This popped up today and it is worth talking about:
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/03/27/microsoft-ban-offensive-language-xbox-skype-office-account/
...and here is the ToS:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming.aspx
And the section mentioned:
This policy does bother me. Offensive language? Graphic violence? Like, in Hollywood movies? The policy covers legal content so what worries me is if someone backs up something legal via automated backup, but containing a lot of cursing or even legal and protected nudity or sex, and that flags them.
And all of the above are legal to write about in fiction and non-fiction, otherwise, no crime thrillers could be written, and we could never speak of Leda and the Swan. As a writer, yes, this troubles me.
To be fair, they say "publicly display or share" so I can get that part. They don't want f-bombs or tit-pics on X-Box Live. They don't want phone-sex ads all over their VOIP gaming chat service. That is fine. But I feel "share" is a very vague word. When I work on multiple computers, am I sharing this with myself? Shared with a significant other in my household? Collaborative works? Working on something, like a HTML page or a PDF doc, that will be shared on another service? A book meant to share later?
And in Skype? I can't swear or talk dirty to someone I love without fearing a ToS violation? There goes all those long sweaty nights of erotic dinosaur roleplay chat...
There is this as well:
I am afraid of waking up and finding my online cloud storage has been wiped because of a word I typed and that email sitting there saying my account has been suspended. I have not heard of it happening, but the fear exists, at least in my mind.
Again to be fair, banning speech is probably not what they mean. Probably. I have no idea though. I don't think they are in the business to control what you say, but they have an interest in what is said with them as the conduit of that information and their channels. That I get. But what they say and how they say it makes me concerned. Some of these channels, well, there are expectations of freedom of speech and a certain amount of privacy.
These rules, taken a certain way, I feel could be taken as being shown the door to those of us who write about certain subjects still protected by our rights. But rights in the real world don't always mean the same rights in the online world.
And therein lies the problem.
I would say be aware of these changes and adjust your backup behavior if you feel the need. I am hopeful this gets cleared up.
Hopeful.
When I want certainty in this life all I have is hope.
And therein lies the second problem.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/03/27/microsoft-ban-offensive-language-xbox-skype-office-account/
...and here is the ToS:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement/upcoming.aspx
And the section mentioned:
Don’t publicly display or use the Services to share inappropriate content or material (involving, for example, nudity, bestiality, pornography, offensive language, graphic violence, or criminal activity).Office means OneDrive, and erotica is offensive to some, so I feel at-risk backing up my erotic fiction romance works in progress to OneDrive or any cloud service connected to Microsoft. The OS itself is moving closer and closer to the cloud anyways, especially with backups and document storage, and some of this happens in an automated fashion, so I would warn writers and general users to understand what you are backing up and to where.
This policy does bother me. Offensive language? Graphic violence? Like, in Hollywood movies? The policy covers legal content so what worries me is if someone backs up something legal via automated backup, but containing a lot of cursing or even legal and protected nudity or sex, and that flags them.
And all of the above are legal to write about in fiction and non-fiction, otherwise, no crime thrillers could be written, and we could never speak of Leda and the Swan. As a writer, yes, this troubles me.
To be fair, they say "publicly display or share" so I can get that part. They don't want f-bombs or tit-pics on X-Box Live. They don't want phone-sex ads all over their VOIP gaming chat service. That is fine. But I feel "share" is a very vague word. When I work on multiple computers, am I sharing this with myself? Shared with a significant other in my household? Collaborative works? Working on something, like a HTML page or a PDF doc, that will be shared on another service? A book meant to share later?
And in Skype? I can't swear or talk dirty to someone I love without fearing a ToS violation? There goes all those long sweaty nights of erotic dinosaur roleplay chat...
There is this as well:
When investigating alleged violations of these Terms, Microsoft reserves the right to review Your Content in order to resolve the issue.Expect no privacy on the cloud. I mean, yes, this is common sense, but there may be users who do not understand the concept and get themselves in trouble with the new ToS. OneDrive is a system the launches when your computer starts and happily hums away backing up things in certain folders. This is what Office uses for cloud storage.
I am afraid of waking up and finding my online cloud storage has been wiped because of a word I typed and that email sitting there saying my account has been suspended. I have not heard of it happening, but the fear exists, at least in my mind.
Again to be fair, banning speech is probably not what they mean. Probably. I have no idea though. I don't think they are in the business to control what you say, but they have an interest in what is said with them as the conduit of that information and their channels. That I get. But what they say and how they say it makes me concerned. Some of these channels, well, there are expectations of freedom of speech and a certain amount of privacy.
These rules, taken a certain way, I feel could be taken as being shown the door to those of us who write about certain subjects still protected by our rights. But rights in the real world don't always mean the same rights in the online world.
And therein lies the problem.
I would say be aware of these changes and adjust your backup behavior if you feel the need. I am hopeful this gets cleared up.
Hopeful.
When I want certainty in this life all I have is hope.
And therein lies the second problem.