Were we talking about WoW? No, because it has a different ToS. WoW specifically forbids you to "communicate directly with players who are playing characters aligned with the opposite faction" without regard to your means of doing so - VoIP, web translation, or hacking program. Such a restriction clearly agrees with the design of the game: Cross-alliance chat comes out garbled.
But a blanket restriction on analyzing FFXI auction data does not comport with FFXI's design. SE gives us a feature specifically to view AH transaction history and current stock. That fact makes your interpretation ridiculous for its outlawing an intended feature (remember reading in context?).
I pointed out that your reading is insensible; such interpretations don't hold up because they contradict SE's active behavior. For example, SE have stressed that we keep our web browsers updated. And you claim a browser is a violation?
I've been overly repetitive with the same basic technique: showing the appalling conclusions of a dubious "literal" interpretation. Such interpretations are already ineffectual in law, which more strictly adheres to the letter than any moral explication.