While SimGuru Hydra's post is very reassuring, I still think that the community should continue to call for EA to beef up its moderation of this website and that it should take away the banning/disciplinary powers from Customer Service, and put it back where it belongs: in the hands of the SimGurus and Moderators.
Again, EA needs to step up to the plate and reinstitute the same kind of active moderation team that they used to have back in the days of The Sims BBS *and* The Sims 2 BBS. Doing anything less than that is going to cost them dearly, not only in terms of bad publicity, but also in terms of lost sales as looky-loos drive by and see the mess, plus the disgruntled community members that leave this website in disgust and stop buying Sims 3 games.
EA Marketing Department Motto:
"We Don't Care If You LIKE The Game, Just As Long As You BUY The Game!"
I Disapprove (Naturally) I Took The Pledge!
While SimGuru Hydra's post is very reassuring, I still think that the community should continue to call for EA to beef up its moderation of this website and that it should take away the banning/disciplinary powers from Customer Service, and put it back where it belongs: in the hands of the SimGurus and Moderators.
Again, EA needs to step up to the plate and reinstitute the same kind of active moderation team that they used to have back in the days of The Sims BBS *and* The Sims 2 BBS. Doing anything less than that is going to cost them dearly, not only in terms of bad publicity, but also in terms of lost sales as looky-loos drive by and see the mess, plus the disgruntled community members that leave this website in disgust and stop buying Sims 3 games.
Only post I'm making on this thread, but I wholeheartedly agree. They need a full moderating team, not somebody who might do something based on reports.
While SimGuru Hydra's post is very reassuring, I still think that the community should continue to call for EA to beef up its moderation of this website and that it should take away the banning/disciplinary powers from Customer Service, and put it back where it belongs: in the hands of the SimGurus and Moderators.
Again, EA needs to step up to the plate and reinstitute the same kind of active moderation team that they used to have back in the days of The Sims BBS *and* The Sims 2 BBS. Doing anything less than that is going to cost them dearly, not only in terms of bad publicity, but also in terms of lost sales as looky-loos drive by and see the mess, plus the disgruntled community members that leave this website in disgust and stop buying Sims 3 games.
While SimGuru Hydra's post is very reassuring, I still think that the community should continue to call for EA to beef up its moderation of this website and that it should take away the banning/disciplinary powers from Customer Service, and put it back where it belongs: in the hands of the SimGurus and Moderators.
Again, EA needs to step up to the plate and reinstitute the same kind of active moderation team that they used to have back in the days of The Sims BBS *and* The Sims 2 BBS. Doing anything less than that is going to cost them dearly, not only in terms of bad publicity, but also in terms of lost sales as looky-loos drive by and see the mess, plus the disgruntled community members that leave this website in disgust and stop buying Sims 3 games.
I too, agree with Jarsie...I don't ever remember having any problems on the TS2 BBS...only thing I remember from those days was having a blast posting, and reading other simmer posts...nothing like it is now. I don't understand why the same system can't be instituted now.. :?:
I have followed this thread since it's beginning. And while I neither agree or disagree with anyone on this issue, I just have to point out a couple of facts:
1. ESRB ratings do NOT pertain to online interactions. Online interactions/play is unrated and therefore at the user's own risk.
2. It is stated in one of the many EA TOS agreements that EA is NOT responsible or liable for what happens online. The most EA can and will do, according to its TOS, is ban users who violate said TOS.
Quote from online TOS: "EA does not assume any responsibility or liability for UGC or for removal of, UGC or any failure to or delay in removing, UGC or other Content."
UGC = User generated content, which includes forum posts.
Do I think it is wrong? Yes. But sadly, EA is not required to do anything, unfortunately, as disclaimered in their own Terms of Service.
I commend those that are fighting tooth and nail to have something done, to see justice be served. I just have a feeling that it will be a losing battle, unless it receives national attention.
Yes, but I'm pretty sure it never stated in the forum rules that you were allowed to post what sesert did. What's more, the people on these forums are the people who play the game, and that is people who are 13+ or in some places, 12+.
Yes, but I'm pretty sure it never stated in the forum rules that you were allowed to post what sesert did. What's more, the people on these forums are the people who play the game, and that is people who are 13+ or in some places, 12+.
You are right, you aren't allowed. It violates TOS. But all EA is liable to do is ban his account(s). Nothing else. That's what I was trying to state in my above post.
I have followed this thread since it's beginning. And while I neither agree or disagree with anyone on this issue, I just have to point out a couple of facts:
1. ESRB ratings do NOT pertain to online interactions. Online interactions/play is unrated and therefore at the user's own risk.
2. It is stated in one of the many EA TOS agreements that EA is NOT responsible or liable for what happens online. The most EA can and will do, according to its TOS, is ban users who violate said TOS.
Quote from online TOS: "EA does not assume any responsibility or liability for UGC or for removal of, UGC or any failure to or delay in removing, UGC or other Content."
UGC = User generated content, which includes forum posts.
Do I think it is wrong? Yes. But sadly, EA is not required to do anything, unfortunately, as disclaimered in their own Terms of Service.
I commend those that are fighting tooth and nail to have something done, to see justice be served. I just have a feeling that it will be a losing battle, unless it receives national attention.
Anything "online" is impossible to monitor 100% of the time, which is why there is such a disclaimer. No one can control what users type and post on the forums but can take action upon when something inappropriate does occur.
The internet pretty much is impossible to rate because there will always be someone to ruin the peace and go against the norm. Which is why online ratings do not exist.
As long as EA is doing something it is better than doing nothing at all. However I do feel that they need more assistance in this area to help protect everyone here and especially those who are under age.
“What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter”
I have followed this thread since it's beginning. And while I neither agree or disagree with anyone on this issue, I just have to point out a couple of facts:
1. ESRB ratings do NOT pertain to online interactions. Online interactions/play is unrated and therefore at the user's own risk.
2. It is stated in one of the many EA TOS agreements that EA is NOT responsible or liable for what happens online. The most EA can and will do, according to its TOS, is ban users who violate said TOS.
Quote from online TOS: "EA does not assume any responsibility or liability for UGC or for removal of, UGC or any failure to or delay in removing, UGC or other Content."
UGC = User generated content, which includes forum posts.
Do I think it is wrong? Yes. But sadly, EA is not required to do anything, unfortunately, as disclaimered in their own Terms of Service.
I commend those that are fighting tooth and nail to have something done, to see justice be served. I just have a feeling that it will be a losing battle, unless it receives national attention.
Anything "online" is impossible to monitor 100% of the time, which is why there is such a disclaimer. No one can control what users type and post on the forums but can take action upon when something inappropriate does occur.
The internet pretty much is impossible to rate because there will always be someone to ruin the peace and go against the norm. Which is why online ratings do not exist.
As long as EA is doing something it is better than doing nothing at all. However I do feel that they need more assistance in this area to help protect everyone here and especially those who are under age.
Agreed. But, at this point, I do not think EA cares enough to do anything substantive. :?
Yes, but I'm pretty sure it never stated in the forum rules that you were allowed to post what sesert did. What's more, the people on these forums are the people who play the game, and that is people who are 13+ or in some places, 12+.
You are right, you aren't allowed. It violates TOS. But all EA is liable to do is ban his account(s). Nothing else. That's what I was trying to state in my above post.
Wrong. I don't care *what* that disclaimer says, EA can and *does* have the power and the *obligation* to moderate its own forums. As several of us have pointed out, things like this would never have taken place in the old Sims 2 BBS where EA maintained a strong moderator presence in the form of both Maxoids and SimMasters, and EA's UK division certainly does maintain the strong moderator presents that prevents this sort of thing from happening there.
At this point, whether contacting the ESRB is useful or not is irrelevant. At the very least, people can feel that they are trying to take *some* action to stop this kind of behavior.
But holding EA accountable and demanding that they maintain this forum in an appropriate manner is not uncalled for. Right now, EA does all its moderation and banning through Customer Services, while maintaining a few moderators *in name only*, who can do very little besides lock and/or delete threads. Even the SimGurus (who *are* EA employees) have stated that they are powerless to act in this case; everything goes through Customer Service.
So demanding that EA police its own forums in the way that they *used* to do it in the past is not unreasonable. Like I and several others have stated, this blatant violation of the TOS would never have been allowed to go out of control in the old Sims 2 BBS back when it *did* have a strong moderator presence. It should not be allowed to get out of control here.
EA needs to stop spending so much money in advertising their game, and invest more money in increasing its level of moderation in these forums, so that things like what this thread is talking about can't happen again. People may not like it at first, but at least it would show that EA cares about the members of this forum and about not driving away potential customers who browse this forum looking for information so that they can decide whether or not they want to buy this game.
EA Marketing Department Motto:
"We Don't Care If You LIKE The Game, Just As Long As You BUY The Game!"
I Disapprove (Naturally) I Took The Pledge!
EA needs to stop spending so much money in advertising their game, and invest more money in increasing its level of moderation in these forums, so that things like what this thread is talking about can't happen again. People may not like it at first, but at least it would show that EA cares about the members of this forum and about not driving away potential customers who browse this forum looking for information so that they can decide whether or not they want to buy this game.
"not driving away potential customers who browse this forum" is very right! It's not just the posters who are affected by this, but people who are innocently browsing the internet.
ERSB doesn't monitor internet not but they do however notify certain authorities that do. They do help parents educate children on online safety. They are involved in it and so contacting them aren't going to be a waste of effort. You can also contact other organizations but since the ERSB is affliated with majority of parental online orgs i figured it would be better to contact them first.
Any let me say something about EA's TOS. It doesn't mean jack squat in America if their website violates state or federal law. Therefore the TOS becomes null and void. Why because the site doesn't comply with authorities. They can cover their own tails when it comes to the user but that TOS doesn't make them above the law. So a user posting xrated content and making death threats on their website puts them in jeopardy with authorities especailly if it continually happens. Especially if something serious were to happen. Why because there are laws about subjecting minors to that kind of environment. Despite if it is a customer, it's still EA's site and they need to make sure that one their customer service is not full of idiots. That they can be dupped into giving customers codes and not even checking if said customer is banned of flagged for being inapropriate. 2. They need to make sure they have the proper moderators so that if anyone comes in and does post such material it's not a whole half a day later till the material is removed.
Majority of forums have moderation that those kinds of things are removed instantly. There is no reason for the same to be done for EA, especially when they know children come to this site.
Wrong. I don't care *what* that disclaimer says, EA can and *does* have the power and the *obligation* to moderate its own forums.
Agreed.
I've been a vocal supporter of the "Don't Feed the Troll" maxim, but after reading what AE, Bluebell, and others have said regarding this tactic not working, I have to question and say that I agree to a certain point. I hate it, but there it is.
May I say this: I still stand by that statement as a general rule, but I'd like to qualify it: don't feed, but don't ignore. Avoid arguments with him, but keep bugging EA with reports, and when it gets to this level, keep bugging the legal authorities. And the media. And anyone else we can think of, until this kid is prosecuted, which will happen eventually. Sooner or later, technological advancements and the law will catch up with him.
Nothing gets deleted from the internet. Every image and every threat he has ever posted will be floating out there forever, waiting for the right technology and the right law to catch up. Then they'll follow every job application he ever makes after that.
Even the SimGurus (who *are* EA employees) have stated that they are powerless to act in this case; everything goes through Customer Service.
This makes me really wonder why EA sees such a need to tie the moderators' hands, and in such an ironic fashion, since Customer Service have had such a dismal record of ...well, customer service. And it's even worse now, because EA have gone and sacked a moderator for speaking up. So what are the chances of any other moderators trying to do the same in future?
I was talking about this issue with an open-minded (trust me!) and extremely tech-savvy friend of mine who has a young daughter. I asked him whether, as a parent well-informed about the internet, he would ban her from visiting a site with these sorts of ongoing problems.
He replied that he would most likely try to block it at the router level, which amounts to the same result. I find it hard to fault that action, while these problems remain for so long.
He then asked me: aren't there other Sims3 forums which are better moderated? Answer: yes, there are. AE herself set up an excellent one, for example. I know that this one is "home" for a lot of people, but so many are getting hurt by this, and getting more and more angry at EA and each other, and none of it is doing us any good.
Believe me, I'm doing all I can, and I'm getting close to being mentally and emotionally exhausted. My husband's currently in Afghanistan, has been gone over a month, so you could say that I have enough to deal with regarding that particular issue, but here I am, still going, and I will keep going until this situation has been dealt with properly.
This really concerns me. When it starts to affect the health of people in our community, especially someone who has been so proactive with this, surely there needs to be a point where we say, "enough's enough", and we should seriously consider actively encouraging as many people as we can to leave. There are far better alternatives, which won't allow the likes of him to get anywhere near them.
Those saying it will do no good, or that I should just shut up and move on don't seem to have the faintest clue that several of us having to put up with this have tried everything, and we will continue trying, because no member here deserves the treatment they've received from this person. I'm not the biggest fan of these forums, or of EA, but that doesn't mean I don't care about the people here, and I do care about the community as a whole. I'll fight as long as I can, but please don't assume that all I do is post on these forums. I and others are doing much more than that.
All I can say is, I take my hat off to you, and Bluebell, and Zeri, and everyone else who's been going through it. I really do.
Yes, but I'm pretty sure it never stated in the forum rules that you were allowed to post what sesert did. What's more, the people on these forums are the people who play the game, and that is people who are 13+ or in some places, 12+.
You are right, you aren't allowed. It violates TOS. But all EA is liable to do is ban his account(s). Nothing else. That's what I was trying to state in my above post.
Wrong. I don't care *what* that disclaimer says, EA can and *does* have the power and the *obligation* to moderate its own forums. As several of us have pointed out, things like this would never have taken place in the old Sims 2 BBS where EA maintained a strong moderator presence in the form of both Maxoids and SimMasters, and EA's UK division certainly does maintain the strong moderator presents that prevents this sort of thing from happening there.
At this point, whether contacting the ESRB is useful or not is irrelevant. At the very least, people can feel that they are trying to take *some* action to stop this kind of behavior.
But holding EA accountable and demanding that they maintain this forum in an appropriate manner is not uncalled for. Right now, EA does all its moderation and banning through Customer Services, while maintaining a few moderators *in name only*, who can do very little besides lock and/or delete threads. Even the SimGurus (who *are* EA employees) have stated that they are powerless to act in this case; everything goes through Customer Service.
So demanding that EA police its own forums in the way that they *used* to do it in the past is not unreasonable. Like I and several others have stated, this blatant violation of the TOS would never have been allowed to go out of control in the old Sims 2 BBS back when it *did* have a strong moderator presence. It should not be allowed to get out of control here.
EA needs to stop spending so much money in advertising their game, and invest more money in increasing its level of moderation in these forums, so that things like what this thread is talking about can't happen again. People may not like it at first, but at least it would show that EA cares about the members of this forum and about not driving away potential customers who browse this forum looking for information so that they can decide whether or not they want to buy this game.
Trust me, I agree wholeheartedly with you. I'm just saying that I think it is highly unlikely that they are going to do anything more than ban him, not only because of what is stated in their TOS, but also because--let's face it--EA has proven time and again that they could care less about their customers. It's sad, but true. As much as I'd like to be an optimist about the issue, I'm not. As I have said previously, I do commend and highly respect those who are fighting for justice on this issue.
ERSB doesn't monitor internet not but they do however notify certain authorities that do. They do help parents educate children on online safety. They are involved in it and so contacting them aren't going to be a waste of effort. You can also contact other organizations but since the ERSB is affliated with majority of parental online orgs i figured it would be better to contact them first.
Any let me say something about EA's TOS. It doesn't mean jack squat in America if their website violates state or federal law. Therefore the TOS becomes null and void. Why because the site doesn't comply with authorities. They can cover their own tails when it comes to the user but that TOS doesn't make them above the law. So a user posting xrated content and making death threats on their website puts them in jeopardy with authorities especailly if it continually happens. Especially if something serious were to happen. Why because there are laws about subjecting minors to that kind of environment. Despite if it is a customer, it's still EA's site and they need to make sure that one their customer service is not full of idiots. That they can be dupped into giving customers codes and not even checking if said customer is banned of flagged for being inapropriate. 2. They need to make sure they have the proper moderators so that if anyone comes in and does post such material it's not a whole half a day later till the material is removed.
Majority of forums have moderation that those kinds of things are removed instantly. There is no reason for the same to be done for EA, especially when they know children come to this site.
The reason why I stated the ESRB thing is because I think a lot of people think that since the game is rated T for Teen, so is the website, which isn't true.
And yes, of course the law is above EA and what they are doing is illegal. But, until someone forces legal action upon the corporation, I don't think EA is going to do anything except ban this fellow and remove the images that they find.
And again, I am NOT disagreeing with anyone on here. I am NOT saying what sesert is doing is right. It is disgusting, and my heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by him. I am just looking at the facts and saying that it is unlikely EA will do anything substantive unless someone, like Jarsie said, lights a fire under EA's a.🐸🐸🐸🐸. and forces legal action upon them, which I know some simmers on here are fighting tooth and nail to do. And I commend them for that.
I have followed this thread since it's beginning. And while I neither agree or disagree with anyone on this issue, I just have to point out a couple of facts:
1. ESRB ratings do NOT pertain to online interactions. Online interactions/play is unrated and therefore at the user's own risk.
2. It is stated in one of the many EA TOS agreements that EA is NOT responsible or liable for what happens online. The most EA can and will do, according to its TOS, is ban users who violate said TOS.
Quote from online TOS: "EA does not assume any responsibility or liability for UGC or for removal of, UGC or any failure to or delay in removing, UGC or other Content."
UGC = User generated content, which includes forum posts.
Do I think it is wrong? Yes. But sadly, EA is not required to do anything, unfortunately, as disclaimered in their own Terms of Service.
I commend those that are fighting tooth and nail to have something done, to see justice be served. I just have a feeling that it will be a losing battle, unless it receives national attention.
Yes but the TOS also say this:
(1)- Post, transmit, promote, or distribute Content that is illegal.
(2)- Harass, threaten, embarrass, spam or do anything else to another player that is unwanted, such as repeatedly sending unwanted messages or making personal attacks or statements about race, sexual orientation, religion, heritage, etc.
(3)- Organize, effectuate or participate in any activity, group, guild that is harmful, abusive, hateful, racially, ethnically, religiously or otherwise offensive, obscene, threatening, bullying, vulgar, sexually explicit, defamatory, infringing, invasive of personal privacy or publicity rights, encourages conduct that would violate a law or in a reasonable person's view, objectionable and/or inappropriate. Hate speech is not tolerated.
(4)- Use abusive, offensive, or defamatory screen names and/or personas.
(5)- Engage in disruptive behavior in chat areas, game areas, forums, or any other area or aspect of EA Services. Disruptive behavior includes but is not limited to conduct which interferes with the normal flow of gameplay or dialogue within an EA Service. Disruptive behavior shall also include, but not be limited to, commercial postings, solicitations and advertisements.
(6)- Disrupt the flow of chat in chat rooms with vulgar language, abusiveness, hitting the return key repeatedly or inputting large images so the screen goes by too fast to read, use of excessive shouting [all caps] in an attempt to disturb other users, "spamming" or flooding [posting repetitive text].
(7)- Attempt to get a password, account information, or other private information from anyone else on EA Services.
(8)- Upload any software or Content that you do not own or have permission to freely distribute.
(9)- Violate any additional Rules of Conduct applicable to a specific EA Service that you are using.
(10)- Improperly use in-game support or complaint buttons or make false reports to EA staff.
(11)- Interfere with the ability of others to enjoy playing an EA Service or take actions that interfere with or materially increase the cost to provide an EA Service for the enjoyment of all its users.
(12)- You may not conduct any activities that violate the laws of any jurisdiction including but not limited to copyright infringement, trademark infringement, defamation, invasion of privacy, identity theft, hacking, stalking, fraud and the distribution of counterfeit software.
Second thing you should note is that it was originally a list of 27 terms. I removed the ones that were irrelevant and/or hadn't been violated by Sesert. As you can see from the numbers in brackets, it is now a list of 12 - a very large amount considering that your average troll only violates about 1-2 terms during their time.
Third thing that you should note is that, while it may not be our main concern, Sesert has also infringed upon many copyrights by posting p*rn.
My fourth point relates more to what the first quote (a statement made previously on this thread). While it may not be an ESRB issue, the fact that he is posting p*rn on a site that doesn't have 'permission' to host p*rn is illegal and an FBI issue. There is also the fact that this site is designed for children to enjoy as well. P*rn being presented to minors, another law broken. Then the fact that we have been reporting this since the end of December, which means EA have been knowingly hosting p*rn on a site designed for minors. Finally, Sesert uploaded pictures of 'himself' (I'm assuming you know what I'm talking about) onto a certain MyPage. If it is correct that he is under 18 years old, then EA are knowingly hosting child p*rnography (Sesert himself is more likely in his 'teen' years, but I think it is still called child p*rnography) on this site. Another law broken, and another FBI issue.
Finally, Sesert uploaded pictures of 'himself' (I'm assuming you know what I'm talking about) onto a certain MyPage. If it is correct that he is under 18 years old, then EA are knowingly hosting child p*rnography (Sesert himself is more likely in his 'teen' years, but I think it is still called child p*rnography) on this site. Another law broken, and another FBI issue.
Comments
Again, EA needs to step up to the plate and reinstitute the same kind of active moderation team that they used to have back in the days of The Sims BBS *and* The Sims 2 BBS. Doing anything less than that is going to cost them dearly, not only in terms of bad publicity, but also in terms of lost sales as looky-loos drive by and see the mess, plus the disgruntled community members that leave this website in disgust and stop buying Sims 3 games.
"We Don't Care If You LIKE The Game, Just As Long As You BUY The Game!"
I Disapprove (Naturally)
I Took The Pledge!
Only post I'm making on this thread, but I wholeheartedly agree. They need a full moderating team, not somebody who might do something based on reports.
^This.
1. ESRB ratings do NOT pertain to online interactions. Online interactions/play is unrated and therefore at the user's own risk.
2. It is stated in one of the many EA TOS agreements that EA is NOT responsible or liable for what happens online. The most EA can and will do, according to its TOS, is ban users who violate said TOS.
Quote from online TOS: "EA does not assume any responsibility or liability for UGC or for removal of, UGC or any failure to or delay in removing, UGC or other Content."
UGC = User generated content, which includes forum posts.
Do I think it is wrong? Yes. But sadly, EA is not required to do anything, unfortunately, as disclaimered in their own Terms of Service.
I commend those that are fighting tooth and nail to have something done, to see justice be served. I just have a feeling that it will be a losing battle, unless it receives national attention.
You are right, you aren't allowed. It violates TOS. But all EA is liable to do is ban his account(s). Nothing else. That's what I was trying to state in my above post.
Anything "online" is impossible to monitor 100% of the time, which is why there is such a disclaimer. No one can control what users type and post on the forums but can take action upon when something inappropriate does occur.
The internet pretty much is impossible to rate because there will always be someone to ruin the peace and go against the norm. Which is why online ratings do not exist.
As long as EA is doing something it is better than doing nothing at all. However I do feel that they need more assistance in this area to help protect everyone here and especially those who are under age.
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter”
Agreed. But, at this point, I do not think EA cares enough to do anything substantive. :?
Wrong. I don't care *what* that disclaimer says, EA can and *does* have the power and the *obligation* to moderate its own forums. As several of us have pointed out, things like this would never have taken place in the old Sims 2 BBS where EA maintained a strong moderator presence in the form of both Maxoids and SimMasters, and EA's UK division certainly does maintain the strong moderator presents that prevents this sort of thing from happening there.
At this point, whether contacting the ESRB is useful or not is irrelevant. At the very least, people can feel that they are trying to take *some* action to stop this kind of behavior.
But holding EA accountable and demanding that they maintain this forum in an appropriate manner is not uncalled for. Right now, EA does all its moderation and banning through Customer Services, while maintaining a few moderators *in name only*, who can do very little besides lock and/or delete threads. Even the SimGurus (who *are* EA employees) have stated that they are powerless to act in this case; everything goes through Customer Service.
So demanding that EA police its own forums in the way that they *used* to do it in the past is not unreasonable. Like I and several others have stated, this blatant violation of the TOS would never have been allowed to go out of control in the old Sims 2 BBS back when it *did* have a strong moderator presence. It should not be allowed to get out of control here.
EA needs to stop spending so much money in advertising their game, and invest more money in increasing its level of moderation in these forums, so that things like what this thread is talking about can't happen again. People may not like it at first, but at least it would show that EA cares about the members of this forum and about not driving away potential customers who browse this forum looking for information so that they can decide whether or not they want to buy this game.
"We Don't Care If You LIKE The Game, Just As Long As You BUY The Game!"
I Disapprove (Naturally)
I Took The Pledge!
"not driving away potential customers who browse this forum" is very right! It's not just the posters who are affected by this, but people who are innocently browsing the internet.
Any let me say something about EA's TOS. It doesn't mean jack squat in America if their website violates state or federal law. Therefore the TOS becomes null and void. Why because the site doesn't comply with authorities. They can cover their own tails when it comes to the user but that TOS doesn't make them above the law. So a user posting xrated content and making death threats on their website puts them in jeopardy with authorities especailly if it continually happens. Especially if something serious were to happen. Why because there are laws about subjecting minors to that kind of environment. Despite if it is a customer, it's still EA's site and they need to make sure that one their customer service is not full of idiots. That they can be dupped into giving customers codes and not even checking if said customer is banned of flagged for being inapropriate. 2. They need to make sure they have the proper moderators so that if anyone comes in and does post such material it's not a whole half a day later till the material is removed.
Majority of forums have moderation that those kinds of things are removed instantly. There is no reason for the same to be done for EA, especially when they know children come to this site.
I've been a vocal supporter of the "Don't Feed the Troll" maxim, but after reading what AE, Bluebell, and others have said regarding this tactic not working, I have to question and say that I agree to a certain point. I hate it, but there it is.
May I say this: I still stand by that statement as a general rule, but I'd like to qualify it: don't feed, but don't ignore. Avoid arguments with him, but keep bugging EA with reports, and when it gets to this level, keep bugging the legal authorities. And the media. And anyone else we can think of, until this kid is prosecuted, which will happen eventually. Sooner or later, technological advancements and the law will catch up with him.
Nothing gets deleted from the internet. Every image and every threat he has ever posted will be floating out there forever, waiting for the right technology and the right law to catch up. Then they'll follow every job application he ever makes after that.
This makes me really wonder why EA sees such a need to tie the moderators' hands, and in such an ironic fashion, since Customer Service have had such a dismal record of ...well, customer service. And it's even worse now, because EA have gone and sacked a moderator for speaking up. So what are the chances of any other moderators trying to do the same in future?
I was talking about this issue with an open-minded (trust me!) and extremely tech-savvy friend of mine who has a young daughter. I asked him whether, as a parent well-informed about the internet, he would ban her from visiting a site with these sorts of ongoing problems.
He replied that he would most likely try to block it at the router level, which amounts to the same result. I find it hard to fault that action, while these problems remain for so long.
He then asked me: aren't there other Sims3 forums which are better moderated? Answer: yes, there are. AE herself set up an excellent one, for example. I know that this one is "home" for a lot of people, but so many are getting hurt by this, and getting more and more angry at EA and each other, and none of it is doing us any good.
This really concerns me. When it starts to affect the health of people in our community, especially someone who has been so proactive with this, surely there needs to be a point where we say, "enough's enough", and we should seriously consider actively encouraging as many people as we can to leave. There are far better alternatives, which won't allow the likes of him to get anywhere near them.
All I can say is, I take my hat off to you, and Bluebell, and Zeri, and everyone else who's been going through it. I really do.
[edit: spelling]
Trust me, I agree wholeheartedly with you. I'm just saying that I think it is highly unlikely that they are going to do anything more than ban him, not only because of what is stated in their TOS, but also because--let's face it--EA has proven time and again that they could care less about their customers. It's sad, but true. As much as I'd like to be an optimist about the issue, I'm not. As I have said previously, I do commend and highly respect those who are fighting for justice on this issue.
The reason why I stated the ESRB thing is because I think a lot of people think that since the game is rated T for Teen, so is the website, which isn't true.
And yes, of course the law is above EA and what they are doing is illegal. But, until someone forces legal action upon the corporation, I don't think EA is going to do anything except ban this fellow and remove the images that they find.
And again, I am NOT disagreeing with anyone on here. I am NOT saying what sesert is doing is right. It is disgusting, and my heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by him. I am just looking at the facts and saying that it is unlikely EA will do anything substantive unless someone, like Jarsie said, lights a fire under EA's a.🐸🐸🐸🐸. and forces legal action upon them, which I know some simmers on here are fighting tooth and nail to do. And I commend them for that.
http://tos.ea.com/legalapp/WEBTERMS/US/en/PC/#section11
Second thing you should note is that it was originally a list of 27 terms. I removed the ones that were irrelevant and/or hadn't been violated by Sesert. As you can see from the numbers in brackets, it is now a list of 12 - a very large amount considering that your average troll only violates about 1-2 terms during their time.
Third thing that you should note is that, while it may not be our main concern, Sesert has also infringed upon many copyrights by posting p*rn.
My fourth point relates more to what the first quote (a statement made previously on this thread). While it may not be an ESRB issue, the fact that he is posting p*rn on a site that doesn't have 'permission' to host p*rn is illegal and an FBI issue. There is also the fact that this site is designed for children to enjoy as well. P*rn being presented to minors, another law broken. Then the fact that we have been reporting this since the end of December, which means EA have been knowingly hosting p*rn on a site designed for minors. Finally, Sesert uploaded pictures of 'himself' (I'm assuming you know what I'm talking about) onto a certain MyPage. If it is correct that he is under 18 years old, then EA are knowingly hosting child p*rnography (Sesert himself is more likely in his 'teen' years, but I think it is still called child p*rnography) on this site. Another law broken, and another FBI issue.
Yes, it is child p*rnography, even as a teen.