Update: EA Responds To Angry Parent

Apparently, what I said in my last response had some impact. Or, they realized that they are ill-equipped to handle the matter and referred it to someone higher up. Either way, the issue is far from dead.

Hi xxxxxxxx,

Thank you for writing to EA.com account services.

Due to the nature of your issue, more time is required for investigation. I apologize for any prolonged delays this might cause, but please rest assured that we are trying to handle your issue in a timely manner. During this time, you may still update your incident with additional information that might help us resolve your issue without causing any additional delay. To update your incident click the link that says, To view or update your question from our support site, click here."

We appreciate the opportunity to assist you and look forward to getting you back in the game!

Please let us know if there is anything else needed.

Thank you.

xxxxxxx
EA Online Support.

EA Disappoints Me *sigh*

So here's the deal.
I contacted EA a few days ago because when my son went to play online multiplayer on Battlefield: Bad Company, and it would not let him. It said: "Your gamer profile does not have the correct permissions to access Xbox Live Functionality". I explained the situation to EA and asked what I needed to do, since he has finished the campaign, is on his second way through now, and all settings allow him to play Xbox Live Online.

After a bunch of back and forth which included giving them his gamertag, my e-mail address, His birth date, our Zip Code, etc etc, it still wasn't resolved. Then they asked for his EA Classic Screen ID. I told them that he doesn't have one, that the site will not even allow him to register at the EA website.

I correctly guessed that this is because of his age.

Here is what they finally sent me after 3 days of back and forth:
Hi xxxxxxxx,

Thank you for your interest in Electronic Arts and for giving us permission
to create an online account for your child. However, we have changed our
policy and no longer allow players under the age of 13 to register on our
site.

The minimum age requirements for registration to which EA has chosen to
adhere to are based on a myriad of business and regulatory considerations.
Unfortunately, the parental controls provided by game consoles and PC
equipment are not sufficient for EA to overcome them. Parents and guardians
are not prohibited from allowing their kids to use the parent or guardians
own account for online game play under their supervision, however. Keep in
mind that any violation of EA terms & conditions by anyone using your
account may cause an irreversible revocation of the account. Parents or
guardians have a responsibility to educate kids regarding online safety and
may find many helpful resources such as www.webwisekids.org and
www.wiredsafety.org.

If there is anything else we may do to assist you please let us know.

Thank you,

xxxxxxx
EA Online Support!

I was pissed. Still am. My response says it all:

So let me get this straight:
Because my child is not 13, he is not allowed to play online multiplayer on
BF:BC due to the fact that it HAS to be linked to an EA account?
That is ridiculous. All that tells me is that I am not going to buy any
more EA games. It is an insult to my intelligence and parenting
capabilities that YOU (EA) get to decide whether or not my child is allowed
to play. Not all parents are incapable of monitoring what their child does.
I am a stay at home mom AND a hardcore gamer. I am well equipped to know
whether or not my child has the skills and ability to play online
multiplayer. Additionally, I never allow my child to wear a headset, I
approve all of my child's Xbox Live friends, and I hand pick every game that
he is allowed to play, or even watch ME play.

I understand the paranoia that game developers and publishers have regarding
the oversight of video game ratings and the legal implications of poor
parenting skills. But by enacting this draconian policy, you have
essentially taken the choice out of the hands of responsible parents and
played right into the hands of uneducated lawmakers.

Now, understand, my son is a good gamer. Not great, but good. He loves to play online and I am right there the entire time making sure that all goes right and well. As it is stated in my response, I never allow him to wear a headset, so he isn't one of those kids you constantly deal with on Halo 3. His favorite thing in the world is playing multiplayer and it pretty much broke his heart that he cannot play online BF:BC, because he was looking soooo forward to it.

I understand not allowing persons under 13 to register at their website, as many many other websites follow that policy. But to hinge the ability to fully play an expensive video game on registering on said website is a trick and a dirty one too. I hate that the bad parenting of others limits my ability to choose how to be a parent to my own son.

Also, I WILL NOT put him on BF:BC on MY gamertag or his fathers. It is ridiculous that EA even suggested it. Not that I don't trust him, but he wants to earn his achievements just like us. He is proud of it when he earns a new achievement. I pay for my son to be on Xbox Live just like the rest of my family. Microsoft expects (trusts?) me to enact the parental guidelines that I deem necessary, why can't EA?

Go Diego Go...NO!

Watching the Today show at 9:45 this morning, I was shocked and dismayed, and a little creeped out. They had the cast of Go Diego Go! on, which I can only assume is a Broadway show based on the Nickelodeon channel cartoon. I only tuned in right at the last few words of an on stage interview and then they began perfoming to "Hot! Hot! Hot!". I was eerily reminded of Angel's solo in Rent. Where she is dancing around the apartment and playing the drums on anything she finds. Put Dora the explorer in a fur coat and platform heels and she'd be a dead ringer. Not to mention that I kept expecting her short-ish shirt fly up and flash her breasts at the audience. I had to look twice to see if Diego was being performed by Mario Cantone.

The children honestly looked frightened. I would be too if I saw my beloved cartoon characters so exuberantly and magically turned into bouncing adults, towering over me singing. I saw none of the exuberance seen during The Wiggles' heyday. It was pretty scary and gave me the heeby-jeebies, so I had to turn it off. Simultaneously I heard the clicks of a million other clickers from home viewers of the Today show across the country.

Best T-Shirt Ever

I want this T-Shirt

http://www.jinx.com/women/shirts/video_games/the_cake_is_a_lie.html#bigdesign

eBay Policy Changes, The end of eBay?

I recieved an interesting e-mail from eBay this evening. It outlines the changes to it's policies for 2008. I have to say that I am extremely disappointed, and am thinking of checking out other online auction sites. In a nutshell, they are screwing the seller. Not only will Buyers no longer be able to recieve negative feedback, eBay has dropped insertion fees a paltry 5 cents for anything listed under $24.99, and raised final value fees from 5.25% to 8.75%. Come on eBay! With all of the complaining that has been heard from the eBay community in recent times regarding eBay raising fees, and the economic times that are at hand, what is this? And yet you are giving Power Sellers a possible 5-15% discount on Insertion Fees. Power Sellers that are normally businesses and not the average person on the street trying to get by.

While I applaud eBay for it's inclusion of Paypal Seller Protection on unconfirmed addresses, I am unsure as to how the new deal with customer satisfaction tying in to search visibilty will work out. Not allowing sellers to leave negative feeback against buyers who do not pay, are abusive, or just plain unresponsive to communications is a plain slap in the face. Sellers use feedback to check out their buyers histories, and in some cases to warn other potential sellers from these buyers. The feedback system will be even more ripe for abuse with these new changes than it was before.

Don't get me wrong. Items like the free gallery photo being made free is great. But it should have been free from the get-go. Alienating Sellers in these trying economic times is not the way for eBay to go. Embrace the small-time man on the street seller trying to suppliment his income (like it used to). Or else eBay will fully become just one more corporate internet joke.

Check out the new policies here: http://pages.ebay.com/sell/update08/rewards/index.html

14 Movies that I Just Can't Watch

So I was at the local Movie Gallery this evening and realized that I was astounded by the horrible titles and cases for a lot of the DVDs on the shelves. Starting backwards, I realized by the time I got to the S's that I was giggling. There were ridiculous titles, usually accompanying astonishingly bad covers. I mean, is it a rule in Hollywood that a B movie, or a straight to DVD has to have such bad titles? And the covers....come on! Even on a strapped budget someone with a bit of graphics or art experience could come up with something a hell of a lot better than what is currently being displayed!

Judging just from the covers and external case write-ups and pics, I could never be able to nudge myself watching. Then I looked them up online when I got home. I am afraid that my soul would get sucked out and I would lose precious hours of my life if I allowed myself to take part in such mindless entertainment, and I have willingly watched some baaaad movies in my time. I've never understood why a low budget is the excuse most of the time for bad writing or acting. There are plenty of independent films out there that can make money on a shoestring and still pull out something at least halfway decent.

I am not making an informed review of these movies from anything but their cover, write-up, pictures and reviews I found - but I've listed some of the movies I found tonight below with their tag lines. This is kinda like judging a book by its cover, but I shed no tears over it and feel no guilt. Make note that even though quite a few of these DVDs have been in release for quite a while by now, some even a few years, they were all in the New Release section. This is the same at chain video stores across the nation.

Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas
First she stole his theories. Then his heart.

Dead Clowns
Ready to Rampage!

Gamebox 10
Wanna Play?

Gangs of the Dead *Also known as "Last Rites"
Die Hard Or...Rot ?

Hoboken Hollow
Working on a Ranch...IS TORTURE!!!

Ice Spiders *A SciFi Channel Movie on DVD
Hell has just frozen over!

Kaw *A SciFi Channel Movie on DVD
Objects in the mirror may be closer and more terrifying than they appear.

Mirrorwars: Reflection One *also known as: "Zerkalnie voyni: Otrazhenie pervoye"
The chase is on... at 80,000 feet!

Meltdown: Days of Destruction

Murder Party
Everybody Dies!

Mustang Sally's Horror House
Sex you'll die for.

Plasterhead *Right next to multiple copies of Pumpkinhead sequels
True Evil Has No Face.

Transmorphers *also known as "Robot Wars" and right next to many copies of Transformers
The Final Battle Between MAN and MACHINE!

and finally,

Richard Greico in: Raiders of the Damned
The Day The World Ended, They Thought The Fight Was Over. They Were Wrong.

Yes, I know that I included a few SciFi Channel movies in there, but they are on DVD and on that new release shelf just like the rest of them. The final two movies on the list have the dubious distinction of being the lowest rated I could find among them on IMDB.com at 1.7 and 2.1 respectively. I was going to include a few titles like "Boy Eats Girl" and "Gangs of the Dead", but after researching them and staring at the DVD cases for a bit I realized I probably would want to watch them. On my dish. At 4am. When I have insomnia. And the flu.

The Brighter Side of Bill

This is finally the Melinda Gates profile that i've been waiting for. I've always wanted to know more about the luckiest woman in America.
(Click read more for the article.)

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