Regarding the Revision of the Prohibited Activities and Account Penalty Policy

[Reinha]

I wonder if the new internal GM policies will allow them to tackle the housing problem I have mentioned in my signature. I think I have seen posts before saying the GMs didn't do anything about it because denying Guest Access to a fc house isn't harassment even though it can severely disrupt a player's game play.

[Kurando]

No you don't... at least not on PS4.

There's no option to attach a screenshot, they ask for player names and general time of offense....

You don't need a screenshot exactly, you just copy and paste the chat log and the GMs will also check the logs on their end to cross reference it to ensure its all correct (and not edited).

[Daralii]

I think if ppl dont like what others say it shouldn't be reportable ppl need to learn blacklist thats what its 4

That's been an argument against these kinds of rulesets for years, and the usual counterargument is "I shouldn't need to use the blacklist". I can agree up to a point, because ideally everyone would both be respectful enough to not be a dick and open-minded enough to tolerate other opinions, but realistically that's never going to happen.

[Enla]

So I get the worry at SE going too far, and I'm not going to even try to predict if they will or not.

However, I find it interesting that everybody has immediately jumped to the conclusion that "free speech is dead I can no longer be myself or I'll be banned" and not thought more about situations like the ones we read about "my ex is stalking me and won't remove me from their friends list and constantly makes alts to send me rude/disturbing messages, but SE says they can't step in so all I can do is blacklist them".

I honestly believe this sort of thing at least was created more for the latter than the former. Is there room for the former? Probably. But for people who assume that's why these were put in place, I don't agree.

Honestly I just want the rules to be better written as at present many of them have good intentions but are just too broad. Even if you look at them as purely for the benefit of GM discretion there were better ways to write most of them. One of the reasons I'm not panicking as well is that SE's GM's are notoriously lackluster in their responses to problems, even when multiple violations were reported and within the scope of the previously prohibited behaviors. This feels more like an attempt to cover themselves when they /DO/ act rather than a blanket puritanical purge. It just is written very, VERY badly.

[Nestama]

・Expressions that provoke or belittle another person, such as excessive criticism, negation/ridicule

What falls under excessive criticism? Because I could criticise someone in a way that should help them see what they could be doing better ("you really should draw cards before pulling. Not doing so is like not using Aetherflow until the boss is pulled"), yet they could take it as a personal attack on themselves.

[Mizunoko]

Never leave the GC barracks and only do content with trusts, got it.

lol i guess this should be interpreted as advertising for trusts? But in all honestly there are soo many people afraid to talk to anyone in game now or afraid they will dc and get in trouble, this alone tells you flat out that something is not right with these rule changes. I expect a huge backlash over this to rise within the week. I expect streamers like mrhappy to bring this to light as well. No one should ever be afraid to talk because the rules are so vague and abstract sounding.

[KageTokage]

Good, now follow through on this SE and break parsers/fflogs

I'd rather they start actually banning all those dozens of bots that aren't involved in RMT first (Though even some that are involved slip by because they're getting their gil through legitimate sources like the market board).

[Mirakumi]

I think if ppl dont like what others say it shouldn't be reportable ppl need to learn blacklist thats what its 4

Your right they should absolutely blacklist and report while they are at it. Especially if the person has said something very derogatory.

Look - these rules are meant for people who really chew people out. Calling someone stupid is one thing but blasting them to the point it turns racial or sexist or political. Those kinds of wrongs yeah - it's totally warranted. I get that you were reported but maybe next time take into consideration how you word things.

[SenorPatty]

Came to the forums expecting salt.

You guys did not disappoint.

I brought the unsalted popcorn. We can use the salt here and mix it with it. 100% organic rage lol.

On topic now.

While extreme hypotethicals are being flown about, I'm just thinking about all the actual experiences that these new rules would probably be enforced in. Never took it personal when we pop into AV and a tank leaves immediately but god forbid one of the party members takes great offense and reports. And I only bring up AV cuz it appears to be one of those dgns with a high rate of abandonment.

Second thing that did caught my eye is the "unilateral" rejection of opinion? I really want to be this optimistic person and say "well I'm sure they mean rejecting opinion in a really foul/toxic/harassing kind of way" but looking at our real world atmosphere when it comes to differing opinions, I guess only time will tell if my optimism will prevail or if reality will beat it into the ground.

[Aster_E]

I will admit that some of the wording is a bit disconcerting, as are some folks in the community--for a recent example of what I mean, read Kall's recent one about some pugged content in the usual commiserating topic--but I don't think we necessarily have to worry half as much as this topic right here is making the situation out to be like. As much as I like to joke about SE as a company, I know they're not SO stupid as to allow for that level of abuse.

So basically don't be an asshole (hardly a change), don't abuse the disconnects (I'll reserve this can of worms for another discussion about the MSQ roulette dungeons), and don't actively keep people from playing the game they enjoy by trolling them or doing sod-all in the middle of a duty (goes back to not being an asshole).

If, or when, the poor wording of these terms comes to roost like a flock of over-sized, radioactive, mutant chickens just wanting to hug your face with their beaks, I can only hope that the terms are analyzed and polished without too much damage being done.