Perma-Silenced from Command and 7 day suspension (LIVID)

[Jownzorz]

So I was going about my business as normal on PlanetSide when BAM I get hit with a three day silence. I sent a tell to the moderator politely asking why. He responded saying I used profanity, etc. I then questioned him about when they started monitoring the chat (I haven't changed the way I've spoken in months). Next thing I know, my game locks up. I assume its a crash, so I restart my client and it said I wasn't subb'd.

I delve deeper by checking to see if my card was declined only to find that I had been suspended. After checking my VERY old email account (since SOE's online account editing won't allow me to change my email) I find an email with the reason why I was suspended. Same thing, profanity.

I can understand the silence, but then promptly being suspended for 7 days without warning? Hell, I wasn't even warned prior to the silence. They said it was my third offense, but I can only find records of one other offense.

They emailed me what I had said, here are the transcripts:


2011-08-31 19:56:01 [16:04:02], Command, PyroV2, fucking hossin is blue
2011-09-01 20:10:09 [15:42:43], Command, PyroV2, Damn, I was going to ask if it was weird knowing your dick was touching your daughter's face while you banged your wife
2011-09-10 15:27:59 [15:14:20], CMD ALL, PyroV2, Looking for an organized outfit? Tired of running around with your dick in your hand? Send me a /tell for more info!
2011-09-11 15:50:25 [13:47:21], Outfit, PyroV2, fucking nc.
2011-09-12 15:13:39 [15:13:26], Command, PyroV2, lol @ 25% TR holding off these NC *******
2011-09-12 15:34:30 [15:22:35], Command, PyroV2, crtl+dick
2011-09-12 15:34:30 [15:10:24], Outfit, PyroV2, \#ff000tits
2011-09-12 15:34:30 [15:10:34], Outfit, PyroV2, \#FF000tits
2011-09-12 15:34:30 [15:16:54], Command, PyroV2, da fuck happened on cery?


Since when can I not speak freely in MY outfit. I am the outfit leader so I set the tone of how the outfit runs. If you don't like it, you have the option to leave.

NOTE: the \FF0000tits was an attempt to change the text to red (noob move)

Advice???

[Hamma]

Contact SOE directly if you believe it's in error. Also review this thread. It appears SOE is going back and reviewing logs all of a sudden

[Whoknowswhat1]

Same thing happened to me. they recalled a log that was about 3 weeks old and at like 3pm silenced me...

what was the name of the GM that silenced you?

[Zulthus]

I'm pretty sure the reason was the text in command chat. Which, I guess, uh.. is worse than even what I normally see on /c. Still though, really stupid reason to suspend an account for 7 days. I can understand the silence though.

[Graywolves]

They need to give you a warning before they just shut you down like that....

And Outfit chat is private to you and your outfit so as outfit leader you can say whatever you want.

[SgtMAD]

they don't need to warn anyone,everyone has always known that you can't swear in /C,if you get caught you get in trouble

the problem is that no one has been policing /C for years so when someone gets caught they freak out

you got suspended,welcome to the friggin club

and I'll tell ya what, it was probably the ****** comment that got you in trouble,companies these days are so afraid of being sued that anything resembling sexual harassment drives HR nazis nutz


and what kind of a douche bag recruits over global?

[Bags]

SOE: Hackers are fine, but cussing is not.

lol

[Graywolves]

They do need to warn you because you're paying them. It's not a privilidge to play their game and use their chat. You paid that money. There's no room for hard zero tolerance policies in the entertainment industries for trivial things.

[Zulthus]

Originally Posted by Graywolves

They do need to warn you because you're paying them. It's not a privilidge to play their game and use their chat. You paid that money. There's no room for hard zero tolerance policies in the entertainment industries for trivial things.

Actually... it is. They expect the customer to follow the TOS, and if a rule is broken, they have the right to take your privilege away. You paid your money accepting the TOS, so you gotta follow it.

[Hamma]

Indeed and I'm pretty sure it isn't stated anywhere they owe you a warning first. Sure it's common courtesy but they don't have to.

[Firefly]

Originally Posted by Zulthus

Actually... it is. They expect the customer to follow the TOS, and if a rule is broken, they have the right to take your privilege away. You paid your money accepting the TOS, so you gotta follow it.

This, exactly.

I'm not aware of any sort of tiered punishment - like Mythic's stance on vulgarity, you got a warning. Then you got a one-day. Then you got a three-day, a five-day and a seven-day pending termination. At all times you'd get an email confirmation (with logs) to the email address registered with your account. But what Mythic does and what SOE does are two different things. SOE's not obligated to do shit for you if their policies aren't the same. Presuming that they owe you something is stupid - you pay to play, and when you log in you agree to adhere to the terms of service, player code of conduct and user agreement. You also tacitly agree that action can be taken against you if you break any of those rules.

As for the OP... you probably got busted for command chat - outfits are moderated by whichever levels of officerness are present. Regardless, you broke the rules, got reported, were found guilty, and action was taken. Waa. Lesson learned. Just because the CSRs and whatnot don't police it frequently doesn't mean you're exempt from the rules.

[Graywolves]

In an entertainment industry where you are seeking a wide variety of players, yeah you need to give warning. As a company you just look like an asshole when you boot without notice or warning. And since your product is entirely based off of the interest of the general consumers to do such, it is in your best interest to not appear to be an asshole.


Of course they can do whatever they want with their game. But widdling your customers away through unnoticed bans and suspensions is a great way to exponential lose income for the company in the near and distant future.

[Raymac]

I do feel kinda bad for the OP because it did come out of the blue, but at the same time, I remember the early days when the chat was much more tightly monitored so I'm not that surprised. Basically, while I swear like a pirate in private, I try to watch what I say in public because there are kids out there. (and I really hate the "think of the children" arguement)

[Firefly]

Originally Posted by Raymac

I try to watch what I say in public because there are kids out there. (and I really hate the "think of the children" arguement)

I hate the argument too, and I never use it - "online experiences not rated by the ESRB" is my personal retort whenever someone mentions how outraged they are that I said "fuck" when there are kids playing.

Bottom line is, if you let your kids play online video games with people like Goon Squad, 4chan/SA rejects and the like, don't get mad when they are exposed to stuff. You can A) teach them how to use /ignore, B) how to use /filter, C) monitor what they are saying, and D) what constitutes appropriate information to say and to tolerate being said. And possibly E) don't say those words at home. Every time I come across some outraged hippie parent whose kid is playing World of Dorkcraft with them and they get all butt-hurt that someone called their kid a fucking ******, I laugh so hard I nearly wet myself. Their excuse to play WoW when you have the kids is letting them play? That's not parenting and/or babysitting, that's teaching them shitty behavior. I'm single-father to two boys. At no point will they be allowed to get on the internet by themselves, whilst they are in my house, until they are maybe 16. And even then, they will be checked after.

Public chat aside... From a professional standpoint, my responses - per company policy - have been something along the lines of "Well, LegolasGirl184, if you don't want TrollyMcTrollington to ask your 14yr old daughter via tell what kind of panties she has on, you should teach her how to use the ignore feature and you shouldn't have the filter off. Private tells are moderated by the user, via the ignore feature. Please re-appeal if TrollyMcTrollington circumvents the ignore feature by creating a new character."

[dm Akolyte]

Originally Posted by Firefly

I'm single-father to two boys. At no point will they be allowed to get on the internet by themselves, whilst they are in my house, until they are maybe 16. And even then, they will be checked after.

You are gonna have some weird, sexually repressed kids.