You really need to learn the difference between what exploit means and what you are describing. Yes some of the things you mention such as climbing invisible walls would qualify as getting out of the map and funny enough I dont do those things. Resetting trash isnt really the a bug so you arent exploiting a bug, but I also dont do those things. But stealthing past mobs? Not an exploit at all.

If you are correct that 90% of the player base engaged in this, which I highly doubt is accurate, then that would be all the more reason why they should at least do something even if its just a slap on the wrist to the worst offenders because if 90% of the player base thinks the ToS is nothing more than toilet paper to wipe their asses with then that says something about the people playing this game. And the next exploit might be one that does actual damage to the game and the game economy and 90% of the player base apparently thinks that is A-OK

That has been an issue long before this fix that would affect people.

I had plenty of opportunities to do the exploit and I refused because it is a violation of the ToS to engage in exploits. Full Stop. Doesnt matter how big or small. And it is not inconsistent to say that stealthing around mobs is different that pulling a boss to an area where he should reset but because of a bug he wasnt resetting and people were negating one of the big mechanics of the fight. Those are not on the same level at all. And for the record, I have no problems at all with Nefra dropping Rakata gear so your claim that people complaining about this dont want people getting Rakata gear off these bosses is a lie. I do Nefra every week in fact. The difference is that players arent getting the gear off Nefra through an exploit. But at the end of the day, using a characters ability to stealth past mobs is not an exploit because the game allows you to do so therefore it is intended. Now we can argue about the whether or not doing things like reset evasions to get past trash counts or not. At the end of the day since you arent getting gear by doing it, and the only benefit is saving a little time, meh not up to the same standard as exploits that let you completely ignore mechanics and kill bosses you cant kill. Yes some of these groups killed SnV NiM prior to 7.0. But that wasnt the statement and the person who said that knows it btw. The issue is post-7.0 they were using exploiting a bug to kill a boss that they lacked the ability to kill to get gear faster. It doesnt matter that some of them had previously done it legitimately prior to 7.0. It also doesnt matter how long the exploit has been around either btw. The ToS doesnt say dont do exploits unless theyve been around for X amount of time and then its all good. They have specifically addressed that point before that it doesnt matter how long its been around, dont do it. No one may have benefited economically, as I did not see sells going around. But no it wasnt just people selling the Cora lockout and holding it open that got hit. It was also people that did it excessively. I would also note that people who did the Nefra exploit back in the day excessively received punishment too. And the fact that everyone here is acting as if exploits are no big deal is EXACTLY why they should do something, even if its just a slap on the wrist warning that the next time you are caught there will be stronger punishments. Because people somehow feel entitled now that they can do whatever they want, rules and ToS and everyone else be damned.

Thats what these people are trying to defend. Its quite obvious to ANYONE who looked at what they were doing that it wasnt intended to work. The boss was supposed to reset if you pulled him into those areas but he didnt, hence the bug and hence the exploit when they continued the fight and killed it anyways despite knowing thats not how the fight is supposed to work.

Except the one that I can remember where THAT happened, tbey DID ban people who took advantage of those exploits. Sorry. As for skipping trash, that isnt using a BUG to bypass mechanics so its not the same at all (first boss in EC, second in EV) If you are talking about the Cliff thing in EC where they climb on top of the shield, that is a bug that takes you out of the map from what I recall so yea that is kind of an exploit but I dont do that. Skipping trash is not an exploit because you arent exploiting a bug to get past the trash. Sorry.

Put the bug back in and let us keep exploiting it! We are entitled because X reason. You realize people made very similiar arguments for why they shouldnt punish over Cora (there was a lot of disgruntlement then too andthings were broken and people felt "entitled" to that as a compensation). That is exactly why I am glad they fixed it and why they need to take action against people who openly admit they did it to get gear they otherwise werent entitled to yet. Not my fault people chose to ignore the ToS they agreed to follow but actions should have consequences or you will have people like this acting as if they are entitled to somehow allow it to continue or to engage in even more exploitative behavior in the future that will do worse damage.

And thats exactly WHY they should take some sort of action to show players that yes in fact the rules still matter and yes you still are expected to follow the ToS otherwise people will continue to act as if they can do whatever they want rules be damned

Im glad in your personal experience that you havent seen it but I have seen it. I was in an EV HM group where a Sorc made fun of one of the other members of the group for half ot the operation because he was 2k less dps than the rest of the group. I mean everyone was almost identical and no one was doing subpar but this person still went out of their way to try to make someone miserable. Why? Because he could and because Bioware gave him access to the information he needed to do it. So dont tell me it doesnt happen because it does.

Much like anything its all there for scenery. You can explore alot of the different operations, especially the older ones and see stuff like that that really has no purpose other than just to be part of the scenery.

Its not an "oversight". Sorryu but try to justify it to yourelf all you want it doesnt change things. There are legitimate mechanics to the fight and the boss is supposed to reset when the party leaves the sandstorm. The fact that people went around and found places they could leave the sandstorm and because of a bug he wouldnt reset doesnt change the fact that it was not intended to operate that way, and doesnt change the fact that it was most definitely a bug in the way the fight was meant to be done and EVERYONE who has ever done that fight knows that and those who did the exploit knows what they did. The fact that the devs fixed it AS A BUG shows that it was a bug.. People are making clever little excuses now because they got caught and they are worried about what will happen. But you know what? You shouldnt exploit, no mattter what clever funny little excuses you come up with and you dont have to worry. But exploits shouldnt go unpunished, especially when they get propulgated and spread as much as this one was ast the end because that only encourages people to engage in that behavior and the next time it might not be a Dash bug thats not so bad. Next time it might be a game economy destroying bug that gets exploited. You dont get to have your cake and eat it too. Everyone who participated should have known there were consequences for what they were doing. They just dont want to face the music now that the ride is over and the payment is due.

By forcing it on people who dont? I mean its great for those who want it but if I dont want everyone being able to see my numbers I shouldnt have to share it

Which is all well and good unless what you are doing is exploiting a BUG to make the fight easier and clearing it when you otherwise could not. Using an exploit to beat content is not a "tactic" its a violation of the ToS and something people should actually look at since you agreed to abide by said terms.

That still doesnt really answer the question though does it? Most people and groups are cool and not trolls/***** but there are elitists out there who will make fun of people who arent doing what those elitists expect people to be doing so personally I'm not a huge fan of the change. I think it should be something that you should have the ability to opt into or out of.

Except that is not the case and everyone who has ever done the OP knows exactly how it is intended to be done and knows that if you pulled him to the cliff or the "cave" to try to escape the sandstorm it wasnt intended that he was supposed to be able to be fought there. People claiming otherwise now are just making excuses for why they thought it was a legitimate strategy. The fight has been around for how many years and that is never been the method for how to kill it and suddenly you think in 7,0 its how the developers want people to start doing it? Really? Come on dont be ridiculous.