Free and silver accounts get pop up ads in game - usually right when you need to do something fast and it will pop in the middle of your screen. They also get a full page pop up of EQ main site wanting them to subscribe
True : but you get those adds whether you bypass Launcher or not .. so dont think those are the adds Xeus is referring to.
For the majority of the time it only counted "Paid Time". So if there were any periods when the account wasn't subbed or paid for it didn't count. Now it accrues even for FTP accounts.
If you box. And your /played time is askew... 1) One account at a time, log a character into the game using the launcher. You must enter the game using the launcher. You will see your VetAA's come back and your /played time return to normal. Log out of the game. Do not /exit. 2) Once you have logged all the way into the game on every account you use, you may now skip the patcher. I am not sure what the usable interval here is, but I am certain you will need to repeat these steps at some point. Very likely every time the EverQuest.exe is updated. Enjoy.