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[JackieJay]

(Maybe you like inflation porn?)

Fuck yes

I can't believe you are seriously posting this. Really, are you that idiotic? Do you have no concept of what these cracks do? They completely disconnect the game from the EA network, as said EA network is part of the copy protection scheme for their games that use it.

So yes, using a crack does stop you from linking a game to your EA account because it never shows up on your account in the first place. You need a valid key to link EA games to an EA community account, assuming said game uses it (not all EA games do). So you are wrong. So very, very, VERY wrong.

Basically, you were wrong from the beginning, stop being a dumdum.

Hum do you have any idea what a EA account is ?
It has absolutely nothing to do with copy protection. The EA account screen still show in cracked games, and you don't need a valid key for anything. If I'm not mistaken they associate your game with your account when you login in game with your credentials.

Did you quote the wrong post? I never said it was the worst thing (in fact, I said the opposite; see bolded statement in my quote). You seem to be addressing a post that was not actually made.

Nope, I was addressing your post. I wasn't addressing the bold part (which I think everyone agrees with), my point was that since what he said wasn't that serious why did other users who said much more offensive stuff got away without getting their games locked ?

[Dragonmaw]

Hum do you have any idea what a EA account is ?
It has absolutely nothing to do with copy protection. The EA account screen still show in cracked games, and you don't need a valid key for anything. If I'm not mistaken they associate your game with your account when you login in game with your credentials.

You are mistaken.

Did you quote the wrong post? I never said it was the worst thing (in fact, I said the opposite; see bolded statement in my quote). You seem to be addressing a post that was not actually made.

Nope, I was addressing your post. I wasn't addressing the bold part (which I think everyone agrees with), my point was that since what he said wasn't that serious why didn't other users who said much more offensive stuff got away without getting their games locked ?
[/quote]

Probably because they were taken care of by a moderator before the report post function was used. Duh.

[eva]

it was obviously just an accident (the game ban, not the forum ban)

and its not uncommon for company forums to have strict rules and ban on criticism against the company and its ip's. 100% guarantee to weed out trolls or prevent flamewar

either way
they got u to talk about dragon age 2 intentionally or not. ea marketing mission accomplished??

[Dacke]

It may be that the specific incident was caused by a human error. But the fact that it could happen at all clearly shows that there is something structurally wrong with EA's system. Them having the ability to ban you from games you have bought is just wrong.

People who argue against piracy tend to compare software with physical products. Which is a completely inane comparison, obviously. But if you believe in that analogy (which EA probably does), this would be like a car company having the ability to lock the doors of their cars remotely. So if someone said something nasty about the car company, they would have the ability to punish the disobedient customer by locking them out of their car.

[Ntero]

It may be that the specific incident was caused by a human error. But the fact that it could happen at all clearly shows that there is something structurally wrong with EA's system. Them having the ability to ban you from games you have bought is just wrong.

People who argue against piracy tend to compare software with physical products. Which is a completely inane comparison, obviously. But if you believe in that analogy (which EA probably does), this would be like a car company having the ability to lock the doors of their cars remotely. So if someone said something nasty about the car company, they would have the ability to punish the disobedient customer by locking them out of their car.

Except in the analogy you seem to have forgotten OnStar, in which case they can also stop your car.    (Not that they use it in that fashion, but they do have the ability)

Second, game bans are not actually something new in games, but rather new in a single player game, as it was primiarily an MMO issue.  MMOs have been able to do full on bans, sometimes permanent, for a product you purchased, effectively turning that key to junk.  Although it was ussually an uncommon and extreme, and I honestly hope that moderator got a heavy review for banning someone for such a comment.

Third, it wasn't a game ban.  It was a ban on game registration.  He could still play single player games, he just couldn't sign into the registration stage.  Honestly I see a ban on forums being a ban linked to a registration page as an oversight rather than an intentional lock out.  What kind of punishment is "You can still play our games, but no more purchasing"? 

Please stop calling it a game ban, as it confuses the issue.  It was an issue where his registration was disabled (probably used the authentication as the forums for reuse).  Had he registered his game before(or been banned a day later), there wouldn't have been anyone who noticed the issue, because he wouldn't have tried the registration portal during a ban. 

[hanako]

it was obviously just an accident (the game ban, not the forum ban)

Considering that when it was first brought to a Bioware employee's attention, he said (paraphrase, not direct quote) "Yes. That's how it's supposed to work. Consider that an incentive." it's not so 'obviously' just an accident.

[Dacke]

As I understand the EA ban:

• You can't register new games (and therefore not play them)
• You can't reinstall games
• DLC is disabled
• Saves using DLC will not work (you have to start a new game)
• No multiplayer for any game (even when you haven't misbehaved in-game)

That's quite a bit more than a ban on game registration.

[eva]

yea but in a single player game (dragon age 2) thats the only one relevant - not being able to register

[eva]

it was obviously just an accident (the game ban, not the forum ban)

Considering that when it was first brought to a Bioware employee's attention, he said (paraphrase, not direct quote) "Yes. That's how it's supposed to work. Consider that an incentive." it's not so 'obviously' just an accident.

acutaly forget my respons lets just keep tal k about faceless coproroations!!!!1 yeah1! new gam journalism!!!1 rock on

[deathtotheweird]

more evidence that this was known for a long time and was intentional:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/15/biowhere-ea-working-on-fixing-game-bans

According to EA’s Terms of Service, it very much is their policy to do this. Literally. It states,

    “In response to a violation of these Terms of Service or any other agreement applicable to EA Services accessed by you, EA may issue you a warning, suspend your Account, selectively remove, revoke or garnish Entitlements associated with your Account or immediately terminate any and all Accounts that you have established. You acknowledge that EA is not required to provide you notice before suspending or terminating your Account or selectively removing, revoking or garnishing Entitlements associated with your Account.

    “If your Account, or a particular subscription for an EA Service associated with your Account, is terminated, suspended and/or if any Entitlements are selectively removed, revoked or garnished from your Account, no refund will be granted, no Entitlements will be credited to you or converted to cash or other forms of reimbursement, and you will have no further access to your Account or Entitlements associated with your Account or the particular EA Service.”

and you are seriously saying that this was not intentional?

[eva]

“As noted last week, we have identified an error in our system which can suspend a user’s entire account when our terms of use policy has been violated. We are working to fix this and expect to have the issue resolved by the end of this week. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience – it is not our policy to prevent customers from playing a single-player game. Any registered player who feels they have been banned inappropriately is urged to contact EA Customer Service.”

the accident is that they didnt think about it affecting single player games and theyll be fixing it. way more believable than... whatever im sucking ea's dick apparently

as for the "game journalist"'s opinion: lol

[Dacke]

yea but in a single player game (dragon age 2) thats the only one relevant - not being able to register

No, four of the five items apply to Dragon Age 2.

You can't register games and therefore not install it or reinstall it (point 1 & 2). You can't use DLC (downloadable content) in single player (point 3). As you can't use DLC, you can't load your saved games and have to start the game over (point 4).

But the most outrageous thing is that you can't play multiplayer because you said something "bad" on the forums, which are completely separate from the actual games.

[s0]

But the most outrageous thing is that you can't play multiplayer because you said something "bad" on the forums, which are completely separate from the actual games.

Yeah that's pretty dumb.

[hanako]

it was obviously just an accident (the game ban, not the forum ban)

Considering that when it was first brought to a Bioware employee's attention, he said (paraphrase, not direct quote) "Yes. That's how it's supposed to work. Consider that an incentive." it's not so 'obviously' just an accident.

acutaly forget my respons lets just keep tal k about faceless coproroations!!!!1 yeah1! new gam journalism!!!1 rock on

It's 'new game journalism' to read a thread on the Bioware forum with an official statement by a Bioware employee on it and to suspect that this is, in fact, Bioware's position? What was the old journalism, divination by entrails?

Or is your argument that the employee in question is an idiot who talks out of his ass in an official capacity? We can argue that if you want, I've got my own bones to pick with him over other things.

[PleasingFungus]

Per the Rock Paper Shotgun post, this has been happening for over a year now, to multiple people:

Over the weekend we were contacted by James (cipher86) to whom the very same thing happened a year ago. He was reported for an inappropriate poll on the forums which he accepted had upset someone. But found, for a few hours, he was still able to post on the forums, but not access any of his games. An attempt to play Dragon Age saw a message pop up telling him he couldn’t log in because his account was suspended. And when he went to customer support he was send a cut and paste of the Terms Of Service, certainly giving the impression that his gaming ban was deliberate.

The only difference between his case and Arno's is that Arno got publicity.