Just a warning, watch what your guild title and char names are....

[Satanatra]

UO is a lot of things to a lot of people.

It isnt all about trash talk at yew gate or the hottest pvp equip.

It can be about crafting armor and running a shop.

It can be about bards peacing the monters.

It can be about tamers making friends in the forests.

There are MANY things that a kid in 4th grade would really love and they dont all have to do with blood/guts.

UO is a virtual world like no other game for this reason.

 

[Ceridwen]

Problem is though, that some enforcements aren't clear to people who don't understand that something considered "normal" or "neutral" in one language can be a harsh offence in another.
Just take the word "ja" for example (means "yes" in German). Now some people use German slang and hang a "p" at the end of that. No problem in German, however - and yeah, this always gets said to new German players as a warning - in English it's an offence (racist, if I remember correctly) and people have actually been banned for saying that word in a normal, German sentence.

So on the same note, I don't have any clue either what "balls deep" should mean in sexual reference, so Petra's not alone on that.... *blushes*

Ah well... *sighs* I get the feeling I should use a translator before I write anything IG, in case it is offensive in one language or another....

 

[Richtor Darkbane]

It's great that GM's are doing there job... The problem is that it seems they have not had proper training, and the way rules are enforced are inconsistent. If your going to enforce something do it across the board.

The second problem is that the punishment for some things is extremely harsh. Catching a ban for a guild title that is possibly some type of innuendo is crazy, it's open to interpretation, why would they not simply give a warning and a mark for this on the first offense?

To all the self righteous "Ha Ha You Got Banned, Enjoy It You Nasty Rule Breaker!" people out there, keep laughing until someone finds a way to twist the 'rules' to a way that gets you banned.

Not that it matters but the only thing listed in the RoC is:

IF YOU BREAK ANY OF THESE RULES, YOUR ULTIMA ONLINE ACCOUNT, AND YOUR RIGHT TO USE THE ULTIMA ONLINE SERVICE, MAY BE TERMINATED IMMEDIATELY BY ELECTRONIC ARTS. IF THIS HAPPENS, YOU WILL NOT BE ENTITLED TO ANY REFUND OF ANY AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO USE THE ULTIMA ONLINE SERVICE AND YOU WILL FORFEIT ALL OF YOUR UNUSED ACCESS TIME.

There is no specific list of consequences for breaking rules, in this vague 'cover our tails' policy, so basically one person can get a 72 hour ban for a name, and another might get 24 hour ban. Rules and punishments should be enforced constantly or not at all IMO.

 

[Caelas]

Not gonna pass judgement here, but if you really want to know both meanings of "balls deep" go to this website called Urban Dictionary and search for "balls deep". Wording not for the faint of heart, or easily offended.

 

[Flora Green]

More ridiculous behavior on the part of the GM's and EA/Mythic.

 

[MalagAste]

First off.... Let me say that I think it's a stupid title to begin with...

Secondly .... to all those "parents" out there who have a problem with things in game.... There is a little thing in the game called a Profanity filter..... TURN IT ON! STFU... I am a parent... and I don't care if some idiot wants to have the title Balls Deep.... just tells me what sort of person I'm dealing with... (childish and immature)... Honestly I don't want this to be a "kids" game.... I much preferred it when the game was labeled MATURE!.. It's overly apparent that is no longer the case today.

As well... the GM's used to just "change" the names.... titles whatever or tell you to do it immediately..... What happened to this???? I think they should return to doing that... I can see banning someone if they have had to tell them to change a name before and the person did it again.... that's different.... but on a first time offense it's really a bit over the top to just ban the person.

Finally..... This is yet another clear cut example of what I have been saying that EA games wishes to do away with UO and what better way than to get BAN happy, perpetually ruin things, break stuff, drive the player base out... and botch customer service. The ignorance and completely rash behavior of the GMs along with the extremely poor service on both the web and the phone is totally beyond reason.

 

[Kaleb]

Heh...IMHO if a parent whom has a kid whom is playing this game.

And the kid is so young you have to explain what that means?

WTF is he doing playing a game where you chop up animals, poison ppl, murder other ppl, etc...do i really have to go on?

I think ppl in this world need to lighten up and stop being hippocrits. They say "OH HOW DARE HE OFFEND ME!"..."OH I HAVE BEEN OFFENDED!"

blah blah blah blah

thats the same ppl that watch it themselves or let those same kids of theirs watch satellite TV with vulgar filthy trash...or heck even reg primetime TV has vulgar filthy trash that IMHO shouldn't even be allowed.

Oh sure you can't curse in a video game to be sensitive too ppl yet on TV which all you need is any ol TV plug it in Turn it on...you got sex, cursing, soft core porn, ppl eating gross crap that can give kids ideas, all kinds of great violence....

pffftt....I can go on all day....when its called Roses or Posies Online lemme know....

From what I know this is a spinoff the Dungeons and Dragons type mythical black magik type stuff my mom and father never let me mess with when I was younger....

Its parents like the ones that go out and buy the Grand Theft Auto series then complain cuz they are stupid and cant read the rating or the back of the box to see wat its about....

Its to violent blah blah blah...

Thats wat happens when you can't take 5 min out of yer damn time to read the back of a simple game, hang out with yer kids...see wat they been up too and what they are doing and be involved with their life.

IMHO no one below the age of 14 or 13 should be allowed to play this game.

Cuz even though I WAS considered a heavily sheltered child coming from strong christian background...

Hell I knew what balls deep means when I was in the 4th grade from public school.

And thats all the Piper's got to say about that....

Nuthin personal tho...Piper loves everyone...he jus tells it how it is

~Time To Pay The Piper~

The problem is just like in real life, is that there are people that think you must live and think play like they do and always want to change the world (dem. party to those conartist tv preachers and followers for instance) they will hoot holler and cry until something is done about it. Its the main reason I do not believe in religion. People in this world need to worry about themselves before others. if more people worried about what they were doing besides their neighbor the world would truly be a better place.

 

[Kaleb]

on a side note my nephew caught a grasshopper and named him punchnuts he is only 5 lol. You over shelter kids they are more proned to following the wrong path. I hide nothing from my kids im 100% honest about what the real world is like its my job to prepair them for the shock of life.

 

[Sheridan]

on a side note my nephew caught a grasshopper and named him punchnuts he is only 5 lol.

I swear to god I'm naming my next pet Punchnuts.

 

[Eslake]

I like how the game has stuff like arcane circles wich is a pentagram wich is a pagan or satanic symbol.
...
Since school children play pentagrams should be taken out. Pentagrams aren't allowed in school and are treated like swastikas and the confederate flag and such.

And rightly so I might at...nuff said hippocrits...


~Time To Pay The Piper~

Even IF the pentagram represented what you seem to Think it means, it would only matter in the game if the associated beliefs were somehow present as well.

But since it means nothing of the sort, I am very happy to see it in UO. Heck it might even lead someone who is curious to determine what one actually stands for rather than the hogwash you have been fed by some movie or book.

Of course my experience in dealing with people of your views has led me to not expect you to understand what I'm saying. I suppose you also believe that witches are devil worshippers who sacrifice children or some other such nonsense, because that is what you've been told bo one close-minded religeous sect or another.

If you bother to do any research on the subject, you might also want to look up what the swastika actually represents.

 

[Eslake]

Secondly .... to all those "parents" out there who have a problem with things in game.... There is a little thing in the game called a Profanity filter..... TURN IT ON!

Since when does the PF filter names or titles?

Besides, it has been argued before, and will be argued again. The PF is buggy as heck and causes serious recurrant lag even on a 3mb connection.
Not to mention EA has said repetedly that the filter in itself is no justification for the use of offensive language or behavior, just an added protection.

 

[Nexus]

Even IF the pentagram represented what you seem to Think it means, it would only matter in the game if the associated beliefs were somehow present as well.

But since it means nothing of the sort, I am very happy to see it in UO. Heck it might even lead someone who is curious to determine what one actually stands for rather than the hogwash you have been fed by some movie or book.

Of course my experience in dealing with people of your views has led me to not expect you to understand what I'm saying. I suppose you also believe that witches are devil worshippers who sacrifice children or some other such nonsense, because that is what you've been told bo one close-minded religeous sect or another.

If you bother to do any research on the subject, you might also want to look up what the swastika actually represents.

If they do a little research on the subject they'll find that the Pentagram is also a Christian symbol that was used to represent the 5 senses, and during the middle ages represented the 5 wounds of Christ, add the letters S A L V S at the various points and it became a Christian symbol for health.

Neopagans which include Wiccians use it as a symbol yet it's not an exclusive symbol for them. Ancient Jerusalem used the pentagram as the symbol of the city for a while. Morocco and Ethiopia include it on their flags.

The only time the pentagram is referenced as Satanic symbol is if it's placed inverted from the way you see it in UO with 2 points up instead of 1

From it's various usages I don't see why anyone can claim it to be an exclusively Satanic or associate it completely with Witchcraft.

Oh and the Swastika is a symbol mainly used in India to bring luck...people will draw it on their doorsteps to bring luck to the house, on other objects for the same reason.

Really I can agree with what your saying people need to know what they are saying before they complain. That and stop letting every self righteous religious figure tell you what things mean. We all have free will and should use it to find out the truth in the world we live in not be puppets to organizations who's sole purpose is to convert humanity into sheep....after all you know what they do to sheep right? Fleece them for everything they are worth then send them off to slaughter.

 

[deadite]

Balls Deep?

Yeesh. I fully support a "bad taste banning" effort.

Did you ever read about the UO developers coining the phrase "Cock Time"? It's the amount of time you release a game like UO before a player drops items on the ground in the shape of a giant penis.

I can't remember where I read that... it was on one of the original developer's blogs.

 

[Jeremy]

"Time to Cock" - good definition here.

 

[Nystul]

I made a character last year called Sausage Groper. Don't do it.

 

[Mitzlplik_SP]

that and the so called 'cyber cops' must be really borred all of a sudden to go around narkin.. err i meen griefing other players just because of something so silly as a guild tag.

i've seen far far worse thru the years.

I don`t think I hafta see some of the things peaple try to get away with.If your so stupid and uncreative as to name your toon something derogatory...you need a break from UO with a big fat ban.I pay my money like the rest of you,just because YOU may think its cool to run around with the name a 10 year old would think cool,doesn`t mean everyone else will think your sooooo cool.

No cycber cop here,I see some tard with an offensive name,I let the GM make the call.

My line of thinking can`t be far off the mark since all I have paged on in the past have had their names or guild tags changed.Seems to me the GM`s agreed they were derogatory too,go figure.

 

[Redxpanda]

Ban justified = Yes

It's no question that "Balls Deep" is offensive and i wouldn't want my child to be in contact with that during the game.

You shouldn't have joined a guild with such an offensive name so you only have yourself to blame. Personally i would give all members of the guild 24 hour bans and give the guildmaster a 7 day ban.

 

[Connor_Graham]

Did you ever read about the UO developers coining the phrase "Cock Time"? It's the amount of time you release a game like UO before a player drops items on the ground in the shape of a giant penis.

So what's it called when a Dev creates an item in the landscape that looks exactly like a giant penis?

And with a smiley face on it to boot.

There's one in WoW.

 

[RD Gumbie]

So what's it called when a Dev creates an item in the landscape that looks exactly like a giant penis?

And with a smiley face on it to boot.

There's one in WoW.

Well I'd say UO has a few of them also, but no smiley faces

 

[MalagAste]

Well I'd say UO has a few of them also, but no smiley faces

UO does have more than a few..... I've seen them

 

[Kaleb]

Ban justified = Yes

It's no question that "Balls Deep" is offensive and i wouldn't want my child to be in contact with that during the game.

You shouldn't have joined a guild with such an offensive name so you only have yourself to blame. Personally i would give all members of the guild 24 hour bans and give the guildmaster a 7 day ban.

If your child wouldnt know what balls deep was then he/she shouldnt be playing UO. Its rated T for Teen. This is 2008 not 1958. there is a filter in the client I would suggest you use it. Theres no teen or pre teen that dosen know more about this crap then what your sheltering them from if they didnt know? I feel real sorry for them once they hit the real world outside your skirt they are in for a real shock easy pickins.

 

[Mitzlplik_SP]

Its not about sheltering kids.Its called decency,check it out some time.

 

[Painted Elves]

Perhaps the GM could of just changed your guild title for you, or rather done some kind of reprimand on the guildleader/whole guild? such as disbanning the guild or wiping out All the guild titles. I say that because you are probably not the only one in that guild to have..an interesting title?
72 hour suspension isnt so bad.

Though at times it really feels like people are manipulating the GMs to get revenge of some sort...?

not as sad as them making Poo change his character name though...

 

[Amathist of PoC]

Sorry to hear you where banned and I hope it was not permanently. It however has always been you can be actioned for guild titles and character names.

Perhaps it would have been best not to display title if you knew it to be offensive and call a GM if the guild leader or emissaries will not change it.

I will also say I have paged of people with openly offensive names, I just don't want to see that dribble when I am playing. But in this case if what you say is true perhaps a warning to you would have been better and to then have the gm change it.

 

[Maplestone]

It's no question that "Balls Deep" is offensive and i wouldn't want my child to be in contact with that during the game.

It actually took a while of staring at it come up with a vulgar interpretation. All I could think of was baseball, football, golf ... took me a long time to find the gutter (and I'm still not sure I understand it).

 

[Pied Piper]

Hey I'm well aware of alot of these symbols and their different meanings and interpretaions throughout history.

I was simply stating since this game has to be frikin school children appropriate then make in school children appropriate. In public schools there are no prayers of any sorts allowed no kind of symbols or anything on clothing.

Doesn't matter if its a Star of David or a frikin Anhk. Its not allowed and not deemed school children appropriate cuz of politcial correctness.

 

[MoonBeam[TBD]]

Next they will make all chars unisex so that way no one gets offended by the gender of there guild mates..... :loser:

 

[Anjeel]

Well I'd say UO has a few of them also, but no smiley faces

Don't forget the "cave" entrances that look strikingly similar to a ....... even in the color of the outline!!!

 

[Richtor Darkbane]

Ban justified = Yes

It's no question that "Balls Deep" is offensive and i wouldn't want my child to be in contact with that during the game.

You shouldn't have joined a guild with such an offensive name so you only have yourself to blame. Personally i would give all members of the guild 24 hour bans and give the guildmaster a 7 day ban.

Glad your not a GM.... Balls Deep is only offensive if you interprite it in an offensive way.

 

[UncleSham]

if the facts are true as posted id certainly say thats uncalled for . why do they feel we must be "protected" ?

man i just wish we never lost our M rating .

too many poeple get so upset over trivial things .

and if you think your 4th grader hasnt heard this stuff before you are deluding yourself .

 

[Pied Piper]

Next they will make all chars unisex so that way no one gets offended by the gender of there guild mates..... :loser:

HAHA that was funny almost swallowed my coffee down the wrong tube LOL

 

[Mitzlplik_SP]

Balls Deep is only offensive if you interprite it in an offensive way.

And evidently someone did.

 

[Ailish]

and if you think your 4th grader hasnt heard this stuff before you are deluding yourself .

lmao! This is so true! The other day I asked my husband not to use a particular phrase (i don't even remember what it was, but it was a reference to male anatomy) and he says "oh (our 11 year old daughter) doesnt know what that means". I about choked! As I pointed out to him ... she probably knows more names for it than we do!

 

[Luna du Selene]

Not gonna pass judgement here, but if you really want to know both meanings of "balls deep" go to this website called Urban Dictionary and search for "balls deep". Wording not for the faint of heart, or easily offended.

I'm neither faint of heart nor easily offended, but my face still has a look on it after reading entry #22 in the Urban Dictionary.

 

[PixelPusher]

This is my impression as well. It seems they are sticking to the letter of the law, and if a player is found breaking any rule, however minor or questionable it may be, they're getting hit for it.

Maybe someone in EA got the idea that "the more people we ban, the less there will be around to scream when we pull the plug."

 

[PixelPusher]

well I agree that should be warned or banned . Look at char name and then guild name. Not an innocent mistake

You agree that he should be banned? This coming from someone with the username WOODY?

Hey mod's, time to act like a GM, I think..... After all, I'm sure it's offended someone's poor, sensitve nature.

 

[Redxpanda]

If your child wouldnt know what balls deep was then he/she shouldnt be playing UO. Its rated T for Teen. This is 2008 not 1958. there is a filter in the client I would suggest you use it. Theres no teen or pre teen that dosen know more about this crap then what your sheltering them from if they didnt know? I feel real sorry for them once they hit the real world outside your skirt they are in for a real shock easy pickins.

It's not about shelter its about decency. I'm not paying 12.99 a month to have my child hear vulgar comments from some immature brat with no self control. I'm sure EA shares the same mindset when it comes to that.

Glad your not a GM.... Balls Deep is only offensive if you interprite it in an offensive way.

There is no normal definition for it. Just because a word or phrase could have another meaning it doesn't give you a free pass to use it because...Trust me, we all know how you meant it and you are not fooling anyone. I remember a thread similar to this many years ago (the Jhariden days) in this same forum about the same thing. I didn't know what the D Sanchez was until i came here. Only difference is there are more people defending that kind of stupidity these days. So sad indeed.

 

[Nilrem]

And evidently someone did.

And there are hundreds of ways to interpret otherwise fairly innocent names/phrases

My first thought was that it was a mildly rude way of saying waist deep, as in water, or something similar, but looking at UB suggests it's mainly used as either a sporting term (bowling etc), or sexual term.
I'm surprised at times by the number of innocent phrases I use, that have developed rude meanings in different parts of the country or English speaking world, is someone who has the guild title "Seamstress of" being rude, or are they a tailor? (it's used as a euphemism for something completely different in at least one very popular series of books, and I think in parts of America*).

The English language has so many words and phrases that can be taken two or more ways, it's one of the things that makes it both fun to read (when you get a joke because of the double meaning), and hard to police as it can be very hard to tell which is the intended meaning without context.



*I believe it had it's origins in Chicago, I first encountered it in a Discworld book (Guards Guards I think, and it's a repeated joke throughout a lot of the early ones).

 

[PixelPusher]

Naming your character afters someone with any type of notoriety living or dead has technically always been a no no...

That would be like naming a character George Washington, or Winston Churchill, it falls under the same rule.

There used to be a within the last 100 years limit on that. I can't find it anymore though. Guess it was changed...

 

[Ailish]

There is no normal definition for it. Just because a word or phrase could have another meaning it doesn't give you a free pass to use it because...Trust me, we all know how you meant it and you are not fooling anyone. I remember a thread similar to this many years ago (the Jhariden days) in this same forum about the same thing. I didn't know what the D Sanchez was until i came here. Only difference is there are more people defending that kind of stupidity these days. So sad indeed.

Funny ... I had to actually think about it a minute to get the sexual meaning out of it. Everytime I have ever heard it used it was identical to "balls to the wall" - meaning all out. Even now, I assume it was meant in that fashion, not the sexual one.

 

[MoonBeam[TBD]]

Next they will make all chars unisex so that way no one gets offended by the gender of there guild mates..... :loser:

HAHA that was funny almost swallowed my coffee down the wrong tube LOL

Its going to happen thow
i'm sti;; made i cant name my frost oger Fatty!! LIKE COME ONE!!!! He is fat for crying out loud how is that offensive? If he doesnt like it lose some weight Tee hee

 

[Richtor Darkbane]

Trust me, we all know how you meant it and you are not fooling anyone. I remember a thread similar to this many years ago (the Jhariden days) in this same forum about the same thing.

I believe your confused, it wasn't me who was banned, in fact I don't even know the person who was banned, So when you say you know how "I" meant it, it makes no since, because "I" never said it. And in this case it is open to interpretation, as is all slang. What if his title had been "Bola Balls Deep" or "Bag Balls Deep" those are both items in UO.

I think everyone knows what needs to be done next... Blanket ban on anyone that owns bola balls or bag balls, because even though these might just be regular items I think 'we all know' what most players mean by having them.

Right?

 

[AesSedai]

Ya' know, I wish UO was still M for mature as well (primarily to push some parents think twice before letting their young kids run wild & unsupervised in a MMO, where they could often run across many things more detrimental to development than what they might find in games such as Grand Theft Auto).

But even when it was rated M, there was still the naming policy.

I always felt it was to attempt to instill a sense of decency and perhaps even promote to the roleplaying and fantasy theme of the game.
BUtPwnZeRz gotz to be 1337! And I guess that's just the way it is.
I personally kind of enjoy that people try to push the envelope and pull stunts with their names; it is a very quick filter for me (even if they are really fun, good, interesting people, they tend to lose the chance for me to ever care to see it, once I see that they have chosen such a name.)

 

[AesSedai]

It is pretty commonly known that ball has been a synonym for intercourse for quite a long time, right? It isn't just a slang term for testes, in regards to sexual references.

 

[Kaleb]

It's not about shelter its about decency. I'm not paying 12.99 a month to have my child hear vulgar comments from some immature brat with no self control. I'm sure EA shares the same mindset when it comes to that.

Then its obvious that your kid(s) is/are not old enough to be playing UO and should not be playing UO. as a decent parent if your kids are under age its your responsibility that you use the profanity filter. There are no teens and should not be any teens in this world that can not understand the adult world be it words,sex,violence,.

I had a friend in highschool that had parents that were way over protective and strict. Did he turn out good? Hes serving 2 life sentences for murder. let people grow to be the people god intended not what the parents intended.

 

[Redxpanda]

I believe your confused, it wasn't me who was banned, in fact I don't even know the person who was banned, So when you say you know how "I" meant it, it makes no since, because "I" never said it. And in this case it is open to interpretation, as is all slang. What if his title had been "Bola Balls Deep" or "Bag Balls Deep" those are both items in UO.

I think everyone knows what needs to be done next... Blanket ban on anyone that owns bola balls or bag balls, because even though these might just be regular items I think 'we all know' what most players mean by having them.

Right?

Its not personal. when i say you i am speaking to those who try to mask vulgarity. Also, just because something appears in game, it doesn't make it ok to add on to it for your own sick immature amusement. It's a huge difference between owning something in game like bola balls or bag balls and naming someone bola balls deep. By doing so, you have taken something meant to be completely innocent and turned it into something outrageously offensive. I suppose you think it's ok to add "Fudge" to the name of your pack animals or add S*** to the end of a bull's name when you tame it (Once again, i don't mean you personally, just those who do it or condone it).

 

[Mitzlplik_SP]

LOL @ all this justification for lower morality.

The 1958-2008 thing really made me laugh.So every year that passes we slide a little further down the morality scale....and thats supposed to be ok?

I`m 35 years old,been around the block a time or 2.I see enough in the real world to not want to see BS like this in a game I play to relax.It pisses me off to see peaple with names like Turd Gurglar for example.It really says alot about the person behind the screen when ya see something like that. I envision a helmet and a sippy cup.

While Balls Deep is definately not in the same category as the above name it is still an obvious reference,I mean really you must be sheltered yourself if you don`t get the meaning. That`d be like saying Pinkly Taurus (tks Bob and Tom) isn`t anything but a colorful name. Give me a break

 

[Redxpanda]

Then its obvious that your kid(s) is/are not old enough to be playing UO and should not be playing UO. as a decent parent if your kids are under age its your responsibility that you use the profanity filter. There are no teens and should not be any teens in this world that can not understand the adult world be it words,sex,violence,.

I had a friend in highschool that had parents that were way over protective and strict. Did he turn out good? Hes serving 2 life sentences for murder. let people grow to be the people god intended not what the parents intended.

Wrong! I have watched kids play UO and go about their daily grind with complete maturity enjoying the game as it was meant to be enjoyed. Those are the kind of players this game needs. The immature ones that run around making desperate pleas for attention are the ones that are "not old enough to be plaing UO and should not be playing UO." Furthermore, these are the ones that need decent parents to raise them properly because these are your future inmates.

I'm sure there are some parents in colorado who wished they had been a lil more protective or are they still blaming videogames....

 

[Duke X. Winter]

"Time to Cock" - good definition here.

AWESOME!

 

[Ailish]

While Balls Deep is definately not in the same category as the above name it is still an obvious reference,I mean really you must be sheltered yourself if you don`t get the meaning. That`d be like saying Pinkly Taurus (tks Bob and Tom) isn`t anything but a colorful name. Give me a break

Ummm ... apparently your idea of obvious and mine are different ... and you only elaborate this by YOUR reference ... I am probably dense here ... but I have no flippin clue what that second reference is supposed to be OTHER than a colorful name ....