Is this reportable?

Someone has been advertising another game in the PF for around 3-4 days now. Not sure if this is reportable, or just looked down upon.

http://i.imgur.com/mBJP4yT.png

I'm pretty sure advertising another game is something GM's would take action against.

I say report them and find out. FOR SCIENCE!

How does this affect you?

It's not like they're paying people to join Wildstar or sending spam whispers.

Should I report OP for spreading this information in forums?

Well I reported them. Wonder if anything will be done about it.

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Originally Posted by Alukah

How does this affect you?

It's not like they're paying people to join Wildstar or sending spam whispers.

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It's been in the PF constantly for the past few days now. Tired of seeing it. They can recruit players for that game...on that game.

I don't even know why I still get surprised by this playerbase.

It is against the user agreement seen here. http://support.na.square-enix.com/ru...1&tag=users_en

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2.3 Commercial Use. You may not exploit the Game for any commercial purpose (for example, advertising any product or service in-game, or use by the operator of a cyber café) without Square Enix's prior written consent.

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Makes me almost wish RMTs would use this instead of sending tells (not saying they should use it too, but if that made them stop sending tells, I'd like them to. Not gonna happen sadly). PF is so much easier to avoid.

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Originally Posted by Bluevann

Makes me almost wish RMTs would use this instead of sending tells (not saying they should use it too, but if that made them stop sending tells, I'd like them to. Not gonna happen sadly). PF is so much easier to avoid.

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While it's easier to avoid, most people actually use it for it's intended purpose. It's bad enough seeing FC advertisements in there, but when recruitments for other games start showing up, it's a problem.

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Originally Posted by Alukah

I don't even know why I still get surprised by this playerbase.

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^

I've never seen the report system abused so badly in an MMO.

The Wildstar advertising is breaching ToS so it's hardly abuse of the report feature....

I also agree about the FC advertising and crap. Sometimes most of the PF on Midgard is either FCs recruiting or individuals advertising themselves for spots in statics. It's PARTY FINDER not FFXIV's version of Craigslist.

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Originally Posted by Lithera

The Wildstar advertising is breaching ToS so it's hardly abuse of the report feature....

I also agree about the FC advertising and crap. Sometimes most of the PF on Midgard is either FCs recruiting or individuals advertising themselves for spots in statics. It's PARTY FINDER not FFXIV's version of Craigslist.

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Exactly this. lol

You sure that ToS part doesn't just apply to say someone actually involved with making another game advertising that game in FF? The person advertising just looks like a multi-game guild advertising in case anyone wants to join them on FF and other games. If the people advertising aren't someone that would actually profit from advertising another game I don't really see how that could be illegal.

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Originally Posted by Ikeda

You sure that ToS part doesn't just apply to say someone actually involved with making another game advertising that game in FF? The person advertising just looks like a multi-game guild advertising in case anyone wants to join them on FF and other games. If the people advertising aren't someone that would actually profit from advertising another game I don't really see how that could be illegal.

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But what should SE do? Make an investigation of those players' personal lives to see if they get a profit from another game or not? That's not viable. So, as it is it's just a blatant add (it's not the same as if I simply tell my FC in private how awesome that or that game is) from another game, and it's against the ToS.

And anyway, would you go to a McDonalds and yell at all their customers to come with you to a Burger King? Well, I guess you could, but you would get asked to please shut up or leave the place, because you're disturbing said customers that just want to eat their burger. It's the same here, really. When we go to the PF we want to see people looking other players to fill their parties, not someone recruiting and, much less, someone recruiting for a different and completely unrelated game. If we want to get anything from another game, we would go to the proper place to do so (that's it, to said other game or to a place related to said game).

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Originally Posted by Lithera

The Wildstar advertising is breaching ToS so it's hardly abuse of the report feature....

I also agree about the FC advertising and crap. Sometimes most of the PF on Midgard is either FCs recruiting or individuals advertising themselves for spots in statics. It's PARTY FINDER not FFXIV's version of Craigslist.

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Make sure to report those FC spammers too, hope they get banned for tainting the sacred Party Finder.

While you're at it make sure to report anyone who says even a single bad word in any chat, and if ANY DPS ever kills something out of order in a dungeon report them for attempting to block party progression.

It's great we have many dedicated people willing to protect the ToS like OP.

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Originally Posted by Lithera

The Wildstar advertising is breaching ToS so it's hardly abuse of the report feature....

I also agree about the FC advertising and crap. Sometimes most of the PF on Midgard is either FCs recruiting or individuals advertising themselves for spots in statics. It's PARTY FINDER not FFXIV's version of Craigslist.

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Every miniscule violation of ToS does not warrant a report. Whistle blowing at every violation is abusing the system they have in place and wasting time/resources.

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Originally Posted by Massterchef

Every miniscule violation of ToS does not warrant a report. Whistle blowing at every violation is abusing the system they have in place and wasting time/resources.

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This isn't about EVERY violation. This is about specific abuse of the party finder.

PS: To the OP: You should probably black out the guild name and website on the image.

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Originally Posted by Alukah

Make sure to report those FC spammers too, hope they get banned for tainting the sacred Party Finder.

While you're at it make sure to report anyone who says even a single bad word in any chat, and if ANY DPS ever kills something out of order in a dungeon report them for attempting to block party progression.

It's great we have many dedicated people willing to protect the ToS like OP.

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I like the way you think! Time to whip out the good ol' notepad and start jotting down names that need reporting! LET'S GET TO WORK, EVERYONE!

ive seen the wildstar raiding system lol an its the exact same as this game, big red circles on the ground to avoid, nothin to /drool about

I do not see this as a violation of the TOS. To say so seems loose to me. Sure the game they are talking about is a product but they are not selling it. And friendship is not a product either. They merely are asking players to be their friends and enjoy a game like they do. You can choose to or not your choice. Also if you don't want to see adverts in PF there is a filter to see only what you want. I talk to my fc and friends about EOS all the time. I play both about 50/50. I even ask them to come play with me there. That does not mean I am advertising I am just wanting as many of my friends to have as much fun as I do playing games.

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Originally Posted by Zumi

It is against the user agreement seen here. http://support.na.square-enix.com/ru...1&tag=users_en

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That TOS you refer to was specifically aimed at RMT's. I don't have that info solid but I have a gut feeling that is what it was for.

This thread is really stupid. The line quoted on the ToS specifically says *commercial* activities, which this is not, since it is clearly not done with the intent to make money. Mentioning other games or products, even saying "go buy wildstar and play it with us!", is not against the ToS. Spamming an amazon referral link to buy the game or something, on the other hand, would be closer to what the ToS is prohibiting (but still not even what that rule is intended for, which is RMT).

Recruiting for their guild in another game, while dumb, is not against the terms of service.

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Originally Posted by Raxion

While it's easier to avoid, most people actually use it for it's intended purpose. It's bad enough seeing FC advertisements in there, but when recruitments for other games start showing up, it's a problem.

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which is making a party. Which totally fits FC advertisement or static recruitment, crafting powerlevelling, or even group making for both this game and an other. If those players want to do a thursday/wednesday burn on FFXIV then switch on wildstar for the 5 next days as a guild, it's their right to recruit on FFxiv that way. Also, as said before, it doesn't break the ToS. It's a bit borderline, but they never said to buy wildstar. They merely ask future wildstar players to join their guild...


Some people really need to chill out

I personally feel that using PF to find a party for a different game goes against what SE's intended use for the PF was. Whether it is reportable or not... I'd suggest just trying it and finding out. I've never heard of a player being punished for reporting something to the GMs that they honestly thought was counterproductive to ...blah blah....

I also disapprove of people using PF for their "Selling HQ 3 star gears cheaper than MB" posts. I don't feel it's worth it to report them, but I do BL them. Just take whatever actions you feel keep your conscience feeling best.

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Originally Posted by DoubleT

ive seen the wildstar raiding system lol an its the exact same as this game, big red circles on the ground to avoid, nothin to /drool about

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B-b-but...they also have star shape, expanding circle things, squares and.... and.... more than cone/circle/line shape I guess.

There are actually three different guilds using the party finder to advertise for Wildstar on our server, not just that one.

I get that it's probably not against the ToS, but it is a bit obnoxious. I can understand being annoyed.

So I was just scrolling through a "certain game's" forums and I found this...

I cannot believe I actually found that.


EDIT: The link broke. I believe the thread was deleted. It was the person I reported, posting on the other game's forums about how they got sent to GM jail for advertising.

EDIT 2: Fixed the link thanks to Alukah.

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Originally Posted by Raxion

So I was just scrolling through a "certain game's" forums and I found this...

I cannot believe I actually found that.


EDIT: The link broke. I believe the thread was deleted. It was the person I reported, posting on the other game's forums about how they got sent to GM jail for advertising.

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It can be accessed by typing "cache:" + the url in Google.

Now I'm curious if they hired a 3rd party to moderate the game 24/7 (most likely), people who don't read the rules they try to enforce.

The GM left a link to leave feedback, if I was that person I'd report that GM for abuse.

Advertising for your guild in another game IS against the TOS, for the simple reason that S-E can't verify that you aren't, for example, an employee of that other game's company and would be earning a direct financial benefit to getting people to play it. Rule of thumb is, if it's a game that's not by S-E, safer to not publicly mention it at all.

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Originally Posted by subteraneanbird

Advertising for your guild in another game IS against the TOS, for the simple reason that S-E can't verify that you aren't, for example, an employee of that other game's company and would be earning a direct financial benefit to getting people to play it. Rule of thumb is, if it's a game that's not by S-E, safer to not publicly mention it at all.

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This. That GM handled things exactly as they should have. Had they posted the exact section of the ToS (the one quoted in this thread), the player likely would have just gotten more mouthy. Instead the GM kept it civil, gave out a warning, and sent them on their way despite some of the smartass comments.

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Originally Posted by subteraneanbird

Advertising for your guild in another game IS against the TOS, for the simple reason that S-E can't verify that you aren't, for example, an employee of that other game's company and would be earning a direct financial benefit to getting people to play it. Rule of thumb is, if it's a game that's not by S-E, safer to not publicly mention it at all.

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Guilty until proven innocent? I don't even...

This isn't a court of law or anything like that. It's a game and as part of running the game S-E can set their own rules. And surprise, it would be hard for ANY of us to prove one way or the other whether someone worked for who they're advertising. It's not really that hard to be smart about it. Just....don't advertise for other products or services? You're here to play, right?

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Originally Posted by Alukah

How does this affect you?

It's not like they're paying people to join Wildstar or sending spam whispers.

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it is the same as some other ppl go into your store to advertise their store, not effect me as customer but I still want to punch that person in the face.

Without delving into ToS or whatever, I don't see how its ok to post an entry about a competitor publicly in game. Its incredibly annoying.

What's more interesting is that it seems that even the folks over the Wildstar forums were against it and didn't like his/her attitude. So it looks like it's not that we are defending SE for the sake of doing so, but simple common sense.

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Originally Posted by Inquisitor

I'm pretty sure advertising another game is something GM's would take action against.

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I am pretty sure advertising in PF for anything other than dungeons/raids/ect GM's would take action against.

I was part of that FC and they were finding it very hard to understand that nobody gives two flying chocobos about any other game then the one they're playing, that being FF. Got very defensive when called out on it. Glad to see I wasn't unjustified in expressing annoyance at their general attitude towards FF. Needless to say, I quit that FC.

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Originally Posted by Lithera

I also agree about the FC advertising and crap. Sometimes most of the PF on Midgard is either FCs recruiting or individuals advertising themselves for spots in statics. It's PARTY FINDER not FFXIV's version of Craigslist.

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That's a little unfair. The alternative would be to do /sh, which I find much more annoying/intrusive. It's very difficult to find members just out and about in this game, and by the same token it's difficult to find groups that match what you are looking for in a team. Using this as a means of recruitment is much nicer, imo, especially considering you don't need to be in a specific area to /shout while you wait for a response.

On topic, though, I guess they got what was coming to em.

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Originally Posted by Yshnal

What's more interesting is that it seems that even the folks over the Wildstar forums were against it and didn't like his/her attitude. So it looks like it's not that we are defending SE for the sake of doing so, but simple common sense.

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Common sense is not so common.