Admins - is getting stats from the "player database" cheating or not?

[Triga Treat]

Does this mean I am not allowed to use 3rd party software such as Groupme, Line, or Palringo to communicate with my team? Can I also not use google docs to track battle statistics?

I don't want to violate the TOS!

-Triga

Under the TOS webpage it says you cannot:

use or distribute cheats, exploits, automation software, bots, hacks, mods or any unauthorized third party software designed to modify any user’s experience with the Service.


unauthorized third party software: I believe it is unauthorized by GREE. (GREE hasn't said if it is or isn't. Although I believe someone has already admitted to creating it, but that doesn't necessarily exclude it being authorized by GREE).
and I'm not 100% sure but,
I believe it is a third party software (I've never used the program, so I don't know if it is or isn't),
Again, I could be wrong in both assumptions.

designed to modify any user’s experience with the Service: I don't know about this actually. But I'll assume it's purpose was DESIGNED for that
to MODIFY any user's experience with the Service. We already have heard from numerous ppl that have used this software that it has modified their experience.

[TG3d]

It's a game. Not a court case.
People take this game way to seriously

.....I object!

[Dipstik]

It's a game. Not a court case.
People take this game way to seriously

The man with the horrible pictures speaks truth!

[Rebels]

No experty in law like some of y'all around here. Marketing is my game!

But wouldnt the fact data has been accessed about peoples private spending history be a privacy breach?
The other crap is just numbers, but real money information has been looked at and recodred.

I dont like the idea of people reading this data. Gree needs to tidy up their act so this cant be done. I dont think we can fully blame the few that have gone to this level but it is morally wrong IMO.

[sister morphine]

.....I object!

Overruled!

[Dipstik]

No experty in law like some of y'all around here. Marketing is my game!

But wouldnt the fact data has been accessed about peoples private spending history be a privacy breach?
The other crap is just numbers, but real money information has been looked at and recodred.

I dont like the idea of people reading this data. Gree needs to tidy up their act so this cant be done. I dont think we can fully blame the few that have gone to this level but it is morally wrong IMO.

Oh it's absolutely a privacy breach.

[Ragmondino]

The man with the horrible pictures speaks truth!

You surely can't be talking about me?

Pictures of teresasmother are beautiful...

[Rebels]

Oh it's absolutely a privacy breach.

I need a visual response to your comment so I can determine your tone please

[(BF) Tuna]

Idk why people have to come up with analogies of police searching cars & using courtroom assumptions to somehow make their "case"...

The fact of the matter remains that certain players are accessing player data beyond the means of what GREE intended for this game. If GREE wanted everyone to see an individual's spending habits or stat point distribution (etc etc) when we visited a rival's city, surely they would have implemented that from the start. Regardless to what the proponents of utilizing this 3rd party app are saying, this does alter a players experience whether it is apparent or not to the player that's getting shafted..

With that said, it's clearly a violation of the ToS & a moderator should have said, at the very beginning of this thread that, it is exactly that. Also that, GREE is working to curb the use of 3rd party software & that they're taking the proper steps to rectify the situation.

[bald zeemer]

Again, in what way does it alter playing experience? Nobody so far has given an example of an altered playing experience - just some fairly tenuous claims as to how it might possibly be used to do so.

[Dipstik]

Idk why people have to come up with analogies of police searching cars & using courtroom assumptions to somehow make their "case"...

My bad. I made a one-liner comment saying "In criminal justice, we call this 'plain view'" mostly trying to point out that there's no "hacking" involved. It's just a matter of reading information that gree is firing at your device completely unencrypted. It wasn't a perfect metaphor, and it just so happened that there was another lawyer in the room. I still stand by the point I was trying to make, but I didn't mean to start a legal argument over it

[(BF) Tuna]

My bad. I made a one-liner comment saying "In criminal justice, we call this 'plain view'" mostly trying to point out that there's no "hacking" involved. It's just a matter of reading information that gree is firing at your device completely unencrypted. It wasn't a perfect metaphor, and it just so happened that there was another lawyer in the room. I still stand by the point I was trying to make, but I didn't mean to start a legal argument over it

Totally understand, and it is concerning that they're just sending unencrypted data like that left & right. Especially when considering that the game is tied to credit/debit cards for most serious players. Frankly, I can't blame those who are tech savvy enough to have come up with this.. Problem is, it's giving those who are utilizing this data collection a leg-up on their opponents. (Clearly it's giving them a leg-up otherwise it wouldn't be used or possibly even created in the first place)

@Bald.. I'm sure you're familiar enough with how this data-collection works (whether you use it or not) to understand that it does alter a player's experience. Both on the user's end and the person who's data is being deciphered. The whole snafu with MT's score was trivial... This, not so much.

I will add that, I don't feel there should be any serious repercussions for those who are able to collect data like this- so long as that's all that they're doing with this info. Afterall it's on GREE for not properly encrypting said data (and even then, a serious hacker could decrypt it). Those who are maliciously using this information, though, they need to be sorted out and removed from the game.

[Green Drake]

Again, in what way does it alter playing experience? Nobody so far has given an example of an altered playing experience - just some fairly tenuous claims as to how it might possibly be used to do so.

I have stopped attacking or robbing anyone known to be rogue. Personally I don't want anyone knowing my spending habits. Since they are still using the program and don't have issues making it public I have had to alter my playing experience.

[Dipstik]

I have stopped attacking or robbing anyone known to be rogue. Personally I don't want anyone knowing my spending habits. Since they are still using the program and don't have issues making it public I have had to alter my playing experience.

Just on a hunch and with no way to verify, I'd be willing to bet that not only do you have nowhere NEAR the stats required to attack anyone in that group, you probably can't name more than 4 of them.

[Green Drake]

I have no problem robbing the rogues members that I know at my level.
Att-800k
Def-814k