can be overused sometimes, don't we as users/backers/supporters have a right to say something negative about SC without getting banned?

This applies to almost any games official forums though, you have zero free speech rights on the internet or in private property.

I've been banned from multiple official game forums for telling it like it is and the moderators paid by the company that runs the game want to silence you but I completely understand why they do it.  This is pretty obvious isn't it?

They own the forum, why should they let you trash talk their companies product on their forum?  Just paying money doesn't let you hate on a game on their property.

Erillion

vorpal28 said:

Ok first a link...

OK .... second .. another link ....

http://imperialnews.network/2016/01/drama-the-responsening/

Priceless .... Beer4TheBeerGod, a member of the SomethingAweful.com community (yes, they who IMHO wrote the manual on being toxic and are proud of it)  calling the SC community "toxic" ..... ROFL .... Good riddance, Goonie ! Just because he sends some honey-worded mails to SC customer support does not negate his usual rants (of which you can find an example in another thread on this subforum (page 2, "Actual retrospective of ....").


Have fun

Kyleran

scorpex-x said:

vorpal28 said:

Ok first a link...

http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2016/01/star-citizen-backers-can-be-perma-banned-for-off-site-activity/

It would seem that you can no longer criticize Star Citizen, without facing the chance of being banned.

As a long time supporter of SC (and backer) I find this more than slightly worrying, while I find that the notion of free speech can be overused sometimes, don't we as users/backers/supporters have a right to say something negative about SC without getting banned?

This applies to almost any games official forums though, you have zero free speech rights on the internet or in private property.

I've been banned from multiple official game forums for telling it like it is and the moderators paid by the company that runs the game want to silence you but I completely understand why they do it.  This is pretty obvious isn't it?

They own the forum, why should they let you trash talk their companies product on their forum?  Just paying money doesn't let you hate on a game on their property.

You should read the linked article before commenting it states they are banning people for posting things on another independent forum somethingawful.com, not the official forums

GeezerGamer

vorpal28 said:

Ok first a link...

http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2016/01/star-citizen-backers-can-be-perma-banned-for-off-site-activity/

It would seem that you can no longer criticize Star Citizen, without facing the chance of being banned.

As a long time supporter of SC (and backer) I find this more than slightly worrying, while I find that the notion of free speech can be overused sometimes, don't we as users/backers/supporters have a right to say something negative about SC without getting banned?

no, you don't. You gave your money, now your options are:

1. Sit back and wait
2. ................

Yeah, I think that about covers it.

Kyleran

GeezerGamer said:

vorpal28 said:: 

Ok first a link...

http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2016/01/star-citizen-backers-can-be-perma-banned-for-off-site-activity/

It would seem that you can no longer criticize Star Citizen, without facing the chance of being banned.

As a long time supporter of SC (and backer) I find this more than slightly worrying, while I find that the notion of free speech can be overused sometimes, don't we as users/backers/supporters have a right to say something negative about SC without getting banned?

no, you don't. You gave your money, now your options are:

1. Sit back and wait
2. ................

Yeah, I think that about covers it.

3. Ask for a refund and walk away? (your mileage may vary)

filmoret

The title is severely misleading and I think I'm going to report it.  He was banned from using forums and that's all.  He wasn't banned from the game itself.  I can agree or disagree with what they did but if he really was becoming extremely toxic outside of their forums it was wise to ban him from doing the same on their own forums as a preventative measure.

I'm talking about the title of the article not the OP's title.

SpottyGekko

Kyleran said:

...

You should read the linked article before commenting it states they are banning people for posting things on another independent forum somethingawful.com, not the official forums

Are you serious ?

So it's OK to insult and slander someone in public, as long as you don't do it to their face ?

What does it matter where the trashtalk is posted ? The relevant fact is that it was posted in a place where everyone could see it.

You can't be a quiet and respectful group member when you're in the company of the group, and then badmouth them when you're out of earshot. They will find out sooner or later, and then you have to face the consequences.

The internet is not some special place where common social rules do not apply, lol.

Slapshot1188

Kyleran said:

scorpex-x said:

vorpal28 said:

Ok first a link...

http://blogjob.com/oneangrygamer/2016/01/star-citizen-backers-can-be-perma-banned-for-off-site-activity/

It would seem that you can no longer criticize Star Citizen, without facing the chance of being banned.

As a long time supporter of SC (and backer) I find this more than slightly worrying, while I find that the notion of free speech can be overused sometimes, don't we as users/backers/supporters have a right to say something negative about SC without getting banned?

This applies to almost any games official forums though, you have zero free speech rights on the internet or in private property.

I've been banned from multiple official game forums for telling it like it is and the moderators paid by the company that runs the game want to silence you but I completely understand why they do it.  This is pretty obvious isn't it?

They own the forum, why should they let you trash talk their companies product on their forum?  Just paying money doesn't let you hate on a game on their property.

You should read the linked article before commenting it states they are banning people for posting things on another independent forum somethingawful.com, not the official forums

Let's be clear here that the ban is from the forums, not the game.

The guy also was banned for what he did on the RSI forums not the SA forums.  From what I read he started posting there AFTER he was banned on the RSI forums. 

Erillion

Slapshot1188 said:

Let's be clear here that the ban is from the forums, not the game.

The guy also was banned for what he did on the RSI forums not the SA forums.  From what I read he started posting there AFTER he was banned on the RSI forums. 

Yep - he can still play the game. But not post in the official forums for the next years.

He was banned for his rants on the RSI forums. For the third official offense  (he whines about him being allowed to have five opportunities to post shit before he should be permabanned). He posted a lot more rants than those three ... or five.

He posted on reddit/SC or somethingawful.com well before he was banned on the RSI forum. The reddit rant post I linked was over a year ago. On somethingawful .. many more years (2008 or earlier, usually about EVE Online).


Have fun

GeezerGamer

Why do people insist they have the Freedom of speech to post on other people's media? The idea is ridiculous. You have freedom of speech to go and start your own blog on the web. What about the rights of the people who own the media?

Get a clue.....You don't own the board, so you don't own the right!

TwoThreeFour

GeezerGamer said:

Why do people insist they have the Freedom of speech to post on other people's media? The idea is ridiculous. You have freedom of speech to go and start your own blog on the web. What about the rights of the people who own the media?

Get a clue.....You don't own the board, so you don't own the right!

There are people, such as myself, that consider freedom of speech to be a virtue even though it is not a right enforced by the government in every aspect of society. It makes sense that people get upset when people reduce the freedom of speech regardless of whether or not it was their right to begin with.

UnleadedRev

Just as Tywin Lannister told Joffrey-"Any man who must say, "I am the king" is no true king. ', the same goes for Star Citizen - " Any game that must ban it's critics, is not truly a  good game".