Login Servers down, compensation needed?

[Arbs]

No. And to everyone who disagreed:

Stop being a spoiled, self-centered brat who thinks he is entitled to everything, just because his parents pay 12 euro per month to keep you off the streets.

---------- Post added 2012-12-29 at 07:51 PM ----------



We actually received a number of compensations in the past. Sometimes maybe even without your knowledge.
Check your Battle.net account status to see if this applies to you.

Gnowo I love you, toke the word right outta my mouth.

[Jeleh]

Over the last 12 years of online gaming every single company has compensated in some way for down time, ranging from periods of 8-48 hours without ability to play the game;even when not directly their fault.

I would imagine Blizzard do something in good will to stem the complaints of the masses, it's good business.

[Swizzle]

The servers being down IS your compensation. Blizzard has given you this time to go out and be somebody, to do something with your life. Maybe, juuuuust maybe you can go out and earn an extra 50 euro cents today and you're square.

[Elegiac]

The servers being down IS your compensation. Blizzard has given you this time to go out and be somebody, to do something with your life. Maybe, juuuuust maybe you can go out and earn an extra 50 euro cents today and you're square.

Real sunlight burns my skin.

[Needonboots]

"Needed" is too strong a word. No it's not NEEDED. It would be lovely however, and I would grumble if we didn't get any. But not NEEDED.

[Pann]

Then they have no 'statuatory right' which the EULA abrogates.

What? I think you are trying to argue a completely different point.

The EULA basically states that they are not responsible for compensating their customers should WOW not be available for any period of time, however in the EU customers have statutory rights that state that a customer should receive the service they paid for. A contract cannot supersede the law and my point was that should the downtime continue they are unable to hide behind clauses in the EULA. As the problem has be rectified relatively quickly there is no legal right for the customer to seek compensation.

[Rizendragon]

Let's do the math then, shall we?

The cost of subscription is fifteen dollars a month. The average month consists of 31 days. Considering that most 'downtime' lasts for less than a day, you're looking at less than thirty cents in compensation.

Doling out such miniscule amounts to whomever is actually affected by the downtime is a pointless and stupid exercise from a business standpoint. So no, they are not required to nor should they.

Over the last 12 years of online gaming every single company has compensated in some way for down time, ranging from periods of 8-48 hours without ability to play the game;even when not directly their fault.

I would imagine Blizzard do something in good will to stem the complaints of the masses, it's good business.

I think that's enough of a response. The days that I cited earlier in the thread (2.4 release, 3.0.8 release, 3.1 release) were all between 6 and 14 hrs of interrupted service and we were compensated for those days.

Now as I said earlier, I don't think we are entitled to compensation, but it is good business practice to compensate people for such an inconvenience. I agree that acts of god and issues on the user's end are not things to compensate for, but something going wrong on Blizzard's end be it their ISP, a terribly bug ridden patch, or a total server melt down is grounds for compensation. Hell the days that I cited above weren't even 100% unplayable days. The 3.0.8 release saw Northrend, EK and Kalimdor going down at different intervals and we were compensated for that day.

[Elegiac]

What? I think you are trying to argue a completely different point.

The EULA basically states that they are not responsible for compensating their customers should WOW not be available for any period of time, however in the EU customers have statutory rights that state that a customer should receive the service they paid for. A contract cannot supersede the law and my point was that should the downtime continue they are unable to hide behind clauses in the EULA. As the problem has be rectified relatively quickly there is no legal right for the customer to seek compensation.

Then quit bitching.

[Rizendragon]

The servers being down IS your compensation. Blizzard has given you this time to go out and be somebody, to do something with your life. Maybe, juuuuust maybe you can go out and earn an extra 50 euro cents today and you're square.

It's a Saturday. It's time to relax

[But I Hate You All]

No rebuttal is ever taken seriously when it starts with name calling. Not to mention, "fanboy" is the most abused accusation when it comes to the world of the cesspit that the gaming community has become. If someone doesn't like something, they'll call anyone a fanboy if they don't agree with their criticism. Even if it's someone just pointing out the facts.

Well There is a group of zelots that blindly support blizzard no matter what. The term fanboy is very fitting for them. Denial is not a river in Egypt. On topic they should give out compensation for unexpected down time.

---------- Post added 2012-12-29 at 12:14 PM ----------

You're not paying for a service, and you're not entitled for compensation, but if it proves to be a really big problem today, Blizzard likely will give people a small bit of extra game time. Because Blizzard is nice like that.

You are not? Really what is a sub fee? paying for a service.

[SherbertLand]

Well There is a group of zelots that blindly support blizzard no matter what. The term fanboy is very fitting for them. Denial is not a river in Egypt. On topic they should give out compensation for unexpected down time.

---------- Post added 2012-12-29 at 12:14 PM ----------



You are not? Really what is a sub fee? paying for a service.

You're acting the same as them.

[Elegiac]

You are not? Really what is a sub fee? paying for a service.

You're paying for the privilege of accessing their game servers.

[But I Hate You All]

You're acting the same as them.

Oh do tell

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Would you honestly care about $0.50 in compensation? Most people wouldn't, myself included.

[Varabently]

I think we throw the word "need" around a bit. You are paying what $15 per month? $0.50 per day. Do you really need $0.50 for this travesty? Go play in the snow or something. There's unlimited number of fun games. I just don't see how one day requires anything from blizz.

But yes they will probably give you one day. You won't even notice.

[Kilpi]

The EULA does not absolve Blizzard from meeting their customers' statutory rights. As the problem appears to be fixed and the downtime is less than a day I would say that legally there is no right for compensation, however it would be nice if Blizzard gave us some kind of in game item, such as a boost to a faction of your choice rep, an extra roll on loot or bonus exp, by way of an apology.

WHY should Blizzard pay for something they aren't responsible for?

[Deepsidedj]

pls give Elder Coin <3. 2 of them

[Deleted]

It wasnt neccesairly too much of a serious issue. They decide themselves wether they take the blame for it or not, they made it clear that they didn't think it was on their side mainly. But in the end, it was down for 10 hours? We'll live.

[mitbrandir]

1 day is not a problem, so i dont really care. Would've been different if the server would be down for like a week or something.

[Pann]

WHY should Blizzard pay for something they aren't responsible for?

Blizzard are responsible for providing the service of WOW to us, although Blizzard were not directly responsible for today's problem, today they were unable to provide this service. As we have a contract with Blizzard to provide this service they cannot simply turn around tell us that a third party (their ISP in this case) is responsible. The third party has no obligation towards us as we have no contract with them unlike Blizzard, part of their contract will have agreed levels of compensation that Blizzard are due should their services be affected by unexpected downtime, this will take into account any compensation they have to pay to their customers as well as things such the cost to their business in the form of lost customers, etc.

In such cases where the customer is due compensation it is normal practice for the company that customer has the contract with to pay the compensation to the customer and then seek compensation from the party whose fault it is. So, essentially Blizzard would not pay for the downtime.

I hope this clears it up for you.

It's not needed.
Any compensation that might be given is a nice gesture, not because they need to do it.

I would argue that any business that seen the loss of customers that Blizzard has, needs to offer something to their customers when such a situation as today arises.