Regarding the Revision of the Prohibited Activities and Account Penalty Policy

[Foxclon]

Hello, Global Community Producer Toshio Murouchi here.

As of some of you may already know, we recently announced a revision to our service policies on the Lodestone. We recommend that everyone read the changes, as they are extremely important.

■Regarding the Revision of the Prohibited Activities and Account Penalty Policy ( NA / EU )

Revised Policies in Question
●Prohibited Activities in FINAL FANTASY XIV ( NA / EU )
●Account Penalty Policy ( NA / EU )

I understand that some of you may feel like account penalties have become much harsher compared to the previous policies, due to changes like the suspension period being extended for certain penalties.

Under the previous policies, some issues were difficult to address due to them being on the cusp, such as actions that were “Negative, but not severe enough to take action.” Additionally, we felt that the 3-day suspension did not have the desired inhibiting effect for some of the more severe issues. Therefore, we decided that a change was necessary. We held numerous discussions internally and ultimately landed on these changes.

We are striving to create a comfortable environment for our players, so that, if they do experience a negative incident, we are able to assist them as much as possible (and, if necessary, get involved in the situation). Please understand that these changes were necessary in order for us to achieve that goal.

On a side note, we have been noticing an increase in issues involving social media, video sites, and live stream channels. Please take this opportunity to go over the FINAL FANTASY® XIV User Agreement and be more mindful of others.
Overall, these policy changes are some of the largest adjustments we have made since the commencement of service, and we will continue to explore ways to provide a better environment for the community. Feel free to let us know if there are certain topics you would like us to improve upon.

Thank you for your continued support of FINAL FANTASY XIV!

[Katie_Kitty]

Seems to me that these "prohibited activities" allow GMs to punish players for virtually anything they might desire to at any time.

[Thamorian]

Seems to me that these "prohibited activities" allow GMs to punish players for virtually anything they might desire to at any time.

I agree with sentiment.

But on a related note...

"Nuisance behaviour" means speech or behaviour that hurts others or obstructs game play, but which is not classified as harassment. Even if it was not the intention, a penalty may be imposed if the end result was that another person was hurt or obstructed."

With these rules, is SE going to finally start punishing players who intentionally pull S ranks early who did not help spawn nor find the S rank and who only came because the S ranks were publicly called? Early S rank puller most definitely fall under nuisance behavior.

I'd say it also falls under...

・Other obstruction of play
This means all other behaviour that deliberately obstructs another person's game play by some means.

EDIT:
Saw this far back on page 39, and I think this reflects most peoples concerns.

It is not a "company" enforcing the rules.

The enforcement is done by entry level employees in the community management team who may not even have a college degree nor play the game, and whose job performance is based on how fast they can solve ticket with very little oversight. I've worked in the games industry before, these people don't even login to the game to deal with these tickets. It's just another branch of tech support.

If they get a ticket for something and it's against anything in the rules, they issue a ban. They don't spend hours investigating each case. They spend a few minutes, which is just looking at if the behavior is bannable in the rules.

[RTX3080]

Seems to me that these "prohibited activities" allow GMs to punish players for virtually anything they might desire to at any time.

Ummmmm no lol? It's to protect privacy...

[TroySoFab]

With all these people making threads about going in GM gaol, I'm glad the team put out a clearer policy on this! Thanks for transparency, and thanks for your contributions as a developer of this game!

[Enla]

I can get the spirit behind some of these, and others I outright agree with, but others are a touch odd... Like...

Expressions that unilaterally reject another person's opinion

How are we supposed to interpret this one? Can I be having a conversation with someone about, say, how SCH is a shield healer and if someone comes along and says they actually think they're a HOT healer any attempt at correcting them will be a violation?

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing with these new rules and I'm frankly grateful the team seems to be taking some of these behaviors so seriously now. Especially after having witnesses certain individuals in the past abuse others due to loopholes in the previously written rules. However some of these need additional clarification.

[Mirakumi]

I'm personally glad they've updated and revised this. Especially with Shadow Bringers coming out. This is something people will run into with the new influx of players and with new content - there will always be frustrations. So if those frustrations get out of hand this is SE's way of letting you know to stop and re-evaluate your decisions. Especially the Hunting Community.

[Aulainn]

These changes literally say that I can be reported for having an opinion and disagreeing with someone elses opinion. I'm suddenly incredibly worried about the future of this game.

[Kaedan]

These changes literally say that I can be reported for having an opinion and disagreeing with someone elses opinion. I'm suddenly incredibly worried about the future of this game.

Not in the slightest.

Unless you are expressing your "opinion" in a offensive way, then it's reportable.

[Lium]

Except that's not what the rules say. They literally say you can get punished for "hurting or obstructing" someone EVEN IF IT WASN'T YOUR INTENTION. How the hell can I avoid "hurting or obstructing" someone unless I ask every single person i ever party with what their definitions of "hurt and obstruction" are before we play together? Also your description of "not being a shitlord" is equally vague and stupid.

EDIT: So I guess this means I can report anyone who says "Oh no not this dungeon" at the start of a dungeon I enjoy, just because I disagree with them and think it's fun. And if they argue with me, I'll just become outraged and say they "hurt and obstructed" me.

Some of these new rules make sense, but the thinly-veiled politically correct nonsense needs to stop.

You sure can report them. And then sit back and watch as absolutely nothing happens to the person you reported, because the GMs will be able to tell that what you did is a perfect example of abusing the system. This is the kind of dumb example I was talking about. People screaming that the sky will fall now.

C'mon. Be an adult.