RMT - is it actually against the letter of the EULA?

Community WoW Community Council
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Edit - This thread is about a lack of proper communication of the rules on Blizzard’s end. I am not arguing about whether or not RMTers should be banned.

So, we know that Blizzard bans people for buying and selling gold. Brian Birmingham had explicitly referred to buying gold as cheating in an interview. And what’s interesting here is that he explicitly said that it is against the ToS (he meant EULA, presumably) to buy gold, which I can find no evidence of, and I couldn’t at the time either.

The section of the EULA that supposedly refers to RMT is here:

Prohibited Commercial Uses: Exploit, in its entirety or individual components, the Platform for any purpose not expressly authorized by Blizzard, including, without limitation (i) playing the Game(s) at commercial establishments (subject to Section 1.B.v.3.); (ii) gathering in-game currency, items, or resources for sale outside of the Platform or the Game(s); (iii) performing in-game services including, without limitation, account boosting or power-leveling, in exchange for payment; (iv) communicating or facilitating (by text, live audio communications, or otherwise) any commercial advertisement, solicitation or offer through or within the Platform; or (v) organizing, promoting, facilitating, or participating in any event involving wagering on the outcome, or any other aspect of, Blizzard’s Games, whether or not such conduct constitutes gambling under the laws of any applicable jurisdiction, without authorization.

More specifically, I believe this part is what people think prohibits RMT:

(ii) gathering in-game currency, items, or resources for sale outside of the Platform or the Game(s)

Well, where in any of the quoted text does it say that I can’t buy gold in WoW Classic? All that’s prohibited, according to this bit, is gathering resources to sell, and that’s not even selling the resources. Seems like a very weird way to word things to me. What if I gather resources for personal use, and then change my mind later that I want to sell them for USD? Isn’t that technically allowed, based on the wording? That’s probably a semantics debate, but I still can’t let go of the fact that there is absolutely nothing referring to the gold buyer’s perspective.

“This is a stupid thread. Everyone knows RMT can get you banned.”

As experienced players/developers who are very involved in the community already, it is easy for us to look at this and think it’s not really an issue, because we already know how things work in the World of Warcraft. But I’d ask you to consider this from a newer player’s PoV. I’m sure there are newer players out there who don’t have the experience to know what the chances are of them getting banned for buying gold, or if getting banned for buying gold is even a possibility. Given that many people probably see RMT as morally okay, I also just think it’s fundamentally wrong to ban someone for RMT without adequately communicating that it isn’t allowed.

This also goes beyond just the EULA, because let’s be honest, 99% of people are never going to read it. Maybe Blizzard should consider adding some form of in-game communication to players that buying gold for real-life currency is expressly not allowed. This would give Blizzard more of a precedent to be harsher on RMT bans while also reducing RMT from newer players.

Blizzard EULA - https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/legal/fba4d00f-c7e4-4883-b8b9-1b4500a402ea/blizzard-end-user-license-agreement
Blizzard CoC - https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/42673

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But doesn’t this directly affect you if you were to buy, thus you are supporting the RMT of breaking the rules as they gather in-game currency to sell it on to you?

And, why are we even having this discussion? RMT has no place in WoW, what so ever.

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The reason RMT is banned in every MMO you play is because it actively harms the player driven economy. Why should a few people who decide they want to be PTW and go and buy resources from an illegal site to get ahead of other players be able to control that very same economy? No one person should have a leverage or an advantage over others and that is what RMT sells people. An advantage. Unfair in every aspect.

RMT is wrong. Through and through. The topic of “Is RMT bad or good?” should not be up for debate.

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I’m not arguing whether RMTers should be banned or not. This is about a lack of proper communication of the rules on Blizzard’s end.

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But there is no lack? It is just, don’t do deals cross IRL and in-game.

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Your wording and how you are trying to approach the topic could use some work then.

This whole section makes it seem like you are doubting the legitimacy of the rules put in place and proposing the question “Is RMT truly bad?”

But back on topic, yes the rules are vague and could use a fresh coat of paint, it could possibly benefit from an example on what is RMT and what is not for newer players.

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There has literally been zero lack of communication in regards to RMT. Blizzard has posted many times that this isn’t allowed, and the community does not benefit from this at all.

No real discussions need to be had.

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And what percentage of the WoW population do you suppose has read at least one of these posts?

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Doesn’t matter if they have read the posts or TOS. You can not claim ingnorance on a polciy and hope to be forgiven.

It is your job (the player) to be informed of the rules of the game you play to stay in the clear.

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Technically, the answer should be 100% as we are all technically meant to read the EULA and ToS as we agree during account creation, and updates. Though, how many actually reads them, that is a different question. The articles are all there, and can easily be found.

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