Account Banning, Virtual Items, and Forum Moderating
Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:36 am
Everyone who keeps citing the ToS as law need to realize that they are wrong as much as they are right. Game companies think the EULA gives them ownership of virtual items. Gamers think their time, money, and participation transform the virtual property giving them ownership of said items. Both are right, and both are wrong. The law in this area is far from settled.
When a forum member posts about an account being banned there are two recommend approaches.
The first approach is to use the standard language:
"At Celtic Heroes we really care about our players, and we realise that disabling an account due to breaches of in-game policies is a very severe measure, and is something we do not do lightly."
The second approach is to delete the forum post. Operators of moderated forums have a duty and a right to control the content posted on their forums. Most game forums don't allow forum posts about customer service issues. Deletion of the post is an option under the OTM forum policies.
Either approach is a better option than making dubious legal claims which have the possibility of leading some bored attorney to post about it.
Just trying to help. Take this post for what it is intended OTM.
When a forum member posts about an account being banned there are two recommend approaches.
The first approach is to use the standard language:
"At Celtic Heroes we really care about our players, and we realise that disabling an account due to breaches of in-game policies is a very severe measure, and is something we do not do lightly."
The second approach is to delete the forum post. Operators of moderated forums have a duty and a right to control the content posted on their forums. Most game forums don't allow forum posts about customer service issues. Deletion of the post is an option under the OTM forum policies.
Either approach is a better option than making dubious legal claims which have the possibility of leading some bored attorney to post about it.
Just trying to help. Take this post for what it is intended OTM.