I pretty well tore a hole into Dragon Age 2 the other day, including about the whole need to be logged in everywhere. But there was one thing I didn’t even think about – that an inability to login could prevent you from playing the game! But apparently that is EXACTLY what has happened to at least one person according to a report at BluesNews!
Please review the EA Community Terms of Service, particularly sections #9 and #11. There are two levels of enforcement here:
1. BioWare community bans are forum-only and can be for as little as 24 hours. These bans should have no effect on your game, only your ability to use all the features of this website/community. these bans are handed out by BioWare Moderators as the result of our travels around the forum and/or issues reported by fellow community members.
2. EA Community bans come down from a different department and are the result of someone hitting the REPORT POST button. These bans can affect access to your game and/or DLC.
Because the BioWare community now operates under the same umbrella as all EA Communities, community members here have all explicitly agreed to abide by and be governed by both sets of rules. Consider it an added incentive to follow the rules you say you’re going to follow.
So what seems to have happened is that bad-mouthed EA in the forums in criticizing the demo for Dragon Age 2, got himself banned, and was therefore unable to activate and play the game. If the game was an online game that required EA servers that would be one thing, but to be prohibited from playing a SINGLE PLAYER OFFLINE GAME? Over the line.
My bottom line is this – NO WAY should your ability to use something you paid for be held in check for whatever might happen in a free and public discussion forum – particularly when there is nothing that could possibly be construed as illegal. It was just something EA didn’t like – or more particularly a forum moderator.
Oh – and the comment that got him banned and unable to play the game?
“Have you (Bioware) sold your souls to the EA devil?”
Apparently the answer is YES.