Roleplay Party Finder Account Suspensions

Oh yeah...your carrd is a bit explicit for the ToS, hence the disciplinary measures.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by melafyre

-snip-

---

It should really be noted that this is the same GM who has gone on to issue 'violations' on accounts that have advertised on the PF for roleplay venues (even including those of all-ages), just because he seemed to not like it.
This has far less to do with what the PF said and far more to do with a certain someone being judge, jury and executioner as well as heavy-handed about what they deem a violation, even when it violates nothing that the TOS says. SE needs to look into this individual. It always seems to be him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KageTokage

I'm curious as to what the venue's name was.

---

Crystal DC, so I expect it to be that Glory Hole place, especially since the OP's omitting the name. Pretty sure the OP's stated advertisement fits their usual ones. Hopefully that other place that advertises literal voyeur shows gets hit at some point too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wyssahtyn

Crystal DC, so I expect it to be that Glory Hole place, especially since the OP's omitting the name. Pretty sure the OP's stated advertisement fits their usual ones. Hopefully that other place that advertises literal voyeur shows gets hit at some point too.

---

The name was said in the thread.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wyssahtyn

Crystal DC, so I expect it to be that Glory Hole place, especially since the OP's omitting the name. Pretty sure the OP's stated advertisement fits their usual ones. .

---

Our name is actually under that exact post you replied to. It was omitted for privacy but I replied with it to show that still, we are not in violation to the TOS. Our name isn't inappropriate.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wyssahtyn

Crystal DC, so I expect it to be that Glory Hole place, especially since the OP's omitting the name. Pretty sure the OP's stated advertisement fits their usual ones. Hopefully that other place that advertises literal voyeur shows gets hit at some point too.

---

Read some more of the thread before leaping into the discussion. The venue's name was the Scrapyard, and your strange conflation of it somehow being relevant to the datacenter it is hosted on is a shining beacon to just how seriously you can be taken in discourse surrounding ToS and the enforcement of it. Take a cold shower and think before you post.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lunalepsy

The name was said in the thread.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by milkhorn

Our name is actually under that exact post you replied to. It was omitted for privacy but I replied with it to show that still, we are not in violation to the TOS. Our name isn't inappropriate.

---

Sorry, scrolled past it since it just opened with a picture.

OP I think people that went your venue wrongfully ratted your friends out. SE doesn't hand out bans willy nilly like that.. Even if there was no profanity, etc, it's up to GM to determine whether or not the content spoken breeches the TOS.

Ok so having read the thread so more, it appears they just stop at the PF slogans and toss bans if it they feel it breeches the TOS x_x. The actual venue taking place doesn't matter.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Quintessa

OP I think people that went your venue wrongfully ratted your friends out. SE doesn't hand out bans willy nilly like that.. Even if there was no profanity, etc, it's up to GM to determine whether or not the content spoken breeches the TOS.

---

It definitely smells fishy regardless of people inserting their personal opinions on venues with adult themes. Our PF was not against TOS which is entirely the point of my post that got derailed into speculation and needless attempts at clapbacks. The point is, my friends are on suspension for something that they were given no warning for, and it was not just our venue being advertised that got hit. I understand that us listing 18+ can be 'interpreted' as something controversial, but we see as well from melafyre, who was hit with the same punishment from a completely 'acceptable' venue. Where is the disconnect from GM to players, when we have been over the TOS several times. Square - tell us what we did wrong, and why the punishments would be so severe on first offenses. It doesn't make sense.

Could be someone from MPK group. They did have a hard on against any rp.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by milkhorn

It definitely smells fishy regardless of people inserting their personal opinions on venues with adult themes. Our PF was not against TOS which is entirely the point of my post that got derailed into speculation and needless attempts at clapbacks. The point is, my friends are on suspension for something that they were given no warning for, and it was not just our venue being advertised that got hit. I understand that us listing 18+ can be 'interpreted' as something controversial, but we see as well from melafyre, who was hit with the same punishment from a completely 'acceptable' venue. Where is the disconnect from GM to players, when we have been over the TOS several times. Square - tell us what we did wrong, and why the punishments would be so severe on first offenses. It doesn't make sense.

---

ERP privately arranged between consenting adults is fine. That has been made clear by GMs in the past.

ERP being publicly advertised in Party Finder is not. That was made clear with the ToS clarification.

If your carrd info included in your PF listing is explicitly stating ERP activities, you are publicly advertising ERP since those curious have to visit your carrd to get the full description.

I think that's the distinction you're failing to grasp.

Involving a third party site for in game activities is no longer protection. They reserve the right to take game related content posted on third party sites into consideration when making account action decisions.

It's just weird that these suspensions are happening now, when these venues were perfectly fine advertising their places for people to convene and have fun.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Godzillaxpowerrangers

Could be someone from MPK group. They did have a hard on against any rp.

---

Luckily with the new All Saints Wake event, they can finally dress like they act.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by technole

Here is what you don't understand. FFXIV's rating supercedes your personal 18+ rating.

https://www.esrb.org/wp-content/them...s/images/T.svg

---

The ESRB rating is Teen. The description associated with that rating, as described on the ESRB site itself includes:

Blood
Language
Sexual Themes
Use of Alcohol
Violence

The game is not rated E10+ or E, which are the appropriate ratings for Children.

The Japanese rating is "Cero C", which is 15+.

The general European rating is "PEGI 16", which is 16+.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ReeveAnkharet

It's just weird that these suspensions are happening now, when these venues were perfectly fine advertising their places for people to convene and have fun.

---

GMs aren't spying on game activities 24/7. It takes someone opening a ticket before they investigate.

Clearly there is some player out there who is taking offensive at the listings. Perhaps it's a protective parent looking out for their child who recently started playing the game.

This goes back to the various game ratings and ToS. Part of the ToS is that you acknowledge there are underage players present and agree to act accordingly in your interactions with other players.

In many ways, that's to protect the player as much as SE. If a parent discovers you've been engaging in ERP with their minor and report it to law enforcement, you could be in serious trouble. "They told me they were an adult" won't be much of a defense if you didn't take responsible actions to confirm they were an adult.

If someone feels the need to ERP via a video game, they should be choosing a game that has a hard 18+ requirement to play. There you would have some protection should the other player turn out to be a minor. In an 18+ game, there's a reasonable expectation on your part for that other player to be an adult legally able to consent.

That is not true here. You simply have no way of knowing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DPZ2

The game is not rated E10+ or E, which are the appropriate ratings for Children.

---

In most areas, a teen is still legally a child. The Teen rating is not a defense.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

ERP privately arranged between consenting adults is fine. That has been made clear by GMs in the past.

ERP being publicly advertised in Party Finder is not. That was made clear with the ToS clarification.

If your carrd info included in your PF listing is explicitly stating ERP activities, you are publicly advertising ERP since those curious have to visit your carrd to get the full description.

I think that's the distinction you're failing to grasp.

Involving a third party site for in game activities is no longer protection. They reserve the right to take game related content posted on third party sites into consideration when making account action decisions.

---

If this is the case then it needs to be said clearly that it's the result of content found on a third party. We have been advertising the same way for over a year now and it is still bizarre to be hit so suddenly with it, (again as the same time as others leading us to believe in rp targeted reports as we've suffered in the past). If it has something to do with linking a carrd then more people would be at risk to violations. How can they control people linking their carrds when 80% of roleplayers will have them in their search info? In the same vein people linking their discords and having adult themes in their channels would have been reprimanded as well. To me it still isn't concrete, but I understand what you're saying.

It's not just the wrongful suspension on these people that's having attention called for to it, but also the actions of the GM itself. There is little to no evidence given by the GM, no actual attempt to explain the violation or even link the behavior to a violation. Not to mention, for the two people mentioned in the OP's post, these weren't even given the chance to be spoken to. They were just suspended at 3AM/4AM. The GM handling this appears to be the same one that did similar abuses of power in the past and now, even after the devs gave the OK for mature RP spaces to exist, continues to do so.

Bringing in the game's rating means little when the game itself includes highly mature themes such as suicide, enslavement, rape, torture, murder, sex/child trafficking, child abuse and child endangerment. These are infinitely darker and far more damaging of scenarios than RP venues promoting sex-positive spaces. In fact, the inclusion of "18+"/"21+" warnings is more adherent to the rating of the game than not including them.

ERP or mature RP in itself is not wrong between consenting players. By having the warning in PFs for venues, it paints a clear picture of the maturity needed to consent to these RP. Calling it a profanity is inane. Ageism doesn't apply when complying to stated rules and laws.

The GM handing out these suspensions is abusing rank and power and, once again, needs to be taken down and take responsibility for the abuse. Considering this is the second string of like abuse, the GM in question really should not be allowed to decide in, mediate, or interact with the player base.

Avoid saying 18+. Look for ways around it, like "Leave the kids at home!" or "Old and crusty? Let's get funky" you get it right-look for a harmless way to say no minors. and even then I'll be honest, minors will still absolutely lie to your face and go in. Only do it if you're feeling quirky, otherwise don't bother with the 18+ thing lol. It won't filter anyone. Kids know when they're putting themselves in harms way, they just don't care. Not until the situation is bad enough and usually by then its because it's moved to discord and now they're sharing irl things. There's nothing anyone can do other than immediately once alone, ask them directly if they're over 18. If they say yes, great! If they say yes and it was a lie, tell everyone you know and get them ostracized from future events like that as they rightfully should be-no mental health isnt an excuse either, don't fall for the pity party ploy. Kid's don't belong there. Most who lie and ERP continue on just fine because they love ERPing, but if they're going to do that then it should really be with people their own age if it must be done at all. Now that I think about it, we really need to stop obsolving them of all guilt. 16 isnt stupid, it's naive. A 16 year old isnt too dumb to also first ask the age of who they're with. That's a two way street. So for any minors here clutching G'raha fanfic, you need to hold yourselves accountable and start asking ages too. and you need to be honest about yours and stay out of spaces that you know arent for you.

Anyway back to the main point. Wording is everything. Water it down as much as possible. Type your advertisement and then read it like 20 times. Ask yourself "Now if I were a dork who had nothing but free time to get offended and read into things way harder than one should, could I in any way shape or form find this sentence incriminating?"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MonikaFategleam

Luckily with the new All Saints Wake event, they can finally dress like they act.

---

Isn't that a buzzword used by the same people who created those shame lists in certain raiding groups on Discord?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Batbrat

-snip-

Anyway back to the main point. Wording is everything. Water it down as much as possible. Type your advertisement and then read it like 20 times. Ask yourself "Now if I were a dork who had nothing but free time to get offended and read into things way harder than one should, could I in any way shape or form find this sentence incriminating?"

---

To me this is counterintuitive. It would do more harm to have people stumble unwillingly to venues that have mature themes than to put our warnings outright. If the concern is for minors then shouldn't our warning with the forbidden phrase "18+" be more in line with the TOS to have consent when engaging with these types of activities?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DPZ2

The ESRB rating is Teen. The description associated with that rating, as described on the ESRB site itself includes:

Blood
Language
Sexual Themes
Use of Alcohol
Violence

The game is not rated E10+ or E, which are the appropriate ratings for Children.

The Japanese rating is "Cero C", which is 15+.

The general European rating is "PEGI 16", which is 16+.

---

https://support.na.square-enix.com/f...&la=1&ret=rule

"Please note that Square Enix may issue a penalty at its discretion even if a report has not been filed but the act was found being conducted in public areas such as Say and Shout, search comments, Party Finder, on online video/streaming services, if the behavior is found to violate real world laws, or if it may be considered a problem based on the game's entertainment board ratings."

People like to say well ESRB doesn't cover online interactions, that is to a certain extent, like chat rooms. But performing acts using FFXIV assets like your character and content such as screenshots and streaming is still under SE's copyright and purview with ratings and local laws.

Honestly, it's probably the 18+ part. This suggests adult activities. You can't actually enforce the age limit thing, so you could be encouraging minors to have RP "adult activities" with adults.

Although I agree that maybe a written warning outlining exactly why they're being contacted and monitored would be better than an outright 3 day ban. I'd say your friends got off lucky.

Filthy rats... The sickness must be purged.

Just to chime in real quick, I feel like the argument of it being an 18+ venue and that's why it happened is a bit of a mute point. One venue owner got banned for advertising their winery and spa in Goblin and they weren't 18+ in any respect.

You know, it could simply just be that some jerk thought it'd be funny to ruin your good time and report you because he's not into RP himself.

Square has this habit of "ban first, investigate later".

They get a report, look at the description of the report and take action to prevent any potential continuation of a potential incident. I feel this is generally automated. A few days later a real person well investigate the case and decide if any further action needs to be taken or if the case is settled.

Problem is; they don't take the false report off your record.

You're guilty before you're innocent. It's cancel culture and unfortunately Square leans into it. It's easier to ban you then say "my bad" then it is to prove your innocence.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by technole

People like to say well ESRB doesn't cover online interactions, that is to a certain extent, like chat rooms. But performing acts using FFXIV assets like your character and content such as screenshots and streaming is still under SE's copyright and purview with ratings and local laws.

---

How is an "18+" in a Party Finder announcement "performing acts using FFXIV assets"? It takes a pretty interesting mindset to equate the two, since the game only allows chat for interpersonal interactions.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Saimeren

You know, it could simply just be that some jerk thought it'd be funny to ruin your good time and report you because he's not into RP himself.

Square has this habit of "ban first, investigate later".

They get a report, look at the description of the report and take action to prevent any potential continuation of a potential incident. I feel this is generally automated. A few days later a real person well investigate the case and decide if any further action needs to be taken or if the case is settled.

Problem is; they don't take the false report off your record.

You're guilty before you're innocent. It's cancel culture and unfortunately Square leans into it. It's easier to ban you then say "my bad" then it is to prove your innocence.

---

That is our fear, and why I like to continue to reiterate that my friends did not have any previous warnings on their accounts and they've been playing for multiple years. They don't deserve to have these strikes on their accounts without further understanding as to exactly what it was they did wrong. They do not act maliciously, and frankly being condemned on a loop by folks here for having 18+ in our party finder doesn't help the situation nor give us a concise reasoning as to why they were severely punished right off the bat. When we've shown that people were also reported for having no such thing in their party finder, punished with the same reasoning and the same length of suspension. The only similarity is that - we are roleplay venues.

Another point, no one was banned for having 18+ content. They were ALL suspended for exactly 3 days by the same GM for this exact reason:

3.3 Profanity and Offensive Language. You may not use profanity or any language that a reasonable person would find offensive.

There are separate points in the TOS that talk about violating the ESRB rating so why weren't those listed? If that was truly the offense why does a GM, of all people, need to hide behind this reasoning instead?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ecl1pse

Another point, no one was banned for having 18+ content. They were ALL suspended for exactly 3 days by the same GM for this exact reason:

3.3 Profanity and Offensive Language. You may not use profanity or any language that a reasonable person would find offensive.

There are separate points in the TOS that talk about violating the ESRB rating so why weren't those listed? If that was truly the offense why does a GM, of all people, need to hide behind this reasoning instead?

---

A good point as well, unless they truly do not take the time to look at what they're sending and rather just send these automated emails when issuing suspensions.

To put some perspective on it, my wife is one of the people that was suspended. This is the first video game she's ever truly gotten in to in her life because I encouraged her to play it. Through it, she found the RP community and wanted to give back, hence opening a venue. There was zero malicious intent and honestly, she was playing off what other venues were doing at the time and even now.

Yet when the GM went to talk to her, they offered zero explanation for the suspension. A player who has never had a single black mark against her and they pulled her in to basically say "You're suspended because of a single PF. I'm not telling you what PF or why. Go read the TOS." She asked if there was someone else she could talk to and the GM said it would take a while. She was so overwhelmed and confused and then was ported to Radz-at-Han with no explanation and suspended instantly.

If having 18+ venues isn't allowed, just tell us. She wasn't going out of her way to deliberately cause trouble. She wanted a safe place for RPer's to have some fun and kill time once a week. If doing ERP is against the TOS, even in private and consenting circumstances, then let the general public know or make some kind of statement so people who want to follow the rules are able to. Let those who think they can get away with it have their fun and take the risk but don't punish players who love this game, play every day and use it as a means of escape suffer because the rules are too convoluted and are up to the interpretation of each individual GM.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ecl1pse

To put some perspective on it, my wife is one of the people that was suspended. This is the first video game she's ever truly gotten in to in her life because I encouraged her to play it. Through it, she found the RP community and wanted to give back, hence opening a venue. There was zero malicious intent and honestly, she was playing off what other venues were doing at the time and even now.

Yet when the GM went to talk to her, they offered zero explanation for the suspension. A player who has never had a single black mark against her and they pulled her in to basically say "You're suspended because of a single PF. I'm not telling you what PF or why. Go read the TOS." She asked if there was someone else she could talk to and the GM said it would take a while. She was so overwhelmed and confused and then was ported to Radz-at-Han with no explanation and suspended instantly.

If having 18+ venues isn't allowed, just tell us. She wasn't going out of her way to deliberately cause trouble. She wanted a safe place for RPer's to have some fun and kill time once a week. If doing ERP is against the TOS, even in private and consenting circumstances, then let the general public know or make some kind of statement so people who want to follow the rules are able to. Let those who think they can get away with it have their fun and take the risk but don't punish players who love this game, play every day and use it as a means of escape suffer because the rules are too convoluted and are up to the interpretation of each individual GM.

---

It's the same with our venue, our small community we've catered to is just looking for a safe place to enjoy FFXIV the way we do. It is EXTREMELY unhelpful to go 'you know what you did wrong' to people who genuinely do not know. It's unfair, and there is no way of knowing what you're supposed to be fixing if they don't tell you what it is you've got to fix. They've told us before (and it's in the exception from prohibited activities) that ERP is allowed between consenting players. If we are not doing so in public, our party finder doesn't suggest it, and it is clear cut that it is not for minors then.. what is the issue? If it has solely to do with the third party site, we need to know as well that we are not allowed to do such. Communication is needed before punishment, period.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ecl1pse

To put some perspective on it, my wife is one of the people that was suspended. This is the first video game she's ever truly gotten in to in her life because I encouraged her to play it. Through it, she found the RP community and wanted to give back, hence opening a venue. There was zero malicious intent and honestly, she was playing off what other venues were doing at the time and even now.

Yet when the GM went to talk to her, they offered zero explanation for the suspension. A player who has never had a single black mark against her and they pulled her in to basically say "You're suspended because of a single PF. I'm not telling you what PF or why. Go read the TOS." She asked if there was someone else she could talk to and the GM said it would take a while. She was so overwhelmed and confused and then was ported to Radz-at-Han with no explanation and suspended instantly.

If having 18+ venues isn't allowed, just tell us. She wasn't going out of her way to deliberately cause trouble. She wanted a safe place for RPer's to have some fun and kill time once a week. If doing ERP is against the TOS, even in private and consenting circumstances, then let the general public know or make some kind of statement so people who want to follow the rules are able to. Let those who think they can get away with it have their fun and take the risk but don't punish players who love this game, play every day and use it as a means of escape suffer because the rules are too convoluted and are up to the interpretation of each individual GM.

---

They did... It's in the guidelines....

Example 2
In the case of role-playing involving mildly sexual expressions (such as erotic role-playing) with a consenting group of two or more players, if it is conducted in a private area, it will not be considered a violation unless a report is made.

However, if you encourage or invite a player to participate in such role-play without being certain of their consent, there is a high possibility that you will be reported and penalized. Please be very careful.

As you can see, expressions that fall under this category are generally prohibited, so if even one player who witnessed such an expression finds it offensive, there is a high possibility that it will be reported. What is considered offensive will vary from person to person, so if you believe there is any chance that you may offend someone, you should refrain from making such expressions.

Please note that Square Enix may issue a penalty at its discretion even if a report has not been filed but the act was found being conducted in public areas such as Say and Shout, search comments, Party Finder, on online video/streaming services, if the behavior is found to violate real world laws, or if it may be considered a problem based on the game's entertainment board ratings.

Also, I'm fairly sure Scrapyard is a fight club of sorts and there's a PF right now in Crystal DC advertising an 18+ maid theme brothel and cafe. Those of you with the argument of "you advertised an 18+ place!" should consider that there are many other venues who advertise in the exact same manner, some with 5+ PF's, and face zero repercussions.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth

They did... It's in the guidelines....

Example 2
In the case of role-playing involving mildly sexual expressions (such as erotic role-playing) with a consenting group of two or more players, if it is conducted in a private area, it will not be considered a violation unless a report is made.

However, if you encourage or invite a player to participate in such role-play without being certain of their consent, there is a high possibility that you will be reported and penalized. Please be very careful.

As you can see, expressions that fall under this category are generally prohibited, so if even one player who witnessed such an expression finds it offensive, there is a high possibility that it will be reported. What is considered offensive will vary from person to person, so if you believe there is any chance that you may offend someone, you should refrain from making such expressions.

Please note that Square Enix may issue a penalty at its discretion even if a report has not been filed but the act was found being conducted in public areas such as Say and Shout, search comments, Party Finder, on online video/streaming services, if the behavior is found to violate real world laws, or if it may be considered a problem based on the game's entertainment board ratings.

---

But all acts of ERP are done in complete private, in private rooms. Not in the public or even in /tells. The PF we suspect that was reported was posted on a Thursday, advertising hiring. Also, if this is the reason for the suspension, why wasn't it given? You can't suspend someone for one violation (in this case, it was stated it was profanity) and then point to something else as a defense. Also, that doesn't come from the TOS. That comes from the guidelines. Does it fall under the same rules, even though this was stated as a violation of TOS?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ecl1pse

But all acts of ERP are done in complete private, in private rooms. Not in the public or even in /tells. The PF we suspect that was reported was posted on a Thursday, advertising hiring. Also, if this is the reason for the suspension, why wasn't it given? You can't suspend someone for one violation (in this case, it was stated it was profanity) and then point to something else as a defense. Also, that doesn't come from the TOS. That comes from the guidelines. Does it fall under the same rules, even though this was stated as a violation of TOS?

---

The guidelines refer to the tos. It's the "this is what we look at for tos violations.

They were advertising the venue that has erp/sexual activities in PF. Which by said guidelines, is not allowed.


https://support.na.square-enix.com/f...&la=1&ret=rule

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Valkyrie_Lenneth

The guidelines refer to the tos. It's the "this is what we look at for tos violations.

They were advertising the venue that has erp/sexual activities in PF. Which by said guidelines, is not allowed.


https://support.na.square-enix.com/f...&la=1&ret=rule

---

That's fair. Thanks for clarify. But I guess my question is that why a venue that didn't advertise ERP/sexual activities was also banned for the exact same reasoning and for the same time frame?

There is a bit of "we don't want to tell you how to get around it, but there are probably ways to" on how they do things. It's similar to calculating damage using 3rd party tools, that kind of special conversation has to be kept out of the game unless you know all people in the party and chat are comfortable with the topic. It's kind of spelled out that way in the prohibited activities page as well. Knowing your surroundings and if you do something that could be a problem, you open yourself up to risk.

Hence openly advertising 18+ material is enough to get attention. It's not just a circle argument here but more of if a lot of people believe it's a problem, the GMs tend to side that way as well. The laws and rating are spelled out in that page, as I wasn't making it up just some have not read into detail and know the context why it was added there in the first place. There are random people out there willing to report any party finder with questionable content or just being in the wrong category. I'd personally rather put report energy into people who openly harass people in-game rather than a PF listing.

I need to remind this to people:

Quote:

---

Press: What is your official stance on player-run “brothels,” wherein two consenting players have cybersex in exchange for in-game currency? [This was a contentious question, and one that Yoshida seemed blindsided by. -Ed]

Yoshida: First of all, there is a user agreement that all players have to agree to before they can even start playing Final Fantasy XIV. Within that user agreement is a clause that prohibits any unacceptable conduct to this end, including behavior that infringes upon laws. Any players who violate those rules will be punished by banning or other penalties. This applies no matter which end of the exchange a player is on. Everyone who plays Final Fantasy XIV is subject to investigation for violating the terms of service, period. Because Final Fantasy XIV is a worldwide game, there is the potential for players from many different regions to interact with one another, and we have legal support available to assist us in investigations to this end in many countries. If you see someone engaging in this type of behavior, we ask you to report it.

---

Original: https://www.cgmagonline.com/intervie...naoki-yoshida/

So, if your venue offer "mature" services once reported you get a suspension. Get enough suspensions and your account go bye bye. Also, even if you put that kind of information outside the game if the person that reported you provide links and a GM consider those valid that stuff will be used against you.

It's like putting a lew pic on twitter with your char name/server on them. SE will ban that person.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ecl1pse

That's fair. Thanks for clarify. But I guess my question is that why a venue that didn't advertise ERP/sexual activities was also banned for the exact same reasoning and for the same time frame?

---

The only other person here who posted refused to post their venues name, so we don't know this. It's all hearsay because of that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ecl1pse

To put some perspective on it, my wife is one of the people that was suspended. This is the first video game she's ever truly gotten in to in her life because I encouraged her to play it. Through it, she found the RP community and wanted to give back, hence opening a venue. There was zero malicious intent and honestly, she was playing off what other venues were doing at the time and even now.

Yet when the GM went to talk to her, they offered zero explanation for the suspension. A player who has never had a single black mark against her and they pulled her in to basically say "You're suspended because of a single PF. I'm not telling you what PF or why. Go read the TOS." She asked if there was someone else she could talk to and the GM said it would take a while. She was so overwhelmed and confused and then was ported to Radz-at-Han with no explanation and suspended instantly.

If having 18+ venues isn't allowed, just tell us. She wasn't going out of her way to deliberately cause trouble. She wanted a safe place for RPer's to have some fun and kill time once a week. If doing ERP is against the TOS, even in private and consenting circumstances, then let the general public know or make some kind of statement so people who want to follow the rules are able to. Let those who think they can get away with it have their fun and take the risk but don't punish players who love this game, play every day and use it as a means of escape suffer because the rules are too convoluted and are up to the interpretation of each individual GM.

---

So she should appeal the moderation action. She should ask for clarification of what the problem was.

Part of the reason they posted an updated prohibited activities notice was to offer clarification to players attempting to abide by the ToS. That need for clarity should extend to what GMs reveal to players who have had action taken against their account.

If GMs are still resorting to vague references, the clarification the update was intended to provide is not happening.

Also, an 18+ restriction doesn't make a venue a "safe place" so there's no reason to advertise it as such.