Guild Wars 2

I have a character i have been playing on since Launch. His name is “P Y R O”.

Just after the Halloween event after exiting the new dungeon i was thrown out of the game. Upon logging back into the game and selecting my char mentioned above it tells me to please rename my character. After trying to enter “P Y R O” it gives me the following error:

“Inappropriate name. “P Y R O” contains words or partial words that are not permitted.

Please select a different name and try again.
(Code=31:4:5:3350:101)"

I am not going to change the name of my character as it contains no words or phrases that breaks the character name rules. Anyone else experienced this problem? This is REALLY annoying as i don’t have other lvl 80 chars

Ticket: 121028-002851

I realise my 2 cents probably isn’t warranted.
But if you guys did flag his character because the name is “inappropriate” then you’re being kind of ridiculous.

There is absolutely nothing inappropriate or unacceptable about the word pyro.
Especially considering both GW1 and GW2 have armour, weapons and items that uses the word (e.g. Pyroclastic Axe, Pyromancer’s Armor, Pyromancer’s Alacrity etc)….

In other news, Pyre Fierceshot woke up this morning and found that he had been sacked from GW1. He’s currently wandering the Mists trying to find a way to email Gaile.

I realise my 2 cents probably isn’t warranted.
But if you guys did flag his character because the name is “inappropriate” then you’re being kind of ridiculous.
There is absolutely nothing inappropriate or unacceptable about the word pyro.
Especially considering both GW1 and GW2 have armour, weapons and items that uses the word (e.g. Pyroclastic Axe, Pyromancer’s Armor, Pyromancer’s Alacrity etc)….

It’s likely due to a copyright issue…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyro_

Pryo when included as a part of a a descriptor (such as Pyroclastic Axe, etc) is okay. Pyro as a name isn’t because the name is copyrighted. Saw this kind of thing all the time when I played City of Heroes.

(Forum bug = no reply button)
Manoa – That is insane if that’s the reason O_o.
I wish companies would stop trying to own the English language.

City of Heroes had a lot of run in with that, but then Marvel’s derogatory nickname is “The House of Litigation” – and CoH was in the same genre as Marvel’s characters.

But the ToS as written for ALL NCsoft games would prohibit it. I’ve noticed a character on Crystal Desert named after a Gundam character, and he’s still here even.

Hi Gaile,

It would seem so yes. I was enjoying my Mad King Dungeon and left because of the party issues, my game crashed/network issues and upon logging back in and selecting my char i was told to rename my character. I cant see this being a copyright issue as

py·ro/?p?r?/
Noun:
A pyromaniac.

It has no links to any other media other than my love of fire. You can look at the naming of all my other characters which also contains the word Pyro…. if i am going to lose my Char name P Y R O i don’t think i will continue playing GW2.

Please advise if this is just a bug perhaps?

I’m sorry but aren’t you overreacting just a tad? Quitting GW2 because you can’t have the name you desire? I agree that P Y R O is in no ways offensive and the Anet employees shouldn’t have asked you to change.
But, if by coincidence, the name P Y R O is copyrighted or offensive, you could always change your name to something else that is related to your love of fire.

Yeah i guess i am overreacting a bit, and i apologize.

It is just very frustrating at this stage as i cant really play on my main character since Sunday. The only other character i have worth playing at this stage isnt even level 20 yet…

If my name is being banned because PYRO is offensive/copyrighted, i want every single person in the game with the name Pyro in their name to be renamed (this includes most of my characters anyway)

The restriction on names is getting out of hand, its hard to pick a name thats 1) not already taken or 2) inappropriate in some obscure dialect.

if you ask me, Anet needs to lower the profanity filter, and allow the community to decide whether certain names are inappropriate.

If my name is being banned because PYRO is offensive/copyrighted, i want every single person in the game with the name Pyro in their name to be renamed (this includes most of my characters anyway)

But that’s not how copyright works. If a name has enough degrees of separation from the copyrighted name, it’s okay to use. If the name violation is indeed a copyright issue, the name “P Y R O” isn’t okay to use because it’s similar enough to the copyrighted name “Pyro” that it may be considered a violation of copyright. There aren’t enough degrees of separation that would make the name okay to use and it could be considered a copyright issue from a legal standpoint. Sure the name IS different, but an argument could be made that those differences solely exist to work around the banned names list so you can use a copyrighted name. That may not be your intent, but it’s an argument that a lawyer could make. And I’m guessing that’s a legal battle ArenaNet likely does not want to fight.

But names with “pyro” as PART of the name (and not the entire name) may be okay to use because there are enough degrees of separation from the copyrighted name “Pyro” that from a legal standpoint, the name is not considered a copyright violation and is safe to use. It’s the reason why ArenaNet can use names like Pyroclastic Axe and may be the reason why your other names are safe….they’re different enough from the copyright that they’re usable. No need to sacrifice your other character names (and the names of other players) just because they have the name “pyro” as part of the name.

This is all assuming the name was removed due to a copyright violation, of course.

We all agreed that ANet’s representatives would have discretion over what is and isn’t appropriate as a character name. You agreed to that. It is not an unreasonable concession, given the volatility of brand protection and copyright law, and the importance of maintaining community standards.

When it comes to copyright law, there is no way of telling if a name is defensible unless it goes to trial and a court makes a ruling on it. Until then, it is a matter of risk assessment. That is why ANet requested discretion over naming as part of the terms that you agreed to be bound by.

Manoa.5897:

This is all assuming the name was removed due to a copyright violation, of course.

Could also be that it’s sort of nonsensical, although I don’t see that in the naming policy

Many games specifically don’t allow nonsensical character names like “Xyz” or “X Y Z”.

I have a idea. How about banning names like " fEDIevmOle" or “FLFLFllsld”. That would knock out about 90% of the gold farmers. Hmmmm Oh yeah in case ya didn’t notice, gold farmers now have freakin guilds.

that is some weird bug dude.. at least you got awesome support ^_o

Gaile Gray.6028:

No, I very strongly believe that it is not a copyright issue. I could be mistaken, but I believe it is not related to copyrights.

Ah, groovy! I’ve seen this specific name banned in another game due to copyright issues, but the genre of the MMO I used to play was far more similar to the copyrighted property than the genre of this game. Glad to see everything worked out for the best!

Hi, sorry to bug you guys, but I’ve already sent an account appeal and thought I would post onto the forum’s and ask if my account appeal is alright.

I was just wondering if my character name was actually inappropriate it’s “Ugly Playboy Model”. I have looked into this situation under your terms and conditions of character naming policy the only reason I could come up with in which my character is being removed is:
“Reference names of copyrighted or trademarked characters, materials, or products.”
but PLAYBOY trademarked PLAYBOY as their product in all capital letters not Playboy and also they are copyrighted as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. where my character is not “Ugly Playboy Enterprises, Inc Model” I feel as though I have been wrongfully put through this situation. I don’t see how my characters name can be vulgar, do to the fact that it is not breaking these rules,
“Reference sexual acts or real life violence.”
“Are pornographic”.
If it comes down to copyright or trademark infringement am I wrong as well? isn’t this case similar to P Y R O’s? I’ve been waiting since the 26th for a reply on my appeal, but nothing has come up…OH also my character has been on gw1 for like 1800+ hrs without an issue so I’m a little confused as to why now there is this issue

oops also forgot to post the reference number 121027-000425

Thank you very much Gaile! I can log in all no problem! Thank you for the prompt assistance, My ticket 121028-002851 can now be closed!

@Ugly Playboy Model.1239 – Although Playboy itself is not a pornographic term, no matter how you argue it, it is a clear reference to a pornographic magazine and website.

Stars.2179:

@Ugly Playboy Model.1239 – Although Playboy itself is not a pornographic term, no matter how you argue it, it is a clear reference to a pornographic magazine and website.

Although this is true guild wars 2 naming policy specifically states an act of sexual content or is pornographic material PLAYBOY also has articles and other media sources as well. Also with the use of Ugly Playboy Model PLAYBOY doesn’t own such a name and they don’t own a model named Ugly Playboy Model, they don’t even own the models just the pictures. Also if you were to go onto the playboy website there is no explicit pornographic material. (honestly go ahead there isn’t 0.0 at least right away there isn’t to what I’ve researched)
lol I’m not really looking to argue just pointing out my situation ^^ and I really did do a bit of research to make sure that the things I say and bring up are truths

Says that my issue is going to be resolved where I can keep my character name

Gaile Gray.6028:

djmckie.4876:

The restriction on names is getting out of hand, its hard to pick a name thats 1) not already taken or 2) inappropriate in some obscure dialect.

if you ask me, Anet needs to lower the profanity filter, and allow the community to decide whether certain names are inappropriate.

Which portion of the community? The player who uses a NannyMonitor on his family? The player who swears like a sailor in front of his grandmother? The minister? The gang member? The 2nd grade teacher? The truck driver? A retired member of the ESR-something or other? (Sorry if I offended anyone with those examples; I’m just trying to show scope here!)

Then, who is it who gathers all the input — from all over the globe and from all across our player demographics — and tallies the votes to see if a name is ok or not?

Let’s be realistic: ArenaNet owns the management of the community, the setting of standards, and the enforcement of those standards in as fair and realistic manner as possible. Most names that are blocked are blocked because they were reported. So that truly is our community setting the standard, no?

Point noted, What I was really trying to say is that it needs to be a bit more lax, and if somebody does find something to be overly sensitive they can report. But I do see how this can be abused. Nobody is asking you to let any name go willy nilly, just that the current filter is ott.