Which rule states that parses can't be posted in chat?

[HyoMinPark]

Individuals who want to post other people performance numbers on chat in order to shame them should go back to their WoW cave and never come back.

OP wasn't even talking about shaming people with them. Talk about jumping the gun.



That said, you shouldn't risk it. Just because they're brought up as topics on here doesn't mean that you won't get in trouble for bringing them up in-game even for people who are genuinely curious about their performance. All it takes is for one person to report you for posting numbers, even if you aren't doing it in a malicious way. And there are players that would do that. The GMs have no way of knowing how you obtained said numbers (e.g., from a friend, from a stream), so they have to punish as if you had them on-hand the entire time.

As with the threads about datamining, I've also seen such threads posted and subsequently removed, because that's also information we aren't supposed to have (and datamining is against the TOS, despite the developers knowing people do it). When the White Ravens were first datamined during the last Rising event, a player came to the forums and made a thread about it instantly before the event was even available. That thread was deleted a few hours later by moderation.

[Vnolan]

It falls under the rules section:

Posting for posterity:

Behaviour that disrupts the game balance
Square Enix strictly prohibits the use of third-party programs or tools – including programs and tools that permit automated or “absentee” play – in Final Fantasy XIV. Accordingly, the following activities are prohibited:

- Modifying, analysing, integrating, and/or reverse engineering game software or data.
- Creating, distributing, using, or promoting utilities that interact with the game.
- Exploiting Square Enix programming bugs or glitches.
- Automating gameplay processes.

The Game Master (GM) may speak to players to investigate and confirm “absentee” play, and if the player continues with this behaviour, contrary to the GM's instructions, this will be treated as “absentee” play and subject to penalties. The following behaviour is also prohibited.

-----

Parsers totally fall into either/or:

- Modifying, analysing, integrating, and/or reverse engineering game software or data.

- Creating, distributing, using, or promoting utilities that interact with the game.

As Parsers, by design, analyze data (logs) and since the read data in real time they are utilities that interact with the game.

Already covered in the opening post. That has to do with the act of parsing/using a parser. Nothing quoted makes any mention of posting parses. Datamining would also fall under what you quoted. Would players put themselves at risk if they discussed datamined info using the game's chat if they themselves didn't datamine?

[HWalsh]

Already covered in the opening post. That has to do with the act of parsing/using a parser. Nothing quoted makes any mention of posting parses. Datamining would also fall under what you quoted. Would players put themselves at risk if they discussed datamined info using the game's chat if they themselves didn't datamine?

I think you're angling for a technicality.

The GMs have to assume if you're getting/posting numbers that you're accessing the data. Technically speaking, getting data from someone else, IE asking for numbers, the person you are asking *is* a third party. So that would still be in violation of the rules.

If someone said, "What is a parser?" And someone else just explained what a parser is, then that would probably be ok.

[Beelhi]

Already covered in the opening post. That has to do with the act of parsing/using a parser. Nothing quoted makes any mention of posting parses. Datamining would also fall under what you quoted. Would players put themselves at risk if they discussed datamined info using the game's chat if they themselves didn't datamine?

- Creating, distributing, using, or promoting utilities that interact with the game.

If you share a parse, whether it be yours or someone elses, it's promoting a parser I'd assume. Also if you share a parse, to a GM that's the same as admitting you're using a software that's against the TOS, they won't care if you weren't the one parsing.

SO instead of looking for "oh but it wasn't specifically mentioned", just don't talk about parses in game.

[Granyala]

Already covered in the opening post. That has to do with the act of parsing/using a parser. Nothing quoted makes any mention of posting parses.

Uuh difficult to post a parse if you don't have a parser.
You're trying to split hairs at this point, searching for some legal loophole that doesn't exist.

You diss people over parses ingame, you risk getting hammered with the banhammer. End of story.

[HWalsh]

Uuh difficult to post a parse if you don't have a parser.
You're trying to split hairs at this point, searching for some legal loophole that doesn't exist.

You diss people over parses ingame, you risk getting hammered with the banhammer. End of story.

This is an extension of the Pro-Parser vs Anti-Parser arguments. People really want to parse, but they're suffering from the fact that the Anti-Parser crowd are, by the facts, violating the rules... IE cheating.

This is largely because other games (*cough*WoW*cough*) allow parsing openly.

The biggest issue (for the devs) is finding out a way to stop parsing.

You can not include a log, but people will build apps that simply read the data in real time. You could make the numbers calculate server-side and not send the player any data from other players, but that increases bandwidth.

It's a major headache to devs who don't want parsing.

Back in the early 2000's I was a content designer for a company making an MMO in Phoenix (that never was released) and we toyed with finding a way to stop it.

[AxlStream]

Oh god and now you're pretending to be a dev for an unreleased game...

[Fawkes]

If someone asks for parse data and you provide it, you are basically admitting to using a parser. You can be banned for admitting to bannable offenses that you haven't actually committed. In your scenarios you might be able to get away with it if you actually say you're not parsing and you got the information from a stream/fflogs, I don't know. Although even positive parsing data could likely also be reported by anyone who saw you type it as harassment. Like, saying "This guy is doing 10k DPS" could be seen as shaming everyone else or something.

[Derio]

If you post the number it’s a ban able offense

[HWalsh]

Oh god and now you're pretending to be a dev for an unreleased game...

Content designer.

Stargate Worlds - Cheyenne Mountain - Phoenix Arizona

Not "Pretending" kiddo.

(Also not bragging, it was kind of a dumpster fire. All I did was write mission dialogue for the most part. That's why I don't lead off with: "I worked on this terrible MMO that was mismanaged and bankrupted the company."

Still an industry gig is an industry gig.)