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Bioware bans SW:TOR player over internet meme

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I'm pretty sure the guy could e-mail the address that he was given and get the suspension taken off if he wanted.

He doesn't give a shit, though. Read the description of his video.

That's why I think this is a big none issue. The moderator thought he was being serious and banned him. A simple discussion with Bioware reps could clear this up. Instead, he's decided to stir up the gaming community.

This could probably be resolved in 48 hours. I feel no sympathy for him.
 

Weenerz

Banned
I've lost so much respect for Bioware the last year or so, it makes me sad. People will say that I should blame it on EA, but by blaming Bioware, I am already blaming EA.
 
Huh? Where?

Basically taking back that which he purchased, no refund.

May not be the same technically, but it's close enough.

Maybe he should have thought about that before doing something he knew was against the rules.

And I'm doubting they took money from him AFTER they banned him anyway.

How would anyone know that joking about being underage is against the rules?

And maybe I worded it incorrectly. The net result amounted to robbery.
 

FLEABttn

Banned
Are we not understanding the implications of COPPA or refusing to understand?

This wasn't a forum ban. This was a game ban. Because the user in question claimed to be under 13. EA could improve getting this reversed, but it's a matter of EA covering their ass over the potential of the law being violated. This isn't nefarious.
 
Basically taking back that which he purchased, no refund.

May not be the same technically, but it's close enough.

Are you suggesting everyone who gets banned from Xbox Live has had their money stolen from them? It's good to hack your 360s and steal from MS?
 

Victrix

*beard*
If they fully refunded him I'd be ok with this.

Sort of.

They're still fucking stupid. What the hell is wrong with Bioware.

EA isn't worth mentioning, all the big companies suck ass.
 

Lothars

Member
If they fully refunded him I'd be ok with this.

Sort of.

They're still fucking stupid. What the hell is wrong with Bioware.

EA isn't worth mentioning, all the big companies suck ass.
I don't think he deserves a refund at all, they should give him a chance to prove his age and unban his account but that's all that he deserves.
 
That's why I think this is a big none issue. The moderator thought he was being serious and banned him. A simple discussion with Bioware reps could clear this up. Instead, he's decided to stir up the gaming community.

This could probably be resolved in 48 hours. I feel no sympathy for him.

Except terrible actions by companies should be brought up.

Its not about sympathy. It's about showing the world that Bioware is a terrible company.
 
Except terrible actions by companies should be brought up.

Its not about sympathy. It's about showing the world that Bioware is a terrible company.

If this is an example of Bioware being a terrible company, I'm not seeing it.

As far as I can tell the guy claimed he was 12 (joke or not) which is against Bioware's Terms of Service. He was then banned from TOR. If he hasn't attempted trying to get unbanned, which his video subscription suggests, then I really don't see what Bioware has done here besides not getting a stupid Internet joke.

They can't be faulted for Bad Humour (which the meme is) or the inaction of the user after the ban.
 
I don't. But apparently you think that companies ripping off their consumers is. Double standard.

You would have a point if I actually thought BioWare did anything wrong in this case. But since I don't, and I don't think companies should rip-off consumers, you're just talking out of your ass. But, you know, feel free to continue making up what other people mean in order to feel like you're "winning the argument".
 
How about this scenario:

I go and buy an MA-rated game when I'm under age, for $100 (typical Australian example from 1995).
I write a letter to a gaming magazine about it and get published in their next issue (disclosing my age in the process)
Publisher finds out, comes into my house and takes it from me.

That's basically what has happened here. A customer has paid money for the game, disclosed their age in a public forum (which by all accounts is probably not their real age) and been banned from playing a game they paid money for. The game, being online only, is now essentially worthless to them.

Instead of being unreasonable, bioware should have done one of two things:
1. Taken it as the joke it is or;
2. Taken steps to verify the player's age

Instead, they simply stole it from him. No questions, no investigation, no appeal process, no refunds.

If they didn't steal the game, they at the very least stole his money.

Bioware = thieves.

well for starters you should never bought the game in the first place if your underage, if you're pretending to be underage then you deserve for it to be taken.
 
They null and voided his purchase, and kept the money after the fact just because of a stupid joke.

You wanted them to refund someone who, for all intents and purposes, broke the TOS?

Seriously, dude, you have got to stop approaching this from "this is how I see things, so that's what actually happened". They obviously didn't know it was a joke.
 

Lothars

Member
Except terrible actions by companies should be brought up.

Its not about sympathy. It's about showing the world that Bioware is a terrible company.
No this is about one stupid person who broke TOS intentionally or unintentionally and got banned than bitches about it instead of getting it fixed.

I don't think this is biowares fault at all, this is the players fault.
 
You wanted them to refund someone who, for all intents and purposes, broke the TOS?

No this is about one stupid person who broke TOS intentionally or unintentionally and got banned than bitches about it instead of getting it fixed.

I don't think this is biowares fault at all, this is the players fault.

Joking about being under 13 != being under 13.

Nice ninja, btw, HP. They should have done a little investigative work.
 
Is downloading a game you already bought but were banned from piracy?

Yes.

Because you downloaded it.

Are you honestly telling me that you are going to try to circumvent being banned by breaking the law? I'm sure Company X will completely forgive you once they see you back online.
 
Joking about being under 13 /= being under 13.

There's nothing to suggest that it's a joke unless you are in on the joke. The Bioware rep who banned him is not obligated to seek out proof of whether or not the post is a joke or not, they are simply banning him based on his admission of his age.

Important thing about telling a joke guys and gals, you're intended audience is under no obligation to "get it." The onus is on you to make sure that it's clear you are telling a joke and hopefully your audience will find it funny.
 
The onus is on you to make sure that it's clear you are telling a joke and hopefully your audience will find it funny.

You just had to make the onus comment before I did, didn't you?

Fuck that. I am putting you on my Ignore list. Nobody writes the big words but me.
 
There's nothing to suggest that it's a joke unless you are in on the joke. The Bioware rep who banned him is not obligated to seek out proof of whether or not the post is a joke or not, they are simply banning him based on his admission of his age.

Important thing about telling a joke guys and gals, you're intended audience is under no obligation to "get it." The onus is on you to make sure that it's clear you are telling a joke and hopefully your audience will find it funny.

It's also on EA/BioWare to give him a chance to prove it. (I do see, however, that he won't be doing anything about it in any case, so apparently it can't be helped.)
 
It's also on EA/BioWare to give him a chance to prove it. (I do see, however, that he won't be doing anything about it in any case, so apparently it can't be helped.)

Not really, no. It's up to him to do that.

Don't hate a company just because you can. That kind of apathy is why people don't give gamers a second thought.
 
It's also on EA/BioWare to give him a chance to prove it. (I do see, however, that he won't be doing anything about it in any case, so apparently it can't be helped.)

If EA/BioWare was ignoring his case I'd be miffed at them but if he's not going to bother communicating with them, and instead, have a hissy fit via YouTube, I could really give two shits about his issues.

We get guys on here all the time complaining about (insert company here) not giving them the service they thought they deserved, only to discover that they never bothered to communicate with their customer service to resolve the issue.
 
If this is an example of Bioware being a terrible company, I'm not seeing it.

As far as I can tell the guy claimed he was 12 (joke or not) which is against Bioware's Terms of Service. He was then banned from TOR. If he hasn't attempted trying to get unbanned, which his video subscription suggests, then I really don't see what Bioware has done here besides not getting a stupid Internet joke.

They can't be faulted for Bad Humour (which the meme is) or the inaction of the user after the ban.

Saying you're 12 is not against their TOS.

So he got banned because the terrible company that is Bioware hired terrible moderator's that are all to happy to do retarded things without thought.
 
Saying you're 12 is not against their TOS.

So he got banned because the terrible company that is Bioware hired terrible moderator's that are all to happy to do retarded things without thought.

SBjrT.jpg


Saying you're 12 is against their TOS. You're not allowed to play the game if you're under 13 years of age.
 
Not really, no. It's up to him to do that.

Don't hate a company just because you can. That kind of apathy is why people don't give gamers a second thought.

What if EA/BioWare doesn't give him the time of day if he tries though? Besides, they're assuming he's 12 just because of a statement he made. And assume, as they say, stands for "making an ass of you and me".

At the very least, they should have given him a chance to prove his age before banning him. Putting the cart before the horse just wasted everyone's time.
 
What if EA/BioWare doesn't give him the time of day if he tries though? Besides, they're assuming he's 12 just because of a statement he made. And assume, as they say, stands for "making an ass of you and me".

Should I stop assuming things about people based on the statements they've made. Should I just start assuming that everyone is joking/lying?

What a ridiculous statement.


These two guys are really stretching to defend Bioware.

Actually, I'm finding it quite easy.

User makes statement that violates BioWare TOS.
BioWare bans user and cites TOS. Informs users that he/she is free to contact them regarding the ban.
User decides to make a youtube video instead of contacting BioWare.
 
What if EA/BioWare doesn't give him the time of day if he tries though? Besides, they're assuming he's 12 just because of a statement he made. And assume, as they say, stands for "making an ass of you and me".

You're just looking for anger now with this assumption that they won't help him out.

Dr. Who, I'm out. You've got these guys, because this is clearly going nowhere.
 
What if EA/BioWare doesn't give him the time of day if he tries though? Besides, they're assuming he's 12 just because of a statement he made. And assume, as they say, stands for "making an ass of you and me".

At the very least, they should have given him a chance to prove his age before banning him. Putting the cart before the horse just wasted everyone's time.

So now we're hating EA/Bioware because of 'What if?' scenarios?
 

teiresias

Member
Should I stop assuming things about people based on the statements they've made. Should I just start assuming that everyone is joking/lying?

What a ridiculous statement.

Criminal pleads not guilty to a crime in court. So obviously he didn't do it and no review of the actual facts should take place?
 
Are there people here who think he was serious with that whole "I am 12 and what is this?" comment. Here is an article based on the meme. It is well established in memeology as a joke and nothing more. Yes, actually being 12 and playing the game is against the TOS, but, joking about being 12 when in reality he is much older is not against the TOS.
 

-tetsuo-

Unlimited Capacity
Should I stop assuming things about people based on the statements they've made. Should I just start assuming that everyone is joking/lying?

What a ridiculous statement.




Actually, I'm finding it quite easy.

User makes statement that violates BioWare TOS.
BioWare bans user and cites TOS. Informs users that he/she is free to contact them regarding the ban.
User decides to make a youtube video instead of contacting BioWare.

Perhaps they could have checked his account info before banning him, considering that he has to supply it to make an account in the first place.
 
Criminal pleads not guilty to a crime in court. So obviously he didn't do it and no review of the actual facts should take place?

Wow. I've seen some slippery slope arguments in my time but this takes the cake. Seriously, I'm applauding you. This is brilliant.


Perhaps they could have checked his account info before banning him, considering that he has to supply it to make an account in the first place.

It would have been easy for me to sign up to TOR without having to prove my actual age. A stolen credit card would suffice. As soon as he made a statement that he was 12 they needed to ban him. All he needs to do now is prove otherwise.
 
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