Guild Wars 2

I know abuse of the report function is a violation of the games rules, and that spamming reports counts as abuse of the report system. But does that still apply if you’re actually reporting separate offenses that just happen to occur on the same map within minutes of each other?

To take a “random” example, say someone during a world boss event decides to single out players they deem unworthy of being there and verbally abusing them in map chat.

You report them the first time it happens, then a few minutes later (during the same event on the same map) they do it again, except this time directed towards a different player and with even worse language.

Can you report the second offense as well, since it’s technically a separate instance of verbal abuse (and if it was two different people, or had happened further apart I’d definitely report both) or does one report cover everything said in that map and any more is considered spamming reports?

Reporting the same person for two incidence shouldn’t be a problem. I think if you where reporting the same person for the same offence after the fact, eg, reporting them, then reporting them again say half an hour, or just spamming reports on said person. I’ve never reported the same person more than once, as I only report gold sellers, report block, move on.

They probably look at all chat around the time of the report. If they only looked at the moment of the report then someone who reports at the end of a series of speech with some time between what was said would only show that.

So, imo, another incident towards a second person within a minute will be seen by support and doesn’t need a second report. However if it’s been more than a few minutes, perhaps 10 to 15 minutes, then I would report again. (Though I admit I probably would report the guy in your example again anyway, just to be sure).

When it’s an instance of verbal abuse, I will report the player for each chat message they send that is abusive.

I don’t if the game notes which chat line I right click on to select report, but I will select the player’s name next to each chat line they send that contains verbal abuse or scamming or whatever the offense may be, and report them for each one.

Also there’s no telling for sure but they probably respond faster if multiple players report the same instance. So go ahead and report away freely each time you see something going on.

Also though it’s good to say something in chat if you feel comfortable to let the player know they are saying something problematic, so that gives them a chance to recognize the issue and stop and/or apologize.

But sometimes when you ask someone to stop saying something offensive, they will just start being more offensive. That just gives you more stuff to report them for so they’ll be dealt with faster.

Mo Mo.1947:

When it’s an instance of verbal abuse, I will report the player for each chat message they send that is abusive.

I don’t if the game notes which chat line I right click on to select report, but I will select the player’s name next to each chat line they send that contains verbal abuse or scamming or whatever the offense may be, and report them for each one.

Also there’s no telling for sure but they probably respond faster if multiple players report the same instance. So go ahead and report away freely each time you see something going on.

Also though it’s good to say something in chat if you feel comfortable to let the player know they are saying something problematic, so that gives them a chance to recognize the issue and stop and/or apologize.

But sometimes when you ask someone to stop saying something offensive, they will just start being more offensive. That just gives you more stuff to report them for so they’ll be dealt with faster.

The thing is, if one report does the job then multiple reports ties up the support person’s time as each one has to be looked at. If it’s a duplicate of what they already know then they will have to read, decide it’s a duplicate and close it down. While they are closing down those duplicate reports, other reports from other incidents are not being taken care of. Flooding the system with duplicate reports just causes backlog.

You aren’t “abusing” to report the same person multiple times, but (as Just a flesh wound says above) it’s unnecessary and creates extra work for Customer Service. They review the chat log before/after your report, so they’ll see it all. (If the disruptive behavior happens once and not again for 20-30 minutes, then maybe it might be worth a second report).

You might want to consider /blocking the person you are reporting. That way, you won’t have to worry about it if they continue.

I have always assumed support would look at the chat log around the one line that gets selected (for one thing hopefully they’re making sure the reporter wasn’t provoking them then reporting the response), but I’m not sure how far back/forward they go.

I guess it’s just a matter of playing it by ear and trying not to overdo it.

Mo Mo.1947:

Also though it’s good to say something in chat if you feel comfortable to let the player know they are saying something problematic, so that gives them a chance to recognize the issue and stop and/or apologize.

But sometimes when you ask someone to stop saying something offensive, they will just start being more offensive. That just gives you more stuff to report them for so they’ll be dealt with faster.

Normally I do. In this case though that’s what triggered the second report. They were yelling at the map in general and two people in particular and someone called them on it, completely civilly, then they got yelled at as well.

Well since it’s not clear how they handle reports I’ll keep reporting my way.

I mean if 10 people report one player, it wouldn’t make business sense if it makes 10 reports that possibly 10 different people look at separately. With that in mind I’m guessing it just flags a region of the chat log or something more efficient than creating individual reports. That would really add up when you consider how often people say stupid stuff. :P

However their system works, I like to report each line to make it clear what I’m seeing that’s problematic. In the case of people saying hateful things or using oppressive/harassing language, I want to try and make it clear what kind of “verbal abuse” I’m taking issue with.

Don’t report each line. At most, report every few minutes. The GM doesn’t only see the line you report, they get the whole chat log for several minutes beforehand. And then can look afterwards as well. Generally, one report should be enough.

You shouldn’t need to submit multiple reports. As soon as the first one is submitted ArenaNet will review the chat logs and can see the subsequent offending lines.