Player donations equal exclusive acces to whitelisted servers

[byrgesen 1340]

Hey people.

 

Today i ran into something, i can only describe as fishy.

 

As some of you may know http://www.monster-gaming.net/ is a quite big DayZ community, with multible servers.

Today i found out, that in order to gain acces to the whitelisted server (which shares HIVE with the non-whitelisted server) you have to "donate" at least 10£.

Basicly making the whitelisted server a private pay-2-win loot paradise.

 

Isnt this against the EULA? They are basicly selling acces to a "gear me up" server, and hiding it under the donation name.

 

One of the admins openly admitted to this, on facebook, in a group called "DayZ Standalone Community".

 

https://www.bistudio.com/community/game-content-usage-rules

 

Is there any acceptable way I can make money on my server/website?

Yes. Voluntary donations are allowed and are not considered to be a commercial use. Nevertheless, in any way making the “donation” as part of a condition to receive access to/or getting any part of offered content would be in breach of the License Agreement. The content you create must be available to all whether they donate to you or not.

The fact that you are getting donations is not a problem, but they must be provided voluntarily, i.e. not providing donations must not prevent anyone from accessing the content, download it or store it in another place and operating it there.

To avoid misunderstanding, all access or the content has to be free of any charge.

 

Edited May 19, 2015 by Byrgesen

[Bigbadchuck 97]

So, I don't get why you would pay to be on a white listed public server instead of a private server. To my way of thinking only private servers should be white listed.

i don't really see it as being a way to "pay to gear up". It's still public hive and persistent. Loot will be as scarce there as any other. And if all you want to do is gear up then just server hop the vybor base Where on all most every server it has loot pouring out.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Bigbadchuck

[Caboose187 (DayZ) 3036]

Not sure how a white listed private server can be pay to win.  You can't server hop, you're locked to the server so there's no perks unless people who donate get a free hour or two of looting alone.

[byrgesen 1340]

 

So, I don't get why you would pay to be on a white listed public server instead of a private server. To my way of thinking only private servers should be white listed.

i don't really see it as being a way to "pay to gear up". It's still public hive and persistent. Loot will be as scarce there as any other. And if all you want to do is gear up then just server hop the vybor base Where on all most every server it has loot pouring out.

 

 

Not sure how a white listed private server can be pay to win.  You can't server hop, you're locked to the server so there's no perks unless people who donate get a free hour or two of looting alone.

 

 

The whitelisted and non whitelisted server shared the same private HIVE, its not a public HIVE and you can only gain acces to the whitelisted server by donating 10£+.

They call it the "loot server" because its the place the paying players go to loot up, before they go on the non whitelisted server and PVP, with the rest of the public.

 

Basicly the non whitelisted server acts like every other private server out there, but the whitelisted one only grants acces to paying players, making it a safe heaven for an exclussive player groups, to do nothing but gear up and gain an advantage.

So they are in fact denying content to people who wont "donate".

 

Do you understand it better now?

Edited May 19, 2015 by Byrgesen

[freethink 984]

How's it different to the many sub-only servers that various twitch streamers have?

 

Not sure why you are quoting a rule about content creation either.

Edited May 19, 2015 by freethink

[byrgesen 1340]

 

How's it different to the many sub-only servers that various twitch streamers have?

 

Not sure why you are quoting a rule about content creation either.

 

 

It isnt, but the Bohemia Game Content Usage Rules clearly states:

 

Is there any acceptable way I can make money on my server/website?

Yes. Voluntary donations are allowed and are not considered to be a commercial use. Nevertheless, in any way making the “donation” as part of a condition to receive access to/or getting any part of offered content would be in breach of the License Agreement. The content you create must be available to all whether they donate to you or not.

The fact that you are getting donations is not a problem, but they must be provided voluntarily, i.e. not providing donations must not prevent anyone from accessing the content, download it or store it in another place and operating it there.

To avoid misunderstanding, all access or the content has to be free of any charge.

 

Am I allowed to seek crowd-funding or other forms of donation towards my modding work?

Yes this is allowed, with the same rules = the access to data/content cannot be limited by any financial contribution.

In no way does this mean that Bohemia guarantees any compatibility or functionality now, or in the future for your modding work or that Bohemia endorses your project.

 

Am I allowed to offer crowd-funding/donation/stretch rewards such as naming an island after someone, naming a campaign character after someone etc?

No this is not allowed, donation/funding or any other kind of rewards related to monetary contributions cannot be linked to any kind of in game content, the one exception to this is you are allowed to credit donators by name if you so wish in your mod’s ingame credits and/or documentation.

 

 

As far as i can read, they are clearly breaking these rules, by denying players content, unless they pay money by "donating".

And i am quoting these rules, because hosting a server means providing content to players and not all these rules apply specificly to creating actual content like mods, but also about monetizing a server or website.

The last rule i linked also clearly states no monetary contribution can be linked to ingame content, which would also include being able to play on the server.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Byrgesen

[Beizs 186]

Nevertheless, in any way making the “donation” as part of a condition to receive access to/or getting any part of offered content would be in breach of the License Agreement.

 

There's the answer to your question. Donation only servers break the rules.

[Caboose187 (DayZ) 3036]

 

 

 

 

 

The whitelisted and non whitelisted server shared the same private HIVE, its not a public HIVE and you can only gain acces to the whitelisted server by donating 10£+.

They call it the "loot server" because its the place the paying players go to loot up, before they go on the non whitelisted server and PVP, with the rest of the public.

 

Basicly the non whitelisted server acts like every other private server out there, but the whitelisted one only grants acces to paying players, making it a safe heaven for an exclussive player groups, to do nothing but gear up and gain an advantage.

So they are in fact denying content to people who wont "donate".

 

Do you understand it better now?

 

No, I don't understand.  As far as I know, private is just that, private.  Meaning you cannot transfer your character and gear around,  I have not heard of renting a server cluster to have your own special private servers.  This is new to me.

[hellcat420 212]

 

 

 

 

 

The whitelisted and non whitelisted server shared the same private HIVE, its not a public HIVE and you can only gain acces to the whitelisted server by donating 10£+.

They call it the "loot server" because its the place the paying players go to loot up, before they go on the non whitelisted server and PVP, with the rest of the public.

 

 

 

well, seeing that they are private servers, there is no gearing up on them then playing with the rest of the public, as you put it. if these were public servers, you would have a point, but they are private servers, if you don't like how they run, don't play on them.

Edited May 19, 2015 by hellcat420

[byrgesen 1340]

There's the answer to your question. Donation only servers break the rules.

 

Thats exactly how i understand the rules aswell.

So they are breaking them by making the whitelisted server donation only.

[byrgesen 1340]

No, I don't understand.  As far as I know, private is just that, private.  Meaning you cannot transfer your character and gear around,  I have not heard of renting a server cluster to have your own special private servers.  This is new to me.

 

well, seeing that they are private servers, there is no gearing up on them then playing with the rest of the public, as you put it. if these were public servers, you would have a point, but they are private servers, if you don't like how they run, don't play on them.

 

Both are private, one is open to the public, the other is whitelisted and characters transfer between them.

I dunno how i can explain it any better.

 

 

Heres a quote from the advertisement for the server:

Come join www.monster-gaming.net on our 50 pop private server ranked 1st on game tracker.

We do accept donations with a benefit a £5 donation gets you priority access to the server and a £10 donation gets you priority access and access to our white listed server so you can loot up in peace.

TS: ts.monster-gaming.net

Twitter: 1monster_gaming

Server ip: 88.150.159.170:2302

Edited May 19, 2015 by Byrgesen

[freethink 984]

It isnt, but the Bohemia Game Content Usage Rules clearly states:

 

-snip-

 

 

Therein lies the issue. Are they going to make all the twitch streamers open their sub-only servers to the public?

 

There's rules and rules that are policed. You could report the server in the normal way and see what happens.

 

I've donated to servers but never for guaranteed private access and it's not something I see in my future but I've seen quite a few private shards go down in the last few months too so I've some sympathy with the server operators. Yes it's probably against the t&c but without donations there probably wouldn't be one, let alone two monster gaming servers.

[Caboose187 (DayZ) 3036]

Then report them and move on.  Nothing can be done here

[hellcat420 212]

 

 

 

Both are private, one is open to the public, the other is whitelisted and characters transfer between them.

I dunno how i can explain it any better.

 

 

Heres a quote from the advertisement for the server:

Come join www.monster-gaming.net on our 50 pop private server ranked 1st on game tracker.

We do accept donations with a benefit a £5 donation gets you priority access to the server and a £10 donation gets you priority access and access to our white listed server so you can loot up in peace.

TS: ts.monster-gaming.net

Twitter: 1monster_gaming

Server ip: 88.150.159.170:2302

 

I know how the hives work. just because a private server doesn't have a password on it does not make it a public server. if you don't like how they run their private hive, go play on another server, its as easy as that. there are plenty of other public/private servers out there to play on. if you want them to change how they run their servers to fit how you like private servers to run, then you should pay for their private hive for awhile.

Edited May 19, 2015 by hellcat420

[byrgesen 1340]

Therein lies the issue. Are they going to make all the twitch streamers open their sub-only servers to the public?

 

There's rules and rules that are policed. You could report the server in the normal way and see what happens.

 

I've donated to servers but never for guaranteed private access and it's not something I see in my future but I've seen quite a few private shards go down in the last few months too so I've some sympathy with the server operators. Yes it's probably against the t&c but without donations there probably wouldn't be one, let alone two monster gaming servers.

 

 

Then report them and move on.  Nothing can be done here

 

I am not asking for you two smugs to do anything because you cant do anything, you are nobody.

I am asking if this is legal, according to the EULA that we all agree to, when playing DayZ and hosting a server.

 

The server is already reported, but that doesnt mean we cant have a discussion about doing this.

 

 

I know how the hives work. just because a private server doesn't have a password on it does not make it a public server. if you don't like how they run their private hive, go play on another server, its as easy as that. there are plenty of other public/private servers out there to play on. if you want them to change how they run their servers to fit how you like private servers to run, then you should pay for their private hive for awhile.

 

Again, it has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the EULA....

Stop making it personal.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Byrgesen

[Beizs 186]

I know how the hives work. just because a private server doesn't have a password on it does not make it a public server. if you don't like how they run their private hive, go play on another server, its as easy as that. there are plenty of other public/private servers out there to play on.

 

 

Exactly. It is against the T&C, but it's not game breaking. Just don't use their server. It is a private hive, after all. Reporting is a good idea, but honestly, it's nothing too serious.

 

Personally, ignoring the T&C, I don't think this is much of an issue at all. If people want to use their servers to keep their servers up (if that makes any sense at all), then why shouldn't they? I very much doubt they'll make any real money off of it. So long as they don't lie about anything and are up front that donators will have an advantage, which they seem to be, people can just not use their servers.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Beizs

[byrgesen 1340]

Exactly. It is against the T&C, but it's not game breaking. Just don't use their server. It is a private hive, after all. Reporting is a good idea, but honestly, it's nothing too serious.

 

Personally, ignoring the T&C, I don't think this is much of an issue at all. If people want to use their servers to keep their servers up (if that makes any sense at all), then why shouldn't they? I very much doubt they'll make any real money off of it. So long as they don't lie about anything and are up front that donators will have an advantage, which they seem to be, people can just not use their servers.

 

But do you think its alright for them to actively force they're players to buy acces to a loot server, or simply be at a disadvantage?

Is it alright for them to make money on server acces, on a game people have already payed for?

 

Its not that its a big issue, but if everybody does it, it will be a giant issue, and if its allowed, we will see tons of this pop up in the future, effectively making DayZ p2w.

[Caboose187 (DayZ) 3036]

 

I am not asking for you two smugs to do anything because you cant do anything, you are nobody.

I am asking if this is legal, according to the EULA that we all agree to, when playing DayZ and hosting a server.

 

The server is already reported, but that doesnt mean we cant have a discussion about doing this.

 

 

 

Again, it has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the EULA....

Stop making it personal.

 

Hey asshat, you asked a question and you got your answers.  Too bad if you don't like them, doesn't give you the right to be a dick.

[Bigbadchuck 97]

The whitelisted and non whitelisted server shared the same private HIVE, its not a public HIVE and you can only gain acces to the whitelisted server by donating 10£+.

They call it the "loot server" because its the place the paying players go to loot up, before they go on the non whitelisted server and PVP, with the rest of the public.

Basicly the non whitelisted server acts like every other private server out there, but the whitelisted one only grants acces to paying players, making it a safe heaven for an exclussive player groups, to do nothing but gear up and gain an advantage.

So they are in fact denying content to people who wont "donate".

Do you understand it better now?

All but the "advantage" part. No one has any advantage when it comes to getting gear unless it's duped. You can server hop and get geared much faster than even looting one white listed public server

[Bigbadchuck 97]

You people who look for servers to report are in my opinion just as bad as the people using their servers against the Eula. I mean really, is your life that bad that you have to the tattle tell. Grow up and move to another server.

[Beizs 186]

But do you think its alright for them to actively force they're players to buy acces to a loot server, or simply be at a disadvantage?

Is it alright for them to make money on server acces, on a game people have already payed for?

Its not that its a big issue, but if everybody does it, it will be a giant issue, and if its allowed, we will see tons of this pop up in the future, effectively making DayZ p2w.

I wouldn't say it's alright, but it's not too bad, either. So long as it's not on a public hive and people are aware of it, it'll just drive traffic away from their servers, making them unmaintainable and force them to change or shut down.

It's not important that they get shut down by BI. What's more important is people knowing that they might be at a disadvantage and being able to choose whether they use that server or not.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Beizs

[byrgesen 1340]

Hey asshat, you asked a question and you got your answers.  Too bad if you don't like them, doesn't give you the right to be a dick.

 

Being rude ussually gives rude answers, you should work on your attitude Caboose, and read the actual questions.

 

All but the "advantage" part. No one has any advantage when it comes to getting gear unless it's duped. You can server hop and get geared much faster than even looting one white listed public server

 

Not true.

Example:

A friend of mine joins the community, pays to be whitelisted and start to loot up on a pvp free server, with other people who just wants to gear up.

He then joins the server i am playing on, wheres its pvp madness and proceedes to engage me in PVP.

 

Now because its private servers, we should have about the same chance of finding items right? Wrong, because the server im on, is full of people ready to kill me, while the server he is on is full of happy carebears, not harming anyone.

I dont understand how that isnt gaining an advantage, by paying money for it?

And i dont understand how its legal, when the current rules clearly states its not?

Heres another link with some Arma 3 monetisation rules, which i belive also applies to DayZ:

https://www.bistudio.com/monetization

 

• Charging players to access your server, if the fees and associated perks do not affect gameplay in any way, is allowed. Cosmetic perks are allowed. Limiting access to only paying players is allowed.
• Product placement, in-game advertising and sponsorship is allowed.
• Selling of in-game items, that don’t affect gameplay, is allowed.
• Accepting donations is allowed, but to avoid any doubts: not providing donations must not prevent anyone from accessing the content.

[Max Planck 7174]

If someone is breaking any rules, please report their server using the usual means.

 

 

 

Hey asshat, you asked a question and you got your answers.  Too bad if you don't like them, doesn't give you the right to be a dick.

 

That's quite enough.

Goodbye Caboose, and don't say we didn't try.

 

 

 

EDIT:

As the rules are a bit fuzzy on the issue, I'll ask for clarification from Bohemia then post a final update to this topic.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Max Planck