Entertainer Archive
Thread: Could someone translate Legalese for me Re: AFK macros
In short AFK Macroing is against the TOS and is bannable.
Will you be banned if you AFK macro? Most likely not
AikoVeyarsix wrote:
I think the longest you can set your character not to go AFK is 15 minutes.
29 Minutes is the longest, unless you disable the "Auto AFK Enabled" checkbox. Doing so basically assures you stay in the world if you /sit and /stand once in a while.
As to the Legal Terms of Service, that sentence is read as meaning AFK macroing with third party programs. /ui action toolbarSlot## is an ingame command. Whether it's intended, or is a tool accidentally left behind by a developer (like a socket wrench at a construction site), will only ever be answered if they remove it from the game.
That's it. The horse has been beaten to an unrecognizable shadow of its former self 
you don't see anybody banned over yet, because the workers are busy. in a few months, you'll see it a lot.
entertainers who want to to afk macro(i don't know why you would), better get it in now.
in past mmorpgs, i've seen more afk macroing related bannings than i can count.
1. AFK macroing is bannable because everything is bannable, at the CSR's discretion
2. Does the TOS specifically prohibit using the in-game tools while you are not at the keyboard? Absolutely not.
Think about what an in-game AFK macro is: Anything that will cause your character to take an action that you did not initiate, due to the fact you are not at the keyboard.
Examples: /sample, /attack
Not macros, mind you, simply the commands. I have never understood why people have needed to create sampling macros. I could easily sit and sample for 15 minutes just by typing /sample. These command initiates a cycle of repetetive actions which only cease when manually stopped, or a HAM bar is depleted.
Does this mean that if you type /sample and get up to make a sandwhich, that you should be banned?
Get a grip.
bulboius, you know very well what afk macroing is. you aren't going to convince the devs that its ok, by arguing semantics with them.
I've let this one go for a bit, but it just doesn't want to go away 
bulboius, you know very well what afk macroing is. you aren't going to convince the devs that its ok, by arguing semantics with them.
It's entirely possible I missed it, but please tell me where the devs have said it is not ok.
It's all semantics. The whole thing. The best one is this:
Ndainye wrote:
...To reinforce mystatement that afk macroing is considered taboo and against this and other TOS's I would have to resort back to information posted regarding UO and server stability from about five years ago.
Taboo, yes. Against ToS? Still arguable. No amount of words is going to change the fact that it's only your interpretation versus mine versus everyone elses.
I'll bet those posts you dig up are the same I've read. I've been around this block probably as many times as you. It comes up in every game. It persists in every game. The point you got absolutely correct, in my opinion, is that it doesn't figure high on the scale of pertinence to them right now. Nobody's rubbing it in their face. No gamers are basically able to say another is holding them back by AFKing. Maybe 1 in 100,000 have even considered quitting over it, and if they're that touchy, they've probably quit for 16 other reasons since.
And yes, no player is going to be able to legally challenge it. That ToS, as all other EULAs, is basically a catch-all for "we are right and you have to put up with it." Which is perfectly fine. This is a business first. We find the fun in it.
But we can't discuss legal issues without legal relevance. Right now, as proven, all arguments are moot. People can still AFK macro. There's ingame commands that let you do this easily. Someone could buy a robotic Lego arm and do it. Like any "law", it's useless unless enforced.
So it's all semantics.
Until it's not.
"It's entirely possible I missed it, but please tell me where the devs have said it is not ok."
its completely obvious if:
1. you read the TOS
2. you read the partial TOS that has been posted here mutiple times
3. if you have played ANY mmorpg before(whos workers created SWG) where it was also illegal, and once those mmorpgs were stabalized, afk macroers were banned on a massive scale
any other questions?
Some people do not understand the TOS nor dothey understand common terminology, and apparently they are quite inept with the English language.
The TOS does not say anything about using in game commands. It says that you cannot distribute macros or other programs. "OTHER" that means "macros" and "programs" are in a list together...if you know what a MACRO is, it is a program that you run seperately from SWG, it's not the little /commands. There is confusion because these are also called macros, but I assure you that using the commands in the game is perfectly legal. If you think it's against the TOS then that's okay with me, but if you are concerned and don't want to take my word for it, then send SOE and email and they will affirm what I am saying.
Macro= A seperate program which emulates keyboard and mouse commands
So it seems to me that the consensus is that there is no definite answer that we can translate as a community.
What e-mail address would people suggest I use to ask the developers this question? I'm sure they're quite busy, so I don't want to bog them down even more. I could look up the general Customer Service address and hope it gets to the right person.
open your command browser
see the button that says macro?
Those are macros if they weren't they would be named something else
Macro's are shortcuts enabling the user to issue multiple commands with a single command. While there are 3rd party programs that are inable a gamer toutilize more complex macro's than the ones simple ones that can be programed into the game a macro is a macro is a macro. Aliases are also macro's.