Quote Originally Posted by RTA View Post
You are right, but your comparison is off. The problem is you don't sign a TOS before you enter the theater to watch the movie. IF you had to sign a TOS saying that at any point the movie could be turned off with no refunds, THEN you would be spot on. Unfortunately, the TOS they use gives them the power to do literally anything they wany with very little recourse for players.
Actually, you do "sign" a TOS when entering a theatre... Most have some type of governing language on the ticket you purchase. Now, arguably, nobody reads it, but it is there...and one could argue that, under contract law (here in the USA at least) you cannot have agreed to it because you didn't get an opportunity to read it prior to remitting payment for said ticket, thus there was no 'meeting of the minds' required for a valid contract to exist. To get around this usually there is some language on the ticket which states 'if you don't agree with these terms return ticket for a refund', or something to that extent.

The Evony TOS has never been challenged in court; however, arguably you cannot agree to a contract which is illegal under applicable law. For example, you cannot enter into a legal agreement to kill someone, because the act of murder is illegal, thus nullifying any such contract. Likewise, taking money from someone and not providing them with the service/items they paid for would be considered 'theft' of various degrees, depending on the monetary amount involved, either a felony or misdemeaor under applicable law. It could also be considered wire fraud or mail fraid, depending on payment is remitted. Of course, you have to, once again, get the authorities with the ability to bring charges within the appropriate jurisdiction interested in pursuing such a claim.

When you purchase game cents, Evony has an obligation to provide you with said item. Likewise if you expend the game cents for an in-game item, you have a reasonable expectation to be able to use said item and receive the appropriate value for exchanged game cents. By purchasing game cents, you're not entitled to 100% up-time, because that isn't what you paid for (although, admittedly, there is legal precident to make a saliant argument that system downtime prevents you from using the items you paid for, thus, system downtime is essentially the same as denying you access to the items for which you paid, but I believe the downtime would have to be demonstrably more significant than it has been). First and foremost, as an informed consumer, you should also protect yourself by making any online purchases using a credit-card, where your credit-card company would then become your advocate should your online purchase be less than satisfactory, or you do not receive appropriate value for your purchase.

Obligatory Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, although I do play one on TV, and this legal opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it in game cents.