Reclamation of Inactive Housing announced

[Kerii]

All the subscription covers is access to the game, and updates for it, as long as you pay and don't violate terms of service. It actually says that pretty clearly in the ToS that most people don't read.

[Lexia]

I'm not seeking an argument, but it seems to me that game content offered under their subscription model, such as housing, should be available to all of us who pay a subscription, and not just a select few who made it there first. Do you agree that, since your subscription is roughly equivalent to any other player, if one of us can access housing for that monthly fee, we should all be able to?

Yes I do, everyone that pays a sub should be able to have a house. What I don't agree with is people saying they have the right to have a house because they pay a sub when Bob has a house but Bill pays the same sub but does not have a house.

[OfTheWhitewind]

Someone who spends less than 1% of their time on their house but stays subscribed is considered to be "using" their house more than someone who spends more than 75% of their time on their house, but is only subscribed half as much.

Except don't you have to be pretty consistently subscribed to keep your house? You'd still have to subscribe every other month so you could enter your house. Most people complaining about the 45 day thing, from what I've seen, are people who expect to keep their limited content but only pay for a subscription every 2-4 months which is pretty dumb.

[AsahinaMyLove]

I still dont like this >_>

I own a middle sized house as a guild, so I can buy extra rooms too!
Loosing a house after only 45 days is just mean!
Im gonna invite some 24/7 online player there alts just so they can login and step into my house. So im not loosing it, In case I cant play due real life issues.

[OfTheWhitewind]

If you dare let yourself forget about this system for a brief period and just use your estate the way you want to use it, then it will suddenly just disappear on you.

Just an FYI that they will send the player emails before they demolish their house. It will not just suddenly be gone one day. You will get a few warnings first.

[Ibi]

All the subscription covers is access to the game, and updates for it, as long as you pay and don't violate terms of service. It actually says that pretty clearly in the ToS that most people don't read.

Everyone already knows that. Just because SE are allowed to do whatever they want with your character data, doesn't mean there's not a reasonable expectation that they won't.

The last time this was brought up in the thread, people in favor of this change indicated that someone losing their house (which they're not, under the TOS, "entitled" to) is different than losing some other item in the game they've worked towards (which they're equally not, under the TOS, "entitled" to). The first one was deemed completely reasonable and the second one (regardless of what the example was, which is why I'm not providing a specific example that can be nitpicked) was something SE would never do and is completely unreasonable.

The only actual difference between the two was that SE have made the decision that the first one needs to be limited and the second one (currently) doesn't need to be limited, which has little-to-nothing to do with how "entitled" someone is to either one under the TOS.

If your argument is "It's fine to take houses away from people because those are a limited resource, but it's not okay to take other things away because those aren't a limited resource", then fine, but don't cite the TOS as your evidence for that argument, as it makes no such distinction.

[loreleidiangelo]

If entering your house is a "2 minute inconvenience" why do you even have a house? Like... I'm not trying to tell anyone how to play but I literally do not understand this logic. What is the actual point?

In the same sense that "2 minute inconvenience" is somehow deemed enough of a commitment to keep one's home by those who are in favor of it. What is YOUR actual point? I was pointing out that it's an arbitrary decision that has no impact on a.) how much a player actually uses the functions of their home, and b.) SE's bottom line, which is 100% guaranteed what they care the most about with this change. It seems like a restriction solely for the sake of placing a restriction.

[Catwho]

Just an FYI that they will send the player emails before they demolish their house. It will not just suddenly be gone one day. You will get a few warnings first.

Won't they also send an in-game notice for the "oops I forgot to go into my house last month" crowd?

SE's track record with not getting mistaken for spam has improved over the years, but most people get flooded with so much junk may that a notice may still get lost in the press.

The two main groups I see affected by it are 1. The inactive players with a house on long break now who aren't even paying attention since they're not playing 2. Current subbed players with a house who had planned on un-subbing in the future. #2 is the only one we're really hearing from because, again, #1 doesn't hang out on forums. But #1 is the one who'll get hit with a nasty surprise if SE's emails get marked as spam.

In the same sense that "2 minute inconvenience" is somehow deemed enough of a commitment to keep one's home by those who are in favor of it. What is YOUR actual point? I was pointing out that it's an arbitrary decision that has no impact on a.) how much a player actually uses the functions of their home, and b.) SE's bottom line, which is 100% guaranteed what they care the most about with this change. It seems like a restriction solely for the sake of placing a restriction.

It's a decision made from a database standpoint. Educated guess: The neighborhood is an "object" with data (as in it in object oriented programming.) Anyone can go onto anyone's lawns, since the object is public to all accounts. Attempts to alter a lawn if you don't have permissions are denied at the time of the request to the server, and those probably aren't logged for more than a few days because it's useless noise data. The inside of the house is a separate object. When a character enters the house, it does a permission check at the zone entrance and grants permission access based on the house settings and assigns privileges at the time of access (rather at the time of request like the lawns.) This leaves a date/time stamp on the interior of the house object, unlike when someone steps onto your lawn and may or may not attempt to modify the settings.

Could they design it better? Absolutely. But it's not an arbitrary decision. It was the decision based on the easiest call to the database - when was the last time someone with privileges associated with the house object stepped inside it?

[Yeldir]

I've yet to "get behind" any ideas posted. You really have no idea what I would support, but you make assumptions to further your cause. Your posts are inflammatory, your sarcasm is provocative, and your decision to ignore, fabricate, or twist statements posted by others is reminiscent of satirical, political pundits. If you're conscientious of your own nature, as you posted previously, I would ask that you please try to curb your self-stated aggression for the sake of productive discussion, unless your only intent is to incite other users.

Inflammatory? Provocative? You don't like being taken to the task for your own hypocrisies, like the vultures bit? Then stop posting. If you're inflamed by what I'm saying, you're inflamed with yourself.

Your list of 1-7 is at pretty weak, overall. The only really good item on there is #2.

1. Anyone who fails to enter their home for a full 45 days might as well be unsubbed, for the purposes of housing. This is ridiculous. Of course the house should go to someone who will actually use it.
2. Entirely true. These people should be targeted more ruthlessly.
3. This is a minor inconvenience, compared to the immense difficulty of securing housing. If you're wondering why they're doing this at all, it's actually pretty simple: SE is trying to keep the cost of these items high by ensuring their scarcity. This benefits crafters and players selling the materials for them.
4. Good. That means the only people who own homes will be the ones using them. Excellent. Everyone else - hit the street. Let's see some lively neighborhoods again!
5. It is explainable, although the truth tends to drive people up the wall. The short answer is deflationary gil destruction. Housing was implemented not merely as an amusement, but also as a means of removing gil from circulation by taking from the richest demographic of players. This reduces the disparity of held gil between the old money folks and new players. When housing filled up, this process ceased entirely. SE wants everyone involved in the homeowning process, as they're gaining or losing homes, to lose gil forever. Few people will ever accept this as positive, because people are inherently selfish, but it very good for noobs in the grand scheme of things.
6. Who utilizes homes owned by other people who aren't specifically sharing the home with them? People entering homes owned by dead accounts? Seriously, though - this one is absolutely necessary, or one character could prevent any number of homes from being reclaimed just by going from door to door.
7. 33%? Where are you getting this number? SE has stated the intend to start opening ward after ward to satisfy demand after the implementation of the reclaim system - and they have stated this is will happen before Ishgard housing. Ishgard housing is step 3.

[Seryl199]

2. Current subbed players with a house who had planned on un-subbing in the future.

2. is more of any player who thought they might ever take more than a short term break at any point in the future. That dynamic has now changed for those that own an estate, as they'll forfeit their lot and potentially lose any permanent place-able items, and that destruction happens after the first month and a half of inactivity that player ever experiences, from 3.1 until an indefinite point (months? years?) in the future when/if housing accommodates enough players to ease back on restrictions. If a player wants to break into the housing market now, they have to know they're making a long term commitment. That wasn't necessarily the case for everyone who bought a house the first time around.