Is GShade allowed?

[Welsper59]

But if you formulate the TOS relatively unsharp then it will happen, that other software falls also into that category, which has nothing to do with FF14 like antivirus scanners or Discord etc.

Why is this a problem for people though? Are people that unreasonably afraid of even the very idea that they could be violating ToS? I would say this whole ordeal should be a learning experience for people. That context factually matters.

Yoshi-P himself has addressed why things like Discord and other unrelated programs are not of concern, even if they do, under technical circumstances, fall under 3rd party programs. They are not directly intended to affect FFXIV. They are not designed to do that. They can't prove you're using these things in a way that proves the programs use is to undermine the rules (e.g. it's on your computer because its for non-FFXIV reasons).

I don't think people fully realize how often many of us violate a services ToS or even real world laws themselves and may not truly know it. Ever used someone else's Netflix or shared yours with another? What about downloaded something from an unofficial source simply out of convenience, even if you otherwise paid for it? You'd be (generally) breaking some ToS. What about driving even 1 over a speed limit? You're literally breaking the law.

SE turning a blind eye in many cases for minor infractions is basically a reflection of reasonableness, akin to why a cop typically will not pull you over for just going slightly over the speed limit... in most areas. Basically they're trying to be nice about it because it's not a big deal in most cases... though it's primarily to do with the fact they can't reasonably prove it without applying some sort of tracker onto your computer. It becomes a big deal when people start abusing that blatantly and abundantly, which is unfortunately why this is being addressed again and seemingly acted upon. The bottom line is to just understand what you're doing and don't be stupid about it.

The kicker about that though? It's business as usual for everyone that isn't streaming addons/plugins that don't give yourself away. Go ahead and use Gshade, ACT, etc. Your risk has not changed for the time being. If you were using it responsibly before, there's no reason you should rethink it now... unless you stream lol. Though Gshade is still probably gonna be given some leeway.