Player ban lifted for sarcastic comment in reference to Dragon Age 2 [Update]
A bit of internet snark has left one customer unable to play his copy of Dragon Age 2 recently. According to a frustrated post on the BioWare...
[Update] An EA representative told Shacknews that the issue has been resolved:
EA strictly enforces the code of conduct at Social.BioWare.com. If a player violates the rules by using profanity, they will be temporarily banned. Unfortunately, there was an error in the system that accidentally suspended a user's entire account. Immediately upon learning of the glitch, EA took steps to restore the user's macro account and apologized for the inconvenience.
[Original Post] A bit of internet snark has left one customer unable to play his copy of Dragon Age 2 recently. According to a frustrated post on the BioWare forums, a user going by the name "vware" was suspended for 72 hours after a sarcastic comment. He had said, "Have you sold your souls to the EA devil?"
Ordinarily, a suspension would just strip a user of forum posting privileges. In this case, however, the user had bought his copy of Dragon Age 2, but hadn't activated it yet. Since activation is handled through the EA Community portal, he can't activate the game in order to play it until the ban is lifted.
BioWare community representative Stanley Woo clarified later in the thread that forum bans only impact forum activity. The EA Community ban came from a different department, after another user apparently reported it. He also pointed to the EA Terms of Service, specifically the sections on Rules of Conduct and account termination.
"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," said Woo. "Consider it an added incentive to follow the rules you say you're going to follow."
Of course, the user's account is only suspended for 72 hours in total, at least 24 of which have passed already, so he'll be starting the game up before the weekend is over. We've contacted EA for official comment, but have not heard back yet. In the meantime, draconian measure or fair penalty for being a smartass? Let us know in the comments.
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Comment on Sarcastic comment prevents Dragon Age 2 activation, by Steve Watts.
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Chris Priestly's official response:
"Here is my official response. You will likely see this picked up on news sites soon enough.
EA strictly enforces the code of conduct at Social.BioWare.com. If a player violates the rules by using profanity, they will be temporarily banned. Unfortunately, there was an error in the system that accidentally suspended a user's entire account. Immediately upon learning of the glitch, EA restored the user's macro account and apologized for the inconvenience."
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/6465725/48 -
The ban was within the forum ToS, and vware was being acidic. Problem is the lack of oversight as to how bans affect activation, apathy towards the legitimate suffering of an proper consumer, and an attitude from a community representative that leans toward malice for disillusioned fans. Though vware was uncivil, it's not wise to try and suppress dissent reactivity when news of said suppression will only fuel a bad public image.
Combine this with the SecuROM fiesta that's cropped up and you have a recipe for disaster. I don't expect many PC users to be supportive of Bioware in the future if DA2's current image remains as is - or worsens. -
UPDATE: RPS says EA has retracted the ban, saying that the linking of the forum account and the entire EA account was a glitch.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/11/ea-retracts-game-ban-for-forum-violation/ -
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A permanent ban would be a completely different story and I'm sure the guy would garner the sympathy of everyone because it would be completely unreasonable. Seeing as how I have never purchased DLC, nor do I plan to given the general level of quality, that threat wouldn't stop me.
If it was access to an MMORPG, maybe I'd feel the pain. OTOH, I'd pay heed to the TOS and not do anything on said site to incur the wrath of possible overzealous employees monitoring the forums.
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Though the perpetrator's plight is rather mundane, the legal ramifications could be severe. DA2's EULA has no mention of how proper forum etiquette is required to start playing, and that vware was not permitted use of software for reasons not stated in the EULA could constitute a breach of contract.
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That is similar to saying 'I feel illegal immigrants should be shot to deal with the problem of illegal immigration'. Somethings are immoral, unjust, and just plane petty.
Perhaps instead of going for a knee-jerk decision they should instead question WHY someone would come on their forums and say they sold their soul to EA. More importantly WHAT that means and WHY that is bad. You know, the whole caring and actually figuring out the problem.-
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Why do you immediately defend his actions? You speak as if the guy is a martyr fighting for internet freedom, when in all likelihood he's just some forum troll. There are always people who are critical, that hardly means they are justified in their distaste. Clearly his goal all along was to show EA and the misguided people of the world their horrible soulless business practices and operating philosophies.
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So what if he's a troll? He even admitted that he was out of line with the comment that resulted in the ban. Even the worst trolls don't deserve to lose access to the games they paid for simply because they were trolling a forum. Ban them from the forum, sure. But removing their ability to play the game they already bought is beyond fucked up.
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i'm not sure where people get their logic about this. yes it was a little overboard a punishment for such a dull sarcastic comment, but the fact of the matter is he broke a rule. you dont like the rules, dont go to the games site and break them, i mean whats the point of his post/comment anyways.
so judging EA for enforcing a rule while (no matter how fitting or over reactive), brings up the age old question, how many rules or how far do you let something go before you have to reel it in?
this doesn't change my thoughts about EA in the least, because i would never have this guys problem. it also doesnt change my opinion on forums and how people act there stereotypicaly. -
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And yet people have lost their Steam accounts for silly reasons. But the righteous fury that seems to have engulfed this particular case rarely materialises. And the usual response to those that do have a little rant about it is "don't violate the ToS, and you'll be fine", or "I've never had a problem, so it must be all your fault".
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The situation has been resolved! There was a glitch in the system that caused a user's entire account to be suspended, even though he only received a forum posting ban for a sarcastic https://thatsnotmyneighbor.org/ comment.
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It's unfortunate that situations like this happen from time to time. I wonder what this user will do next. I'm not sure that this conflict will just end like that https://igrofresh.com