Yep, bethesda, for example, does not permit this on their forum, and I would be surprised if there are any other major publishers that would permit threads about class action lawsuits, refunds, boycotts, etc. The only one I am familiar with that permits such topics is Bioware.
They are "more permissive" by simple virtue of permitting those types of discussion topics.
Personally, if I was an exec at a publisher or developer, I would do the same. It's one thing to invite criticism and complaints about various aspects of a game, but I don't see any benefit in permitting people to organize lawsuits, boycotts, BBB/FTC complaints, etc., on your own private forum.
Here's a link to a post on Bethesda forums asking for a refund and claiming the customer is being scammed by Bethesda. It's not a big deal. People get mad. But usually if you make an attempt to hear them out, and do what you can to help, they turn out to be forgiving and understanding even if you don't solve their problem. They want someone to pay attention and care about their problem. Even if you fail they generally will give you credit for trying to help.
BioWare, bless their hearts, has a tendency to become defensive about complaints, and quite often aggressively goes after people who complain. They often sit idly by while their fans attack anyone who complains. It's not a happy atmosphere.
If you read the Takebackmasseffect thread that was closed, you'll see that the customers bent over backwards to be kind and understanding of views other than their own. They continually reminded all who posted there to be fair and courteous. But the forum at large has treated them as spoiled children. Mazyka went out of his way to talk about people who didn't complain nicely. But much more than the vast majority of this group attempted to be fair and courteous above all else. I kid you not.
These were some of BioWare's strongest and most committed fans. Now they've been ostracized and berated in the forums. BioWare is killing a huge opportunity to increase sales. These customers are becoming totally alienated. Meanwhile BioWare has also set themselves up to be a scapegoat when they do make changes to the ending by encouraging people to argue against changing the ending; to ignore those children who believe they are entitled to dictate the game ending; making a big deal of 'artistic integrity' even though it is virtually irrelevant in this instance.
By the way, the Community Relations Manager at Bioware Forums goes by the self styled moniker of "Evil" ("Evil" Chris Priestly). I'm sure this is meant to be humorous, but honestly, this isn't particularly brilliant.
Having said that, I apologize for coming on too strong with your comments here. You seem to be a "good guy" with nearly always pleasant and kind posts. The kind of poster that makes any forum enjoyable. You definitely add a lot to the forums here. It is completely in character with your posts, that I've seen here, that you want to see and believe the best in the BioWare folks. I respect that.
Rightly or wrongly, I think you would handle forums and controversy much better than BioWare has of late.
Believe it or not, I don't want to see BioWare fail. Rightly or wrongly I just honestly believe that BioWare has a tendency to be BioWare's own worst enemy.
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