I'm hoping someone can explain to me the difference between litigation directed to a domain due to what they'd determine the express advertisement for emulated servers, between officially posted articles by staff writers, or the opinion pieces written by users. Are the two any different in terms of punishment or possible legal action, and would the presence of either by their own accord be enough to actually draw the attention of Electronic Arts? Does this even have anything to do with legal recourse?

Some of you may know the reason why I'm asking this, and I'm not entirely sure if this thread is going to be closed simply by its mention, but it'd be interesting to understand more about this draconian ban on the mention of Ultima Online 'free' shards, and why it's so important to enforce. I've tried contacting staff through PM's and e-mail for more information to no avail, so I'm turning to the community.

Thanks.

Originally posted by Loktofeit
You've gone thorugh this enough that you already know the proper channels to handle this. It's obvious at this point you're neither a fan of procedure nor ethics, so good luck on your crusade.

Wow, I don't even understand what I did to prompt this. All things considered, what do you want people to do when they're looking for information through the proper channels and not receiving? Furthermore, what makes you think there's a "crusade" involved in any of this, when I'm just looking for information? I think you're jumping to conclusions, and I don't really appreciate the implications, especially considering that what you've written in regard to my character is slanderous at best, if not complete fallacy.

Do you have any information that could shed light on my question, or is there really no reason for you to post a reply in this thread?

Originally posted by Lawlmonster

Originally posted by Loktofeit
You've gone thorugh this enough that you already know the proper channels to handle this. It's obvious at this point you're neither a fan of procedure nor ethics, so good luck on your crusade.

Wow, I don't even understand what I did to prompt this. All things considered, what do you want people to do when they're looking for information through the proper channels and not receiving? Furthermore, what makes you think there's a "crusade" involved in any of this, when I'm just looking for information? I think you're jumping to conclusions, and I don't really appreciate the implications, especially considering that what you've written in regard to my character is slanderous at best, if not complete fallacy.

 

Do you have any information that could shed light on my question, or is there really no reason for you to post a reply in this thread?

The information that could shed light on your question is in the Rules of Conduct that can be found on every single page of this website.

Originally posted by Grunty

Originally posted by Lawlmonster

Originally posted by Loktofeit
You've gone thorugh this enough that you already know the proper channels to handle this. It's obvious at this point you're neither a fan of procedure nor ethics, so good luck on your crusade.

Wow, I don't even understand what I did to prompt this. All things considered, what do you want people to do when they're looking for information through the proper channels and not receiving? Furthermore, what makes you think there's a "crusade" involved in any of this, when I'm just looking for information? I think you're jumping to conclusions, and I don't really appreciate the implications, especially considering that what you've written in regard to my character is slanderous at best, if not complete fallacy.

 

Do you have any information that could shed light on my question, or is there really no reason for you to post a reply in this thread?

The information that could shed light on your question is in the Rules of Conduct that can be found on every single page of this website.

Do you honestly believe I haven't read the brief two sentence explanation in the Rules of Conduct? What is the difference in the ability of staff writers being capable of posting an entire article upon the subject, and the members of the forum? Aren't they both considered against the rules of conduct, regardless of who wrote them, staff or user? Does litigation make any differentiation between the two?

I'm sure the staff has a better understanding of what areas become sensitive topics when speaking about ultima online free shards or the like.  Notice how there's no mention of what free shard he played on, how to find it, or how to set up a free ultima account.  If any user were allowed to post freely about the topic, you can bet this site would become a valuable resource for knowledge on accessing free shards.  To say the rule is draconian is a bit extreme.  This isn't a democracy, the government isn't keeping you from saying what you want to say here.  This is a privately run site.  Respect their rules while you're here just as if you were in somebody's home and they said  "Hey no cussing while you're here ok?"

Originally posted by Olgos

I'm sure the staff has a better understanding of what areas become sensitive topics when speaking about ultima online free shards or the like.  Notice how there's no mention of what free shard he played on, how to find it, or how to set up a free ultima account.  If any user were allowed to post freely about the topic, you can bet this site would become a valuable resource for knowledge on accessing free shards.  To say rule is draconian is a bit extreme.  This isn't a democracy, the government isn't keeping you from saying what you want to say here.  This is a privately run site.  Respect their rules while you're here just as if you were in somebody's home and they said  "Hey no cussing while you're here ok?"

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate the time you took in the consideration and the maturity of your response. I certainly don't disagree with following the rules here, particularly in regards to intellectual property, and I'm old enough to realize that it's a privilege to post here rather than a right. It's true what you've mentioned, that there really aren't any specifics in the officially posted article aside from design concepetuals, and that wasn't really something I had given much thought. The rule still seems a bit confused to me while applying to the vast majority of us, and not the moderation or staff, but you're right about opening the flood gates; to some extent, I guess giving users carte blanche on the subject could invite the worst, and that was something I hadn't thought about either. In the scenario that the rule never really existed to prevent legal implications, I suppose it would be possible to write about the subject in any manner you wanted, as long as a user didn't delve into detail that may relate the post or writing to a particular emulation or game, right?

Originally posted by Lawlmonster

Originally posted by Loktofeit
You've gone thorugh this enough that you already know the proper channels to handle this. It's obvious at this point you're neither a fan of procedure nor ethics, so good luck on your crusade.

Wow, I don't even understand what I did to prompt this. All things considered, what do you want people to do when they're looking for information through the proper channels and not receiving? Furthermore, what makes you think there's a "crusade" involved in any of this, when I'm just looking for information? I think you're jumping to conclusions, and I don't really appreciate the implications, especially considering that what you've written in regard to my character is slanderous at best, if not complete fallacy.

Do you have any information that could shed light on my question, or is there really no reason for you to post a reply in this thread?

My mistake. I guess it's a different Lawlmonster that is regularly getting his posts deleted from forums (plural) for violating this same rule.

Originally posted by Loktofeit

Originally posted by Lawlmonster

Originally posted by Loktofeit
You've gone thorugh this enough that you already know the proper channels to handle this. It's obvious at this point you're neither a fan of procedure nor ethics, so good luck on your crusade.

Wow, I don't even understand what I did to prompt this. All things considered, what do you want people to do when they're looking for information through the proper channels and not receiving? Furthermore, what makes you think there's a "crusade" involved in any of this, when I'm just looking for information? I think you're jumping to conclusions, and I don't really appreciate the implications, especially considering that what you've written in regard to my character is slanderous at best, if not complete fallacy.

Do you have any information that could shed light on my question, or is there really no reason for you to post a reply in this thread?

My mistake. I guess it's a different Lawlmonster that is regularly getting his posts deleted from forums (plural) for violating this same rule.

Regularly? It's happened a grand total of one time. Forums, plural? I had that same account banned from the Darkfall forums, not for that specific infraction but for something completely unrelated almost three years ago, and I only post here. Not to mention, the only infraction I ever remember receiving on MMORPG.com was for being a bit volatile, when I probably should have been more polite. Of the times I've mentioned UO shards in this location, I've been as careful as possible, because I learned that lesson from Darkfall moderation specifically, though was confused as to the Rules of Conduct and how they applied on this particular forum, the only place I currently post, especially in regards to the recent article written by Mr. Fuller (which is the entire reason I started asking questions). I'm sorry if you've got a personal vendetta, I really don't know what I can do to make that go away, but apologize and hope that you can forgive me. There's no hidden motive or agenda, and as you can see, it's pretty easy to have a rational conversation with me, even when you're attempting to use my past to attack my credibility, something I'd like to mention I wouldn't even dare attempt upon another stranger for sake of compassion.

Originally posted by Lawlmonster

Originally posted by Olgos

I'm sure the staff has a better understanding of what areas become sensitive topics when speaking about ultima online free shards or the like.  Notice how there's no mention of what free shard he played on, how to find it, or how to set up a free ultima account.  If any user were allowed to post freely about the topic, you can bet this site would become a valuable resource for knowledge on accessing free shards.  To say rule is draconian is a bit extreme.  This isn't a democracy, the government isn't keeping you from saying what you want to say here.  This is a privately run site.  Respect their rules while you're here just as if you were in somebody's home and they said  "Hey no cussing while you're here ok?"

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate the time you took in the consideration and the maturity of your response. I certainly don't disagree with following the rules here, particularly in regards to intellectual property, and I'm old enough to realize that it's a privilege to post here rather than a right. It's true what you've mentioned, that there really aren't any specifics in the officially posted article aside from design concepetuals, and that wasn't really something I had given much thought. The rule still seems a bit confused to me while applying to the vast majority of us, and not the moderation or staff, but you're right about opening the flood gates; to some extent, I guess giving users carte blanche on the subject could invite the worst, and that was something I hadn't thought about either. In the scenario that the rule never really existed to prevent legal implications, I suppose it would be possible to write about the subject in any manner you wanted, as long as a user didn't delve into detail that may relate the post or writing to a particular emulation or game, right?

Agreed.  The article was purely on the mechanics of original Ultima Online.  Unfortunately, the only place you can find the mechanics of original Ultima Online is on a free shard.  If you were to talk about current UO on a live paid server... well you might as well be writing about WoW or EQ's live servers.  Its not even the same game anymore.  So the original article was more about "Hey, this game had great mechanics back in the day.  On a side note, recently playing a free shard is what brought me back."

I was a little miffed about the closing of comments in that article too. I wanted to reply to it, I wanted the conversation to expand. But simply for saying that he went to a free shard to sharpen his memory on the topic, it was closed.

Furthermore, the guy who closed it constantly throws a bone to "Sandbox" games by saying he thinks they are a good system, but then in the swame breath all his articles are about saving Themepark games through some useless rearrangement of Themepark design. And I think his "bones" he throws are just a way to ease into his real intent of promoting Themepark.

I understand the rules here, but I don't like them. Especially the way they are used.

Now that I've said my peace, I'll wait for some loon to say that I don't deserve a game that I like. This site really p.o.'s me sometimes. I wouldn't be here except that it's my only option for open lines of communication. Such as they are.

Originally posted by Grunty

Originally posted by Lawlmonster

Originally posted by Loktofeit
You've gone thorugh this enough that you already know the proper channels to handle this. It's obvious at this point you're neither a fan of procedure nor ethics, so good luck on your crusade.

Wow, I don't even understand what I did to prompt this. All things considered, what do you want people to do when they're looking for information through the proper channels and not receiving? Furthermore, what makes you think there's a "crusade" involved in any of this, when I'm just looking for information? I think you're jumping to conclusions, and I don't really appreciate the implications, especially considering that what you've written in regard to my character is slanderous at best, if not complete fallacy.

 

Do you have any information that could shed light on my question, or is there really no reason for you to post a reply in this thread?

The information that could shed light on your question is in the Rules of Conduct that can be found on every single page of this website.

The key thing to remember is that the Rules of Conduct only apply to us mere mortals who post here. The Gods of Game Journalism are obviously exempt from said rules.

There's nothing in this world which gets my blood boiling more than double standards. NOTHING. The authors on this site should abide by the rules just like the rest of us.