EA Origin = Spyware?

[Keitanz]

Steam was also horrible in it's first few months of existing

 

[dysfunction]

No not really

 

[Ctuchik]

At the end of the day though, EA were the ones who originally had "inactive account = delete your shit" in their terms and conditions,

Really Mystic, get real man...

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/04/eas-comment-on-origin-account-deletion/
'The Origin terms of service are designed to protect against misuse of the Origin system. No Origin user who has paid entitlements and/or downloaded games will have their account cancelled or games expired due to extended non-use. The term regarding account cancellation for non-use is designed to guard against creation of non-active accounts for inappropriate reasons.'

 

[MYstIC G]

Really Mystic, get real man...

Really? Does my post not say originally in it?

PS: If you're gonna chuck out links, also chuck out the original source as well: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/03/origin-to-delete-inactive-accounts/

A number of readers have written in to express concern about this clause in the terms of service for Electronic Arts’ new digital distribution, Origin. Here’s the key bit: “If you have not used your Entitlements or Account for twenty four (24) months or more and your Account has associated Entitlements, your Entitlements will expire and your Account may be cancelled for non-use.” The “entitlements” it’s talking about are “paid and free downloadable content, unlockable content, digital and/or virtual assets, rights of use tied to unlock keys or codes, serial codes and/or online authentication of any kind, in-game achievements and virtual or fictional currency.”

We’ve asked Electronic Arts for clarification on this, but it suggests you might lose DLC, achievements, and even your account if you don’t log on for two years. Not exactly the kind of permanence we’ve come to expect from certain online services, is it? I can think of quite a few services I’ve not logged into for two years, and I’d still expect all my stuff to be there. Is anyone aware of similar clauses in other distribution systems or online game services?

 

[Ctuchik]

Damn, foiled again...

 

[Gwadien]

Holy shit, that's bad!

 

[Keitanz]

Who the fuck isn't going to login for 2 years...?? by that time the games on the account will be less than a fiver too.

 

[Bahumat]

but it suggests you might lose DLC, achievements, and even your account if you don’t log on for two years.

So nothing official then...

 

[Raven]

Who the fuck isn't going to login for 2 years...?? by that time the games on the account will be less than a fiver too.

I didn't log into WoW, DAOC and there was a period (before I had proper internets) that I didnt log into steam for two years.

 

[Nate]

More bad news for Origins. If you get banned on the forums you can't play your games. Happened a while ago, EA said it wouldn't happen again. Now it is, CS telling people tough titties.

Then we heard from James, whose tale is even more extraordinary. He has been permanently banned for using the word “e-peen”. (For those unfamiliar, this is short for “electronic penis”, and tends to be used to suggest someone is egotistically willy-waving.) However, he did not even introduce the word. It was in reply to someone else who’d said it, and responded, “Ah, back to the e-peen talk.” He was originally told this ban would be for 72 hours, but on Saturday received an email informing him that it was now to be a permanent ban from his Origin account, with no further explanation given. It was added that the matter was “now closed”. And, as ever, EA’s live chat and customer support are refusing to help him in any way. He’s also been told that his BF3 characters and levels will be deleted.
Update: James explains he was polite and courteous with the EA Live Chat person, who had pointed him toward the email form to request further help. He filled this in, again politely he says, and the next day received an email in response saying,

“Please note that your account has been permanently terminated from the Electronic Arts Online service for violating the terms of services. The account will no longer be accessible in any way, and all property, items, and characters associated currently are or will soon be deleted.”​

And the in field explaining why?

​

“This action was necessary due to the repeated nature of the offense on the account. We regret having to take this final step, but it is entirely necessary on behalf of protecting the Electronic Arts Online community. The violation has already been discussed above so further communication on this matter won’t be entertained. We thank you for your understanding on all the statutes within the Terms of Service, and they still contractually apply to you as per the original agreement, especially the sections regarding terminated members of the service.”​

​

No such discussion had taken place. No such “repeated” offense had occurred. Which makes the refusal to even discuss this ban somewhat problematic. Since he received this email, James has not been able to access any of his Origin games online.

​

​

What a joke.​

​

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/14/ea-forum-bans-are-still-affecting-games/#more-82032​

 

[ECA]

Standard for EA support.

 

[Raven]

Good to see people still willing to defend EA though isn't it?

Do not use Origins is the simple solution, if its an Origins exclusive then just don't play it. The sooner EA wake up and realise that treating the customer like a fool is not the best way to do business, the better.

I really hope Start wars online isn't Origins exclusive, can you imagine the fallout on that when they start banning your account for saying things on their forum?

Hilarious company.

 

[DaGaffer]

More bad news for Origins. If you get banned on the forums you can't play your games. Happened a while ago, EA said it wouldn't happen again. Now it is, CS telling people tough titties.

​

​

What a joke.​

​

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/14/ea-forum-bans-are-still-affecting-games/#more-82032​

What's particularly surprising is that although your forum account is chained to Origin, its not on the same database (they're chained together), so its actually really trivial to disable bans from one or the other (in fact its harder to code for a global ban). Sounds like some marketing genius got over-zealous with their Ts&Cs.

 

[Corran]

I really hope Start wars online isn't Origins exclusive, can you imagine the fallout on that when they start banning your account for saying things on their forum?

Hilarious company.

Star wars isnt origins. you do not need it to download or play the game. This has been stated many times by the devs, therefore alot of happy people there.

 

[opticle]

More bad news for Origins. If you get banned on the forums you can't play your games. Happened a while ago, EA said it wouldn't happen again. Now it is, CS telling people tough titties.

​

​

What a joke.​

​

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/14/ea-forum-bans-are-still-affecting-games/#more-82032​

This is appalling.

He has paid for his game. They have taken away his property just like that on a whim. And there's no real appeals process. Can he still even access single player ?

I bet they just expect him to go buy a new copy = more profit !!!11

Hate them.

 

[opticle]

The first person to get in touch with us about BF3 was Nick. It’s hard to sympathise with Nick, to be frank. He made a stupid thread about “teabagging” on the EA forums, and then seemed to be a bit confused that he should get in trouble for suggesting he dangle his “balls” in dead people’s faces. Common sense would dictate that’s not a subject to be raising on a family-friendly forum. His astonishment expressed to us that this should be an issue isn’t endearing. However, less endearing was EA’s response. Following Wong’s advice above he contacted EA’s Customer Support, via email and live chat, and received a refusal to even discuss the matter each time.

Well, that'd be the end of me pretty sharpish.

Origins = Dictatorial Granny state.

Clearly being run by complete idiots with no clue about what they're working with.

We also heard from Rob. Rob’s encounter with EA’s seemingly arbitrary banning process makes much less sense. His account was suspended for having posted a “commercial”. What he had in fact posted was a link to his non-commercial blog, to a guide to “network troubleshooting”, recently updated for helping gamers get connected to BF3. A link that’s been repeatedly posted to the same forums for a couple of years, and better still, has actually been linked to by EA Support themselves. The link, says Rob, is mentioned on their own corporate support site and FAQ! He too found that the live chat support was absolutely useless, with those replying unable to deviate from a script that endlessly, uselessly loops. This led to his being banned from his gaming account for 72 hours, as well as a permanent “strike” on EA’s “three strikes” system. Something it’s not possible for him to dispute.

lol.

 

[MYstIC G]

This is appalling.

He has paid for his game. They have taken away his property just like that on a whim. And there's no real appeals process. Can he still even access single player ?

I bet they just expect him to go buy a new copy = more profit !!!11

Hate them.

That's the thing though, it's just a licence. A licence can be revoked.

 

[Nate]

The guy who was perma banned for saying “Have you sold your souls to the EA devil?” had a message from the Director of CS and his account un-banned apparently.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/11/ea-retracts-game-ban-for-forum-violation/

“Unfortunately, there was an error in the system that accidentally suspended your entire EA account. Immediately upon learning of the glitch, we have restored the entire account and apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused while accessing other areas of the EA service.”

So they give him back his account but no gesture of good will freebies or anything as to the trouble they caused.

Also they replied to someone on RPS about the whole thing


http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/17/eas-unwieldy-banhammer-ea-responds/

“With every game and service EA offers, we take the satisfaction of our customers very seriously. We discourage cheating and strive to maintain a high level of integrity in both our games and our forums. Therefore when someone violates our Terms of Service, we are forced to take actions that can include suspensions and other measures. We do not take those decisions lightly – however the integrity of our services and the satisfaction of our customers requires a clear set of rules.

“We have listened to our customers and are planning a policy update which will include more equitable rules on suspensions – we want to make sure the time fits the crime. As with all technology updates, these changes take some time to implement. Meanwhile, we urge any user with a question about suspensions or our policies to please contact us at (866) 543-5435 so we can address their specific situation.”

 

[opticle]

[We are] planning a policy update which will include more equitable rules on suspensions

I really wonder at what point the world stopped being able to use fucking common sense.

 

[Genedril]

I really wonder at what point the world stopped being able to use fucking common sense.

About the same time that Health and Safety got involved and people had to warn you that coffee 'may contain hot liquids'.