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[Neonivek]

I mean it's just entertainment? You're comparing necessities to time wasters.

A cellphone is not a necessity. Nor is that SPECIFIC food.

But I guess you could go completely without recreation of any kind.

And once again it isn't like there aren't laws that protect the consumer from unscrupulous business practices EVEN for non-necessities.

But that is why I live in a rational country where buisnesses can't just do whatever they would like unless they point a gun to your head... and you live in a country where Disney has every right to break into your home, take your Little Mermaid Barbies, and then melt them.

Absurd? Well so is defending EA on the basis that they didn't physically force you to buy their products, blackmail you, or use some form of mind control in order to make you buy their product AS a defense for unscrupulous business practices.

[Loud Whispers]

Man, so glad I don't live in a country where we have plenty of laws that protect the consumer against the machinations of unscrupulous business practices.
Ohh wait that is right... I don't live in Hell where you obviously come from if that is how things work where you are (Or you know... Dubai)
"I got food poisoning!"
"Well it isn't like they forced you to buy it"
"Hey my phone self-destructed because a recent update happened"
"Well they didn't force you to buy that phone"
Because everything is justified so long as no one literally points a gun to your head.

When did Canada get so smug

But that is why I live in a rational country where buisnesses can't just do whatever they would like unless they point a gun to your head... and you live in a country where Disney has every right to break into your home, take your Little Mermaid Barbies, and then melt them.

Do you actually believe this is what is happening

[martinuzz]

A cellphone is not a necessity.

Disagree. Your boss expects you to have one or you'll be out of a job. Or if you're out of a job you're expected to have one so you can be called with job offers, or you won't get any benefit payments.
You'll starve to death without a cellphone.

[Neonivek]

When did Canada get so smug

Do you actually believe this is what is happening

I can be in just about any country in the world. You would have to be in a country that has very little consumer protection laws.

My point is that Cinder is arguing against the very laws (s)he lives under.

As for "Do you actually believe this is what is happening?" well if Cinder lives in a country with no consumer protection laws (which is certainly not the case)... In what way is my example absurd?

---

But I guess if you need proof that Canada isn't the only country that has consumer protection laws for products that are not "necessities" I can find the links.

Because apparently I am delusional and it is a unique Canadian product (which explains why EULAs have no legal power in Canada)

---

I do think our laws will catch up eventually...

I am still waiting for a law that prevents companies that make products that intentionally destroys itself in order to prevent the user from using it in ways they dislike that aren't illegal.

AND I definitely want it to become illegal for digital distribution platforms to remove your library from you. (the UK is closest to this.)

[Flying Dice]

A cellphone is not a necessity.

Disagree. Your boss expects you to have one or you'll be out of a job. Or if you're out of a job you're expected to have one so you can be called with job offers, or you won't get any benefit payments.
You'll starve to death without a cellphone.

I have never once needed a cell phone for any job I've held or applied to. I've used one precisely thrice on work-related matters in ~7 years, and each of those was  only because it was at my desk and I didn't want to go grab the landline phone.

It might be necessary for certain positions and fields where you're expected to be constantly available at all hours, but that's hardly a universal condition.

[Sirus]

It probably depends heavily on your field, yeah.

Like, you can technically get by without a cell phone if you're a truck driver, but they make your job so much more manageable because oftentimes there are no landlines available when you need to get in touch with someone.

This isn't even touching on smartphone apps that make the job even more convenient.

[Kot]

I was playing My Summer Car.
I somehow managed to lose the fuel tank in the act of pushing the car onto the maintenance pit. I can't find it anywhere. I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND PEOPLE GET ANGRY WHEN THEY SOMEHOW MANAGE TO LOSE THE SPARK PLUGS, BUT HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE FUEL TANK. IT'S HUGE. I CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE. HOW COULD I EVEN LOSE A FUEL TANK?!

[Neonivek]

Unrelated to what I was talking about but

HOLY GOODNESS!!! My Asthma has been relentless this few days... I am finally close to the end of my sickness (and the results of my ear infection is almost healed)...

But my asthma has been excessive... I can barely get out of bed without needing some medicine.

[martinuzz]

So this is a somewhat overdue wtf but I thought I'd share.
I've got 6 cats. I used to have a dog as well, but it passed away a year ago at a ripe old age of 17.

Now one of my cats used to always walk with us if I went out to walk the dog. She'd just follow the dog. She wouldn't pee or poop like the dog did, she'd just go along for the walk.
Now ever since my dog died, she stopped walking with me when I take a stroll outdoors.

However, ever since, one of my other cats has started following me whenever I go take a walk. Not only that, but she does her crap outside at the doggy park. She neatly digs a hole, poops in it and buries it. She doesn't use the cat litterbox anymore, but instead nags at the front door when she needs to go, just like the dog used to do. Note that I have a cat door and my cats can go in and out freely, but she insists I take her on a walk.
(probably the most awesome reaction I got was the facepalm look on the face of a police officer wanting to fine me for not having my dog on a leash until he noticed it was a cat. There's no law mandating cats be leashed, contrary to dogs)

How the hell did she teach herself that? It's not the cat that used to walk with the dog. She never walked with me when I still had the dog, and used the litterbox. I never taught her to do her crap outside. It's awesome though, makes for lots of nice reactions from passers by.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I was playing My Summer Car.
I somehow managed to lose the fuel tank in the act of pushing the car onto the maintenance pit. I can't find it anywhere. I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND PEOPLE GET ANGRY WHEN THEY SOMEHOW MANAGE TO LOSE THE SPARK PLUGS, BUT HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE FUEL TANK. IT'S HUGE. I CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE. HOW COULD I EVEN LOSE A FUEL TANK?!

Might have pushed it through the level, that happens.

[Kot]

...how do I get it back?

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I think any irreplaceable object lost to the void automatically spawns at the flagpole.

[Loud Whispers]

I can be in just about any country in the world. You would have to be in a country that has very little consumer protection laws.

Nope lol

My point is that Cinder is arguing against the very laws (s)he lives under.
As for "Do you actually believe this is what is happening?" well if Cinder lives in a country with no consumer protection laws (which is certainly not the case)... In what way is my example absurd?

Because as you point out, Cinder does not live in a country with no consumer protection laws. Cinder is also pointing out a very obvious solution to a corporation abusing your money:
Don't buy their products

This isn't even something like Microsoft, Facebook or Apple consolidating their power in which their services have become so valuable (and the societal pressure & integration of their technologies so extensive) that you could argue the state needs to step in to balance them as they would media conglomerations. This is EA killing game companies because they can continue affording to buy them, because consumers keep buying their new FIFA and Battlefield reskins.
Don't like their practices, don't buy their games - money is where they hurt.

But I guess if you need proof that Canada isn't the only country that has consumer protection laws for products that are not "necessities" I can find the links.
Because apparently I am delusional and it is a unique Canadian product (which explains why EULAs have no legal power in Canada)

No, I don't need proof, I already know that. I take issue with you rebutting Cinder's obvious point on how you can just not buy EA games with "Canada is better." This isn't an argument :P

I do think our laws will catch up eventually...
I am still waiting for a law that prevents companies that make products that intentionally destroys itself in order to prevent the user from using it in ways they dislike that aren't illegal.
AND I definitely want it to become illegal for digital distribution platforms to remove your library from you. (the UK is closest to this.)

Read the terms and conditions, make sure you buy games and not just the license to games. As far as I can tell, there is no real legal campaign going on to reform this, so it is something to be taken into account (and ultimately is down to the consumer to say enough is enough, no money for you EA)

[Akura]

Re: the whole bit about not being "forced" to buy a game. Sometimes, these games are actually pretty good, and would be great if you didn't have to rip out your own soul and mail it to them to play it. Also, there's the case where you shouldn't reasonably expect to require something like that to play the game - I had no idea that EA controlled the American McGee's Alice franchise when I bought it. Likewise, I'm just arranging straw here, but what if EA or some other company buys out a developer of a game you've already paid for, slips in an automatic update that locks it to their DRM?


Unrelated WTF, but playing The Walking Dead Season 2...

Spoiler: I think I've found one of the biggest monsters in fiction. (click to show/hide)

Bill Carver. Holy shit. Runs a huge compound built from a wholesale market, runs it like a personal dictatorship. Almost makes Crawford in the first Season look pleasant by comparison - to be fair, Carver didn't take every child or person with a chronic illness and impale them alive to use their walkers as warning signs, and build a wall of corpses to deter outsiders; Crawford did. He sends scouts out to find survivor groups, spins them a story of what a great place his settlement is, then works them as slaves until they "earn" the right to fully join them. He mercilessly hunts people who escape, even for weeks. One of your group is pregnant, and nobody is sure if it's her husband's or Carver's, implying he raped her at some point. When the group is recaptured, Carver ties her husband up in his office to use as his personal punching bag - for several days. At one point, he forces one of your group to beat the shit out of his teenage daughter, simply because she spoke out of turn. An hour later, he straight up murders a guy because he wasn't effectively slave-driving two little girls, one of who was in a state of definite shock(having previously had the shit beaten out of her). That last one shocked even his own lackeys. He also delivers more than one beat-down to Clementine. He even partially blinds (superMASSIVE spoiler){Kenny}, a guy who has had more trauma than even Clementine, by beating the shit out of his face.

Even his death was exceptionally brutal: {Kenny} shoots out his kneecaps, then picks up a crowbar, telling everyone to hurry on, this won't take long. It's even shocking how Clementine has an option to speak in favor of killing Carver, and apparently has the option to watch the crowbar show. I chose not to in the end, so I don't know if it railroads you there, but for a minute later you can hear {Kenny} killing him. And that's about how long it lasts, a minute.

[Loud Whispers]

Re: the whole bit about not being "forced" to buy a game. Sometimes, these games are actually pretty good, and would be great if you didn't have to rip out your own soul and mail it to them to play it. Also, there's the case where you shouldn't reasonably expect to require something like that to play the game - I had no idea that EA controlled the American McGee's Alice franchise when I bought it. Likewise, I'm just arranging straw here, but what if EA or some other company buys out a developer of a game you've already paid for, slips in an automatic update that locks it to their DRM?

I love American McGee's Alice franchise, even follow American McGee's travel logs (he's about to sail the Andaman islands right now). In one of his interviews he said EA were all right to work with, the one hiccup being when he started developing the first they thought it was too violent (and by the time the second came out, times had changed), with them wanting even more violence from the second one (whilst McGee wanted to pace out the game from peaceful wonderland to fucked up). I suspect as well, due to limits on what he could say (don't burn bridges and all), EA were ultimately responsible for a lot of the shit minigames and enemy mob padding that really killed the pacing of the game, in order to maintain market appeal to console gamers (I'm not saying console gamers are shit, I'm saying EA thinks console gamers are shit with money). It fucking sucks as all hell, but you have to fight EA with their money supply, and send your hard-earned shekels to companies that actually deserve them

How do you get politicians to legislate digital property in the video games industry at this current moment in time (in 30 years I think it will be feasible, when legislators who grew up on vidya start taking power) but currently they're not doing well with copyright and they're not gonna do well here. Money is the only one in the present you can get them at