Concerns about the new EULA


all_hell

 

Posted

...and this is why.

Quote:
You consent to the foregoing monitoring and acknowledge that NCsoft may conduct such monitoring, including but not limited to monitoring in-Game communications and Message Boards provided by NCsoft as well as third-party Message Boards and the like. You also acknowledge that NCsoft may take any action, or no action whatsoever, based on such monitoring, including but not limited to action under Section 5, and that NCsoft has no obligation to explain any decision to take any action, or no action whatsoever, based on such monitoring. (d) NCSOFT HAS THE RIGHT, BUT NO OBLIGATION, TO MONITOR OPERATION OF ANY SERVICE, CONTENT OR SOFTWARE AT ANY TIME AND IN ANY MATTER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MONITORING COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACES, STORAGE DEVICES, RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY OR CPU PROCESSES RELATED TO HARDWARE YOU USE WITH THE GAME. SUCH MONITORING MAY ALSO INCLUDE, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, MONITORING FOR THE PURPOSES OF DETECTING SOFTWARE UNDER SECTION 8(c) or 8(e). YOU CONSENT TO THE FOREGOING MONITORING AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT NCSOFT MAY, AT ANY TIME, AND IN ANY MANNER, COMMUNICATE ANY INFORMATION BETWEEN HARDWARE YOU USE WITH THE GAME AND ANY MECHANISM NCSOFT MAY CHOOSE FOR SUCH COMMUNICATIONS. YOU ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AS A RESULT OF SUCH MONITORING NCSOFT MAY IN ITS SOLE AND ABSOLUTE DISCRETION TAKE ANY ACTION, OR NO ACTION WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: (i) CHANGING ANY PORTION OF THE SERVICE, CONTENT OR SOFTWARE; (ii) SEEKING RECOURSE AGAINST YOU BY WAY OF ANY PROCEEDING NCSOFT DEEMS APPROPRIATE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES; AND/OR (iii) DETERMINING THAT YOU ARE NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL PROVISIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT AND TERMINATING YOUR ACCOUNT UNDER SECTION 3(b) OR SECTION 3(c). NCSOFT HAS THE RIGHT, BUT NO OBLIGATION, TO PROVIDE YOU WITH NOTICE BEFORE SUCH TERMINATION.
This is a gross violation of my privacy and civil rights, and I will not subject myself to this. [edited]. I'm posting this so that whoever in NCSoft may see it that may change this. If you take this out, I may continue to subscribe in the future. But as it stands, I'm done. I've been paying for the past seven years almost, and for the last two or three without even playing most of the time. [edited]

Edited: With the permission of the OP, edited so that it did not violate the Forum Rules. -Z


 

Posted

Lots of stuff in the EULA looks scary at face value. The vast majority of it is basically to cover NCSoft/Paragon's behind in the legal sense. What I gather from the above is that they have the right to ban you if they think you're using bots. Given the stuff that was already in the EULA, this isn't something I'd lose sleep over.


@Demobot

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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Westley View Post
...and this is why.

This is a gross violation of my privacy and civil rights, and I will not subject myself to this. I will be unsubscribing permanently as soon as I send this message. I'm posting this so that whoever in NCSoft may see it that may change this. If you take this out, I may continue to subscribe in the future. But as it stands, I'm done. I've been paying for the past seven years almost, and for the last two or three without even playing most of the time. No more.
Blah blah blah, we might check to make sure you're not trying to cheat. To everyone who thinks NCSoft is doing something outrageous and new, I invite you to read *any* game or application EULA - they all make absurdly broad claims about what companies can and may do if they feel like it, however, *nothing* they say can trump your local laws, assuming they're even enforceable in the first place.

If you don't want to play any more then that's fine, but don't be naive enough to think that any other games will be any "better".


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Posted

When you allow anyone to download executables to your game (every time you install anything) you are giving them a huge amount of access to your computer. They could have code in the download that erased your harddrive if they wanted. That's why you only download from people you trust, because you're giving them access to change your world (figuratively speaking)...


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Spad_EU View Post
Blah blah blah, we might check to make sure you're not trying to cheat.
I interpreted the section quoted the same way actually...

Having played other MMO's, i have seen several ways in which players cheat with bots and macro's and it can be very very hard to tell the difference between a human and a bot in some cases (some bots even use mouse wiggles, pauses, variable time delays between actions to appear more human from a log point of view).

But to gain the "kill" against several bots in the space MMO did require the use of a dedicated team, as well as process monitoring of the client (and everything that linked into it).

Of course, i assume that you are fine with players botting in CoX... just so long as it doesn't affect you.

Note: To monitor any process that links to the game from outside of the game box would require the previously mentioned (cpu, memory etc etc) parts to be monitored...


Quote:
Originally Posted by Socorro View Post
When you allow anyone to download executables to your game (every time you install anything) you are giving them a huge amount of access to your computer. They could have code in the download that erased your harddrive if they wanted. That's why you only download from people you trust, because you're giving them access to change your world (figuratively speaking)...

Space faring MMO: boot.ini file went bye bye in one patch (only affected windows XP users)

/e facepalm


 

Posted

Eula are evil. All of them. They always have been and always will be - even the ones for standalone software (non MMO computer games, etc) read similar. I wish you luck in whatever new hobby you take up to replace computer gaming. Your posts were occasionally entertaining and educational and may be missed.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Spad_EU View Post
To everyone who thinks NCSoft is doing something outrageous and new, I invite you to read *any* game or application EULA - they all make absurdly broad claims about what companies can and may do if they feel like it, however, *nothing* they say can trump your local laws, assuming they're even enforceable in the first place.
Yes, EULAs are something of a joke. They are legally questionable at best, and if companies ever started to really try enforcing them on large scale they'd probably be forced out of business* if the resulting outcry didn't result in the government stepping in first.


*Because if people started to actually take them seriously, most people would react like Westley is or worse. No one would do business with anyone with a EULA, no one would want to scroll through lots of incomprehensible legalese for every last bit of software they use, no one would trust that it wasn't a trap.


Arc #40529 : The Furies of the Earth

 

Posted

If you set up some other web site or forum to leak NDA information, or to show disassembled piggs, or to stalk or harass some player, then, yeah, you should be banned.

If you think Paragon Studios has the time or inclination to monitor other web sites or boards for minor infractions, then that's rather delusional thinking since they barely keep up monitoring the official forums. But when egregious violations come to their attention, they want to be able to point to the EULA and say, "See, we told you this could happen."


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Posted

Can someone contact Westley and tell him to seriously stop overreacting? That stuff's probably been in the EULA for some time without him even noticing....these are terms and conditions we accept constantly and other people have said are questionable.

Westley, you previously agreed to all this stuff. Some testicular fortitude would be required, sir.


S.


Part of Sister Flame's Clickey-Clack Posse

 

Posted

I think this is the first ragequit post for CoH: Freedom - and considering it's only 2 days from launch, that's pretty good going - I was expecting way more nerdrage from the whole hybrid payment model too


@Golden Girl

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Posted

Westley overreacting?!? I don't believe it!


 

Posted

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Westley the guy who decided to piss on a departed user's memorial thread because said user was in the army?


 

Posted

He's actually now the second person I know who unsubbed over the EULA.

Do I think he's overreacting? Mostly. Do I think that EULA's terms, as written, are remotely sane? No.

I first looked into these new terms last night after the first person I saw quit over them pointed them out. Whether or not I think NCSoft has the means or inclination to use them at their fullest extent, that EULA's terms are grossly broad. I immediately recognized what they are trying to do, allow and protect themselves from in practice. I also see that their efforts to allow those things have been cast in preposterously overly broad ways. They want/need to do a few categories of thing and they're declaring permission to do anything.

Just because I don't think it's likely someone will rob me doesn't mean I think it's smart to sign a document that says my yard service can unlock my house and look around in it whenever they want. Likewise, I don't like having to (ostensibly) consent to allowing NCSoft to basically do anything they want with my personal system because I use their service. They probably won't do anything bad, but I think it's foolish to freely consent to something that gives them permission to do things which could be bad.


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Posted

I get two things from this.

1) Someone has waaaaay too much time on their hands if they frequently re-read the EULA for any insidiously evil changes.

2) This man will never get suckered by Steve Jobs and join the Cent-Ipod.


Check out my "Rule Britannia" series if you feel like something different. The arcs are #19599, #20575, #23977, #134775, #134923 and #144543. The series is complete, but spinoffs are in the works.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nos482 View Post
Sooooo, as appearently no one else cares... Can I have your stuff?
BAH! That's what I was going to ask.


@Oathbound
@Oathbound Too

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oathbound_Too View Post
BAH! That's what I was going to ask.
I don't think he gave away his stuff the last time. So this is just a sure sign he'll return.


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Posted

Best Overreaction To a Stupidly-Written EULA - 2011

Quote:
Just because I don't think it's likely someone will rob me doesn't mean I think it's smart to sign a document that says my yard service can unlock my house and look around in it whenever they want. Likewise, I don't like having to (ostensibly) consent to allowing NCSoft to basically do anything they want with my personal system because I use their service. They probably won't do anything bad, but I think it's foolish to freely consent to something that gives them permission to do things which could be bad.
You probably already do this more often than you think, fyi. Do you run NoScript on Firefox? If you do, which sites do you have fully unblocked? (If not, why the hell not???) Do you have antivirus software? (This question is entirely rhetorical; of course you do.) You pretty much have to give that free rein in order for it to be effective. Why do you trust AVG/Avast/or god forbid, Norton?

Ever read a credit card contract? Lots of similar legalese in there also (although it's not as bad since the reform act of...2010 I want to say?). In this world you agree to a lot of stuff that, if the person truly wanted to take advantage of you through the agreement, they could and you would have little-to-no legal recourse.


"You don't lose levels. You don't have equipment to wear out, repair, or lose, or that anyone can steal from you. About the only thing lighter than debt they could do is have an NPC walk by, point and laugh before you can go to the hospital or base." -Memphis_Bill
We will honor the past, and fight to the last, it will be a good way to die...

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Westley View Post
...and this is why.

This is a gross violation of my privacy and civil rights, and I will not subject myself to this. I will be unsubscribing permanently as soon as I send this message. I'm posting this so that whoever in NCSoft may see it that may change this. If you take this out, I may continue to subscribe in the future. But as it stands, I'm done. I've been paying for the past seven years almost, and for the last two or three without even playing most of the time. No more.
Okay let's look at this without the WALL OF SHOUT.

Quote:
You consent to the foregoing monitoring and acknowledge that NCsoft may conduct such monitoring, including but not limited to monitoring in-Game communications and Message Boards provided by NCsoft as well as third-party Message Boards and the like. You also acknowledge that NCsoft may take any action, or no action whatsoever, based on such monitoring, including but not limited to action under Section 5, and that NCSoft has no obligation to explain any decision to take any action, or no action whatsoever, based on such monitoring.

(d) NCSoft has the right, but no obligation, to monitor operation of any service, content or software at any time and in any matter, including but not limited to monitoring communications and communications interfaces, storage devices, random access memory or cpu processes related to hardware you use with the game. Such monitoring may also include, but is not limited to, monitoring for the purposes of detecting software under section 8(c) or 8(e). You consent to the foregoing monitoring and acknowledge that ncsoft may, at any time, and in any manner, communicate any information between hardware you use with the game and any mechanism NCSoft may choose for such communications. You also acknowledge that as a result of such monitoring NCSoft may in its sole and absolute discretion take any action, or no action whatsoever, including but not limited to:
  1. Changing any portion of the service, content or software;
  2. Seeking recourse against you by way of any proceeding NCSoft deems appropriate under the circumstances; and/or
  3. Determining that you are not in compliance with all provisions of this agreement and terminating your account under section 3(b) or section 3(c). NCSoft has the right, but no obligation, to provide you with notice before such termination.
So you're ticked that they don't want you to:

  • Bot in NCSoft games
  • Talk about botting in NCSoft games
  • Foster a botting subculture in NCSoft games
  • Talk about RMT in NCSoft games
  • Engage in RMT in NCSoft games
  • Foster an RMT subculture in NCSoft games.
  • Use NCSoft games as a communication medium for terrorist activities
  • Hack or use hacked game client software with NCSoft games
The provisions, while horrendous-sounding, are fairly tame. Essentially they reserve the right, if they suspect cheating, to use the game client to monitor your activity in-game to obtain verification.

With thousands of people playing this game (all at the same time) across multiple servers, why in the name of Bob would they actually decide to just spy on you and use the game client to rifle through your porn collection? I won't say the chances of someone abusing this don't exist. But the likelihood of it actually happening is vanishingly small. And if it did, you'd have legal recourse regardless of what the EULA says since browsing your filesystem beyond the scope of the game and attached apps falls under CF&A.

This is standard "cover their butt" boilerplate. Mostly it's to head off complaints by people whose accounts were shut down for gross violations and prevent illegitimate chargebacks through proper documentation of misconduct.



Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

 

Posted

I think Westley & co. are worried that the devs will be spying on Unleashed (which they probably already do) and ban their accounts if they dare say anything bad about the game, which would be a legitimately awful thing to do but it's a pretty silly thing to assume.


"You don't lose levels. You don't have equipment to wear out, repair, or lose, or that anyone can steal from you. About the only thing lighter than debt they could do is have an NPC walk by, point and laugh before you can go to the hospital or base." -Memphis_Bill
We will honor the past, and fight to the last, it will be a good way to die...

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkGob View Post
You probably already do this more often than you think, fyi. Do you run NoScript on Firefox? If you do, which sites do you have fully unblocked? (If not, why the hell not???)
I do, and only the ones I have to unblock to use. Any site I visit only once gets a temporary unblock only, and I never unblock ad tracking or google/yahoo APIs unless the site won't work without them. Mostly, I leave sites that won't work without those APIs, and don't go back.

But notably, these sites (well, other than this one, soon) do not have terms of use that state that they can do anything they want with data on my computer because I visited them.

Quote:
Do you have antivirus software? (This question is entirely rhetorical; of course you do.) You pretty much have to give that free rein in order for it to be effective. Why do you trust AVG/Avast/or god forbid, Norton?
Their software does indeed have free reign to look and, modify, and possibly upload anything from my computer. However, their terms of use do not state that they have my permission to upload data to them. (I can set the software to upload infected files automatically. I do not.) They might be lying or omitting details, essentially going behind my back - that's a risk I take in running their products, but if they are caught doing that they are doing it without my express permission. If they asked for that express permission (edit: In the EULA, not in the program's settings), I would use a different product.


Blue
American Steele: 50 BS/Inv
Nightfall: 50 DDD
Sable Slayer: 50 DM/Rgn
Fortune's Shadow: 50 Dark/Psi
WinterStrike: 47 Ice/Dev
Quantum Well: 43 Inv/EM
Twilit Destiny: 43 MA/DA
Red
Shadowslip: 50 DDC
Final Rest: 50 MA/Rgn
Abyssal Frost: 50 Ice/Dark
Golden Ember: 50 SM/FA

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkGob View Post
I think Westley & co. are worried that the devs will be spying on Unleashed (which they probably already do) and ban their accounts if they dare say anything bad about the game, which would be a legitimately awful thing to do but it's a pretty silly thing to assume.
Couldn't they have done that already? Even if not in the EULA, I'm sure they could of done some trumped up charge on it


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