I understand that modding is against the Xbox and PlayStation terms of use. Whatever the reason is for that, it doesn't change the fact that it's not something that hurts the community to have. So why does it have to be against the rules here as well? The forums aren't at all owned or controlled by Microsoft or Sony, so why do their rules have to be our rules as well? I know 505Games is bound by those rules, but that doesn't mean they share the desire to have them followed. They're not responsible for what other people do.
Maybe the rules say that they aren't allowed to encourage it. In fact, that wouldn't surprise me. However, "allowing discussion" doesn't necessarily mean "encouraging". Unless the rules say they have to do everything within their power to discourage it (which they might) that doesn't mean they need to prohibit discussion. And even then, isn't this forum owned by Re-Logic, not 505Games? Since the console version was made by a different company, that means it's them that are bound by the Xbox/PlayStation developer rules, and not Re-Logic, so Re-Logic is free to do whatever they want on their forums. Can someone from 505Games shed some light on what exactly the rules are regarding this, and possibly point me to where the rules are posted online and the correct section?
Another thing that's confusing me is about the mobile versions. Why would the same things be prohibited here with those versions? I understand that Apple tries to control iOS apps in a similar manner, but I don't think they go to the same lengths as with video game consoles. I skimmed through the terms and conditions for developers, and I can't find any section with a similar prohibition on "encouraging" as mentioned before. If there is and I overlooked it, the same applies as in the previous paragraph.
But there's also an Android version. Android is designed to allow open development of applications. It's not perfect, in that it doesn't give the end user total control over the device, but like with iOS, there are ways to get that. Unlike with iOS, however, doing so doesn't go against the terms set by the OS developer, in this case Google. So I don't see why it would be prohibited with that version. Even distributing save files is prohibited--why? I get that that's one of the things that for some reason isn't possible by default on Android (Google really needs to give the user some official way to access apps' private data) but it's not prohibited by any of Google's terms like it is for the console versions. So why can't we discuss it here?
I'm not trying to say this forum sucks or anything, or that I think the developers should violate their terms and risk no longer being able to distribute Terraria through official channels. I'm also neither saying I plan on breaking these rules nor encouraging anyone else to do so. So don't get the wrong idea. All I'm asking is why the rules are what they are, in hopes that a forum staff member can explain the rationale, and (importantly) what they fear will happen if they don't have these rules.
Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns.
Maybe the rules say that they aren't allowed to encourage it. In fact, that wouldn't surprise me. However, "allowing discussion" doesn't necessarily mean "encouraging". Unless the rules say they have to do everything within their power to discourage it (which they might) that doesn't mean they need to prohibit discussion. And even then, isn't this forum owned by Re-Logic, not 505Games? Since the console version was made by a different company, that means it's them that are bound by the Xbox/PlayStation developer rules, and not Re-Logic, so Re-Logic is free to do whatever they want on their forums. Can someone from 505Games shed some light on what exactly the rules are regarding this, and possibly point me to where the rules are posted online and the correct section?
Another thing that's confusing me is about the mobile versions. Why would the same things be prohibited here with those versions? I understand that Apple tries to control iOS apps in a similar manner, but I don't think they go to the same lengths as with video game consoles. I skimmed through the terms and conditions for developers, and I can't find any section with a similar prohibition on "encouraging" as mentioned before. If there is and I overlooked it, the same applies as in the previous paragraph.
But there's also an Android version. Android is designed to allow open development of applications. It's not perfect, in that it doesn't give the end user total control over the device, but like with iOS, there are ways to get that. Unlike with iOS, however, doing so doesn't go against the terms set by the OS developer, in this case Google. So I don't see why it would be prohibited with that version. Even distributing save files is prohibited--why? I get that that's one of the things that for some reason isn't possible by default on Android (Google really needs to give the user some official way to access apps' private data) but it's not prohibited by any of Google's terms like it is for the console versions. So why can't we discuss it here?
I'm not trying to say this forum sucks or anything, or that I think the developers should violate their terms and risk no longer being able to distribute Terraria through official channels. I'm also neither saying I plan on breaking these rules nor encouraging anyone else to do so. So don't get the wrong idea. All I'm asking is why the rules are what they are, in hopes that a forum staff member can explain the rationale, and (importantly) what they fear will happen if they don't have these rules.
Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns.