Kotaku: Illinois Law spurred by FFXI

[Spira]

gee.. i havent ever considered deactivating and i know exactly where to go...

[Ashira]

I wanted to express in some manner the amusement with which a rather large community - that of online gamers - are viewing the assembly of the state of IL today.

Bill HB4178, introduced by Representative Raymond Poe, has at its core good intentions, and I don't in any way disagree with the fundamentals of it. It essentially requires any online gaming service to have ways to cancel subscriptions online, which I find a very sound and sensible practice. So do all the online gaming companies I've personally come across -- including Square-Enix, the creators of Final Fantasy XI (FFXI), the game that apparently inspired this bill.

Apparently, some friends of Rep. Poe could not figure out how to cancel their FFXI subscription online, nor could they find the information in the rather easy-to-use search function of the company's website (www.playonline.com - click on "Service and Support" in the left-hand column), nor could they find the phone number in very large print on the page linked to said "Service and Support."

They did find the phone number via their credit card bill, finally. Admittedly, yes, SE's wait times on their phone line have been extremely long lately, as there has been a slew of account hackings in this game and others, and the companies are trying to deal with this. However, there is also a customer service web chat also available on that same aforementioned page!

Next time a representative wants to introduce a bill, "inspired" by a specific company, to force a company to institute certain policies, perhaps he should do his homework to be sure said company does not already have said policies IN PLACE, instead of wasting the assembly's time and the state's money.

The mention someone did of website vs online is a good one, and an amusing 'fine line,' of course, but the fact that they apparently couldn't find the fucking phone number in its crazy ass HUGE BOLD PRINT on the service and support page, nor the fact that typing in 'cancelling account' in the search gives you this question as a comparison

I deleted my unwanted FINAL FANTASY XI characters, but I was still charged a monthly usage fee for those characters.

Which.. to most people with common sense would trigger a 'i bet this question will answer how to properly cancel then...'

and I don't think freakin' snail mail is mentioned ANYWHERE on the website... i dunno, i found it funny.

Wonder if my letter'll get printed. :D

[Zidiane]

That letter contains so much win, I hope it gets posted.

[Rowe]

wasted the state govenment's time and money with the creation and whatnot of a bill and stuff to pass into law, .

Such is the state of American government, Reps and Senators are more than willing to waste time and money investigating Steroids in Sports, making useless laws about fucking video games but when it comes to things like sensible energy policies and cleaning up the banking situation they sit on their hands.

[Souj]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ichikun View Post
People in Illinois are stupid.

I second that. One of these days I want to make it my mission to see how many I can run off of I-43.

we're not all that stupid. calling the person complaining about ff11 stupid is an insult to stupid people. change it to "people in southern illinois are stupid" though, then i'll agree.

[TaruMortis]

I am sorry to you all that my state is full of retards. I plan to get out of here as soon as humanly possible.

[Kaisha]

You have to admit though, the whole Content-ID system is retarded.

[Ashira]

You have to admit though, the whole Content-ID system is retarded.

Well, it goes with the whole original intention of POL, they wanted to do more with it and just abandoned it, essentially. I think.

[tonystigma]

You have to admit though, the whole Content-ID system is retarded.

If a content ID was something generic that could be used in a variety of games, it would be an easy way to know how much you're spending without loading up each game.

Instead, it's... a FFXI character. ...So why not just warn you "hey $1/month if you make this" each time you go to new character?

[Eanae]

Humanity at it's finest.

[Vodou]

You have to admit though, the whole Content-ID system is retarded.

You'll have to elaborate.

I can create an account for 1 character and 1 pay 1 monthly fee, add characters to that account for a much much smaller fee, place them in different worlds, cancel them and not pay for them, cancel all of them and not pay anything and do all of this easily and without a hand-holding customer service rep on the line.

I have a really hard time calling something that works the way it was designed, works without outside help and is easy to use retarded.

Maybe you are a super genius and everything is retarted. Idk. Just dont get your point.



I lived in Illinois a long time (was not born there) and I have to laugh. Its not easy to get millions of people to question the intelligence of a whole state, but something like this is like a beacon in the night to say: "Hey look at us, this is one of our elected officials.....aint we stoopid?"

[Nynaeve]

Thanks. I needed my 2,356th reason to leave this god forsaken state. As if not being able to elect a governor that isn't a criminal wasn't enough.

[The Blackrose]

You'll have to elaborate.

I can create an account for 1 character and 1 pay 1 monthly fee, add characters to that account for a much much smaller fee, place them in different worlds, cancel them and not pay for them, cancel all of them and not pay anything and do all of this easily and without a hand-holding customer service rep on the line.

I have a really hard time calling something that works the way it was designed, works without outside help and is easy to use retarded.

Maybe you are a super genius and everything is retarted. Idk. Just dont get your point.

Most MMOs don't require you to purchase multiple character slots, but it's a poor rebuttal.

[evilpaul]

Flyover country providing the rest of us with still more entertainment.

[hotpiercedguy]

Posted 45 minutes before this thread in General Discussion, since it's not gameplay (or even necessarily FFXI) related.

Still a ridiculous story.

Welcome to BG you must be new here.

The story is pretty ridiculous though. Is there some chance that's what POL meant when they said that thing about they will be posting area specific IP's? They'll ban IL el oh el ?

[Vodou]

Most MMOs don't require you to purchase multiple character slots, but it's a poor rebuttal.

Technically, I was not offering a rebuttal since I was responding to a statement that was offered with no evidence. In short, I asked a question and offered the evidence supporting my statment and requested evidence supporting his.

You on the other hand, appear to be trying to support the original statement, which suffices if we include both posts as one.

So, your contention is that requiring the purchasing of multiple character slots is retarded because most MMO's don't?

Again, I don't see that point, but I guess we have to disagree. You appear to equate retardation with lacking something not considered critical or even important to either the user or the provider of the service. I don't. But we'll disagree.

[The Blackrose]

Technically, I was not offering a rebuttal since I was responding to a statement that was offered with no evidence. In short, I asked a question and offered the evidence supporting my statment and requested evidence supporting his.

You on the other hand, appear to be trying to support the original statement, which suffices if we include both posts as one.

I was saying my point was a poor rebuttal. Thank you for reading too much into it.

[Eticket]

The sad thing is the fact that the 'journalists' didn't research the issue as well. I can understand how a politician would act without thinking, hell they do it all day. However, you'd think some journalistic integrity and responsibility would shine through somewhere and get the guy to research his story. Then again, that's a bigger argument regarding the proliferation of online 'press' and its sliding scale of morals and ethics I suppose.

[Wenslydale]

I'm moving to Illinois. If this is all their elected officials have to worry about, then everything else there must be Top-Notch. Roads must be perfect, Airplanes leave on time, and the Schools must be full of happy little geniuses eagerly awaiting adulthood!

[Souj]

I'm moving to Illinois. If this is all their elected officials have to worry about, then everything else there must be Top-Notch. Roads must be perfect, Airplanes leave on time, and the Schools must be full of happy little geniuses eagerly awaiting adulthood!

city I live in was rated worst city to live in a few years back. I believe lettermen sent us 2 gazebos for it too lol.