Guild Wars 2

The most important thing is, will ArenaNet tell the offender who reported him so it’s possible to kick kittens from the guild?

The Code of Conduct is pretty clear on what a player should avoid doing. Regardless of the situation if an accident is reported then they have to act as per the guidelines. Being it in a “private” chat within the game doesn’t excuse you from the terms and rules you agreed to when you registered, downloaded the client and so on.

Baddestchica.2348:

Why not get a VOIP like Team Speak, Ventrilo, Raidcall, or Mumble?
You can say whatever the bleep you want in there!

This ^ is really the only logical solution. If you leave no paper trail then they can’t ban you. I’m personally going to turn general chat off entirely as it’s just way to easy to get into politics or something else that could upset somebody.

The fact is no game has ever taken this strict and harsh a stance on chat. Many more people will get banned not for racism or cussing but for being vulgar or distatesful because we’re used to having some freedom in games to makes jokes or be crude. Being gross is enough to get you banned.

Mantrid.7805:

The most important thing is, will ArenaNet tell the offender who reported him so it’s possible to kick kittens from the guild?

Of course they won’t do this. Your detractor will remain anonymous. Just be wary of being baited into a argument even in /G chat or private tells. Someone could easily turn on you if you slip in some way.

I suppose my problem with the current policy is that the punishment seems to be quick, harsh, and generally unforgivable. We’ve all dedicated a lot of time and / or money into this game, and the thought of having all of that taken away due to some over sensitive, vengeful, or misinformed person.

For example, let’s say my girlfriend are in a party as we often are. We’re questing and decide to pull in a third for help. During that time my girlfriend are talking to each other and perhaps I mention, or reference something personal, or based on our personal views.

Now, here are a few facts.

1. No one knows we’re dating. Not this other party, or ANet.
2. Our conversation may appear very inappropriate to someone who has differing views, or tolerance levels.
3. There is a lot of room for subjective interpretation.

So, this third party is playing and decides that the way I am talking to my girlfriend (which they’re unaware of), is inappropriate, or objectionable. They can report me, and because ANet also isn’t aware of my relationship status, I could favce a permanent ban without warning.

I understand the polices are in place to stop harassment, and to make the game accessible and fun for all, but the problem is that the policy is way to open to interpretation, and doesn’t follow proper procedures to allow for context.

It’s sad that so many feel that they must resort to third party methods of communicating. As a someone who enjoys the role playing aspect, I’m also disheartened because it makes it risky to do so. In a game designed to be social, (what is the point of it being massively multiplayer) it’s risky to be social.

So, in the end, because I can’t guarantee everyone will find my humor, language, cultural references, personal conversations, or occasional venting, appropriate, I’ll just refrain from being social until ANet refines thier policy.

graydon.9306:

Just don’t type the bad words in chat. Why is that so difficult?

Well, when you take into account the fact that we can turn on and off the chat filters, there should be NO consequence for the use of “foul” language.

I shouldn’t have to worry about being penalized because Anet can’t seem to back up it’s own game tools.

Don’t want to see anything objectionable? turn on the chat filters.

ShadowGryphon.6257:

graydon.9306:

Just don’t type the bad words in chat. Why is that so difficult?

Well, when you take into account the fact that we can turn on and off the chat filters, there should be NO consequence for the use of “foul” language.

I shouldn’t have to worry about being penalized because Anet can’t seem to back up it’s own game tools.

Don’t want to see anything objectionable? turn on the chat filters.

Problem is filters do not always work. Plus having a filter does not give permission.

Whether or not it bothers you (determined by your setting the filter off or not) does not change the fact that it’s prohibited by the AUP/TOS.

Don’t want to be punished? Don’t break the rules. It’s not so hard – most of us manage to learn this before we finish our first few years of school.

So if I don’t like somebody in my exclusively adult guild, I can simply report them as soon as they inevitably swear and have them kicked out of the game for over a week? Or if I just feel like being a massive jerk to some random guy for no reason because _trolling is just so great and all the rage or something?

Fantastic. This couldn’t possibly go wrong.

Pretty much.

Look, it’s really simple. If you don’t want punitive action, DO NOT BREAK THE RULES.

If you can talk like an adult, you can act like one. “It’s only a crime if you don’t get caught” is false and immature. Breaking rules in private company is still rule-breaking.

When you signed up, you accepted a contract with ArenaNet in a form: They provide you access to the game, and you follow the terms and conditions in the AUP/TOS. If you violate said “contract” by violating these terms and conditions, then don’t be surprised when ArenaNet terminates their end of the contract in turn, by booting you from the service.

There it is for you – a nice cold shower of reality.

This is not a game for adults, its a game for teens. As such, you have to mind your mouth. It shouldn’t be that hard for full-grown adults to filter their language because impressionable youngsters are lurking. People do it with kids all the time in real life, why should an MMO be any different. The problem is when people get on the internet they change. They feel like there’s no rules, dont feel accountable for anything, and more or less act like hooligans.

ANET is not asking you to do a lot. All they are asking is for you to mind your mouth, because everyone should be allowed to enjoy a game without running into racists, misogynists, and whatever “ist” you can imagine. Now I do think there should be a warning for first time offenders, just so people clearly understand how rules are being enforced. But after the warning bans seem sufficient. The only issue I have is the reported lack of warning.

I"m rather shocked everyone is up in arms because a company dares ask you to be polite on their property. And in case you didn’t realize it, GW2 is their property. You wouldn’t walk into work slinging profanities where everyone can hear them (lol well some jobs do this), and I’m sure you wouldn’t walk into the playground telling flesh light jokes to women and children. ANET is just reminding you that the internet is no different than your conduct in any other public sphere, you have to act right.

Does it work so that, swearing in general isn’t too bad, as long as it isn’t over used.

BUT swearing AT people or at the game is where things get a bit… Bannable?

Godmoney.2048:

ituhata.6830:

This includes posting insulting, offensive, or abusive comments about players, repeatedly sending unwanted messages, reporting players maliciously, attacking a player based on race, sexual orientation, religion, heritage, etc. Hate speech is not tolerated.

I think you bolded the wrong part.

Um, no. I bolded the correct part that I wanted hilighted. It points out how open to interpretation the policy is.

I’m not criticizing it necessarily as much as pointing out the reality is that you can get banned for anything that is offensive emotionally in any way.

Anet is welcome to run their company in any way they see fit. I’m not telling anyone how to run their business. I am however pointing out the reality is that GW2 is more likely to ban you than any other game you’ve ever played before. Take that how you choose to.

Well the part just after (the part ituhata quoted) that is the part that goes in to describe what the part you highlighted actually means, if not you could use the TOS as your personal ban hammer on anyone that just looks at you funny or just asks you a question in general etc as that could be unwanted attention in your view?
The reason for this specification in contracts/agreements is to avoid them being to open to interpretation.

amradio.2513:

This is not a game for adults, its a game for teens. As such, you have to mind your mouth.

I take it you don’t have the privilege of listening to many high school kids talk amongst themselves.

Shifted.3697:

amradio.2513:

This is not a game for adults, its a game for teens. As such, you have to mind your mouth.

I take it you don’t have the privilege of listening to many high school kids talk amongst themselves.

Lol I’m 23 so yeah I know, but parents will be parents and they prefer to pretend their kids are angels.

amradio.2513:

Shifted.3697:

amradio.2513:

This is not a game for adults, its a game for teens. As such, you have to mind your mouth.

I take it you don’t have the privilege of listening to many high school kids talk amongst themselves.

Lol I’m 23 so yeah I know, but parents will be parents and they prefer to pretend their kids are angels.

Ha, so true.

I totally understand the flame wars/racial slurs/personal attack stuff, but casually cursing in the middle of a sentence just adds more flavor. Besides, the F word is the most diverse word in the English language…

draeath.8536:

Pretty much.

Look, it’s really simple. If you don’t want punitive action, DO NOT BREAK THE RULES.

If you can talk like an adult, you can act like one. “It’s only a crime if you don’t get caught” is false and immature. Breaking rules in private company is still rule-breaking.

When you signed up, you accepted a contract with ArenaNet in a form: They provide you access to the game, and you follow the terms and conditions in the AUP/TOS. If you violate said “contract” by violating these terms and conditions, then don’t be surprised when ArenaNet terminates their end of the contract in turn, by booting you from the service.

There it is for you – a nice cold shower of reality.

This is all fine and dandy if the rules are set out in a clear and concise way. The problem, (as myself and others have stated) is that not everyone interprets things the same.

You may be super offended by a word I use, but my friends would think nothing of it. There are so many words and phrases that can be taken a variety of ways by people. By having a policy that relies on a “one strike and you’re out” mentality makes it way to risky to get involved in any conversations.

What’s worse is that, as others have said, it’s way to open to abuse. If I happen to upset someone or whatever, they are now in a position where they have the power to get me banned. All they have to do is get me saying, or doing something “offensive” and report it out of context to AN, and BAM…banned.

A little food for thought. My friends dad used to send me home for saying the word “Geez” because he felt it was too close to the name, “Jesus.” Now, you may call this extreme, but it’s a perfect example of how easy it is to misinterpret phrases, or words. I should not be walking around in-game under threat that if I happen to say the wrong thing, to the wrong person, I risk being unable to play for 72 hours, or longer.

Shifted.3697:

amradio.2513:

Shifted.3697:

amradio.2513:

This is not a game for adults, its a game for teens. As such, you have to mind your mouth.

I take it you don’t have the privilege of listening to many high school kids talk amongst themselves.

Lol I’m 23 so yeah I know, but parents will be parents and they prefer to pretend their kids are angels.

Ha, so true.

I totally understand the flame wars/racial slurs/personal attack stuff, but casually cursing in the middle of a sentence just adds more flavor. Besides, the F word is the most diverse word in the English language…

I agree. There has to be protection for players against verbal abuse. No one should have to be subjected to bullying, or trolling when they’re trying to enjoy the game. There is a big difference however between actively going after someone and just using colourful language.

My girlfriend is sitting here right now going off about how as a role-player she likes to play characters with a bit of attitude. In ALL other MMO’s she’s played her characters sometimes used colourful language in her role-play community. One of the biggest reasons she decided to play GW2 after a long break from MMO’s was because she was excited to role-play again.

The problem is she is concerned that, because there is no official RP server, and because of the strict rules by AN, her character could be misinterpreted by other players and thus find herself banned.

AN needs to set out some more realistic policies and procedures in my opinion.

The swearing policy is a horrible cop-out method of giving the game admins and moderators the power to ban for whatever they desire. They can always say the person in question broke the TOS because everyone breaks the TOS.

For example, the word I was banned for (Anal) is not word filtered on the forum and so is clearly not offensive enough to warrant a ban, yet I was banned for it at the whim of a hypocritical dictator.

Like most people on this thread I’m baffled by how many people refuse to utilize the profanity filter. If profanity is something that bothers you then why not turn on your filter? Unless your trolling? Its ridiculous that some people are still so sensitive, it’s 2012 for crying out loud learn to use the tool available to you.

If many of you still wont use the filter then read the disclaimer about online games. If that still not enough for you then know that people use profanity to emphasize something whatever that subject maybe. More importantly people use profanity BC they don’t know how to express their feelings in words. If that still not enough for you then may I suggest you step out of your shell and expose yourself to the world. If you think profanity is bad wait until you learn about sarcasm.

Turtles, could you please provide the context in which you were banned? I think it would be beneficial to hear an accurate account of why you were banned so we can better understand how AN’s policy works in practice.

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

The swearing policy is a horrible cop-out method of giving the game admins and moderators the power to ban for whatever they desire. They can always say the person in question broke the TOS because everyone breaks the TOS.

For example, the word I was banned for (Anal) is not word filtered on the forum and so is clearly not offensive enough to warrant a ban, yet I was banned for it at the whim of a hypocritical dictator.

How is anal even remotely appropriate?

1. Strong sexual content

or

2. Insulting someone

Jus sayin, you just have to watch your mouth. Its really not that hard to behave yourself.

I said “Anal [Shelter]”

Someone said they were reporting me for making horrible anal jokes.

A bit later I was banned.

amradio.2513:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

The swearing policy is a horrible cop-out method of giving the game admins and moderators the power to ban for whatever they desire. They can always say the person in question broke the TOS because everyone breaks the TOS.

For example, the word I was banned for (Anal) is not word filtered on the forum and so is clearly not offensive enough to warrant a ban, yet I was banned for it at the whim of a hypocritical dictator.

How is anal even remotely appropriate?

1. Strong sexual content

or

2. Insulting someone

Jus sayin, you just have to watch your mouth. Its really not that hard to behave yourself.

It doesn’t get wordfiltered on the forum, so it must not be that offensive.

Or if it is, now you’ve said it too and you’re just as guilty as me. Maybe we can all get banned together.

amradio.2513:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

The swearing policy is a horrible cop-out method of giving the game admins and moderators the power to ban for whatever they desire. They can always say the person in question broke the TOS because everyone breaks the TOS.

For example, the word I was banned for (Anal) is not word filtered on the forum and so is clearly not offensive enough to warrant a ban, yet I was banned for it at the whim of a hypocritical dictator.

How is anal even remotely appropriate?

1. Strong sexual content

or

2. Insulting someone

Jus sayin, you just have to watch your mouth. Its really not that hard to behave yourself.

I sincerely doubt the veracity of Turtle’s claim.

It is not the profanity per se, but the vitriol that accompanies it. A filter is irrelevant because I can understand context.

Not wanting abuse in a community does not mean that I need to get a grasp on the real world, or that I don’t know it is 2012. There are a massive number of communities that do not tolerate bad language (homes, school, buisiness environments….etc.). Expecting self control when other people can read what you write is not beyond comprehension.

If you can only achieve emphasis by cussing, there are millions of individual works of literature by talented and untalented artists alike that beg to differ. It is the reason writing is taught to every student at every school in every state.

Hieronumous.3541:

I sincerely doubt the veracity of Turtle’s claim.

Well I don’t doubt you’re correct in your skepticism. In any case, the bans aren’t nearly as tight as people say they are. People are just used to getting away with whatever they want on the internet. All of a sudden there’s rules and ppl are freaking out.

Hieronumous.3541:

amradio.2513:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

The swearing policy is a horrible cop-out method of giving the game admins and moderators the power to ban for whatever they desire. They can always say the person in question broke the TOS because everyone breaks the TOS.

For example, the word I was banned for (Anal) is not word filtered on the forum and so is clearly not offensive enough to warrant a ban, yet I was banned for it at the whim of a hypocritical dictator.

How is anal even remotely appropriate?

1. Strong sexual content

or

2. Insulting someone

Jus sayin, you just have to watch your mouth. Its really not that hard to behave yourself.

I sincerely doubt the veracity of Turtle’s claim.

Who cares what you doubt? The events I have described are precisely what happened immediately prior to being kicked from the game server. If you’re actually going to support this system to the point of simply ignoring counter evidence or arguments, then you’re just irrational.

Heres the deal with swearing. Using colorful metaphors isn’t inhearently offensive. If it offends someone, they need to grow a thicker skin. They have the Ignore button or the profanity filter.

Today it seems that everyone is offended by something. Someone says "Holy s***, that was a very tuff boss fight, but hey we did it and survived! " and poof… they get banned because they used the S-word. Even the Supreme Court ruled that the F-bomb and swears cannot be censured and fall under the protection of the first amendment.

Yes I understand the TOS and EULA that we all agreed to, stated this is a no-no. But really.. as a society, has our mental fortitude become so waterdown, that we have become deathly afraid of these simple words?

Anyways just remember it’s not the colorful metaphors that are offensive it’s the context in which they are used that is offensive. the only people that should be banned or put in time out are those that are harrassing people while using these words. MHO

amradio.2513:

Hieronumous.3541:

I sincerely doubt the veracity of Turtle’s claim.

Well I don’t doubt you’re correct in your skepticism. In any case, the bans aren’t nearly as tight as people say they are. People are just used to getting away with whatever they want on the internet. All of a sudden there’s rules and ppl are freaking out.

How would you know how tight the bans are?

Do you work at Anet? Have you been banned? Have you run a study or are you just running your mouth?

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

Hieronumous.3541:

amradio.2513:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

The swearing policy is a horrible cop-out method of giving the game admins and moderators the power to ban for whatever they desire. They can always say the person in question broke the TOS because everyone breaks the TOS.

For example, the word I was banned for (Anal) is not word filtered on the forum and so is clearly not offensive enough to warrant a ban, yet I was banned for it at the whim of a hypocritical dictator.

How is anal even remotely appropriate?

1. Strong sexual content

or

2. Insulting someone

Jus sayin, you just have to watch your mouth. Its really not that hard to behave yourself.

I sincerely doubt the veracity of Turtle’s claim.

Who cares what you doubt? The events I have described are precisely what happened immediately prior to being kicked from the game server. If you’re actually going to support this system to the point of simply ignoring counter evidence or arguments, then you’re just irrational.

I don’t support the system you’ve described; I just doubt the level of your blamelessness here.

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

Hieronumous.3541:

amradio.2513:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

The swearing policy is a horrible cop-out method of giving the game admins and moderators the power to ban for whatever they desire. They can always say the person in question broke the TOS because everyone breaks the TOS.

For example, the word I was banned for (Anal) is not word filtered on the forum and so is clearly not offensive enough to warrant a ban, yet I was banned for it at the whim of a hypocritical dictator.

How is anal even remotely appropriate?

1. Strong sexual content

or

2. Insulting someone

Jus sayin, you just have to watch your mouth. Its really not that hard to behave yourself.

I sincerely doubt the veracity of Turtle’s claim.

Who cares what you doubt? The events I have described are precisely what happened immediately prior to being kicked from the game server. If you’re actually going to support this system to the point of simply ignoring counter evidence or arguments, then you’re just irrational.

It was inappropriate. You are not allowed to talk like that in public areas, stores, shopping malls, businesses, schools, charity functions, the list goes on. You can do so freely if no one can hear you, obviously, but if someone is exposed to your inappropriate use of language you will be promptly asked to leave the facility/area you are in. In other words, you are temp banned.

ANET is like any other store/public place you go to. You have to follow the rules.

Hieronumous.3541:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

Hieronumous.3541:

amradio.2513:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

The swearing policy is a horrible cop-out method of giving the game admins and moderators the power to ban for whatever they desire. They can always say the person in question broke the TOS because everyone breaks the TOS.

For example, the word I was banned for (Anal) is not word filtered on the forum and so is clearly not offensive enough to warrant a ban, yet I was banned for it at the whim of a hypocritical dictator.

How is anal even remotely appropriate?

1. Strong sexual content

or

2. Insulting someone

Jus sayin, you just have to watch your mouth. Its really not that hard to behave yourself.

I sincerely doubt the veracity of Turtle’s claim.

Who cares what you doubt? The events I have described are precisely what happened immediately prior to being kicked from the game server. If you’re actually going to support this system to the point of simply ignoring counter evidence or arguments, then you’re just irrational.

I don’t support the system you’ve described; I just doubt the level of your blamelessness here.

Well I doubt the level of blamelessness of the ones who reported/banned me. It’s a system built for abuse.

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

I said “Anal [Shelter]”

Someone said they were reporting me for making horrible anal jokes.

A bit later I was banned.

Interesting. So, because this person didn’t like your humour, they had the power to get you banned. And because you used a word that could be interpreted as, “Strong sexual nature” you were banned.

This is exactly what I am talking about. Turtles is now banned for 72 hours because someone else took personally offence to what was said. It doesn’t sound like it was directed towards anyone in particular.

Does this really warrant a 72 hour ban? Does the person who reported this have no responsibility in this?

Personally, if this story was told accurately, I think this is a shining example of how misguided the AN policy is, and how easy it is to abuse. It has been shown time, and time again, through both science and practice that if a few people are given power, they will abuse it.

Because the consequences are so harsh for breaking the rules, AN needs to put a system in place that protects everyone involved. No one person should have the power to ban someone without a proper inquiry.

Turtles, I feel bad for you. I’m scared to chat with anyone in the game now because I have no idea if my personal brand of humour, or whatever will lead to being banned. I don’t think I have much more to say other than I unfortunately have to agree with those who suggest not being social in the game, and sticking to third party communication.

This is a very black mark on an otherwise great game.

I thought of another thing too. Reporting offensive language becomes a he said she said. Sure they can copy and paste the text. But so can I. Which means I can edit it to say whatever I want it to say. So how do we know the person actually said XYZ?

amradio.2513:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

Hieronumous.3541:

amradio.2513:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

The swearing policy is a horrible cop-out method of giving the game admins and moderators the power to ban for whatever they desire. They can always say the person in question broke the TOS because everyone breaks the TOS.

For example, the word I was banned for (Anal) is not word filtered on the forum and so is clearly not offensive enough to warrant a ban, yet I was banned for it at the whim of a hypocritical dictator.

How is anal even remotely appropriate?

1. Strong sexual content

or

2. Insulting someone

Jus sayin, you just have to watch your mouth. Its really not that hard to behave yourself.

I sincerely doubt the veracity of Turtle’s claim.

Who cares what you doubt? The events I have described are precisely what happened immediately prior to being kicked from the game server. If you’re actually going to support this system to the point of simply ignoring counter evidence or arguments, then you’re just irrational.

It was inappropriate. You are not allowed to talk like that in public areas, stores, shopping malls, businesses, schools, charity functions, the list goes on. You can do so freely if no one can hear you, obviously, but if someone is exposed to your inappropriate use of language you will be promptly asked to leave the facility/area you are in. In other words, you are temp banned.

ANET is like any other store/public place you go to. You have to follow the rules.

None of the places you list rely on word of mouth from other equally questionable customers/visitors. All of them don’t have a real-life “chat filter” option that will censor words you choose to not hear.

This game is significantly distinct from these places in these two ways, which renders your point about following a linguistic social contract moot.

Kailthir.6384:

Heres the deal with swearing. Using colorful metaphors isn’t inhearently offensive. If it offends someone, they need to grow a thicker skin. They have the Ignore button or the profanity filter.

Today it seems that everyone is offended by something. Someone says "Holy s***, that was a very tuff boss fight, but hey we did it and survived! " and poof… they get banned because they used the S-word. Even the Supreme Court ruled that the F-bomb and swears cannot be censured and fall under the protection of the first amendment.

Yes I understand the TOS and EULA that we all agreed to, stated this is a no-no. But really.. as a society, has our mental fortitude become so waterdown, that we have become deathly afraid of these simple words?

Anyways just remember it’s not the colorful metaphors that are offensive it’s the context in which they are used that is offensive. the only people that should be banned or put in time out are those that are harrassing people while using these words. MHO

I dont disagree but that is unenforceable. You basically have a system that relies entirely on staff interpretation, which is not visible to the players. Basically you have players getting banned for one thing, while others aren’t banned for something else. Its inconsistent and the playerbase starts to distrust you.

I’d rather have a tight noose because at least I know there is no room for interpretation. You curse you are banned…simple as that. Racial slurs? Banned. Sexist slurs? Banned. Harassment? Banned. Its easy to understand, incredibly transparent, and there’s none of that “I think it was just a har har joke” business.

The other alternative is to just say “forget it” and let it turn into the typical internet chat: full of flames and disgusting use of language.

The concept of controlling abusive behavior is neither fascist nor a question of “legality.” If the system is unacceptable to you, you are free to leave.

If you walk into a school, enter a place of business, go to a club, or sit in a movie theater and become surprised, offended, or upset when you are asked to leave for behaving badly, you obviously need a lesson in the social contract. Why should the Internet be any different? Especially since we all agreed to behaving appropriately when signing in.

Complaints about inconsistency are as old as the concept of policy enforcement (I.e. ancient Sumeria). Mods will get better at being fair. I am glad there is enforcement at all. I feel that there are consequences for poor behavior and that makes me glad to log in, honestly.

Crazylegsmurphy.6430:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

I said “Anal [Shelter]”

Someone said they were reporting me for making horrible anal jokes.

A bit later I was banned.

Interesting. So, because this person didn’t like your humour, they had the power to get you banned. And because you used a word that could be interpreted as, “Strong sexual nature” you were banned.

This is exactly what I am talking about. Turtles is now banned for 72 hours because someone else took personally offence to what was said. It doesn’t sound like it was directed towards anyone in particular.

Does this really warrant a 72 hour ban? Does the person who reported this have no responsibility in this?

Personally, if this story was told accurately, I think this is a shining example of how misguided the AN policy is, and how easy it is to abuse. It has been shown time, and time again, through both science and practice that if a few people are given power, they will abuse it.

Because the consequences are so harsh for breaking the rules, AN needs to put a system in place that protects everyone involved. No one person should have the power to ban someone without a proper inquiry.

Turtles, I feel bad for you. I’m scared to chat with anyone in the game now because I have no idea if my personal brand of humour, or whatever will lead to being banned. I don’t think I have much more to say other than I unfortunately have to agree with those who suggest not being social in the game, and sticking to third party communication.

This is a very black mark on an otherwise great game.

It’s also significant that there is no option for me to appeal the ban, so if I believe I’ve been banned wrongly I have no option to argue my case (except by raising a big angry stink on the forums). Their word is “infallible” I suppose.

Eofkent.8632:

The concept of controlling abusive behavior is neither fascist nor a question of “legality.” If the system is unacceptable to you, you are free to leave.

If you walk into a school, enter a place of business, go to a club, or sit in a movie theater and become surprised, offended, or upset when you are asked to leave for behaving badly, you obviously need a lesson in the social contract. Why should the Internet be any different? Especially since we all agreed to behaving appropriately when signing in.

This system does not control abusive behavior. People keep comparing this to real-life situations, so let me spell this one out for you.

This isn’t like a movie theater, this isn’t like a church. This isn’t a grocery store, or a public park, or a place of business. This is a pre-school, because we’re all here to play.

If I squirt water in some other kid’s eyes and then he gets mad and starts hitting me, I get to tattle to the teacher on this other kid and he gets a time out while I run off to be a little brat somewhere else. That is the system that is being used and embraced here.

I’m pretty happy with Turtle’s ban. Hopefully you won’t begin that awful spam that plagues other mmo’s. the whole (word here) [skill here] spam is something that I hope never comes to GW2 and I applaud Anet, and the players, for striving for a great playing experience.

amradio.2513:

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

None of the places you list rely on word of mouth from other equally questionable customers/visitors. All of them don’t have a real-life “chat filter” option that will censor words you choose to not hear.

This game is significantly distinct from these places in these two ways, which renders your point about following a linguistic social contract moot.

I dont know how new you are to life, but yes they do. Generally a customer will go to a manager and report your conduct, in which case the manager will find you and ask you to leave or stop your behavior. It works just like the reporting system in-game.

Reported because the phrase “I dont know how new you are to life” is not civil or respectful.

Obviously everyone else in this imaginary grocery store is just as offended so you’ll be thrown out forthwith.

Apparently such a system is required. It is real life in that real people are interacting. Other people read what you say. Your words affect others.

If this is not understood, then maybe “kindergarten” punishment is, in fact, required?

Next time you want to use profanity, go ahead and whisper it to yourself at a volume no one else can hear. No one will tell on you, I promise.

Turtles All The Way Down.5608:

It’s also significant that there is no option for me to appeal the ban, so if I believe I’ve been banned wrongly I have no option to argue my case (except by raising a big angry stink on the forums). Their word is “infallible” I suppose.

I think you can open a support ticket actually, but in the end you could be waiting the same number of days.

That’s why I think there should be a system where a player who has been reported is allowed to continue playing while the review process is happening. Each player should have a “report threshold” which, if a person is being abusive will be reached very quickly.

While the person is being investigated, they’re allowed to continue playing. The mods should review the situation and give the player equal opportunity to plead their case. If it is an isolated incident, it should result in nothing more than a mark towards the “report threshold” if it is a clear case of abuse, then sure 72 hour ban seems appropriate.

As least a system like this would seem to resemble some form of fairness. It would stop people from abusing the system, and make AN accountable for their decisions.

Eofkent.8632:

Apparently such a system is required. It is real life in that real people are interacting. Other people read what you say. Your words affect others.

If this is not understood, then maybe “kindergarten” punishment is, in fact, required?

Kindergarten punishment, as I’ve described, doesn’t punish the guilty.

After recieving multiple reports from this thread, I’m locking it down to prevent it from derailing any further into a bigger flame war. Please help keep these forums a productive and friendly place by posting in a respectful tone.

If at some point the team might want to add something to this thread, it might be reopened