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The arbitrator is assigned by the American Arbitration Association. You can read all the details at https://www.adr.org/ . Basically, AAA assigns at arbitrator in your geographical area (not Google's) with knowledge of the subject matter, and an administrator to handle the initial paperwork such as listing the points on which both parties agree. A different arbitrator can be assigned by agreement of both parties - neither party gets to unilaterally choose who the arbitrator will be.

> The arbitrator is picked by the company.

Uhm, no. The arbitrator is assigned by the American Arbitration Association. https://www.adr.org/

Nobody would ever use arbitration if the other party got to choose the arbitrator.

If you'd like to see the terms rather than making wild guesses, you can read them here:
https://fiber.google.com/legal...

"A contract in which only one side is getting value lacks consideration and is legally invalid."

That was a true statement up until about twenty years ago. Now all one side has to do is show "intent of good will" and they do not have to provide anything at all, even when they actually possess the ability to provide the service.

And you can't sue. You go to arbitration which does not hold the same legal view of a contract that a court of law does.

The agreement has been upheld in arbitration numerous times. To bad none of that arbitration is public.
I quote from http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/eula.html

"6. Termination. This License Agreement is effective until terminated. You may terminate the License Agreement at any time by (i) permanently destroying all copies of the Game in your possession or control; (ii) removing the Game Client from your hard drive; and (iii) notifying Blizzard of your intention to terminate this License Agreement. Blizzard may terminate this Agreement at any time for any reason or no reason. In such event, you must immediately and permanently destroy all copies of the Game in your possession and control and remove the Game Client from your hard drive. Upon termination of this Agreement for any reason, all licenses granted herein shall immediately terminate. "

You really should go read that EULA because it is everything I said it was and in fact it is more...

This little line right here:
"b. Binding Arbitration. If you and Blizzard are unable to resolve a Dispute through informal negotiations, either you or Blizzard may elect to have the Dispute (except those Disputes expressly excluded below) finally and exclusively resolved by binding arbitration. Any election to arbitrate by one party shall be final and binding on the other. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ABSENT THIS PROVISION, YOU WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A JURY TRIAL. The arbitration shall be commenced and conducted under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") and, where appropriate, the AAA s Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes ("AAA Consumer Rules"), both of which are available that the AAA website www.adr.org. The determination of whether a Dispute is subject to arbitration shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act and determined by a court rather than an arbitrator. Your arbitration fees and your share of arbitrator compensation shall be governed by the AAA Rules and, where appropriate, limited by the AAA Consumer Rules. If such costs are determined by the arbitrator to be excessive, Blizzard will pay all arbitration fees and expenses. The arbitration may be conducted in person, through the submission of documents, by phone or online. The arbitrator will make a decision in writing, but need not provide a statement of reasons unless requested by a party. The arbitrator must follow applicable law, and any award may be challenged if the arbitrator fails to do so. Except as otherwise provided in this License Agreement, you and Blizzard may litigate in court to compel arbitration, stay proceeding pending arbitration, or to confirm, modify, vacate or enter judgment on the award entered by the arbitrator."

The above means you can't use Blizzard for anything ever and but they can sue you for literally anything, any time.

If you were to go to http://www.adr.org/ as Blizzard Recommends, you'd see this:

Additional AAA services include the design and development of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems for corporations, unions, government agencies, law firms, and the courts. The Association also provides elections services as well as education, training, and publications for those seeking a broader or deeper understanding of alternative dispute resolution.

Sounds great huh? Well just who is the AAA?

Never before has one sentence

So, aside from the fact that the article author wasn't upset at Ion Storm or anything, and only brought this point in to make a point about the impossibility of value neutrality in video games...

Deus Ex?

Isn't that the game series where no matter whether you choose the pacifist or violent options, the world ends in a horrible and dystopian fashion by the end of the game, and the most choice you have is that you get to choose which dystopian fashion it ends in?

Some "bias".

I'm just finding it interesting... if we're in a situation where people are slinging around labels like "politically liberal" just because somebody made nonviolent problem resolution look in some way "nicer" than violent problem resolution, I think maybe this indicates some.. odd things about where our culture is at. Will we next have the American Arbitration Association denounced as "politically liberal" because they advocate nonviolent resolutions to corporate disputes, as opposed to IBM and Bechtel hiring gunslinging corporate mercenaries like the one you role-play as in Deus Ex?

If you have agreed a contract, abide by the T&Cs, and keep up payment; you have a RIGHT to be hosted, unless the contract is ended under its own T&Cs

Best of luck mate.

Whether this is a good idea remains to be seen. The arbitration system used is unusual (compare the American Arbitration Association), and the laws under which disputes are to be decided is unclear. Major disputes will probably still lead to litigation. We'll have to see how this works in practice. But don't blame NSI for this one. Esther Dyson, maybe.