I have mixed opinions on this on a lot of levels. It's hard to say whether his ban was deserved or not without more information, though if he's serious and he was criticizing EA and Bioware on their own forums, where they allegedly encourage criticism, that's a big problem as far as I'm concerned, though it goes into some very touchy territory.
That said, I don't see where being offensive on their forums, even in the worst way, should in any way influance his abillity to play their games, even online games like MMOS, unless the person is somehow being distruptive within the game. Heck if Activision/Blizzard did this they would have banned over half their play base given the conduct on a lot of the WoW forums.
I think this kind of problem is getting to the heart of an issue I talk about once and a while, with the abillity of private citizens to control information. Right now our freedom of speech rights only apply to the goverment, and truthfully I find it a bit disturbing when private businesses can hold power far in excess of the goverment by controlling platforms like internet websites and the like.
I think we're looking at a situation where we need more complicated rules for things like internet websites and forums, akin to things like zoning laws. The old arguement "this site is like my house, and I have the right to control it" is rapidly losing relevence as The Internet increases in scale and the issues in complexity. I see it as being akin to situations with privatly owned public property, where by opening something up to the public the rights of the owner are limited by the liscences involved and the laws relevent to the zone that it's in.
I see what EA is doing as being tantamount to someone opening their private property up as a public park (sort of like what Harkness did down here in Connecticut for those who might be familiar with it) and then deciding to not only expel you, but rip refreshments you purchused on site out of your hands, because you criticized how they cut the grass.
When something is open to the public entirely differant sets of rules can apply, and ownership doesn't nessicarly count for much outside of specific guidelines. I've been around and personally seen American Indians expelled from their own casinos on tribal land on the say so of non-Indian management as one example (though the situations involved have been fairly complicated, but again it comes down to operating agreements and the like).
I doubt anything major will happen as a result of this, but the very fact that abuses of private information control are snowballing is very disturbing. When we're getting to the point where not only can someone banish you from a publically viewable forum for criticizing them on topic, but they can also wreck associated property, that's a problem. It also gets to the root of a lot of the problems with digital distribution, this "way of the future" puts too little power in the hands of the consumers and this demonstrates why.
Honestly, even if the guy said nasty things about EA/Bioware's policies (and let's be honest, a lot of people have been critical of the changes to games like Dragon Age 2), they should be overjoyed that the guy still spent a fairly decent chunk of change to support them. Exiling/silencing the guy, cutting off his property, and pocketing the money is beyond the pale.
Depending on what he actually said, I might support him being suspended, but they don't have any right to effectively seize/lock out his property. If they do, they shouldn't have it and it's a sign that the laws need to be adapted.
That's my thoughts at any rate. I'll also be blunt that I think it's the height of ridiculousness that EA is taking action to silence critics as well. Sure, people have turned their attention more towards Activision in recent years, but EA was the "big bad" of gaming for a long time, and did a lot to try and change their image. With antics like this I'm going to laugh if they decide to pull the "oh poor us, boo hoo, why does everyone hate us so unfairly" schtick again.
I mean honestly, when I buy an EA or Bioware game I'm supposed to be scared about expressing disappointment about it, for fear that they will lock me out of my propery, or any games I might like better down the road? I mean, even if they ignore me in paticular, isn't hearing opinions, even negative ones, how they are supposed to learn to improve their games? To speak for myself, I don't like the way they simplified "Dragon Age" and "Mass Effect" in the latest iterations. A lot of people don't agree with me, but does that mean I should remain silent, or that there isn't nessicarly going to be any benefit down the road from hearing what I (and others) think?... and heck, even if I'm totally disagreed with, what's wrong with having a differant opinion? I mean I bought their bloody game, and still play the thing even if I think it ocould be better. What's more even if I'm negative I obviously CARE enough to say something, a sullen silence (not caring) is far worse than disagreement, it shows that I care enough to say something.
I'm rambling... it's just that I think this whole situation is ridiculous. Why even have forums and try and solicity opinions and discussion, if all you want to hear is how wonderful you are.
Even if I'm overreacting and the guy was bad enough to be banned, they still shouldn't cut him off for what he paid for.
