seattlecurler - Slashdot User

Modded Xbox Bans Prompt EFF Warning About Terms of Service 254

Posted by Soulskill on Friday December 04, 2009 @01:19AM from the by-reading-this-you-bequeath-me-all-your-possessions dept.

Last month we discussed news that Microsoft had banned hundreds of thousands of Xbox users for using modified consoles. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has now pointed to this round of bans as a prime example of the power given to providers of online services through 'Terms of Service' and other usage agreements. "No matter how much we rely on them to get on with our everyday lives, access to online services — like email, social networking sites, and (wait for it) online gaming — can never be guaranteed. ... he who writes the TOS makes the rules, and when it comes to enforcing them, the service provider often behaves as though it is also the judge, jury and executioner. ... While the mass ban provides a useful illustration of their danger, these terms can be found in nearly all TOS agreements for all kinds of services. There have been virtually no legal challenges to these kinds of arbitrary termination clauses, but we imagine this will be a growth area for lawyers."

Games Workshop Goes After Fan Site 174

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 01, 2009 @05:03AM from the don't-anger-your-base dept.

mark.leaman writes "BoingBoing has a recent post regarding Games Workshop's aggressive posturing against fan sites featuring derivative work of their game products. 'Game publisher and miniature manufacturer Games Workshop just sent a cease and desist letter to boardgamegeek.com, telling them to remove all fan-made players' aids. This includes scenarios, rules summaries, inventory manifests, scans to help replace worn pieces — many of these created for long out of print, well-loved games...' As a lifelong hobby gamer of table, board, card and miniature games, I view this as pure heresy. It made me reject the idea of buying any Games Workshop (read Warhammer) products for my son this Christmas. Their fate was sealed, in terms of my wallet, after I Googled their shenanigans. In 2007 they forbid Warhammer fan films, this year they shut down Vassal Modules, and a while back they went after retailers as well. What ever happened to fair use?"

Comment Re:Dodgy statesmen (Score 1) 681

by seattlecurler on Wednesday September 23, 2009 @10:20AM (#29515123) Attached to: Microsoft Tax Dodge At Issue In Washington State

I'm just curious...why are tax revenues so bad in the state where a company like MS is employing what I could guess is a good number of people and what I would guess were pretty good salaries/bill rates? What is the state income tax like there? What is the sales tax there? What is the property tax there?

As someone has previously noted, Washington State does not have and income tax. Local and State tax coffers are filled through a combination of property tax and sales tax. The current economy has causes a significant decline in both revenue sources. As people have stopped or slowed their shopping, particularly for non-essentials, the sales tax revenues for cities and counties have plummeted. At the same time the collapse of the housing market has meant reduced property tax revenues. The upshot is that WA, like most states, is experiencing a significant shortfall in tax revenue. This is just some guy with a blog - there's been no big uproar in the media about Microsoft (or any company) not paying their fair share or avoiding taxes, at least none that I've seen and I read the Seattle Times daily, listen to the news on the radio daily and watch the local news daily. If there was something behind this, don't you think that it would show up on one of those news outlets?

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