You know the text you need to agree to before you can log into an MMO for the first time? We took a look at a few End License User Agreements to see just what exactly we're agreeing to.

You know the text you need to agree to before you can log into an MMO for the first time? The text you didn't actually read , as you just wanted to get into the game and start playing? Well, that's the game's User Agreement and it's pretty important. However, I suspect that few of us know what these Agreements actually say . Sure, we think we know what's in them, but generally we just click the "I Agree" button without giving it any thought. But maybe we should pay more attention, since we're signing a lot of our rights away each time we agree to one. Listed below are some of the other things contained in many MMOs' User Agreements, which you might not be aware of.

Everything you say is recorded
All chat in most MMOs tends to be logged and recorded, so the publishers can read or refer back to it at a later date. In other words, MMO publishers reserve the right to check up on your conversations should they wish to do so. This is generally done in order to prove that violations of the User Agreement have taken place (such as harassment or offensive language), but the sections of User Agreements allowing this are often kept open-ended, so the publisher can read back through players' chat logs for any reason at all.

Publishers reserve the right to read our /tells and other messages.

Your character names aren't really yours
You might think that your character name is yours and yours alone… but that's not the case. Many games' User Agreements state that the publisher owns any names you've come up with, which could potentially prevent them from being used elsewhere. For example, if someone were to sell a book about a magic user named after one they'd played in an MMO, they could end up on the wrong end of a lawsuit. However, sometimes it's not just characters that are subject to this rule - some publishers will reserve the copyright to anything you've ever said in-game.

If the game doesn't work, it's your problem
If you can't play the game and think you deserve compensation, you'd better think again. If you've signed the User Agreement, you've already waived your right to these things. For example, if the servers are unavailable for a day, you may not receive any extra game time as compensation. Basically, clauses like this protect publishers from any claims you might have against them, should you become unable to play their games for any reason at all - even if it's the publishers who are at fault.

You're responsible for all actions taken on your account
Let's say that your account's been stolen - you wouldn't expect to be punished for what someone else has done with it, would you? Well, I'm sorry to say that this isn't the case. By the terms of many User Agreements, account owners can be held responsible for anything that hackers do on - or do to - their accounts. In other words, you could find yourself facing the full consequences of someone using a bot on your account, or the publisher refusing to return items to your characters if they've been stolen. In other words, if someone does something on your account that you don't like, you could be the one paying for it.

You can be banned for using a false name
When you first signed up for your account, did you enter a false name or address? Or maybe you've just moved and not kept your details up to date? If so, then you may have broken the User Agreement, putting your account at risk. Even lying about your age could in theory be enough to get your account shut down.

Doing this is against many User Agreements.

The game could be shut down tomorrow
Not all MMOs last forever, so this clause exists in case they don't go the distance. Should this happen, players generally aren't entitled to compensation and their characters - as well as any progress made in-game - could be lost forever if the game's shut down. However, this pales in comparison to the worst thing to be found in many MMOs' User Agreements:

Your account could be banned for any reason whatsoever
Yes, you read that right; your account could be banned for any reason at all, at the publisher's discretion. In theory this could be for anything, big or small. This catch-all clause is more common than you might think and is something most players are probably not aware of. It exists so that publishers are covered in case they want to ban someone's account for something not specifically mentioned in the rules.

Additional clauses
Listed below are other items not contained in quite as many User Agreements, so it may be worth checking to see if any apply to you:

• You may not sell your account, give it away or allow anyone else to log onto it
• You may not otherwise profit from your account (by selling gold or items from it, for example)
• You could be subject to a fee if you break the User Agreement
• Your PC could be monitored for any programs running at the same time as the game and, if an unauthorised program is found, your details could be provided to the publisher
• Details regarding your account - as well as your personal details - could be handed over to the police when requested

This all looks pretty scary, doesn't it? Every time we sign a User Agreement, we waive many of our rights and give the MMO's publisher carte blanche to do whatever they like to our accounts. We agree to them because the only other choice is not to play the game. Given everything listed above, should we be concerned about signing our rights away like this? In theory, giving so much power to the publishers could be open to abuse. If someone can ban your account on a whim or listen in on your conversations just because they want to, it's only natural to be wary of agreeing to these things. However, just because publishers say they're allowed to do these things, it doesn't mean they will . Any such abuse of power is incredibly rare and would be all over the gaming press were it to take place. Word of mouth is vital to MMOs' success and if players are treated unfairly by a publisher, their games will soon see a drop in subscribers. In other words, action isn't taken against players' accounts unless they really deserve it. Sure, mistakes are sometimes made, but publishers generally have an appeal process set up to deal with this kind of thing. Players also tend not to be held responsible for the actions of hackers using their accounts, despite what the game's User Agreement may say. In fact, many publishers routinely do things they specifically say they don't have to, such as giving compensation for extended downtime.

Publishers' banhammers are all-powerful, but you should be fine if you exercise common sense.

Overall, there are three main purposes to User Agreements:

• Ensuring that if the publisher needs to do something, it can
• Protecting the publisher from lawsuits
• Protecting the players

Yes, that's right - protecting the players. Without User Agreements and Rules of Conduct, players would be free to abuse and harass others in-game, driving them away. Similarly, the clause stating that accounts can be banned for any reason at all is for our own protection - what if something was overlooked in the Agreement and the publisher was unable to act? In this case, such a clause would benefit both the publisher and the players, allowing the culprits to be dealt with swiftly and efficiently. In other words, despite what User Agreements might say, normal users have nothing to fear. If you play the game as intended and don't act like an ass, you'll be just fine. Publishers won't abuse their User Agreements in the way that some people fear because doing so would mean lost customers. And in an industry as competitive as this one, that could spell death for their MMOs.

SAM "azerian" Maxted
Editor
ZAM.com