questions to forum guidelines and policies

[RobertHut]

first of i m no purple wolf and never have been hit by the rename club. i m just a curious customer of the same enterprise trying to figure out how paying customers are treated and if said treatment is fair or not.

i just scanned thru the argo threads and naturally stumbled upon the renamming of the guild now known as "the amazing purple wolfes".

i have to admit that i was abit shocked to see that even a thread that looked like an honest discussion to me with no repulsive lanuage or rising tempers just got closed with only a link to user agreement.

okay i thought to myself when an admin closes a thread with a comment like: "Please see the forum guidelines." said guidelines have to have at least a hint about what part of afore mentioned discussion offended the admin and/or was in violation with those guidelines.

so i clicked on the link nicely provided by he admin and read the guidelines but now i m in a new dilemma altogether i cant detect such a violation at all.

this may be due to the language barrier since i m no native english speaker or i may just have overlooked something.
it d be apreciated if someone could explain to me what i missed and how those policy stuff works.
but please be civil about it i dont want this thread to be closed. i rather have it be there and explaining to me and others like me how theese things work in reality and in which form we can state our opinions if need be.

greets rob

[furbyoats]

I believe the reasoning they are putting forth is that people are discussing a renaming of a guild that i will not mention in this thread.

The posts have turned from being civil to being aggressive...for reasons that i will also not mention in this thread.

The responses to the inquiries have been... well, i will also not mention them in this thread.

Basically you are not allowed to discuss events that have transpired in game on the forums if they involved some sort of disciplinary action... regardless of....well i can't really talk about that in this thread.

Hope that helped :D

[Syllph]

Apparently the use of the word "****" violates naming policies because DDO is a "Teen" rated game and the word **** is much too vulgar to be used with non-adults. Pretend you didn't hear "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a ****" in a line from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable in a "G" rated film (G = suitable for everyone including very young children).

DDO found that the guild Big **** Heroes the word **** was far too offensive so it was changed without warning and without any form of dialogue between the guild members / leader in the middle of the night (1:30am) to "The Amazing Purple Wolves". The main problem is that there are over 100 guilds out there with names using the word "****" in them and "Big **** Heroes" was singled out.

The guild Big **** Heroes has been around for over 2 years and never had a problem. People grow attached to their guild name and find it extremely dissatisfying to see that same name radically altered without any chance to question the why. Furthermore, every time they posted a ticket or asked a GM for assistance as to why the name change occurred or simply to have a discussion with a live GM, Big **** Heroes were given an automated response linked to the very same agreement link the OP clicked on.

This failure to address a group of paying customers with any form of response apart from ignoring them and removing their posts on an open forum shows a blatant lack of customer service (Something which is highly valued in the US in case you're not aware) The game is rated "Teen" we are allowed to use the word "****". I'm sure this isn't a big deal to 99% of the server but I'm glad this issue isn't being dropped so easily.

The real issue isn't the name change: the real issue is the absolute lack of customer service.

This is why this issue is consistently being reviewed and reappearing. Sadly this post now that it mentions the word "****" (which isn't even filtered using the forum posts as it's not a G rated forum) will be removed or locked with a link to that stupid agreement.

Turbine, I know loosing a handful of players won't do much for your business and you probably couldn't even care less about what's going on here but I can assure you this event is bad for business and will have an impact on your company. We value being treated as more than sheep paying to graze.

-Oceann a Big **** hero

[Shmuel]

I'll have to say that's pretty accurate.

[furbyoats]

Turbine, I know loosing a handful of players won't do much for your business and you probably couldn't even care less about what's going on here but I can assure you this event is bad for business and will have an impact on your company. We value being treated as more than sheep paying to graze.

Regardless of losing a small percentage of their player base...this will pretty much show the character of Turbine in regards to customer service...ddo lives because of its community...not the game itself...and right now it appears they have more of an interest in your pocketbook than your enjoyment of the game. They know full well that they have the ability to alter what they have done, but all you will see is more locked/disappearing threads, more suspensions, and more unanswered questions.

There is a huuuuuuge failure to communicate here...if you guys want to stay favorable in the community's eyes, then stop giving automated responses, be human, and deal with the issue like a respectable professional company.

Thanks

[Gkar]

**** is clearly not an offensive word at the "teen" level in modern english. If Turbine thinks it is, there are something like 100 guilds that need a rename by scanning the guild listings.

The issue here is a DM made a mistake in the middle of the night, maybe because they were not a native English speaker and believed someone who complained and said it was a naughty word.

Turbine either needs to fix that DM error, or rename the other 100 guilds if it was not a DM error.

[Antheal]

Consistency = Respect.

At the moment, there seems to be a lack of either.

[PopeJual]

One thing that might help a little would be if Turbine had a way for players to get approval for a guild or character name before running the guild up to level 50 or more.

If someone made a guild named "neville chamberlain was a very poor leader" (which is explicitly against the naming rules for DDO) and that guild were renamed a day or two after its creation, then I don't think there would be any public outcry and the guild's creator would have no legitimate complaint. Especially since they could just recreate the guild with an allowable name of their own choosing with very little effort and no cost as long as they were VIP.

The fact that people have to guess at whether their guild names are allowed and that two different DM's can have very different opinions on that decision means that this problem will come up repeatedly in the future as well. I've read the guidelines now and I do appreciate the feedback that they gave because they did contain some information that I hadn't previously known.

I dread the day when I log in to find that all of my characters have been renamed and my forum name has been changed to "pinkfluffybunnyjual". Especially since the "jual" part of my forum name was a mistype and should have been "jubal". :)

I do have a followup question for anyone who has had a character renamed. Does your myddo work? And have you ever won a lottery on your renamed character?

[whitehawk74]

It's nonsense, as in 'non sense'.
I think Turbine needs to speak up and say why the change was necessary, and then put it up against logic and sensibility so it can fall flat on it's arse.
Anyone offended by the word '****' should *NOT* be playing this game. Perhaps 'Farmville' is more to their liking.

George Taylor: You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, **** you! God **** you all to hell!
Planet of the Apes (1968) Rated 12+ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063442/

[CalydorEstalon]

I still say the solution is to report any and all guild and character names that can be perceived to have a bad meaning. Swamp them with paperwork.

[Syllph]

Agreed if you are offended by a G rated word - ****, playing a teen game just isn't for you. Go grow a farm or something. And Turbine the game is rated "Teen" **** is allowed by those definitions. Just as it is in these forums. Just give us a token to change our name! I don't know why this is so difficult. You spend more time coming on here and linking policy rules and deleting threads just give us a **** name change token.

[RobertHut]

hm hm this sounds indeed a bit like bad customer service.
heres a thing though if you want to change something you need to make the guys notice that cash in the money.
as in start a non cursing non tempered thread for friends and people sympathizing with your lot and start a real petition with an ultimatum, like in:
"If we re not adressed about our namechange in a respectfull logical manner by a person who has a say in this then we (and our friends and compatriots) refrain from using the ddo store for the next 14 days henceforth."

always make copies of this thread here in forum and should it keep being closed/deleted maybe start an additional thread in the vault.
as a paying customer who could come under the same duress i sympathize strongly with you guys and would partake in such an action.

[Syllph]

That would work on the vault but not here, they would delete the thread and most likely ban the players. It would be nice for the day it was up but it wouldn't solve too much in my opinion. I have, however, temporarily stopped playing DDO until this is formally addressed by someone in charge. Fortunately for me (and others), there are quite a few new MMOs out there looking for new players.

[wey4lust]

To tell the truth i think most of players here are above 21+ y.old... For me its kind of unfair, i know Devs own DDO, but that Purple... whatever sound like joke.

I never playd on Argo but it looks like humiliation to change respected guild name to stupid one.

[whitehawk74]

In response to Syllph's comment:
RIFT, and soon to come "Neverwinter". They really do need to be concerned about 'Neverwinter MMO'.
~
I had no idea that 'Big **** Heroes' had been around for 2 years. Are Turbine so slow that it took them 2 years to 'get to it' or are they pandering to the smallest minority?
How many of the BDH are VIPs or Premiums. I think it would be safe to assume that many of them have opened their wallets.
My heart goes out to you BDH members, you have been failed and cheated.

[Antheal]

You should change the Guild name to "Two Paladins, One Chalice."

[Kreaper]

One thing that might help a little would be if Turbine had a way for players to get approval for a guild or character name before running the guild up to level 50 or more.

If someone made a guild named "neville chamberlain was a very poor leader" (which is explicitly against the naming rules for DDO) and that guild were renamed a day or two after its creation, then I don't think there would be any public outcry and the guild's creator would have no legitimate complaint. Especially since they could just recreate the guild with an allowable name of their own choosing with very little effort and no cost as long as they were VIP.

The fact that people have to guess at whether their guild names are allowed and that two different DM's can have very different opinions on that decision means that this problem will come up repeatedly in the future as well. I've read the guidelines now and I do appreciate the feedback that they gave because they did contain some information that I hadn't previously known.

I dread the day when I log in to find that all of my characters have been renamed and my forum name has been changed to "pinkfluffybunnyjual". Especially since the "jual" part of my forum name was a mistype and should have been "jubal". :)

I do have a followup question for anyone who has had a character renamed. Does your myddo work? And have you ever won a lottery on your renamed character?

The problem is it seems that no one gets renamed unless another player files a ticket. What matters to them is that someone was offended and filed a ticket. The thing is, they they don't just change the one. I had a friend that had a habit of putting the word "god" in all of his character names. He had a tendency to anger people in pvp by killing them. (This was when pvp first came out.) He hit pvp one night and when he logged on the next day, all of his characters with "god" in their name had had their names changed.

[FrancisP.Fancypants]

Here are the naming guidelines; what you are not allowed to use:


* Proper names and places or close facsimiles thereof, from the story characters or non-player characters (NPCs) introduced in the fiction of Dungeons&Dragons Online.
* Fantasy or non-fantasy names from popular culture or media.
* Sexually explicit, defamatory, obscene, racially or ethnically offensive names or slang.
* Names of historical or religious significance.
* Trademarked names of products, goods, materials or services.
* Common names, slang or references to drug related substances, culture or paraphernalia.
* Names containing ranks, titles or denotation of power.
* Names causing harm, mockery or imitation of Dungeons&Dragons Online players, NPCs in addition to Turbine, Inc. employees, past or present.
* Common names, slang words, phrases or references not consistent with the Dungeons&Dragons universe.
* Misspelled variations or homonyms of any of the above rules.


Just be aware, this list encompasses ANY name you could come up with- leaving it entirely up to Turbine's discretion what name gets the boot (and who gets the banhammer, which threads get locked, and how long the silent treatment lasts).

Just keep your mouth shut and don't make waves, and you'll probably be fine.

[PopeJual]

To be fair to Turbine, I don't think that there are enough hours in the day for them to rename all of the

Drizzzt
DDrriizzzztt
Driizt
Drizzztt
Drizit
Drriizzzzttt
.
.
.

that are out there. :)

[Buggss]

Meh,

If they can't come up with a good reason for a violation they just give you the anytime we want to one instead. Of course discussing or arguing gets the "inbox is already full" so tough. :mad:

[whitehawk74]

* Proper names and places or close facsimiles thereof, from the story characters or non-player characters (NPCs) introduced in the fiction of Dungeons&Dragons Online.Does this mean 'Korthos Army' is getting renamed?
I don't actually care, I'm just making a point.

* Fantasy or non-fantasy names from popular culture or media.
* Trademarked names of products, goods, materials or services.

So this means my guild 'The Heroes of Waterdeep' is also in breach...
It's homage to the City of Waterdeep, and my love of 'Eye of the Beholder I & II.'

Hey, while you're at it, why not sue those who make fan-art for 'replicating copyright material'.

[PopeJual]

Does this mean 'Korthos Army' is getting renamed?
I don't actually care, I'm just making a point.

And Knights of Mabar
and Dungeons and Dragon
and *Spellfire*
and Fellowship of Argonessen
and Storm Shadow (although that is owned by another Hasbro property)
and Elite Guard of Eberron
and many, many more.

Not to mention the guilds that have titles, ranks or denotations of power in them like
Chaosknights
Aces over Kings
Noble by Design
Noble Fist
Knights Gone Berserk
Knights of the Phoenix

and the dozens of "order of the [whatever]" that will be lost to the no-religion name rule.

I'd have probably made different names for my own characters if I had realized that my character names weren't acceptable when I first started making them, but right now, I don't know of any solution since I don't have anywhere near enough TP to rename all of my characters.

[Kahless_of_Cannith]

And what about all the whatever of Ebberon guilds?

In fact, Amazing Purple Wolves could in theory violate this by being a "denotation of power."

There need to be some serious revisions/clarifications to this policy

[Raider88]

To all the folks at BDH:

You have been, are, and always will be the Big **** Heroes.

Your dwarf friend,

Aldrat

[SaisMatters]

And Knights of Mabar
and Dungeons and Dragon
and *Spellfire*
and Fellowship of Argonessen
and Storm Shadow (although that is owned by another Hasbro property)
and Elite Guard of Eberron
and many, many more.

Not to mention the guilds that have titles, ranks or denotations of power in them like
Chaosknights
Aces over Kings
Noble by Design
Noble Fist
Knights Gone Berserk
Knights of the Phoenix

and the dozens of "order of the [whatever]" that will be lost to the no-religion name rule.

I'd have probably made different names for my own characters if I had realized that my character names weren't acceptable when I first started making them, but right now, I don't know of any solution since I don't have anywhere near enough TP to rename all of my characters.

Turbine will only change the name if someone REPORTS it! and from what I can tel it only takes one person complaining. You can swear on voicechat, you can swear in party chat, you can name your toon or guild with naughty words and get away with it, UNTIL one person notices it and sends in a report!

[Pape_27]

Big **** Heroes was a great name. Its too bad someone took offense to it/was ticked off by someone who ultimately reported it.

The biggest sin in the whole issue was what the GM renamed the guild. The amazing purple wolves? Thats horrible, and really sounds like something a 3rd grader would come up with. and to offer the guild leader no other recourse except to pay Cash Monies to change it is just poor form. Its like turbine is ******** on a plate and handing it back to the player and saying "here eat this..." It isnt right on any level...

Other guild names that would have been better, keeping in line with the theme of the original guild name:

Ain't We Just...
Browncoats
Diamond the Size of Testicles (well maybe that one wouldnt fly... but it would be a cool guild name)
Book's Shepards
The Heroes of Canton

etc etc...

_

[Auran82]

And what about all the whatever of Ebberon guilds?

In fact, Amazing Purple Wolves could in theory violate this by being a "denotation of power."

There need to be some serious revisions/clarifications to this policy

'Wolf' is a drug slang term for PCP, 'Amazing Purple' sounds pretty drug related to me.

Hell, if someone actually called their guild 'The Amazing Purple Wolves' I would honestly wonder what they were smoking. But hey, if something can make money for the company, why not, I can understand (in some way) not handing out free rename tokens for obvious offenders, but changing the name to something completely stupid so they more or less have to change it out of embarrassment is kind of low.

[Cordovan]

Discussing moderation on the forums is not allowed, nor is creating multiple threads to repost discussions that have been closed for violating the community guidelines. Thanks!