E: D EULA and Account Usage With Public Access

[shadragon]

There's an ocean science campus in my area which hosts 35-40 international students (Ages 18-25) who stay for up to nine months for internships, on-the-job training etc. There are other university groups who come through during the Spring - Fall period as well for a few weeks at a time and they can have 120-180 people in the dorm. Their dorm is pretty spartan, with basic cable with a big screen TV and stack of board games for entertainment. I know many of the staff there and as they are a charity, they don't have a lot of cash to throw around for entertainment.

A buddy of mine, who is leaving the area, was thinking of donating an XBox to the school for group use and I'm considering getting a basic Elite: Dangerous account for it. That way the interns can play the game on the big screen in their down time. Might generate a bit of publicity and follow on business when they get home.

However, the Elite: Dangerous EULA is a bit on the draconian side (As EULA's usually are). Para 2 & 3 specifically, about the device being in my custody and control. Wouldn't be my device and certainly wouldn't be under my control in their rec room.

So I thought I'd ask the question. Can we use E: D legally in a private setting with multiple users in that scenario?

Thanks.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Officially I think the answer is no


However, I've seen Elite on a showroom stand for anyone to come and try/buy in shops, sometimes advertising both Elite and VR rigs together. I've seen it at conventions a number of times. Seems similar to me.


I would be very shocked if a lawsuit was started over something like this. At worst you may get a letter saying "stop the activity". Probably best asked in a support ticket than here tbh.

 

[shadragon]

Thanks.

Only reason it's here rather than a ticket, is so others can benefit. Hopefully, I can get an official response.

 

[c00ky1970]

I dont know how Xbox accounts work, but I would assume the purchase of a game is linked to a user account and even MS may have some EULA hoops about not sharing your account details with people.

Also asking any IP owner "Can I do something slightly that probably breaks EULA?" the response is always going to be "NO", any idiot should be able to grasp that.

The flip side is how would anyone prove that the Xbox account and game is being used by multiple people?

Ideally you should have never posted this thread and no-one would be any the wiser, but now everyone knows that there is a potential EULA infringement, global thermo-nuclear war will ensue.

 

[Cupsuki]

What this guy said ^^^^

Also technically it's prohibited but come on if they sue you for this is going to be a very very bad move by Frontier.

Also EULA? Who reads that lol, as he said they can't prove you are breaking it

 

[Paige Harvey]

Hello there Shadragon (and everyone else!)

This seems like a really cool idea to me, and I'm happy to help you get some more information on whether this is something we can arrange for you.

As such, could you please fire an email over to licensing@elitedangerous.com and explain the situation and what you'd like to achieve? (Basically what you've said here, but any more information you can provide is always a bonus). It's also worth noting that as long as the Xbox is set as the "home" console and the "home" account is the one which was used to purchase Elite Dangerous, another user account on the same console will have access to the Elite Dangerous game (though not Frontier Points/ Cosmetics etc.)

If you need any more info, feel free to ask any other questions in your email and the licensing team should be able to answer them for you

o7 CMDR!

Thanks.

Only reason it's here rather than a ticket, is so others can benefit. Hopefully, I can get an official response.

 

[Kaa Mchorror]

There's an ocean science campus in my area which hosts 35-40 international students (Ages 18-25) who stay for up to nine months for internships, on-the-job training etc. There are other university groups who come through during the Spring - Fall period as well for a few weeks at a time and they can have 120-180 people in the dorm. Their dorm is pretty spartan, with basic cable with a big screen TV and stack of board games for entertainment. I know many of the staff there and as they are a charity, they don't have a lot of cash to throw around for entertainment.

A buddy of mine, who is leaving the area, was thinking of donating an XBox to the school for group use and I'm considering getting a basic Elite: Dangerous account for it. That way the interns can play the game on the big screen in their down time. Might generate a bit of publicity and follow on business when they get home.

However, the Elite: Dangerous EULA is a bit on the draconian side (As EULA's usually are). Para 2 & 3 specifically, about the device being in my custody and control. Wouldn't be my device and certainly wouldn't be under my control in their rec room.

So I thought I'd ask the question. Can we use E: D legally in a private setting with multiple users in that scenario?

Thanks.

Wouldn't this cause a problem if someone got a wild hare up their posterior and decided to grief a bunch of players and the other people in the dorm didn't know? It only takes one individual to ruin it for all.

 

[Hooplah]

Thanks CMDR Normandy. I'm not part of this discussion but I just love Frontier, their passion for the game and willingness to work with the players on every issue. So many miss that coming to the Forum for the first time.

Regards

 

[IndigoWyrd]

This isn't that unusual of a request as it might sound - and I've done a few very similar sort of things in the past with a number of other games - mostly RCE based games, where I have created "Corporate" accounts, that are used by a number of different players - many of whom have gone on to purchase their own personal accounts as well, and I've always found the companies to be quite accommodating when it comes to these sorts of situations. Only one comes to mind, where they were adamantly opposed to the very notion, where a singular account was sought for a non-profit organization, for use by guests in the facility recreation center, to the point they threatened legal action - and some bad publicity resulted. Following that, they reversed their position, claiming to have "totally misuderstood the nature of the request", despite having spelled out quite simply, what was trying to be accomplished - and in the end, we ended up picking up a completely different title entirely for the recreation center.

I highly suspect Frontier will be able to accommodate, as they've always taken me as being perfectly reasonable folk.

 

[CMDR CPT. Boris]

What if Johnny from the dorm 4B is using all my bounty money to buy a t-9 and decide it's more efficient to fly shieldless with max cargo... with no insurance of course.. and got destroyed in the mail slot because he forget to ask permission to dock

It might bring others problems than just legal issues

 

[Paige Harvey]

We love to help here in support (and of course the rest of FDev!) and can always be called on if you need a hand. Whether you've been here a day or a year Thank you for the kind words Commander.

o7

Thanks CMDR Normandy. I'm not part of this discussion but I just love Frontier, their passion for the game and willingness to work with the players on every issue. So many miss that coming to the Forum for the first time.

Regards

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Wouldn't this cause a problem if someone got a wild hare up their posterior and decided to grief a bunch of players and the other people in the dorm didn't know? It only takes one individual to ruin it for all.

What if Johnny from the dorm 4B is using all my bounty money to buy a t-9 and decide it's more efficient to fly shieldless with max cargo... with no insurance of course.. and got destroyed in the mail slot because he forget to ask permission to dock

It might bring others problems than just legal issues

I suspect a fairly tight knit group of interns would be self regulating.

Also if the players are cycling every few weeks progression really won't matter. Could even just use the acc for CQC really... It's more something to do and enjoy together whilst you are there than something long term. Then if the people like it as Shar said they'll look to getting their own accounts when returning home.

 

[shadragon]

Hello there Shadragon (and everyone else!)

This seems like a really cool idea to me, and I'm happy to help you get some more information on whether this is something we can arrange for you.

As such, could you please fire an email over to licensing@elitedangerous.com and explain the situation and what you'd like to achieve? (Basically what you've said here, but any more information you can provide is always a bonus). It's also worth noting that as long as the Xbox is set as the "home" console and the "home" account is the one which was used to purchase Elite Dangerous, another user account on the same console will have access to the Elite Dangerous game (though not Frontier Points/ Cosmetics etc.)

If you need any more info, feel free to ask any other questions in your email and the licensing team should be able to answer them for you

o7 CMDR!

Thanks for the fast answer. I'll follow up next week with full details.

Have a great weekend.

 

[Kaa Mchorror]

I suspect a fairly tight knit group of interns would be self regulating.

Also if the players are cycling every few weeks progression really won't matter. Could even just use the acc for CQC really... It's more something to do and enjoy together whilst you are there than something long term. Then if the people like it as Shar said they'll look to getting their own accounts when returning home.

Goals even within a tight knit group can differ vastly. I'm not trying to shoot this down btw just pointing out potential problems with the execution.