1559 réponses à ce sujet

[Ebenezer]

Zanallen wrote...

Ebenezer wrote...

Zanallen wrote...


Thank you for your comment, though it has nothing to do with the discussion at large. The user was banned for being offensive, not for hating the game. There are a crapton of hate thread right now and none of those people are complaining about this issue. That being said, the a lot of the 0/10 reviews for DA2 were placed within hours of the game being released, not nearly enough time for someone to make an adequate opinion of the game. That seems fishy. I'm not saying it was 4Chan. It could be a handful of people with a lot of time on their hands. I'm not even defending the game. It just looks fishy.

It's not fishy.  It's a bad game getting called out for being a bad game.

I'll tell you what is fishy.  Stanley Woo saying he was just cleaning up the forum because he didnt want to Bioware folks to come into work tomorrow and see it cluttered with topics be people disgusted about how abhorent what happened to the user who was banned by his doing.  Sounds like old Woo is covering his butt because now that this story is on multiple gaming websites as "News" and seemingly every major gaming forum and absolutely blowing up Twitter and Facebook with "End of Line" memes he knows his arse is on the line.

And as I said, I got no problems with Woo.  He was just doing his job.  But what he did exposed a big,k big problem with how forum accounts here are tied to the game, and his "End of Line" smugness coupled with... and this is really the most important part... the hate from people over the game sucking as bad as it does has this thing spiraling out of control and he is the poster boy for it.  He'll probably lose his modship tomorrow because his is the face attached to this disaster.  And because doing so will take some of the attention away from the game absolutely sucking.

End of Line.

Mr. Woo doing his job as a forum moderator is fishy? Odd...And for someone who supposedly has no problems with him, you seem to not think very much of him. But seriously, you think that a mass of 0/10 "reviews" popping up on one site mere hours after a game is released is on the up and up? Wow.

Openly stating that you're cleaning up a forum quickly from a mess you started/are associated with/are the poster boy of so your bosses wont see it when they come into work the next morning is much more fishy than a bad game recieving bad reviews.

[Zanallen]

Garak2 wrote...

The problem is that you can't access content that you paid for! Damn, this isn't hard to comprehend and I love how you ignored that without the DLC, you can't load your saves. So you really can't play unless you wanna start over.

Let me ask you this. If the police show up at the house of a murder victim and the murderer is still there, covered in blood and a text was found where he detailed his/her intentions. Would you say "maybe it was an unintended"?

I mean ****, EA has laid it out, this is our intention and then when it happens...you think it's an accident! What a waste of time.

Hyperbole won't get you anywhere. Also, I specifically mentioned saves and DLC. Nor did I say this was an accident. I said that it may be an unforseen consequence due to a change in policy. But yes, this really is a waste of time as there isn't enough information out there to create an informed opinion. Suffice to say, the known facts are that the user posted offensive material, was reported for said material and an EA official felt that the material was actionable beyond the usual one day ban.

[Pixieking]

Garak2 wrote...

Klimy wrote...

Zanallen wrote...

Usually, contacting customer care or the DM will get you an immediate response. Now, if you paid with your card, you may have to wait for the balance to be returned, but a cash transation should be immediate.

Off topic, I'm a bit slow today (friday morning-ish). What is DM? The only thing that comes to my mind is Dungeon Master and it doesn't seem right here :/

I don't know why but dungeon master at a retail store just made me laugh out loud.

Why? It totally happened!

http://en.wikipedia....er_(video_game)



Edit: One of the best games ever, imo. Lost hundreds of hours to the Amiga version.

Modifié par Emoking, 11 mars 2011 - 10:16 .

[Zanallen]

Ebenezer wrote...

Openly stating that you're cleaning up a forum quickly from a mess you started/are associated with/are the poster boy of so your bosses wont see it when they come into work the next morning is much more fishy than a bad game recieving bad reviews.

Forum mods are tasked with deleting spam threads and culling offensive content. He has done his job by removing duplicate or spam threads and leaving this thread open for continued discussion. How exactly did he start this mess? The user is the root of what happened by posting offensive content in the first place. Someone then reported him for his content and then an EA official (Read: Not Stanley Woo) banned him for it. He is associated with this because he is doing his job. Its the same way that police are associated with criminals or CSRs are associated with disgruntled customers. I fail to see how he is the poster boy for this particular issue; the mocking of a few disgruntled "fans" nonwithstanding.

[Garak2]

Zanallen wrote...

Garak2 wrote...

The problem is that you can't access content that you paid for! Damn, this isn't hard to comprehend and I love how you ignored that without the DLC, you can't load your saves. So you really can't play unless you wanna start over.

Let me ask you this. If the police show up at the house of a murder victim and the murderer is still there, covered in blood and a text was found where he detailed his/her intentions. Would you say "maybe it was an unintended"?

I mean ****, EA has laid it out, this is our intention and then when it happens...you think it's an accident! What a waste of time.

Hyperbole won't get you anywhere. Also, I specifically mentioned saves and DLC. Nor did I say this was an accident. I said that it may be an unforseen consequence due to a change in policy. But yes, this really is a waste of time as there isn't enough information out there to create an informed opinion. Suffice to say, the known facts are that the user posted offensive material, was reported for said material and an EA official felt that the material was actionable beyond the usual one day ban.

If that's what you think this is about it's no wonder we can't see eye to eye, This is NOT about a 3 day ban. This is NOT about he said that got him banned. 

This is about a policy that was absolutely intended that stole access to a customers PAID content for bad behavior on the forums. It happened once and it can and will happen again unless EA ensures that is does not. Their policy though, show full support for thier actions.

That he can find a way around it is NOT the issue here.

[Zanallen]

Garak2 wrote...

If that's what you think this is about it's no wonder we can't see eye to eye, This is NOT about a 3 day ban. This is NOT about he said that got him banned. 

This is about a policy that was absolutely intended that stole access to a customers PAID content for bad behavior on the forums. It happened once and it can and will happen again unless EA ensures that is does not. Their policy though, show full support for thier actions.

That he can find a way around it is NOT the issue here.

There meer fact that this is the first time that this has happened, despite the policy having been in place for a while now, seems to hint that this may not be the intent of the ban. Of course, I might be wrong. However, I don't really care one way or the other as that I feel that people's actions should have consequences. You can be banned for being offensive within an MMO, so why not on the forums? Does the fact that the forums are separate somehow make you any less responsible for your actions? If he was respectful of other people on this forum, then there wouldn't be an issue.

[Jebel Krong]

ok, hypothetical scenario:

2 people arguing on a forums, some words are exchanged, one "reports posts", the other does not. EA comes along and bans the reported one and he/she can't play his games. that might be technically ok under the EULA but:

is it fair? where is the accountability/appeal/evidence of proper investigation? who can you contact to appeal? i

t should be explicitly stated at the top of the forum both the rules and what to do in any situation like this so that even if a ban is warranted, you at least know proper procedure has been conducted. at the moment some outside person/company (EA) who have no day-to-day dealing with this forum can come in and actually prevent people from using media they legally own in their own homes for something completely unrelated online, in a forum.

that is not just wrong, it is also illegal in many countries.

[msp]

So if enough people reading this post click "report" button, I lose access to my EA account and all paid game/DLC licenses tied to it? What a marvelous, unbiased way to handle forum moderation... we should let Activision/Blizzard know right away. I can't believe they are missing out.

[Zanallen]

Jebel Krong wrote...

ok, hypothetical scenario:

2 people arguing on a forums, some words are exchanged, one "reports posts", the other does not. EA comes along and bans the reported one and he/she can't play his games. that might be technically ok under the EULA but:

is it fair? where is the accountability/appeal/evidence of proper investigation? who can you contact to appeal? i

t should be explicitly stated at the top of the forum both the rules and what to do in any situation like this so that even if a ban is warranted, you at least know proper procedure has been conducted. at the moment some outside person/company (EA) who have no day-to-day dealing with this forum can come in and actually prevent people from using media they legally own in their own homes for something completely unrelated online, in a forum.

that is not just wrong, it is also illegal in many countries.

From what I understand, reports are look over by an EA official who then determines if the situation at hand is actionable. If you are banned, you receive an email with contact information in order to address the problem. Since this ban is the harshest that EA can impose, I highly doubt that it is given out willy-nilly.

[Garak2]

Zanallen wrote...

Garak2 wrote...

If that's what you think this is about it's no wonder we can't see eye to eye, This is NOT about a 3 day ban. This is NOT about he said that got him banned. 

This is about a policy that was absolutely intended that stole access to a customers PAID content for bad behavior on the forums. It happened once and it can and will happen again unless EA ensures that is does not. Their policy though, show full support for thier actions.

That he can find a way around it is NOT the issue here.

There meer fact that this is the first time that this has happened, despite the policy having been in place for a while now, seems to hint that this may not be the intent of the ban. Of course, I might be wrong. However, I don't really care one way or the other as that I feel that people's actions should have consequences. You can be banned for being offensive within an MMO, so why not on the forums? Does the fact that the forums are separate somehow make you any less responsible for your actions? If he was respectful of other people on this forum, then there wouldn't be an issue.

It is unethical to use theft as a punishment. MMOs are online games and so your actions DO affect other players but single player games....bah...it's all been said before in this thread.

If you support theft as a means of punishment, how do you suppose people angry at Bioware and EA for putting out a rushed game for full price should punish....piracy? See what happens when you start going down this path?

If they can take your content from you, you can take their content from them.

Modifié par Garak2, 11 mars 2011 - 10:34 .

[Ebenezer]

Zanallen wrote...

Ebenezer wrote...

Openly stating that you're cleaning up a forum quickly from a mess you started/are associated with/are the poster boy of so your bosses wont see it when they come into work the next morning is much more fishy than a bad game recieving bad reviews.

Forum mods are tasked with deleting spam threads and culling offensive content. He has done his job by removing duplicate or spam threads and leaving this thread open for continued discussion. How exactly did he start this mess? The user is the root of what happened by posting offensive content in the first place. Someone then reported him for his content and then an EA official (Read: Not Stanley Woo) banned him for it. He is associated with this because he is doing his job. Its the same way that police are associated with criminals or CSRs are associated with disgruntled customers. I fail to see how he is the poster boy for this particular issue; the mocking of a few disgruntled "fans" nonwithstanding.

I dont think you see the scope of the situation.  I do agree with you, you're not wrong.and you're saying exactly what I said in my first post in this thread.

But you really have to step back and see the life that this thing has taken on.  Who is more likely to get burned for this?  The anonomous EA person who carried out the unwarranted banning?  Or the person who made "End of Line" a trending twitter topic and whose name is popping up in articles about the subject on gaming sites etc.?

They're gonna can Stan tomorrow/today (depends on your time zone I guess) not so much because he was wrong, but because he's the one associated with it and it will appease some weakminded people, seem like they're doing the right thing, and take the heat off of the fact that en masse people are (rightfully) burying this absolutely pathetic by Bioware standards release.

Because, again as I said in my first post in this topic, if this game didnt suck none of this would be happening in the first place.

[Zanallen]

Garak2 wrote...

It is unethical to use theft as a punishment. MMO are online games and so your action DO affect other players but single player games....bah...it's all been said before in this thread.

If you support theft as a means of punishment, how do you suppose people angry at Bioware and EA for putting out a rushed game for full price should punish....piracy? See what happens when you start going down this path?

If they can take your content from you, you can take their content from them.

Unethical? Possibly. However, how does your actions on the board not effect the other people here on the boards? Yes, a forum ban should be and is the first step in preventing abuse. However, as has been stated, one day bans have little real effect on detering people. The next step for EA is an account ban. If you don't like it, the simple action is to not post offensive material that is against the rules of the forum. And as I have said before, I fully expect the situation to be cleared up in the morning, though I hardly condone the user's methods for getting his points acrossed. Now, if nothing is done by tomorrow, and we have proof of this, then further issue may be taken.

[Garak2]

Zanallen wrote...

Garak2 wrote...

It is unethical to use theft as a punishment. MMO are online games and so your action DO affect other players but single player games....bah...it's all been said before in this thread.

If you support theft as a means of punishment, how do you suppose people angry at Bioware and EA for putting out a rushed game for full price should punish....piracy? See what happens when you start going down this path?

If they can take your content from you, you can take their content from them.

Unethical? Possibly. However, how does your actions on the board not effect the other people here on the boards? Yes, a forum ban should be and is the first step in preventing abuse. However, as has been stated, one day bans have little real effect on detering people. The next step for EA is an account ban. If you don't like it, the simple action is to not post offensive material that is against the rules of the forum. And as I have said before, I fully expect the situation to be cleared up in the morning, though I hardly condone the user's methods for getting his points acrossed. Now, if nothing is done by tomorrow, and we have proof of this, then further issue may be taken.

Sorry, theft is just not an ethical or legal way to deal with people who misbehave on forums. If someone thinks you are misbehving on a forum, is it ok of they come to your house and take away your games for 72 hours?

No, I thought not. I am going to bed. It's almost 5 AM here.

[Zanallen]

Ebenezer wrote...

I dont think you see the scope of the situation.  I do agree with you, you're not wrong.and you're saying exactly what I said in my first post in this thread.

But you really have to step back and see the life that this thing has taken on.  Who is more likely to get burned for this?  The anonomous EA person who carried out the unwarranted banning?  Or the person who made "End of Line" a trending twitter topic and whose name is popping up in articles about the subject on gaming sites etc.?

They're gonna can Stan tomorrow/today (depends on your time zone I guess) not so much because he was wrong, but because he's the one associated with it and it will appease some weakminded people, seem like they're doing the right thing, and take the heat off of the fact that en masse people are (rightfully) burying this absolutely pathetic by Bioware standards release.

Because, again as I said in my first post in this topic, if this game didnt suck none of this would be happening in the first place.

No, I see it. I see a bunch of people overreacting and blaming EA and Stanley for cracking down on an offensive poster. And personally, I think that Bioware could have made DA2 into the best game of all time and people on this forum would still hate it right now. But I suppose we'll just agree to disagree and see what happens tomorrow.

[Zanallen]

Garak2 wrote...

Zanallen wrote...

Garak2 wrote...

It is unethical to use theft as a punishment. MMO are online games and so your action DO affect other players but single player games....bah...it's all been said before in this thread.

If you support theft as a means of punishment, how do you suppose people angry at Bioware and EA for putting out a rushed game for full price should punish....piracy? See what happens when you start going down this path?

If they can take your content from you, you can take their content from them.

Unethical? Possibly. However, how does your actions on the board not effect the other people here on the boards? Yes, a forum ban should be and is the first step in preventing abuse. However, as has been stated, one day bans have little real effect on detering people. The next step for EA is an account ban. If you don't like it, the simple action is to not post offensive material that is against the rules of the forum. And as I have said before, I fully expect the situation to be cleared up in the morning, though I hardly condone the user's methods for getting his points acrossed. Now, if nothing is done by tomorrow, and we have proof of this, then further issue may be taken.

Sorry, theft is just not an ethical or legal way to deal with people who misbehave on forums. If someone thinks you are misbehving on a forum, is it ok of they come to your house and take away your games for 72 hours?

No, I thought not. I am going to bed. It's almost 5 AM here.

And once again, no one is coming into your house and taking your games. If the guy had registered it before he decided to post offensive material, he would be having no real problems with playing the game. Now, while I personally think the ban is harsh, I also believe that there should be consequences for one's actions and thus do not care about the user's plight. There is no need to post offensive content, no matter the sort, on this forum. There is also no need for namecalling or abuse. If you can't control yourself, then you don't need to be on the board. Unfortunately, EA felt that the user's offense was enough to warrant an account ban and he has to live with it.

[Dblue]

They can't take the game you purchased away from you! Only reason they get away with this is because they assume most people will bend over and take it since they're a huge company. I really wish they did this to someone with money and influence and were taken to court just on principle.

[darth_hel]

Zanallen wrote...

Garak2 wrote...

Zanallen wrote...

Garak2 wrote...

It is unethical to use theft as a punishment. MMO are online games and so your action DO affect other players but single player games....bah...it's all been said before in this thread.

If you support theft as a means of punishment, how do you suppose people angry at Bioware and EA for putting out a rushed game for full price should punish....piracy? See what happens when you start going down this path?

If they can take your content from you, you can take their content from them.

Unethical? Possibly. However, how does your actions on the board not effect the other people here on the boards? Yes, a forum ban should be and is the first step in preventing abuse. However, as has been stated, one day bans have little real effect on detering people. The next step for EA is an account ban. If you don't like it, the simple action is to not post offensive material that is against the rules of the forum. And as I have said before, I fully expect the situation to be cleared up in the morning, though I hardly condone the user's methods for getting his points acrossed. Now, if nothing is done by tomorrow, and we have proof of this, then further issue may be taken.

Sorry, theft is just not an ethical or legal way to deal with people who misbehave on forums. If someone thinks you are misbehving on a forum, is it ok of they come to your house and take away your games for 72 hours?

No, I thought not. I am going to bed. It's almost 5 AM here.

And once again, no one is coming into your house and taking your games. If the guy had registered it before he decided to post offensive material, he would be having no real problems with playing the game. Now, while I personally think the ban is harsh, I also believe that there should be consequences for one's actions and thus do not care about the user's plight. There is no need to post offensive content, no matter the sort, on this forum. There is also no need for namecalling or abuse. If you can't control yourself, then you don't need to be on the board. Unfortunately, EA felt that the user's offense was enough to warrant an account ban and he has to live with it.

Consequences, yes, permanent ban from forums should be the maximum consequence though, not this bs where they stop your access to the game. Having to access EA servers on consoles is BS in the first place and just bad design...loving Dragon Age 2 atm though

[Klimy]

Zanallen wrote...

No, I see it. I see a bunch of people overreacting and blaming EA and Stanley for cracking down on an offensive poster. And personally, I think that Bioware could have made DA2 into the best game of all time and people on this forum would still hate it right now. But I suppose we'll just agree to disagree and see what happens tomorrow.

You are right on this one - no matter how good the product is, there will be allways someone (or maybe a lot of) who will complain or not like it. This is how it was and probably we will never see it change in our lifetime.
Thus if it's common fact and happens all the time (like winter comes every year), then too harsh punishment out of the suden is strange. 

I don't want to go in details of why this happened or whom to blame. But if this is true (I already don't know if it is), then blocking a person from already paid material should not be allowed. It's like if you wrote something bad about your landlord on the forum and then you find out that you can't live in your house for 72 hours (or whatever).

[Zanallen]

darth_hel wrote...

Zanallen wrote...

Garak2 wrote...

Zanallen wrote...

Garak2 wrote...

It is unethical to use theft as a punishment. MMO are online games and so your action DO affect other players but single player games....bah...it's all been said before in this thread.

If you support theft as a means of punishment, how do you suppose people angry at Bioware and EA for putting out a rushed game for full price should punish....piracy? See what happens when you start going down this path?

If they can take your content from you, you can take their content from them.

Unethical? Possibly. However, how does your actions on the board not effect the other people here on the boards? Yes, a forum ban should be and is the first step in preventing abuse. However, as has been stated, one day bans have little real effect on detering people. The next step for EA is an account ban. If you don't like it, the simple action is to not post offensive material that is against the rules of the forum. And as I have said before, I fully expect the situation to be cleared up in the morning, though I hardly condone the user's methods for getting his points acrossed. Now, if nothing is done by tomorrow, and we have proof of this, then further issue may be taken.

Sorry, theft is just not an ethical or legal way to deal with people who misbehave on forums. If someone thinks you are misbehving on a forum, is it ok of they come to your house and take away your games for 72 hours?

No, I thought not. I am going to bed. It's almost 5 AM here.

And once again, no one is coming into your house and taking your games. If the guy had registered it before he decided to post offensive material, he would be having no real problems with playing the game. Now, while I personally think the ban is harsh, I also believe that there should be consequences for one's actions and thus do not care about the user's plight. There is no need to post offensive content, no matter the sort, on this forum. There is also no need for namecalling or abuse. If you can't control yourself, then you don't need to be on the board. Unfortunately, EA felt that the user's offense was enough to warrant an account ban and he has to live with it.

Consequences, yes, permanent ban from forums should be the maximum consequence though, not this bs where they stop your access to the game. Having to access EA servers on consoles is BS in the first place and just bad design...loving Dragon Age 2 atm though

And that would be fine if such a ban was at all effective. The user in question has already circumvented his ban several times. Once again, the account ban is basically EA's highest lvl ban that requires both a second user taking offense and an official's review. It is not handed out willy-nilly. Why can't people just not be offensive or abusive on the forums? Is it really that hard?

[Ebenezer]

Zanallen wrote...

Ebenezer wrote...

I dont think you see the scope of the situation.  I do agree with you, you're not wrong.and you're saying exactly what I said in my first post in this thread.

But you really have to step back and see the life that this thing has taken on.  Who is more likely to get burned for this?  The anonomous EA person who carried out the unwarranted banning?  Or the person who made "End of Line" a trending twitter topic and whose name is popping up in articles about the subject on gaming sites etc.?

They're gonna can Stan tomorrow/today (depends on your time zone I guess) not so much because he was wrong, but because he's the one associated with it and it will appease some weakminded people, seem like they're doing the right thing, and take the heat off of the fact that en masse people are (rightfully) burying this absolutely pathetic by Bioware standards release.

Because, again as I said in my first post in this topic, if this game didnt suck none of this would be happening in the first place.

No, I see it. I see a bunch of people overreacting and blaming EA and Stanley for cracking down on an offensive poster. And personally, I think that Bioware could have made DA2 into the best game of all time and people on this forum would still hate it right now. But I suppose we'll just agree to disagree and see what happens tomorrow.

I really dont think you do.  I'll help you though.

http://search.twitte...ult_type=recent

Go to that link and just keep refreshing it.  It'll let you know at the top when there's new results, which since, you know, it's Twitter and all with millions and millions and millions of people powerful enough to overthrow governments and stuff, is basically a few every second.  Check out how many literally thousands of people are discussing this.  Check out their links to many dozens of different websites now reporting on the story and all mentioning and making fun of Woo and Bioware/EA.  Check out not just that though but the largely negative reception the game is getting.  Supposedly Bioware has already commented and said "We're kind of surprised by the 6/10's" so they are well aware they are getting taken to the woodshed and the publicity of this incident does nothing but further popularize the tidal wave of bad feelings and bad opinions of this game and maybe it'll put things into a bit better perspective for you on how awful this situation really is.

And hey, if nothing else it'll give you a better grasp on what people really think about the game.

Modifié par Ebenezer, 11 mars 2011 - 10:59 .

[DonKaran]

all those stuff aside.. what the hell happens to freedom of speech? im sure u wont get into any trouble if u say obama is a jack*** or a d***.. why would EA be so narrow minded to ban someone for 3 days for something i would be smiling if was told to me.. and please all you bioware/EA fan boys need to admit that these stunts are completely bulls***

[Zanallen]

Ebenezer wrote...

Zanallen wrote...

Ebenezer wrote...

I dont think you see the scope of the situation.  I do agree with you, you're not wrong.and you're saying exactly what I said in my first post in this thread.

But you really have to step back and see the life that this thing has taken on.  Who is more likely to get burned for this?  The anonomous EA person who carried out the unwarranted banning?  Or the person who made "End of Line" a trending twitter topic and whose name is popping up in articles about the subject on gaming sites etc.?

They're gonna can Stan tomorrow/today (depends on your time zone I guess) not so much because he was wrong, but because he's the one associated with it and it will appease some weakminded people, seem like they're doing the right thing, and take the heat off of the fact that en masse people are (rightfully) burying this absolutely pathetic by Bioware standards release.

Because, again as I said in my first post in this topic, if this game didnt suck none of this would be happening in the first place.

No, I see it. I see a bunch of people overreacting and blaming EA and Stanley for cracking down on an offensive poster. And personally, I think that Bioware could have made DA2 into the best game of all time and people on this forum would still hate it right now. But I suppose we'll just agree to disagree and see what happens tomorrow.

I really dont think you do.  I'll help you though.

http://search.twitte...ult_type=recent

Go to that link and just keep refreshing it.  It'll let you know at the top when there's new results, which since, you know, it's Twitter and all with millions and millions and millions of people powerful enough to overthrow governments and stuff, is basically a few every second.  Check out how many literally thousands of people are discussing this.  Check out their links to many dozens of different websites now reporting on the story and all mentioning and making fun of Woo and Bioware/EA.  Check out not just that though but the largely negative reception the game is getting.  Supposedly Bioware has already commented and said "We're kind of surprised by the 6/10's" so they are well aware they are getting taken to the woodshed and the publicity of this incident does nothing but further popularize the tidal wave of bad feelings and bad opinions of this game and maybe it'll put things into a bit better perspective for you on how awful this situation really is.

And hey, if nothing else it'll give you a better grasp on what people really think about the game.

I personally don't care what other people think about the game. If I enjoy a game, then great. If not, oh well. That's why I enjoy being able to formulate my own opinions. That being said, how does those people on twitter or those on other websites contradict what I said? That is "a bunch of people overreacting and blaming EA and Stanley for cracking down on an offensive poster".

[vantick]

I've had it with all the complaining and whining. Sure there are genuine flaws to the actual game. In fact, I agree with most people when they say DAII was a 'rushed job'. But all of the people who I've seen across various sites and message boards suddenly picking up their torches and pitchforks against Bioware are beginning to become a real annoyance.

 To those (and there are plenty) who feel that they must take the time to announce to the world that they are boycotting Bioware, or are from now on only torrenting their games, or that Bioware itself has betrayed its loyal fans in favour of 'Evil EA' and their so-called 'idiotic' console demographic, I get the point. I no longer care how you feel about the company, and I'm damn sure nobody else does anymore. Give it up already. By saying that Bioware is a sell-out or that EA is the spawn of the devil, what exactly are you contributing? Nothing. By illegally dowloading and playing the game yet taking the time to insult the developers, you're doing nothing except spitting in their faces. No gratitude or signs of appreciation whatsoever. It's disgusting.

 We don't even have any solid evidence to back up anything the original poster said. If there is any, please kindly point me towards it, I'd be glad to take a look. For all we know, this guy is just a complete liar. If it turns out to be true, ignore everything above and consider me on the side of everyone that considers this to be completely wrong and incredibly stupid. Still though, can we stop the name calling and arguing soon?

Hmm... looking this over, it seems that the majority of my post isn't even related to the topic of this thread. Ah well. I shall prepare for the onslaught of "You're an idiot." directed towards me... now.

[agrocato]

Here is what Stanley Woo wrote when closing down the first thread concerning the banned account:

social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/6459941/1

Please review the EA Community Terms of Service, particularly sections
#9 and #11. There are two levels of enforcement here:

1. BioWare
community bans are forum-only and can be for as little as 24 hours.
These bans should have no effect on your game, only your ability to use
all the features of this website/community. these bans are handed out by
BioWare Moderators as the result of our travels around the forum and/or
issues reported by fellow community members.

2. EA Community
bans come down from a different department and are the result of someone
hitting the REPORT POST button. These bans can affect access to your
game and/or DLC.

Because the BioWare community now operates under
the same umbrella as all EA Communities, community members here have
all explicitly agreed to abide by and be governed by both sets of rules.
Consider it an added incentive to follow the rules you say you're going
to follow.

If there are further questions or concerns, please
send them to me via private message. Thank you.

End of line.

This is just bad for a companies image. Horrible PR!


While I have no problem with the first kind of ban, the second one might get EA and Bioware into legal trouble. Here are my five cents:

1) If someone with a penchant for litigation were to attack such a ban in court he would be able to do so in the court of his residence. EU consumer law (the banned person was from Europe).

2) The legal justification EA has for its bans are their terms of service. According to EU consumer laws, those can be invalid if they contain unexpected clauses. It is not unlikely that a court would consider the second banning provision such a clause.

3) Even if the clause should be valid, one might still argue that the more severe form of a ban was not warranted in this case. After all even civil law has to be interpreted in the light of fundamental freedoms such as freedom of speech.

In other words: If the banned person decides he is pissed enough to file a suit, he actually has a chance of winning.
However, it would be one of those cases which are the reasons courts are overworked around the world.

Still this should underline my point: Bioware's/EA's reaction seems over the top.

[Zanallen]

vantick wrote...

I've had it with all the complaining and whining. Sure there are genuine flaws to the actual game. In fact, I agree with most people when they say DAII was a 'rushed job'. But all of the people who I've seen across various sites and message boards suddenly picking up their torches and pitchforks against Bioware are beginning to become a real annoyance.

 To those (and there are plenty) who feel that they must take the time to announce to the world that they are boycotting Bioware, or are from now on only torrenting their games, or that Bioware itself has betrayed its loyal fans in favour of 'Evil EA' and their so-called 'idiotic' console demographic, I get the point. I no longer care how you feel about the company, and I'm damn sure nobody else does anymore. Give it up already. By saying that Bioware is a sell-out or that EA is the spawn of the devil, what exactly are you contributing? Nothing. By illegally dowloading and playing the game yet taking the time to insult the developers, you're doing nothing except spitting in their faces. No gratitude or signs of appreciation whatsoever. It's disgusting.

 We don't even have any solid evidence to back up anything the original poster said. If there is any, please kindly point me towards it, I'd be glad to take a look. For all we know, this guy is just a complete liar. If it turns out to be true, ignore everything above and consider me on the side of everyone that considers this to be completely wrong and incredibly stupid. Still though, can we stop the name calling and arguing soon?

Hmm... looking this over, it seems that the majority of my post isn't even related to the topic of this thread. Ah well. I shall prepare for the onslaught of "You're an idiot." directed towards me... now.

I am forced to agree. There is really no proof one way or the other. Of course, that is most likely why the user in question chose to go about this in the manner that he did. Ah well, I am done for the night. I have work in...10 hours or so and I should really get to sleep. I do hope this thread is alive and well in the morning though.