The terms of service for MMORPG titles is such an enormous wall o’ text that most people tend to understandably hit the “accept” button without reading a single line in order to actually start playing the game they purchased, meaning legal protections that cover the developer – and possibly harms the player – can slip the notice of many gamers. It would appear that one portion of the TOS for Elder Scrolls Online has raised some alarms among its fan base, as people are reporting that AI-assisted automated chat moderation is catching innocent text in its dragnet.
In the content moderation section of the MMO’s TOS, ZeniMax Online Studios states that “content moderation may be carried out via human review as well as through the use of AI-powered proactive and reactive moderation methods including without limitation, software that uses algorithmic decision making” in order to ensure user-generated content meets its terms. These are the same terms that have been in effect since February of this year.
But players in the official forums are claiming that private interactions via DMs or chats occurring in roleplay are suddenly being flagged by whatever automod tools ZOS is using, which is reportedly leading to erroneous punitive actions against player accounts.
The moderation tactic has caused a wave of discussion within the forums and on Reddit, with many expressing alarm and concern or asking devs to provide statements about the issue, though there are others who argue that roleplay shouldn’t be used as a defense against utilizing banned terms. Still others are suggesting that anyone who has faced account action should simply put in a support ticket to challenge moderation.
As of this writing there has been no such official response or statement from anyone at the studio – it’s currently more interested in pushing Update 44 – but it seems that roleplayers are under bot attack if player reports are to be believed.
