Questions regarding the new EULA that came with today's patch update.

True to a point, except for this part which is a bit odd to see

 

If that is true it would be disturbing but I somehow doubt that this is the whole story.

Some food for thought:
If I would report you because of something in a discord convo I would add a Screenshot ;-)

 

It would be nice if the powers to be would clear this up. Thats the problem here, things are left vague and can be interpreted numerous ways. I would love an official response to the following EULA statement. Outside of this I can live with the rest but come on now, my private chat text?

(e.g. live chat, instant message services and the like), even “privately” to another person, you do so with the understanding that those communications go through our servers, can be monitored by us. Accordingly, you have no expectation of privacy in any of those communications and, accordingly, you expressly consent to monitoring of communications that you send and receive.

 

Well he is not denying he said something bad and deserved it, so i don't see any reason not to think it happened, you can take that up with Mercster though if you doubt him

 

It very clearly says "in the game or on the website". They cannot monitor other instant messaging programs that don't run through them.

 

Note the words in yellow. I am sceptical that they have the ability or desire to monitor private Discord messages, even on any of the Portalarium channels. If, on the other hand, someone draws their attention to an objectionable Discord DM, that could be a different matter.

 

Well they can.
But then their client would be maleware and we could sue the sh** out of them.
So i have very strong doubts they do it ;-)

 

Oh I see what you are saying, sorry I wasn't clear. No one is claiming that Port is reading discord private messages. The player is claiming that he was reported to Port for something said in a private message and was then banned for the contents of that private message that was reported.

sorry for the confusion

 

Yeah. I didn't mean they were physically unable, I meant that it was pretty much illegal.

 

I'm confused - anytime a forum post goes sideways we're told to "take it" to PM and now folks are being banned for presumably quarrelsome PMs on third party websites? That part of the policy could be spelled out a little better...

 

To be fair: just because it's in a PM dosen't mean i am allowed to insult you.

 

We'll yeah - but once it's in a PM it's entirely up to the moderators to decide what's an acceptable rub and what isn't... saying "take it to PM" shouldn't be license to throw expletives at one another - but it does enable (if not promote) an enough rope to hang themselves scenario.

I guess what I'm trying to suggest is, if people are being banned for PM's they shouldn't be encouraged to argue in PM by the same authority that will ban them.

 

I just recommend to use any other platform than this to discuss the game freely.

 

This is a p2p network.
Risks are involved with this type of file sharing and your IP is easily available.
At least Portalarium's EULA is alerting you to the situation.
Could it be that they are not the only ones monitoring?
Hmm...

 

Everyone listen. The topic has gone a little off from my main point.

Re-read this.
You expressly permit PORTALARIUM to upload CPU, operating system, video card, sound card and memory information from your computer to analyze and optimize your Game experience, improve and maintain the Game and/or provide you with customer service. In the event that the Game detects an unauthorized third party program, (a) the Game may communicate information back to us, including without limitation your Account username, details about the unauthorized third party program detected and the activities or functions performed thereby, and/or (b) we may exercise any or all of its rights and remedies under the PORTALARIUM Terms without prior notice to the user(s) linked to such unauthorized third party program.



The question isnt can they get screenshot of convo's or using select convo's to ban and so on. the question is as follow.

WHAT exactly is being monitored on a regular basis besides basic CPU info that allow PORT to know i have a program they may not agree with? What do they CONSIDER an unauthorized third party program? AND HWO MUCH of that program and its details are being transmitted to the PORT offices for review or monitoring and determination that will in the end effect my acct and ability to play this game any further.



SECOND: It was not my intent to start trouble and i feel this could be avoided very easy by getting an official response to my concerning questions. Now because of the EULA wording i can be guilty of inciting trouble when my original post was simply to get clarification to my original questions.

I simply do not trust vague EULA and this is the first time in my LIFE of game play that an EULA made me pause my game-play and STOP to get a more clear answer.
I played UO 12 years. No issues ever.
I play Eve Online 10 years. - No issue ever

I am not known for this type of questioning because those EULA are very clear and acceptable. The one here concerns me because what i do with my software i own legally and how apply it should be my business. I refuse to stop using any legally owned software in any game i play and have never hit such terms in very well known games. Nor did i have to give up personal information in a form that i still have no direct answer for.


How is my CPU being scanned for software and what exactly is being sent to PORT for review? I think this is a reasonable question that should not require legal review for an answer if its already being done with thousands of player accounts each and every day.

In addition to the answer i am seeking in the first post of this thread...

@Admins
@DarkStarr
@Anyone who can answer and close this topic off.

 

*shrug*
Since this kinda kept going while I slept.

I actually dont think the terms are any different then other MMOs, and the write up is probly pretty standard. My surprise was simply that they have actually reinforced the banning of outside opinions, posted on an outside program.

Even League of Legends , most toxic game out there, wont ban or take a report unless something is directly on their servers.
Also reading Reddit stories, and an email from another player on the forum tells me theres been other cases of bans against players for expressing against Port.
I doubt theres much wrong with the legalaties, but the enforcement of that is something i can honestly say i havnt seen.

That being said, there very well have been more to each case. ( and probly was) so got to take it with a grain of salt.
Ah well. This convo is past my pay grade lol.

 

No worries ThunderSAJ, they are good questions!

For all, please don't take the EULA to its ultimate extreme. No one is monitoring your computer in some evil plan. As some have pointed out already, this is standard EULA legalese and is there to protect both your gameplay experience and our software from malicious programs that are used to exploit the game, etc. You don't need to be frightened by the language, it is for the most part a protective measure.

To note on why you received an update of the EULA in the first place (this EULA has been up for years btw), we only changed one statement point in the last several months that was specific to exploiters:

"Exploit the Game or any of its parts, including without limitation the Game Client, for any commercial purpose, including without limitation (a) use at a cyber cafe, computer gaming center or any other location-based site; (b) for gathering in-game virtual, items or resources for sale outside the Game; (c) performing in-game services in exchange for payment outside the Game, e.g., power-leveling; or (d) participation of the trade of items gained through the means listed above, or any other means violating this agreement."​

About external sites, while Steam is not our own site, the forums are still managed by our community team. Similarly for Discord, there are still basic common sense rules in place that we work with the community leaders there on monitoring. It is part of the community team's job here at Portalarium to protect the player base from it's extreme toxic few individuals, and we make no apology about doing so for the health of the community.

If you have any further questions about the EULA, please PM me. These are good questions! We want to avoid discussing legalese in the forums for obvious reasons... it becomes a mess, is inappropriate, and there become too many outlying assumptions and considerations that a forum post can handle.