Square Enix now threatens to send players to jail for criticizing their employees

[Underscore]

Harassing, not criticizing.

If you don't know the difference, you need to grow and change as a person.

[Antharaes]

Harassing, not criticizing.

If you don't know the difference, you need to grow and change as a person.

You should tell the person instigating this, because clearly, they didn't knew the difference either.

[OrianThormond]

You should tell the person instigating this, because clearly, they didn't knew the difference either.

"We're going to deny service to people who harass our employees" has become "we're going to be imprisoned for criticising the game."

The lack of reading comprehension in this forum is truly staggering.

[CidHeiral]

I'm pretty sure I didn't suggest that any devs should "off themselves" with my topic about the lack of casual content in Dawntrail, yet there's just cause to believe it could get nuked and I'll get in trouble for it because I still had the audacity to call Yoshi-P a liar and suggest Square-Enix doesn't care anywhere near as much as some people want to think.

You're admitting to personally attacking the game director then acting surprised now that you might get in trouble for it. Leave your feedback in a calm and rational manner and you'll have nothing to worry about.

I mean, a recent topic talking about the blacklist privacy issue JUST GOT DELETED and the only thing that topic did was warn people about it and explain what it was doing, yet they clearly didn't like the idea of a topic floating around making them look woefully incompetent about people's privacy with the way they designed it. We didn't even get the courtesy of a GM popping in before or after the deletion to assure us it was being looked into, just a quick bodybag dump into the river because there's "nothing to see here".

That thread was discussing a third party tool which is not allowed on this forum.

Calls people worried about this "very toxic individuals", then proceeds to use this image to reply to someone that was being respectful and reasonable.

I appreciate the pearl clutching but your post was, and continues to be in your response, far from reasonable.

In regards to nobody getting banned for just complaining and criticising, would you put your neck on the line over it? This policy directly states that they can do it, without providing any meter on what effectively constitutes a violation of any of the subjective points, while also specifically leaving the door open to it being applied to things not even included there. So, to be clear, are you saying that it's not saying what everyone can read that it's saying? Or are you guessing, too? If it's the latter, what's the difference between your stance and the one of those being wary? That you trust SE?

They can ban people for whatever they want and that has always been the case. It's right there in the game's ToS:

YOU ACQUIRE NO OWNERSHIP OR PROPERTY RIGHTS IN ANY CHARACTER OR OTHER IN-GAME VIRTUAL GOOD, AND ARE ONLY LICENSED TO USE SUCH CHARACTERS AND ASSETS ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR FFXIV SERVICE ACCOUNT SUBJECT TO THE CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THE AGREEMENTS. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR FFXIV SERVICE ACCOUNT AND ANY VIRTUAL GOODS AND CHARACTERS DO NOT HAVE ANY MONETARY VALUE. SQUARE ENIX MAY SUSPEND, TERMINATE, MODIFY, OR DELETE FFXIV SERVICE ACCOUNTS, CHARACTERS, VIRTUAL GOODS, OR THE SERVICE ALTOGETHER, AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON OR FOR NO REASON, WITH OR WITHOUT NOTICE OR LIABILITY TO YOU.

Source

The same goes for the forum as well:

With the intention of improving the experience of the game for all participants, if a post includes any of the following violations, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to, editing/deleting/locking/moving the content without notice, restricting your forum usage, temporarily suspending either your FINAL FANTASY XIV Account or Square Enix Account, or permanently banning either your FINAL FANTASY XIV Account or Square Enix Account.

- Doing anything that is prohibited in the Square Enix Account Terms of Use.
- Taking any other actions that are deemed inappropriate by Square Enix in our sole discretion.

Source

It is an absurd feat of mental gymnastics to twist a policy that's basically "don't be a jerk to our staff" into "omg they're going to silence all negative feedback!!!!1" when they could have done that at literally any point in the last ten years and chose not to. No reasonable person would ever come to that conclusion much less actively fear its repercussions.

[Yshnal]

I appreciate the pearl clutching but your post was, and continues to be in your response, far from reasonable.

Where was I being unreasonable, exactly, at the quoted part of that post? Isn't it true that in order to terminate your access to their game services they need to know who you are, and that the only way to do so if they don't go the legal route is to have access by themselves to that information? Isn't it true that the only way that they can do it is if you're either on one of their platforms, or a public figure that publicly shows their characters/account? And isn't the latter the one that isn't covered in the ToS?

Moreover, even if you disagree with that, was it neccessary to post that picture instead of rebutting it with your own argument? Twist it however you want, but it was ironic that you had called other people toxic and then you ended up doing that. And I pointed it out, since in the end it seems that the people dismissing other people's worries might be the ones actually being guilty of what they say that others are supposedly doing. That's not "pearl clutching", but noticing someone being an hypocrite.

They can ban people for whatever they want and that has always been the case. It's right there in the game's ToS:



Source

The same goes for the forum as well:





Source

It is an absurd feat of mental gymnastics to twist a policy that's basically "don't be a jerk to our staff" into "omg they're going to silence all negative feedback!!!!1" when they could have done that at literally any point in the last ten years and chose not to. No reasonable person would ever come to that conclusion much less actively fear its repercussions.

I knew that you would end up resorting to quoting the ToS. You're comparing the ToS, which apply to the forums and the game and that you're offered to read and agree before using those, to a policy that you need to purposely go to their website to read, that you don't need to agree to, and that applies to literally everywhere.

So, I ask you again. Does the new policy not state what I explained in the previous posts? What's the difference between you and the people being wary of how it can be used? It would be cool if you could answer these easy and straightforward questions instead of actually doing mental gymnastics to avoid doing so.

[CidHeiral]

Moreover, even if you disagree with that, was it neccessary to post that picture instead of rebutting it with your own argument?

There's nothing to rebut, you have no argument. Your posts are hysterical paranoid nonsense completely divorced from reality and your replies are a loop of "NUH UH!" No reply I could ever formulate would satisfy you because you've already convinced yourself that SE is going to burn people at the stake for the slightest criticism despite having zero history of doing so.

For the final time, anyone upset about a "please don't harass our employees" policy needs to take a long look in the mirror. This policy is a non-issue for well adjusted people.

[Yshnal]

There's nothing to rebut, you have no argument. Your posts are hysterical paranoid nonsense completely divorced from reality and your replies are a loop of "NUH UH!" No reply I could ever formulate would satisfy you because you've already convinced yourself that SE is going to burn people at the stake for the slightest criticism despite having zero history of doing so.

For the final time, anyone upset about a "please don't harass our employees" policy needs to take a long look in the mirror. This policy is a non-issue for well adjusted people.

Your response employs several fallacies, including a strawman argument and ad hominem attacks. You keep misrepresenting my position by claiming that I have stated this policy will lead to the outcomes I’ve described, when in fact I’ve clearly argued that such outcomes can happen due to the policy’s subjective language. This distinction is evident in the language I’ve used, such as "can" instead of "will," and in the examples I provided to illustrate how this policy might be misused.

I have asked direct and reasonable questions, such as whether the policy explicitly supports my interpretation, and what makes your perspective different from those concerned about potential misuse. These are clear points that could foster constructive dialogue if addressed, yet you refuse to do so.

Moreover, your dismissive remarks and use of insults—such as calling my arguments "hysterical paranoid nonsense"—ironically reflect the kind of toxicity that part of the policy we’re discussing is supposedly meant to prevent. Additionally, you’ve entirely avoided responding to my counterarguments, including the points where I directly addressed your claims or provided clarifications. Ignoring all that does not strengthen your position; it merely highlights your unwillingness to engage substantively, or perhaps indicates that you lack valid arguments to support your position.

If you prefer not to engage, that's your prerogative, but resorting to insults and blanket dismissals doesn't strengthen your position. It detracts from any meaningful discussion and undermines the respect that should exist, even in disagreement.

Since it’s clear you’re unwilling to engage constructively and prefer to resort to insults and dismissive remarks, I see no reason to continue this conversation. I’ll leave it at that.

[CidHeiral]

You're right, it was wrong of me to ever think there was anything wrong with this game and I should accept that it, and it's community, are perfect and above all criticism.

I don't know what I was thinking that the forum was for any sort of feedback and was in fact always meant to be a company and fanboy circle-jerk.

This is so over the top you sound like a teenager having a tempter tantrum.

"Please clean your room."

"Oh so you want me to WORK myself to DEATH?!?!? I guess this family HATES me and I should just DIE?!?!?!?!!"

Of course it's fine to leave critical feedback, that's what the forum is for. It's not fine to do so with personal attacks against people on the dev team. If you can't understand the difference I'm not sure what to tell you.

It appears I greatly misjudged you.

The feeling is mutual.

[Lilapop]

This is so over the top you sound like a teenager having a tempter tantrum.

"our opinions dont align therefore urs is over the top and ur just throwing a tantrum"

The forums are an echo chamber. If you deny this you're just delusional.