Need GM Clarification: Player to Player Housing Sales a Violation of ToS?

[Nyalia]

I've read the forum ToS pretty heavily, given I'm probably perma banned next time they ban me, and I can't see anything in what you said that's against any of their rules...

EDIT: And that email isn't fake. Or at least, whomever posted it has seen one before, because it's formatted exactly the way all of mine are, and the phrasing they use for the non-form letter parts is the same/similar. I totally believe that SE is banning people for trading houses, I just don't get why or what rule it's violating...

[Nyalia]

Oh, wait, it's right there in the email. They can declare anything against the rules at their sole discretion, which they have done. No selling land, period.

If you're wondering why they haven't taken down the other threads, it's the same reason they don't ban everyone who complains about how RMT is handled (criticizing SE is actually against the forum ToS), just some of them.

For those unfamiliar with the forum ToS, here's a copy of it. I bolded the ones I see people violate all the time.

• Posting content that does not follow the theme of the category or thread.
• Posting content that deviates from topics concerning FINAL FANTASY XIV.
• Posting spam, including meaningless characters and white space.
• Posting a number of posts with the same content.
• Taking or discussing criminal actions.
• Posting that constitutes discrimination against another forum member or group (also including forming groups for the purpose of discrimination), insults, slander, libel, harassment of a group or individual.
• Use of inappropriate or aggressive language.
• Posting obscenity, pornography, propaganda, or other expressions unrelated to the game.
• Posting about commercial, business, advertising, political, or religious matters.
• Posting that would violate anti-stalking laws or orders.
• Posting personal information about yourself or other specific individuals.
• Posting aimed to create a negative impact on the community or its members.
• Impersonating another person or taking action that might reasonably be mistaken as the actions of another.
• Reproducing, duplicating, altering, supplementing, changing, or other secondary use of this Service’s software, either whole or in part.
• Posting seeking to damage or disparage Square Enix, the forum, FINAL FANTASY XIV, or others.
• Posting content that seeks to interfere with the running of FINAL FANTASY XIV.
• Posting content with the intention of criticizing either Square Enix staff or specific individuals.
• Doing anything that is obstructs the use of the forum or FINAL FANTASY XIV for other users.
• Infringing upon Square Enix's or any third party’s intellectual property (copyright, trademark, etc.) rights or privacy rights.
• Undertaking any RMT-related actions, including selling items, gil, or accounts for real world currency.
• Attempting to harm or obstruct the operation or use of this forum.
• Doing anything that is prohibited in the the Square Enix Account Terms of Use.
• Taking any other actions that are deemed inappropriate by Square Enix in our sole discretion.

These aren't enforced 100% of the time. If they deleted every single post that violated the ones I bolded, we wouldn't have anything left!

[Syrehn]

I actually wonder if it was the line "You will then have to pay a separate fee to Square Enix" that triggered mod action. While the majority of players would understand what was being said in the the message; we're not actually paying SE a fee.

Maybe they didn't want players to get the wrong idea based on the wording? Other than that phraseology, it's weird that they would take 1 down and not the hundreds of others.

Edit: The first sentences also have them calling the FC leader names and cursing. This could be a contributing factor as well.

[Nyalia]

I actually wonder if it was the line "You will then have to pay a separate fee to Square Enix" that triggered mod action. While the majority of players would understand what was being said in the the message; we're not actually paying SE a fee.

Maybe they didn't want players to get the wrong idea based on the wording? Other than that phraseology, it's weird that they would take 1 down and not the hundreds of others.

No, the email contained the reason for the mod's action. The reason was listed explicitly as "Taking any other actions that are deemed inappropriate by Square Enix in our sole discretion. - Advertising the sale of land"

Again, practically half the posts on this forum violate the forum's ToS, but they don't delete every post with aggressive language, or that criticizes SE, or that was made to have a negative impact on the community. Why do they delete some and not others? I have no idea, and I'm not about to be critical about the way they do it. Just because they don't take action on every single violation doesn't mean something isn't against the rules.

[Syrehn]

No, the email contained the reason for the mod's action. The reason was listed explicitly as "Taking any other actions that are deemed inappropriate by Square Enix in our sole discretion. - Advertising the sale of land"

I honestly can't believe that was the sole factor for mod intervention; despite it being listed. Buying/Selling land would essentially be considered a Trade Agreement and SE forum mods have specifically stated that they allow those; they just can't guarantee gil recovery if things go south.

Hence my suggestion about the phraseology of the post itself possibly contributing to a mod flagging the thread.

[ExKage]

I will note, I'm not contesting the actions just that others mentioned that no threads were deleted. Just saying that the reason given for mine, in my experience, was this. The fact that it was sole discretion was the reason why I did not question the action. I also did not name names so I haven't seen people acted on for that... even with the very appropriate of the time aggressive language >.>

[Sicno]

Why is it the whole thread derailed into trying so hard to prove the conversation is fake instead of talking about what this would mean if true?

[Anova]

Denial (its a fake email), anger (why is the thread derailing), and bargaining (but then the entire server would be banned because they're all doing it) are the first 3 stages of dealing with loss and grief. And we're in grief because that email means it's illegal to buy a house now. And there's no point in arguing or speculating since it is very clear the letter implies a ban for any buyers/sellers.

Anyway, I'd really like to see a GM pick up the question and settle it once and for all.

[Nadirah]

Looks like a staged conversation used through recolouring /echo messages to look like /tells.
A GM with their character's first name being "Gm", really? Next we'll be getting screenshots of Sultanate members sending tells, wanting to share their fortunes with us.

[GM] in front of the name, and the one I got after reporting a troll in a run was formatted the same.

As well as " Gm" being first name.

[Kaeira]

Probably the caps ExKage posted is right. Because i had a thread in housing section for to buy a house from a player and SE sent me a e-mail that i violeted user-aggrement policies. Here is the caps also. But in the mail they say i want to buy the house with RMT. But i didn't even say that i want to buy it like that. Still not sure if buying a house with gil a violation or not...