Apparently, they fired the Lawyer too.

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by bugmaster77, Aug 7, 2020.

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  1. bugmaster77

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    Apparently, they fired the Lawyer too.

    I have been lurking in these forums since I quit playing, following the various changes made to SOTA since Richard sold Portalarium to Chris Spears.

    One thread stuck out today. While I don't really care about SOTA anymore, I thought I would point out something. Failure to take this into account could easily result in Catnip being sued right into the ground, so please take it seriously.

    The thread I am talking about is the thread discussing the ability to mute players being given to OTHER PLAYERS.

    Doling out this ability to select players, in effect, gives those players some of the abilities of an employee of Catnip. Richard Garriot did the same thing in Ultima Online with the "Counselor" program and promptly got sued for failing to PAY EMPLOYEES, not because they were actual employees, but because they were doing the same job as employees but not getting paid for their services. Failing to pay employees falls under the Fair Labor Standards Act, considered theft of services, is illegal in the United States, and the sole reason for the class-action suit brought against Origin.

    You've, essentially, done the same thing--You're receiving services usually provided by employees (player moderation, same role that Elgarion is paid for) and not paying them for the service. You cannot even argue that it is an "industry-standard practice" because no other gaming company does that as a direct result of the lawsuit against Origin. The irony is not lost upon me.

    And, in case you feel the urge to simply delete this post, Chris, let me remind you that this entire forum is being actively backed up to web.archive.org (not by me, but clearly others) and simply deleting it could be used against you in a courtroom (destruction of evidence, as well as indicating an attempt to hide evidence of wrong-doing--itself an acknowledgement of wrong-doing). There is already one thread that was removed and backed up to the archive, another thread started and locked.

    It's pretty clear that Richard tried his best to avoid a repeat of the lawsuit, but you seem to have neglected to take the same precautions. I suggest you hire a lawyer. I'm sure Richard can steer you to one that is well-versed in this sort of thing.

    Sincerely,
    Cozy Firesong
     
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  2. Elrond

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    Last edited: Aug 7, 2020
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  3. Anpu

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    No other online video game on earth has a mute user function? Amazing.
     
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  4. oplek

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    Mute that only affects you is one thing... doing the work of moderating people is another.
     
  5. CICI

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    yep lol =D
     
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  6. oplek

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    Though technically, anyone can sue anyone about anything. Whether or not they win, and/or have to pay the other person's lawyer fees, is another question.
     
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  7. maverick77

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    /disablelurk

    Are you a lawyer? I am a lawyer and I can say you don't know what you're talking about.

    /enablelurk
     
  8. Katu

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    This, this thread.. I can't even..
    No, this is not how anything works.

    Go drunk, you are sleep.

    It's a tiny joke, A JOKE.
     
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  9. Prada

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    Firstly, anyone with the means, can sue anyone, and cost themselves and the defendant a great deal of money in the process of filings, court appearances, and legals fees in general. However, without some sort of mass tort appeal, no legal firm of any size is going to go after Chris and/or Catnip over the possible spoils of war, Origin is another matter.

    Secondly, your couching of the legal exposure is more than optimistic, as they do not specify hours, schedule them, or require any work content. They are merely enabling the ability to do the work in their gaming experience. This is no different conceptually than someone building a dungeon in game vs a Dev building one...one is paid for it, one is not...
     
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  10. GMDavros

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    /chuckle

    seriously.

    Fenris
     
  11. Sulaene Moon

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    Yes, please save this so in a year, 2, 4, we can look back and laugh at it. We'll all be like, wheat ever happened to people suing Catnip or remember that one dude who said Catnip was going to get sued for people silencing others.

    Haha people are crazy!
     
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  12. ShurTugal

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    Its really not about those people and them being ok with it or not. Children can be ok with working in sweat shops and yet child labor laws still exist. There is also the issue with A non employee of catnip games being given power over average players like me. Makes me feel afraid, intimidated.....
     
  13. ShurTugal

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    You don't need a legal firm to go after catnip games. My cousin who is a lawyer could do it. Not everything is about getting money from the deal....
     
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  14. Sean Silverfoot

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    Please go away......please.
     
  15. ShurTugal

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    I have a feeling this isn't going away any time soon. Specially since the poster made such an interesting and valid point......
     
  16. Scanphor

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    LMAO 1/10 troll points, maybe 2 for effort
     
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  17. g04tn4d0

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  18. Prada

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    Unless your cousin is named Vinny...it's not going to happen! I triple dog dare you...

     
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  19. necronut

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    Everybody's got a "cousin" who "does stuff" these days.
     
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  20. Fetid SirDidy

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