Thread by @dsmart

ICYMI. {thread}

In 2015 when I noticed that CIG was systematically and surreptitiously stripping backers of their TOS rights, I started tracking the various changes.

In 2016, @jBenson caught on to it and wrote this article for @Kotaku_UK

kotaku.co.uk/2016/06/20/sta…

@jBenson @Kotaku_UK Back in June, a backer sued CIG for a $4K refund which they had refused, citing that he wasn't entitled to a refund.

reddit.com/r/starcitizen_…

This sick (he has MS) backer, flew (the airline lost his crutches apparently) to CA and had to stand around for his hearing.

Eventually he lost his case this past Friday when the judge - as was expected - kicked it to arbitration.

reddit.com/r/starcitizen_…

But that's not the issue, nor is it even news tbh.

What's news is that CIG apparently (we don't know their actual response until the transcripts are available) went on the record with EXACTLY what I had always claimed they would say if they were ever challenged in court.

CIG is not only claiming that they have shipped a working game, that the backers money had already been "earned", but also that the money given was a "donation" which they have earned.

I'm not even joking here.

I KNEW this is where they were going when in 2015 following my blogs in which I painstakingly (with the help of attorneys I paid) outlined how and why backers were entitled to refunds unless and until CIG was able to deliver BOTH of the games promised.

dereksmart.com/forums/topic/s…

If you follow my tracks in that forum dedicated to the TOS changes, you will see what they did, how they did it - and when.

This was in 2015.

A time when sources had told myself and The Escapist that CIG was low on funds, had about 90 days of operating capital left etc.

In 2016, they started taking steps to refuse refunds. Again, I wrote a blog - and with legal help - explained precisely why they were WRONG in that assumption, and that backers were completely entitled to refunds, and that crowd-funding had NOTHING to do with it.

In 2016, one backer put that to the test, at a time when I was urging backers to report the matter to their State authorities and the FTC if they wanted their money back.

He did just that. The State contacted CIG, and like magic, got his money back.

dereksmart.org/2016/07/star-c…

Shortly after that, as I wrote in follow-up articles, Chris Roberts, even as he continued to lie to backers in order to get more money for his train-wreck, started talking about the project being akin to Early Access.

Again, I sounded the alarm.

In fact, during 2016 he had already started pitching the ill-fater 3.0 build (with surface moons) - which sources had said didn't even exist at the time that he said it did.

He then promised it coming "end of 2016"

The fix was in.

By mid-2016, they had started stalling refunds. This was the plan ahead of the 3.0 release.

The Early Access rhetoric then went into full swing by end of 2016. I wrote about the implications and what that would mean for backers.

dereksmart.com/forums/reply/5…

3.0 didn't appear end of 2016. In fact, it didn't appear until Dec 2017 when, upon release, was the most disastrous build - besting even 2.0.

They rushed it out to meet a goal of using it to flat-out refuse refunds.

EXACTLY as I had written based on activities & sources

By the time early 2018 rolled around, following the release of 3.0 - the build that confirmed the early access tag, refunds past a 14 day period came to a complete halt.

reddit.com/r/starcitizen_…

Basically as per Section IV "Fundraising & Pledges" of the TOS, legacy refunds, and those beyond a 14 day period, came to an end.

robertsspaceindustries.com/tos

As if that wasn't bad enough, some backers (who don't bother to read anything) were claiming that the refund period is actually 30 days. Why? Because CIG posted something different in the FAQ. But that ONLY applies if you bought the WRONG item.

support.robertsspaceindustries.com/hc/en-us/artic…

So the CIG responses to this court case has now set a precedent on the record in which they are claiming to not only have

1) delivered a working game, but

2) the money backers gave had been earned

So no refunds past 14 days. You're stuck until they either deliver or go bust.

Remember, after 6 years and $190M from backers, as of this writing, the promises they made for the game aren't even past the 18% completion mark yet.

And sources have told me that many of them DO know that the promised game will NEVER be completed.

starcitizentracker.github.io

So as things stand, that a court has now upheld the arbitration clause in the TOS as expected, the only thing that any backer wanting their money back can do is go to arbitration or just be resigned to the fact that they threw money away on a scam.

It is unfortunate that events surrounding this train-wreck continue to play out precisely as I have been saying since 2015.

Fact of the matter is, Star Citizen has evolved into a scam of epic proportions. Chris Roberts did this.

So much for The Pledge

imgur.com/xmA0aO0.jpg

If you missed my short thread yesterday about the lawsuit, you can find the link below.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1018111…

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bluesnews.com/s/191797/star-… via @bluesnewsdotcom

hardocp.com/news/2018/07/1… via @HardOCP

cogconnected.com/2018/07/star-c… via @COGconnected