Can someone in California go to EA and slap them in the face for me?

[Zeek]

Oh, look who got banned for "trolling" and posting an "Off-topic thread!" Me!

Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 1969 6:00 PM
Subject: EA.com Terms of Service Violation


Hello zeekslider,

Your EA Account has been suspended due to a violation of our Terms of Service. This suspension not only restricts your access to TheSims3.com, but also limits your access to any other EA online property.

The violation you are being suspended for can be found below:

<Suspended for off Topic Discussion (Trolling) Link:http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/working-conditions>

Any further violations can result in another suspension or even a permanent account ban.

If you have any questions regarding this violation, we recommend you take a look at the EA Terms of Service by clicking on the link below:

http://legal.ea.com/legal/legal.jsp?language=en

If you have any general questions or concerns regarding this suspension, our support team is available to answer any questions you may have at the following address:

http://support.ea.com.

If you wish to appeal this suspension, take a look at the following article:

http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg...nated_form.php

Sincerely,

Electronic Arts Customer Support.

EA.com Customer Relations

What this e-mail doesn't say is the context in which I posted the video.

I was asking if some of those elements could be present in the Sims 3 Division of EA. It would explain the long list of existing bugs and the lack of timely and effective patches. Things related directly to The Sims 3 franchise itself.

But the video was seen as trolling...

And I've been suspended indefinitely. Guess the Sims 3 is going to have to go without one of their most dedicated community testers now.

[Vainamoinen]

Wellll... it's a great video.

So this is a permanent ban, seriously? For posting a video? Damn, I would have to ban so many people, it's not even funny any more.

[Zeek]

I honestly don't know. I've spent the entire day trying to figure that out, actually doing things old school by calling (yes, on the phone) the customer service line and just going to a General Inquiry Agent.

The first one couldn't tell me anything I didn't already know. She didn't see any notation about the suspension being a temporary or permanent one. All she knows is what was sent in that e-mail I received. I was very calm and explained to her that I'm rather shell shocked right now because the ban came out of nowhere and I was about to buy some DLC. She asked me what forum this happened on, and I then explained to her that it didn't matter what title this happened on because the e-mail said my EA account as a whole. This meant that I couldn't purchase anything from Origins, access the online features of Spore, or buy DLC for The Sims 3.

That's when I found out from HER that if I were to buy Battlefield 3 right now and attempt to install it, I wouldn't be able to do so on the PC. According to her, the PC copy only has an authorization file and the installation files for Origins. It does not have Battlefield 3 on it anywhere. Once the DVD is in the drive, Origins looks for that authorization file, pings the Origins servers, and then the installation of the software begins. She then told me that if what I say is true, then I wouldn't even be able to get pass the pinging of the servers.

We just kind of sat there in silence as we realized the severity of the situation.

She offered to forward the issue to her supervisor and was very sympathetic that I ultimately lost my ability (again) to play all my EA titles without an explanation as to why the video was considered trolling.

A few hours later, I got a call from EA. It wasn't her supervisor, it was just someone who got the message she forwarded. They told me the same thing, only in a more abrasive way. I asked them to forward me to a supervisor like I was originally seeking, and they way this rep presented it to me sounded like I was submitting a court case that needed to be approved before anyone would even listen to it.

Supposedly I'll get an e-mail within the next 24 hours on the matter.

In the end, I still don't know if this is a permanent ban, why the link was considered trolling, or even the context in which this ban was issued. I'm stuck in offline mode for all the games I play that are EA titles, with no way to purchase the DLC I wanted to buy today. Because, despite me being treated like crap, yes, I wanted to give them some business because I liked what their artists made in the DLC pack this month.

EDIT: BTW, Vainamoinen, if you liked that video, you'll love this one.

http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode...o-ea-marketing

[Elvenmonk]

This is why I'm not in favor of forum accounts, game IDs, and all that being unified. It makes everything easier, but it can end baddly. If I want to ban you from the forums, but not the games/the ability to buy from me it's kind of hard with this system.

[GuruGuru214]

This seems like a good time to clarify, in case any of you were wondering, while your Telltale accounts and forum accounts are tied together, a forum ban only prevents you from accessing the forum.

[Zeek]

Oh, good. So it's like Steam then. That's nice to know.

[Vainamoinen]

Originally Posted by Elvenmonk

This is why I'm not in favor of forum accounts, game IDs, and all that being unified. It makes everything easier, but it can end baddly. If I want to ban you from the forums, but not the games/the ability to buy from me it's kind of hard with this system.

Another thing that really bugs me with modern DRM. You buy games, but you don't seem to own them. It's paradox, frankly. That's why the Telltale end-of-season-DVD is an absolute MUST.

[Zeek]

New reason why we should nuke EA off the face of the gaming industry!

Apparently, their call center is not connected to corporate at all. That's right. When you call for customer support, you are not getting any kind other than technical help for specific game titles. If you have any questions about your EA account, they can't help you because EA accounts are considered corporate issues. Oh, and don't ask to be forwarded to them, because they won't do that. In fact, the person I talked to when I asked flat out told me "no."

*sigh* I need to find an effective and public way to complain about this, but the TTG forums will have to do unless I can find a corporate number where I can actually talk to someone who represents the company and not some outsourced call center.

Now here's the kicker.

That link that I was banned for? They are now saying that it is because it was an advertisement for another site and had nothing to do with the conversation at the time. I asked them, again seeking more information and not appealing the banning, how that was not relevant to the discussion at hand which I started by asking if anyone else thought those elements were present in the Sims 3 development team--thereby justifying the long list of existing issues that haven't been fixed, I was never given an answer. Instead I was asked "Is there anything else I can assist you with today?"

[Chyron8472]

Originally Posted by Vainamoinen

Another thing that really bugs me with modern DRM. You buy games, but you don't seem to own them.

I don't condone piracy, but it is for that reason that I find such as file-sharing to be useful tools. I know someone here is want to argue in favor of the DMCA (DeLorean Motor Company Authority? ) with me for saying so, but I'm just saying that if a game company went under causing DRM to prevent further gameplay, you can bet that you could easily find someone on the net to give you the means to change that.

[Zeek]

Hey, the made it possible for German players to download and install Battlefield 3 by getting around the Origins force-install...

...of course that means they can't play online multi-player as a result because that action is a direct violation of the TOS, but hey! I got your game without the need for Origins!

[Rawr]

You still gave them money though lol. Somehow I don't think they care.

You should buy Russian copies. Completely legal, and it means you punish EA's bad business practices because they don't get as much money from those copies. As an example BF3 is £12(14 Euro). Only downside is you have to download the english language files from somewhere to make it english, but it's easily done.

[GaryCXJk]

Yeah, for now EA doesn't get any money from me.

[Giant Tope]

Originally Posted by der_ketzer

No that's the USA for you. All they are doing is preventing the worst should there ever be a virus.

Pretty sure that's not just the US, but okay.

[Elvenmonk]

Originally Posted by Vainamoinen

Another thing that really bugs me with modern DRM. You buy games, but you don't seem to own them. It's paradox, frankly. That's why the Telltale end-of-season-DVD is an absolute MUST.

I buy my games then crack them. I then back them up on a seperate DVD. It looks like I went to China and bought a shit ton of games, but no. They're all legit copies I backed up to ensure I'd have them for good.