Been in jail the past few days.

[Nyarlha]

ESRB ratings for online games deliberately says : "Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB"

So the whole "it's rated TEEN, people shouldn't say bad words" is completely moot.

[kaynide]

ESRB ratings for online games deliberately says : "Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB"

So the whole "it's rated TEEN, people shouldn't say bad words" is completely moot.

That is only to make SE the ESRB not legally responsible for foul language by players, not a free pass to use said foul language.

[Vidu]

ESRB ratings for online games deliberately says : "Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB"

So the whole "it's rated TEEN, people shouldn't say bad words" is completely moot.

No, its not.

This seems to be a common missunderstanding - the whole "Online interactions not rated by the ESRB"-thing does not mean that you can behave however you want. Its simply a "disclaimer" to protect the ESRB so that parents cant blame (or even sue) them if their child ends up in creepy or just inapproriate online interactions.

I know its gotten "meme-status" by now, but to quote from the ToS that you agreed to when you first started playing this game:

3.3 Profanity and Offensive Language. You may not use profanity or any language that a reasonable person would find offensive. The Game is for players aged 13 and older. You agree to behave accordingly.

So, even though the ESRB cant rate online interactions, SE makes it very clear in their ToS that they want all online interactions to be "teen-friendly". Probably because they made sure that their game would be rated "teen" by the ESRB (and similar organisations in other countries) so that they would have a larger customer/playerbase. If you dont behave accordingly, you're out - thats the deal, thats what you agreed to.

So, despite the online interactions not been rated by the ESRB, I'd say parents can have the reasonable expectation that the game - including online interactions - is going to be alright for their teens to play. And we should all play it with the expecations that teens are around - and that we'll get punished if we dont behave accordingly, since thats what we agreed to before we even set foot into Eorzea.

People really need to understand that and stop arguing that just because "Online interactions not rated by the ESRB" they dont need to behave like their are potentially minors around.

That is only to make SE not legally responsible for foul language by players, not a free pass to use said foul language.

Nah, its not to protect SE, its to protect the ESRB.

SE is protected by the ToS.

[kaynide]

Nah, its not to protect SE, its to protect the ESRB.

SE is protected by the ToS.

Derp, you’re right .

[StormyFae]

No, its not.

This seems to be a common missunderstanding - the whole "Online interactions not rated by the ESRB"-thing does not mean that you can behave however you want. Its simply a "disclaimer" to protect the ESRB so that parents cant blame (or even sue) them if their child ends up in creepy or just inapproriate online interactions.

I know its gotten "meme-status" by now, but to quote from the ToS that you agreed to when you first started playing this game:


So, even though the ESRB cant rate online interactions, SE makes it very clear in their ToS that they want all online interactions to be "teen-friendly". Probably because they made sure that their game would be rated "teen" by the ESRB (and similar organisations in other countries) so that they would have a larger customer/playerbase. If you dont behave accordingly, you're out - thats the deal, thats what you agreed to.

So, despite the online interactions not been rated by the ESRB, I'd say parents can have the reasonable expectation that the game - including online interactions - is going to be alright for their teens to play. And we should all play it with the expecations that teens are around - and that we'll get punished if we dont behave accordingly, since thats what we agreed to before we even set foot into Eorzea.

People really need to understand that and stop arguing that just because "Online interactions not rated by the ESRB" they dont need to behave like their are potentially minors around.



Nah, its not to protect SE, its to protect the ESRB.

SE is protected by the ToS.

just going to say this last thing but swaring honestly .. shouldn't even be there hell must 10 year olds sware more than anyone else lol if you really think that its not reasonable to do that around 13 year olds you need to get out from living under that rock

Next the term "reasonable person" what the hell is that suppose to mean there isn't a single person with a single base mind set on what is reasonable and what isn't that is so open ended its sad

also in the 1800s "reasonable" people believed if a person accuse of being a witch burn them at the stake, just because "reasonable" people say something doesn't make it right or true

and im saying this as someone who rarely does the most i do is accidental pair like hitting my toe on something then blunting it out lol

[Saefinn]

just going to say this last thing but swaring honestly .. shouldn't even be there hell must 10 year olds sware more than anyone else lol if you really think that its not reasonable to do that around 13 year olds you need to get out from living under that rock

Next the term "reasonable person" what the hell is that suppose to mean there isn't a single person with a single base mind set on what is reasonable and what isn't that is so open ended its sad

also in the 1800s "reasonable" people believed if a person accuse of being a witch burn them at the stake, just because "reasonable" people say something doesn't make it right or true

and im saying this as someone who rarely does the most i do is accidental pair like hitting my toe on something then blunting it out lol

It's because this is how ratings work and we have standards/rules/rating regarding what is and what isn't considered appropriate for certain age brackets and gives some measure for parents to make the choice on whether it is appropriate for their kid. A company wanting to market their game to a certain age group has a responsibility here and they're just fulfilling it.

Me? I grew up on horror movies, metal, South Park and violent video games and heck at the age of 10 I was teaching younger kids to swear. And as an adult I swear like a sailor, still play violent video games, am a pacifist, find I am immune to horror movies & find them dull and predictable and have an offensive sense of humour. So it hasn't negatively impacted me, so I can get that argument and to me, that's a question of how you choose to parent and that's how my parents chose to parent. But the reality is, that's not Square Enix's choice to make, it's the parent's choice to make, so they can't make a teen game and decide what's appropriate for teens, instead a standard exists on what is appropriate, and the parents can use that in their decision making. Square Enix, however, can choose their target audience...and they have, which means they have to obligate to any standards they're subject to...which they are.

[Vidu]

just going to say this last thing but swaring honestly .. shouldn't even be there hell must 10 year olds sware more than anyone else lol if you really think that its not reasonable to do that around 13 year olds you need to get out from living under that rock

Next the term "reasonable person" what the hell is that suppose to mean there isn't a single person with a single base mind set on what is reasonable and what isn't that is so open ended its sad

also in the 1800s "reasonable" people believed if a person accuse of being a witch burn them at the stake, just because "reasonable" people say something doesn't make it right or true

and im saying this as someone who rarely does the most i do is accidental pair like hitting my toe on something then blunting it out lol

In regards to your questions what a "reasonable person" is: My best guess would be that the ToS "borrows" this term from the legal term popular in the USA - you might have heard of their "reasonable person standard" before, which is - from my limited understanding as someone who isnt a lawyer in any US-state - basically a mean to determine wether an ordinary, average person would consider something wrong or how an ordinary person would behave in any given situation.

While there is certainly some "wiggle room" - though I'm not sure if the US law would agree on that - in what the average person would consider resonable, there are certainly some things that are pretty much universaly agreed upon, I'd say? Taking your example from your first paragraph: Swearing.
Swearing is usually understood as something rather inappropriate or bad, involving the use of offensive language for the purpose of using that offensive language. Some words are pretty much only used as swearing words. On top of that, refering back to your first paragraph: If you know you're swearing, you know that you're using offensive language right now (or at least language with the intend of it being offensive). So... if you're aware that you're swearing you should also be aware that the average person (or reasonable person) will consider that offensive, thus you're violating the ToS.
Anything thats labeled a swearword is probably something a "reasonable person" would consider offensive language, since thats right there in the definition of swearword.

So yeah, "reasonable person" might not be the most clearly definied term for anyone who hasnt studied law in the US, but its not as wishy-washy as you make it out to be. (I think its also pretty clear that the ToS arent refering to reasonable people from the 1800s - and even then I wouldnt be so confident to assume that the rest of the population would thought about Salem as being a city full of reasonable people. I might be wrong on that, though. I'm not a historian either.)

And lastly: It doesnt really matter oif it doesnt "harm" 13 year olds if people swear around them. Because it doesnt matter how much sense the rules SE make to you. Those rules are not up for debate. You agreed to them and now you follow them or get out. Its basically their house they invited you into - under the condition that you dont swear (not a very difficult rule to follow, I'd say).

It really amazes me how many people (probably above the age of 13) are not able to stop themselves from swearing basically in public. Sometimes I wonder how these people hold jobs... go on dates... order food in a restaurant... you know, basically any interaction with other people in their lifes who are not close friends or family with the same love for just swearing all day.

[Arazehl]

There is a difference in swear words and being obscene. That's why you got reported I imagine. Use your common sense when speaking in public chats. My guess and it happens more often than not, is that there was more obscene than the one word used. Like the way you phrased it and it was found offensive enough to report.

You can't go around blurting out any old thing you want in public chat, nor should you be allowed to, because there are players from all walks of life, who pay to play just like you. If it's cringe worthy then take it to tells. It's simple...Respect the community, respect the game and things will be just fine.