Guild Wars 2

Jumpin Lumpix.6108:

In my opinion, this game has one of the worst communities I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe not as bad as diablo 2 but still… pretty bad especially in sPvP and here on the forums.

I have to agree. The community as a whole has soured to the point I keep Say and Map chat off. The swearing filter will block certain words, however there’s been a tidalwave of immaturity, racism, sexism and homophobia that’s made me question why I still play this game. It’s not just in the cities and starter maps. Its in meta-events, dungeons and world bosses.

I have no idea what any of you all are talking about. Never seen anything in this game that’d be consider that bad. Every once in a while some idiot gets racist, but that’s just the internet. I see this thread all the time, “why are people being so mean?” “They should ban toxic players” even seen a few that try to come up with an automated report system that will mute people. All of this is ridiculous. If you want to chill out on the internet you’re going to have to deal with morons on the internet. It’s the same as running into a moron at a coffee shop that cusses obscenely loud, or berates someone. It might make you uncomfortable, but that’s life. The community on this game is miles ahead of any game I’ve seen. The one exception is SPVP but even that is incredibly tame comparably. Worse comes to worse, you can always ignore people.

You’ll almost never find me reporting people for talking, regardless of what they say…unless it’s so extreme I have no choice. I’m old enough to know that internet chatter is just so much smoke being blown around that it’s laughable. As for those that say GW2 has one of the worst communities, I have news for you, the GW2 community is considered one of the best, if not the best by many reviewers. We don’t live in the 1950’s anymore, this is 2015, language grows and evolves, most of what some people consider vulgar is nothing of the sort.

P.S. – I’ll bet a lot of what you see said is sarcasm too.

I have rarely seen “verbal” behavior like the OP refers to in chat. And by rarely, I mean once or twice in 2.5+ years. Now I’m trying to figure out:

• If my profanity filter is filtering this stuff out completely (I doubt it — I’d notice,
  " --— all -/insert race_!")
• Am I not playing where the OP is? Admittedly, I haven’t played for a week or two, and before that I was more in WvW (where the opponents don’t share in chat).
• Is it going on at certain times of day (i.e., not when I was playing)?
• Is the OP in EU? I’m in NA. While I would tend not to believe that people in NA are less vocal haters than those in EU, different server clusters would explain the different experiences.
• Is it server choice? When I used to visit QDale during the days of the the non-defunct Champ train, I never saw the arguments that others reported — so maybe it’s server (since it does have an influence on which MServer you get into).

I’m not claiming anything about the OP’c complaint, just wondering and wanting to understand.

Vix.6730:

Jumpin Lumpix.6108:

In my opinion, this game has one of the worst communities I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe not as bad as diablo 2 but still… pretty bad especially in sPvP and here on the forums.

I have to agree. The community as a whole has soured to the point I keep Say and Map chat off. The swearing filter will block certain words, however there’s been a tidalwave of immaturity, racism, sexism and homophobia that’s made me question why I still play this game. It’s not just in the cities and starter maps. Its in meta-events, dungeons and world bosses.

I take it you;re never going to find any game fun. Its the people not the game, and i rarely hear a conversation in any game except LoL get bad enough that i really needed to report someone.

I recent had someone being rude to new players, and he was raging in map chat, and i jested at his inability to spell, so he told me to kill myself. I obviously took no heed, but still reported because its not cool, but since i started thats it.

If you;re consistently around this type of activity, maybe we need to look at other things..

Why is it so hard for us just to ignore the morons? If one is worried about another’s language or way of life, you should be in church, not a “kids” video game.

Just my 2c

I tend to intercept rude behavior, especially towards new people. Normally I never get to see it, but whenever I’ve seen someone ask something on certain maps, or join the wrong dungeon group, people get super rude for some reason.

But like I said to other people, all you can do is block, report and have your questions answered from mannered people. You can’t exactly control the population or how they act, but you can report in violations when you see them

P.S. Never seen sex talks on map chats though.

I can handle it if people swear a bit and/or mention general sexual stuff in chat (within reason), as I swear a bit IRL myself, but a certain commander was swearing, literally, 50 times a minute at one point on TS3 (he shouts like an auctioneer).

I found that a little wearing and inappropriate if kids are playing, but still could have handled it if he hadn’t then used a homophobic word beginning with f, when referring to an enemy ranger.

(Ironic, really, as he had called rangers on his own side useless before all this and then an enemy one nearly killed him…)

I’m not gay, but if I was I’m pretty sure I would have found that offensive/hurtful.

That was beyond my limit of acceptance, so I said “watch your language, commander”, then got called a troll by his little fans and ironically, was blocked by the commander himself, as if it was me who had done something wrong, not him.

Seriously, you couldn’t make this stuff up…

If you’re going to invite people to join you on TS3, then for goodness sake, mind your language (within reason, at least – the occasional swearword is probably OK).

Otherwise, it’s like inviting strangers (possibly, other people’s children) into your home and then swearing violently around them and saying offensive things.

I realise ANet probably don’t think they’re responsible for what happens on TS3 – but, IMO, if someone is a commander, invites random people to join TS3 on the game’s map chat and then behaves like that, there should be consequences.

I said this before and I’ll say it again: stop giving mere words on your screen any power over you.

You CHOOSE to take offense to ‘vulgar’ language. Stop taking it personally (even if it is being directed at you) and you will be so much better off.

I am completely immune to anything and everything people say in chat. There is NOTHING that anyone can say against me to offend me at all. It’s what people actively DO (like kicking people out of a dungeon at the last boss because they have a guildie that wants to come in) that you should be taking offense to.

Words are nothing but pixels on the screen. They can only hurt you if you allow them to, so stop letting yourself get offended by anything and everything. Grow some thicker skin (cliche, I know, but it is one of the biggest truths in existence) so you can enjoy the game more.

If I can do it, so can you. Try to emulate me and what I do. It’s awesome.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

You CHOOSE to take offense to ‘vulgar’ language.

Nobody chooses to take offence. People DO choose to be offensive though.

penelopehannibal.8947:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

You CHOOSE to take offense to ‘vulgar’ language.

Nobody chooses to take offence. People DO choose to be offensive though.

Wrong. What’s offensive is subjective. What’s offensive to you probably isn’t offensive to me. Thus, what is said to you by YOUR logic, might make someone offensive to you, but not offensive to me. Thus, it’s not necessarily a choice. Some could purposefully act offensive by knowing what might offend you, but that’s a specific situation, and you provided a generalization.

Both statements are wrong, the act of being offended is subjective based upon personal views+biases.

penelopehannibal.8947:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

You CHOOSE to take offense to ‘vulgar’ language.

Nobody chooses to take offence. People DO choose to be offensive though.

Partially right. People do choose to be offensive, of course, but the recipients too choose to be offended. I choose not to be offended. It is literally that simple.

Go ahead, try me. Send me a private message and say the most horrific, offensive, vile, politically incorrect thing you can come up with. No matter WHAT you say, it will have no effect on me.

I will not report you. I will not send that mail to ArenaNet. I will not seek you out to do you harm, and I will not even respond with anything offensive (even though I’m sure I easily could offend you). I’ve got popcorn ready.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

penelopehannibal.8947:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

You CHOOSE to take offense to ‘vulgar’ language.

Nobody chooses to take offence. People DO choose to be offensive though.

Partially right. People do choose to be offensive, of course, but the recipients too choose to be offended. I choose not to be offended. It is literally that simple.

Go ahead, try me. Send me a private message and say the most horrific, offensive, vile, politically incorrect thing you can come up with. No matter WHAT you say, it will have no effect on me.

I will not report you. I will not send that mail to ArenaNet. I will not seek you out to do you harm, and I will not even respond with anything offensive (even though I’m sure I easily could offend you). I’ve got popcorn ready.

Thank you for the offer, but I’m not that silly!

I think you’re missing the point. What you are saying is that if someone is called a certain derogatory name, that it is the victim’s fault that they were hurt. This is not true.

If for instance, someone was called a racial slur and they were hurt by it. It is the offender’s fault, not the victims that they were hurt.

So I’m sorry, but it is not the victim’s fault that they are offended, but the offender. People do not choose to be offended any more than someone chooses to have their nose broken by an unprovoked attack.

I’m glad that you can rise above feeling hurt by bad words, that’s good by all means. But people who aren’t as thick skinned as you are not at all at fault.

As someone who loves psychological exercise to the point of clinical addiction, those kind of chats are a real boon for me. Not because of the topic but because the interactions going on makes it easier to map some’s psyche, and for me that is interesting.

However, I sometimes attempt to round out chat by either steering it to a less controversial topic or by subtly reminding everyone that nobody should be taking this chat seriously. “Now we just need to talk about x, y and z and we’ve achieved Godwin’s Law! \o/”

But I am only capable of that because I understand that they are just words and it is ultimately my choice whether they will offend me or not.

penelopehannibal.8947:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

penelopehannibal.8947:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

You CHOOSE to take offense to ‘vulgar’ language.

Nobody chooses to take offence. People DO choose to be offensive though.

Partially right. People do choose to be offensive, of course, but the recipients too choose to be offended. I choose not to be offended. It is literally that simple.

Go ahead, try me. Send me a private message and say the most horrific, offensive, vile, politically incorrect thing you can come up with. No matter WHAT you say, it will have no effect on me.

I will not report you. I will not send that mail to ArenaNet. I will not seek you out to do you harm, and I will not even respond with anything offensive (even though I’m sure I easily could offend you). I’ve got popcorn ready.

Thank you for the offer, but I’m not that silly!

I think you’re missing the point. What you are saying is that if someone is called a certain derogatory name, that it is the victim’s fault that they were hurt. This is not true.

If for instance, someone was called a racial slur and they were hurt by it. It is the offender’s fault, not the victims that they were hurt.

So I’m sorry, but it is not the victim’s fault that they are offended, but the offender. People do not choose to be offended any more than someone chooses to have their nose broken by an unprovoked attack.

I’m glad that you can rise above feeling hurt by bad words, that’s good by all means. But people who aren’t as thick skinned as you are not at all at fault.

penelopehannibal.8947:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

penelopehannibal.8947:

Zera Allimatti.2541:

You CHOOSE to take offense to ‘vulgar’ language.

Nobody chooses to take offence. People DO choose to be offensive though.

Partially right. People do choose to be offensive, of course, but the recipients too choose to be offended. I choose not to be offended. It is literally that simple.

Go ahead, try me. Send me a private message and say the most horrific, offensive, vile, politically incorrect thing you can come up with. No matter WHAT you say, it will have no effect on me.

I will not report you. I will not send that mail to ArenaNet. I will not seek you out to do you harm, and I will not even respond with anything offensive (even though I’m sure I easily could offend you). I’ve got popcorn ready.

Thank you for the offer, but I’m not that silly!

I think you’re missing the point. What you are saying is that if someone is called a certain derogatory name, that it is the victim’s fault that they were hurt. This is not true.

If for instance, someone was called a racial slur and they were hurt by it. It is the offender’s fault, not the victims that they were hurt.

So I’m sorry, but it is not the victim’s fault that they are offended, but the offender. People do not choose to be offended any more than someone chooses to have their nose broken by an unprovoked attack.

I’m glad that you can rise above feeling hurt by bad words, that’s good by all means. But people who aren’t as thick skinned as you are not at all at fault.

You’re talking about direct attacks. IN that specific case, that’s a verbal attack, and obviously in abuse.

Most of these situations, and what OP is talking about is in map chat, directed at nobody in particular, and just general conversation that OP disliked.

As much as I’m against people being rude, I’m the same way. Being racist, telling me to kill myself, insulting me, none of that does anything to me. I;m not offended nor do i care. I’ll report for the sake that someone else doesn’t have to deal with that person hopefully, but what I WONT do, is watch my language about certain other things if its just talk.

It’s also NOT my problem if someone overhears something i say and is offended by my opinion(obviously one not racist, derogatory, insultive, etc), or something i said, or is not in agreement with it. If you don’t like it, block me and move on.

I personally feel a lot of younger kids were sheltered more, and grew up without the thick skin that many of us earned as we dealt with things. That’s fine and what not, but ill be kitten ed if i’m going to change my lifestyle because someone might not be ok with what i say(Again, not OBVIOUSLY offensive)

If you want to call it victim blaming, that’s fine. I call it my way of inspiring and empowering others to rise above and be thick skinned like me. Seriously guys, the view from up here is spectacular! Come join me up here!

You can be lucky enough to avoid the majority of the vulgar map chat if you avoid certain areas at certain times of day.

World bosses can be rife with toxicity and vulgar language.

But by far the worst I’ve seen (ignoring PvP) is in LA in the early hours of the morning. There was a point where I was online at 5-7am GMT and the amount of arguing, negativity and hate speech was beyond belief. Needless to say, I don’t play during these times anymore (this was one of the many reasons) :P

And as a side-note. I don’t think one can choose to be offended by something or not. One can, however, choose whether to act upon the offence.

Vulgar language…eh..this is a game, that will happen anyways. Best bet is to ignore it if you can!

I do freely report anybody running around who is spewing hate towards one race, either a real one or a in game one.(Especially attacks against people for playing a race…in a game.) Nobody needs to have their day ruined by some troll who decides to go out of their way and target a group of players because of the race they picked.(And sometimes they get very very nasty). I dont say anything though, report, block and move on.

I don’t even read or respond to the chat, for that matter I don’t use it I’m on TS or Ventrilo with friends or guild members. The need to type and respond to people in this way in any game is just pointless with voice chat services like TeamSpeek, Ventrilo or Mumble. Yes people can get just as bad if not worse on a VoIP server but your group has more control over this then in the ingame chat if things get out of hand and if the server rules are clearly posted then your server admin or moderator can kick and ban them immediately.

I never see much of this being done anywhere. Of course, what constitutes “much” differs from person to person.

That said, if we eliminated any use of language that someone considers offensive or vulgar, we’re be left with a language that consists of “Yes” and “No” and no other words, because someone will always find something to be offended about!

As a result, I choose to embrace the right to express and communicate thoughts, no matter or oppressive or offensive they may feel to someone else.

Having the freedom to speak your mind is much more preferable than having speech be regulated and controlled by third-parties.

People can complain all they want about how some act in this type of system but in the long run there is not a lot anyone can do. Anet is walking a thin line between the ones that ofend and the ones that are ofended in this day and age with a lot of the values most of the older gaming community grew up beleaving in to the values we have or don’t have with the younger gamers today. The majority of gamers are mainly younger and therefor this is the way the ingame chat is going to run so to that end if you are ofended by what you read in chat then don’t read it or use a VoIP server. As long as the chat is not directed directly at you then and then become persona,l you realy have no recourse to salve the problem you ether live with it or move on to some other activity. Anet provides tools to help you by the filtering system and will discipline people that will harass others but legally that’s as fare as they have to go. On the other hand there are those that cry “freedom of speech” but what they are not aware of it as long as Anet states in their TOS that the game chat in not a public forum then there is no freedom of speech rule, so Anet has the right to control what you say in their game.

I’m standing in Divinity Reach doing my evening TP dump. I don’t expect the map and say channels to nothing but provocative, sexual language. This isn’t a boys middle/high school locker room with talk about sexual conquests or discussions about the body of the girl in 4th period math. This isn’t being directed at anybody so it’s not abuse, but it’s uncomfortable.

You wouldn’t put up that that language/conversation in a restaurant and we shouldn’t put up with it here. You want to discuss with a particular person/group, then whisper or party. The suggestion about blocking is equivalent of telling the other patrons in the restaurant to use ear plugs. No, you tell the offending party to keep it down or leave. This is as much of a private space as any restaurant and if ANet considers this offensive then warnings and suspensions should be handed out and not a blind eye turned away from it.

Now this doesn’t happen often and I haven’t encountered it during “normal” hours but only late, late at night. This game is International, it shouldn’t turn into Cinemax After Dark because it’s the wee hours here in NA.

Emiko.3217:

I know I’m going to be viciously attacked for saying this – probably a few private hate mails, but saying it anyways.

GW2 is my FAVORITE game – it’s top notch above any other MMO on the planet, but I’m sick and tired of all the nasty, sexual comments, all of the constant cussing and belittling other players on every map. I shouldn’t have to mute my Say and Map chat. Why should these people who do such things rule chat? There’s no end of the constant vulger language, cruel and hateful speech, and constantly, openly talking about sex.

Am I the only one who feel this way? Guys/girls who do this are ruining a great game that ANET has, and is making it unfriendly for those who do not partake in such things.

You should see my block list, its pretty long full of people that I’m sure I won’t be intereted in anything they says. Those who are egocentric, offensive, scammers… That litteraly every 30 secs they say something… “bad”.

Sadly there’s a lot of people like that but of course there are aswell very good people in-game.

People are going hungry in the real world and you’re worried about some kids cussing in an online game? Give me a break! Learn to ignore it and use the in game tools provided.

Jumpin Lumpix.6108:

In my opinion, this game has one of the worst communities I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe not as bad as diablo 2 but still… pretty bad especially in sPvP and here on the forums.

Then you don’t play any other online game.

GW2 is literally the best (large) community in all of gaming. You’re crazy if you think otherwise.

Trust me, the grass is definitely not greener on the other side.

I never saw any overly offensive behaviour in GW2.

I’m not offended by anything generally, but I can say people very very rarely say inappropriate or offensive things in this game. If you think this is a problem consider changing your mindset or switching to Toontown or something because other MMOs are much much worse than Guild Wars 2.

I can’t help but agree with Gaile Gray and many others.

I have never seen in game something really foul and offensive. Does the casual players ocasonally drop the kitten word? or a sexual inuendo? Sure…do i happen to drop one from time to time? yeap… Do most players on the reciving end deserve such words … yeah mostly.

Are there some super over mega sensitive players that complain about everything? ofc..
I have like 1000 hours of play time and not once did i see anything described by some in this topic. And i do play PvP and SilverWastes quite a lot…

Also it is hard for me to believe that those that complain so much, don’t use such words in game or in real life…i don’t think that there is any person around here that doesn’t drop the f bomb in one form or another (Maybe not with the parents around, or the eldery out of respect…hopefully) so maybe stop hyperboling everything ^^.

Also if you do meet certain players that just go all out, and are able to use all swear words in the english vocabulary (And maybe some other language too) by all means please report them and fingers crossed for a banned account.

Cheers

Also i still belive that a major part of the GW2 community is one of the best communities i have eveer met in a game…and i did play a lot of MMOs…

Gaile Gray.6029:

Having reread the thread, I see a few different things:

• Some players, like me, only rarely see extreme instances of offensive behavior.
• Some players don’t see issues at all.
• Some feel they see them daily and have modified their game experiences to avoid such instances.
• Some say “Buck up and ignore it.”
• Others say, “I have a god-given right to offend you, and you have no right to complain.”

End of the day, why don’t we let the professionals decide? Why don’t each of you who see offensive chat report it and let the moderation team make a decision about the overall offensiveness of a word or phrase in the context of the game. The team is not draconian, they understand the difference between a word spoken in the heat of the moment and a pattern of abusive language. Report and forget and trust that things will be taken care of in the best and more fair manner possible.

See, the thing is, most of this doesn’t happen on map chat, at least from what I’ve seen. I’ve seen everything that everyone is saying, but usually in whisper, mail or in PUG parties. I’ve also seen it SW maps (not so much the other maps).

Also, I’ll just add that sometimes reporting, etc adds fuel to the fire. Whereas I can ignore anything, some people take these things hard, and I mean real hard. I know of specifically one instance of harassment in game that has been reported numerous times by numerous people, and Anet honestly hasn’t done much except an occasional suspension. It begs the question (not just in gw2, but in any game) if the report function actually works.

And now to contradict myself, Anet actually has some of the best customer service and report systems I’ve ever seen in a game. So there’s comfort in that I suppose.

My advice is to ignore it, but I’ve come to realize that some people, for whatever reason, just can’t do that, and are really affected by it. I’ve never understood it, but my best advice is to try to ignore.

Zera Allimatti.2541:

Partially right. People do choose to be offensive, of course, but the recipients too choose to be offended. I choose not to be offended. It is literally that simple.

Go ahead, try me. Send me a private message and say the most horrific, offensive, vile, politically incorrect thing you can come up with. No matter WHAT you say, it will have no effect on me.

I will not report you. I will not send that mail to ArenaNet. I will not seek you out to do you harm, and I will not even respond with anything offensive (even though I’m sure I easily could offend you). I’ve got popcorn ready.

No, you’re the one who is only partially right, here; not her.

Just because you either have the ability to choose not to be affected by anything anyone says, or like to claim you do, doesn’t mean everyone has that ability.

Some people take things to heart and can’t stop taking them to heart, however much they would like to.

We all respond differently like that.

Ultimately, if everyone was able to just choose to switch off caring about insults, what would be the point in anyone saying them in the first place?

People say them in the hope they will hurt people, that is the point here and that is not OK.

Maybe OP should try out other MMOs to compare, like WoW for instance. I hear their trade chat is frequently lively and informative.

[[[Edit to remove links to offensive chat]]]

4929345

why have a profanity filter at all if not to simply see words as they are said/spoken. from what i am seeing is context of threat or implyed threat is the real issue telling some one to F off is difernt then telling some one there going to hunt them down and F in kill them or simply wish ill upon a person with implyed threats. I takes a choice to turn off the profanity filter its like a consent button to choose to see swearing and words that may offend people. simply put if i got band for swearing i would just go to small claims court and win it happens a lot more then you think.

I have my filter turned off because I’m an adult and don’t need to be censored. I can put up with a few swear words drift through chat but I don’t want to see a constant stream of foulmouthed rubbish. I hardly ever see that anyway. Someone like you would just be blocked by me.

edit: guy’s post got deleted so I’ve taken his name off and removed some of the drivel.

In the future I’ll use Verbal Abuse and report them. Like I said, it wasn’t directed and the intent isn’t abusive, just language and discussions that are inappropriate in a “public” place.

It’s pretty simple anet doesn’t seem interested in banning foul mouthed players so there is no fear of being punished. I’ve seen the same player in PvP going around saying the n word many times a long with other hateful words yet he still plagues pvp

Gaile Gray.6029:

End of the day, why don’t we let the professionals decide? Why don’t each of you who see offensive chat report it and let the moderation team make a decision about the overall offensiveness of a word or phrase in the context of the game. The team is not draconian, they understand the difference between a word spoken in the heat of the moment and a pattern of abusive language. Report and forget and trust that things will be taken care of in the best and more fair manner possible.

I dont think that is a good idea, there are hackers and botters in the game. I have some problems with people reporting all kinds of chats to the team and overflow it?
There are so many people from a lot of countries(with lots of languages) playing, they cannot be held responsible(to a certain extent) what people take offense at.
I am always so surprised how simple words can be so offensive for people.

Donut.6914:

Behellagh.1468:

Donut.6914:

Lol you need to get over yourselves. There’s a profanity filter and a block option, if you can’t take people swearing, or talking about sex and drugs, then filter them out.

They’re not obligated to mind their manners around you. Remember, online actions and interactions are not rated by the ESRB.

It’s not there so players are free to use vulgar and profane language.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/support/Why-is-there-a-Profanity-Filter/first#post4436966

Then what is it for? I say the f-word in almost every single sentence I make. That’s how I grew up, that’s who I am, that’s the way I speak. Many many people have blocked me because they don’t like to hear the f-word so much. I understand and respect that, but I am never going to stop saying it because of how others feel. That’s what the filter/block is for.

You grew up to type the f word in every sentence?

I can understand if someone has grown up to say it verbally a lot, but to type it, really?

Either way, you manage to refrain from saying it here, so can’t you just take that same restraint into the game, as well?

You don’t even write here like someone who is uneducated, or lacking in intelligence, so I don’t really see what the problem is?

As others have said, the occasional swearword, made in the heat of the moment and aimed at no one in particular (or only if they have been rude first) is probably acceptable.

However, choosing to write a swearword in practically every sentence you type is, obviously, completely unnecessary and will just end up in you making enemies and upsetting people for no good reason.

‘The English language is like a brick wall between me and you, and f*** is my chisel.’ – Tommy Tiernan

’There’s no such thing as bad language. I don’t believe that anymore. It’s ridiculous. They call it a debasing of the language. No! We are adults! These are the words that we use to express frustration, rage, anger . . . In order that we don’t pick up a tire iron and beat the s*** out of something!’ – Lewis Black

:D

As a side note…does the in-game swear filter turn cusses into ‘kitten’ like on the forums? Because that would be awesome.

No, it just blanks it out with underscores I think. Sort of turns it into a Madlib.

This game has one of the most “Decent” communities I have seen. Yes there are occasions when people go crazy on local and map chat (Rata Sum witnesses some really kinky stuff……) but its wayyyy better than other MMOs especially free to play ones (Archeage chatbox was soo toxic…) which seem to attract the most trashy type of players. Worst case scenario just block……..and report if u feel someone is harassing you…..

Not seeing the OP’s massive amount of vulgarity, I rarely see it at all and I usually AFK in DR one of the most bustling towns ingame. the ONLY time I ever happen to see even a bit of vulgarity is in PVP during a losing match and even then those are short supernova bursts.

My memory’s hazy on this, but I could swear at the game’s start there were more than asterisks replacing swears. Maybe strings of symbols like old comic strips used to indicate cussing. I turned off the filter very early on when it overly enthusiastically changed the word “reputation” in an RP comment to something unrecognizable, due to the bad Spanish word imbedded therein.

If it’s still that draconian, those with the filter on may be assuming there’s a lot more cussing going on than there really is due to the overzealous filter.

I’m on the EU servers, and of course I don’t unterstand everything said, since i don’t know all the languages, but I never heard anything really racist and meant to be degrading. There are sometimes jokes about other region/nationalities, but you can feel that they meant as fun and jokes. Generally this is a very friendly community.
there were some rare cases form sexist patter, but you find these guys everywhere, not just online, and if it’s too bad: report.
yes there is people talking about sex sometimes , but the game is PG12+ and at that age most people should already have had some sexual education in school so theoretically the mechanics should be clear for everyone that is old enough to play the game.
If it get’s too bad, report it, but I’ve yet to read a chat message, that’s not save for teens.

@Donari.5237 : could also be French. The only words i can remember in that language are swearwords and I believe “put” is the shortword for a woman that sells her body.

Wait on the forums it’s there an automated thing that turnes cuss words into “kitten” ? cause i just tought it was like a thing, and type that myself sometimes xD.

Also, this is not common knowledge, but bad words actually ease pain.
There is a great video on this topic here if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7dQh8u4Hc

Gaile Gray.6029:

I play the game every night, including weekends and holidays. And as much as I am concerned that someone may think I’m telling you “the party line” or that I’m in some form of denial, I simply do not see what some of you are describing.

Does someone occasionally drop the SwearWordBomb™? Yep. Does someone occasionally slip into something inappropriate? Sure. But the OP and others seem to imply this is a persistent, enormous problem and, as a player and as an employee who is directly involve with fan relations, I just don’t see it. (And yes, I have my filter completely turned off precisely to try to spot such issues if they arise.)

I make use — all players should please make use — of a very efficient and effective report system:

• Select the person by clicking on them in the game window.
• Right click their avatar on your screen
• Alternately: Right click on the person’s name in the chat bar to select that player.
• Choose “Report” from the drop-down menu.
• Choose “Verbal Abuse” for the reason.

A report will be seen within minutes and often will be acted upon in a similarly fast timeframe. I report and move on.

I strongly recommend that everyone use the in-game report system to help make the game a better place to be. We take reports seriously and we appreciate the assistance of our community members!

Feirlista Xv.1425:

People can complain all they want about how some act in this type of system but in the long run there is not a lot anyone can do.

But yes, there absolutely is something that players can do! See above and please, take the easy steps I’ve outlined to make the game world a better place!

Hi Gaile

How easy would it be to either edit the “verbal abuse” category, or add a whole new category, so that “offensive language” is included?

I interpret the verbal abuse category as someone actively harassing me or another person. This may not involve swear words or insults, but could be abusive for other reasons (such as those who start taunting in whisper in PvP because they get upset when you kill them).

I can’t help but think that others would interpret verbal abuse as the same as I have described above so may not realise there is a category to report general offensive language.

People see what they are looking for.

Those with a Pollyanna-ish attitude will see fewer offensive statements than the easily-offended. ANet is doing the right thing by having an internal policy based on their moral and ethical code. We are guests on ANet’s servers.

If ANet’s policing is ineffective, they know they’ll lose customers. On the flip side, they’ll also lose customers if they’re ridiculously strict. In the end, they must find a balance.

Freedom ensures balance. ANet is free to set policy for a private game, we players are free to come and go as we wish. From what I’ve seen, ANet provides such balance as best they can.