Harrasment & Malicious Intent

Hi,
I'm an FFXIV creator on Twitch & Twitch Partner, a player has maliciously intended to steal my characters name after seeing that I didn't do the name change correctly, after transferring my main character 'Sarah Jane' from Siren to Sephirot (hence the ' in my name now).

After deleting my first alt on Sephirot that was called 'Sarah Jane', I deleted it just before the transfer of my main from Siren to Sephirot, to try and reserve my name.
But it still requested that my main character's name had to be changed.

So when the name was available again my friend reserved the name for me, so I could get it when it became available again, I was streaming and didn't want to do the name change on stream. But as soon as my friend deleted the character 'Sarah Jane' for me to rename, the name was taken IMMEDIATELY.

The character that now goes by "Sarah Jane" seems to be acting like a 'bot' and is not "understanding" us when we tried to talk to them about the situation.
They have chosen ALL default settings (appearance, class, and all) for their character, there was NO effort into creating the character because they just wanted the name.

They have now contacted my Twitch mod threatening us... see image
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...12/unknown.png

Please let me know if there is anything that can be done about this, this person's account needs action taken on it. The only reason they have created this character is to threaten me.

Thank you for your time

I suggest to just ignore him. The more he/she feel you are after the name the more he will feel empowered. Accept having a different name and he will have nothing to bargain with.

It is annoying what that player has done though so hopefully karma reaches him.

impersonation is against TOS. if you haven’t done it yet, file a report

Yeh, that's what I will do once I have tried to reach support, I just don't think these people should be allowed to get away with this.

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Originally Posted by Sarah_Jane

Yeh, that's what I will do once I have tried to reach support, I just don't think these people should be allowed to get away with this.

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Hope you succeed. Good luck and God speed :)

Exactly, I have reported the character and I have contacted a GM and they told me to post on the forum to hope it reaches the right people?

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Originally Posted by Sarah_Jane

Exactly, I have reported the character and I have contacted a GM and they told me to post on the forum to hope it reaches the right people?

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I don't see why they would tell you that. These forums for General Discussion and other subforums here are just to talk about gameplay and the like, not to take action against someone for violations. FFXIV moderation has taken action before outside of the game directly related to FFXIV, I don't see this as any different. If they are telling you to post on a forum that is rumored to be moderated, it sounds to me that they just wanted you handed off to not be their problem.

You said they threatened you in the post image above, but I don't see anything that would constitute a threat against you. It looks like someone is more or less challenging you to do some type of savage content?

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Originally Posted by Sarah_Jane

Exactly, I have reported the character and I have contacted a GM and they told me to post on the forum to hope it reaches the right people?

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yeah, you won't reach anyone besides other players using the forums. i'd suggest going into the TOS and copy / pasting the part about harassment and impersonation. you'll have to keep pressing it in order for the GMs to do anything sometimes.

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Originally Posted by Sarah_Jane

Exactly, I have reported the character and I have contacted a GM and they told me to post on the forum to hope it reaches the right people?

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That is, sadly, a brush off response by the GM. It's their way of saying "i really don't want to do anything if you lost control of your name"

Keep at it, as it's clearly not allowed in the TOS

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◆Impersonation
"Impersonation" means impersonating or fraudulently claiming to be another player, Square Enix employees, or any other third party. This could involve using a character name, Free Company name, etc., that resembles one that is used by another person, or using a name that is the same as, or similar to, the name of a Square Enix employee.

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https://support.na.square-enix.com/f...5382&kid=68216

Also, make sure you re-register your name using an alt on your old server after the transfer.

All you can really do is try the support. If it doesn't work, you could instead use another name. Many streamers don't use exactly the same name as they do on twitch or use a variation.

You could also try making one on another server if you can accept a different server.

Well I guess I'm the one coming off as a villain.

You don't "own" a name if you don't get it first. It sucks but it's true.

Someone isn't impersonating you by virtue of taking the name you want.

The games support staff does not extend beyond the confines of Square Enix "territory". They can't police what someone might have said on Discord.

We only have your word for happened, a picture of a chat is meaningless.

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Originally Posted by Conundrum

Well I guess I'm the one coming off as a villain.

You don't "own" a name if you don't get it first. It sucks but it's true.

Someone isn't impersonating you by virtue of taking the name you want.

The games support staff does not extend beyond the confines of Square Enix "territory". They can't police what someone might have said on Discord.

We only have your word for happened, a picture of a chat is meaningless.

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You're right. OP doesn't own the name and it would be easier for them to come up with a new one in game and then block and cease all contact with the harasser. The fact that someone went out of their way to take the name and attempt to extort and coerce OP, clearly thats just normal sane human behavior. But its totally something the OP is responsible for dealing with. /s

As for OP, contact Twitch. Extortion and coercion for streaming activities is a violation of the ToS so if they sent anything through Twitch, or even discord for that matter, it will can be dealt with from that. Unfortunately you are probably going to have to have a different name then the one you want. Just make sure that you stop all responses to the clearly mentally disturbed person and only keep records of things they send you. With enough messages there are other legal routes you can look into that will have a more serious impact for your psycho.

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Originally Posted by dapperfaffer

You're right. OP doesn't own the name and it would be easier for them to come up with a new one in game and then block and cease all contact with the harasser. The fact that someone went out of their way to take the name and attempt to extort and coerce OP, clearly thats just normal sane human behavior. But its totally something the OP is responsible for dealing with. /s

As for OP, contact Twitch. Extortion and coercion for streaming activities is a violation of the ToS so if they sent anything through Twitch, or even discord for that matter, it will can be dealt with from that. Unfortunately you are probably going to have to have a different name then the one you want. Just make sure that you stop all responses to the clearly mentally disturbed person and only keep records of things they send you. With enough messages there are other legal routes you can look into that will have a more serious impact for your psycho.

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Because people never lie on the internet.

I don't think SE will do anything. Plus you already admitted someone was impersonating you intentionally that you asked for. Theres no reserving names, either you have it or you don't. Thats a problem in its own. As far as i see they should give the op a temp ban just on the grounds for impersonating.

The name itself is also a common name. You might as well ban all john smith sort of names if you think it break tos to have a common name.

For the discord message which i assume its from, thats discords issue, not SE.

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Originally Posted by Bsrking5

I don't think SE will do anything. Plus you already admitted someone was impersonating you intentionally that you asked for. Theres no reserving names, either you have it or you don't. Thats a problem in its own. As far as i see they should give the op a temp ban just on the grounds for impersonating.

The name itself is also a common name. You might as well ban all john smith sort of names if you think it break tos to have a common name.

For the discord message which i assume its from, thats discords issue, not SE.

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For regular players a name means very little.
For Streamers or other content creators, Their character names are often associated with their brand.

If someone just took it to annoy them by never actually using the character, that's fine. Happens to all streamers who play MMOs.
The problem is when someone uses that name to impersonate you.
That can do irreparable damage to people with a public image, like a streamer.

Doing or saying something while pretending to be someone else can cause loss of sponsorships, channel demonetizations etc.

Losing your name to a normal player is not the problem.
Impersonation and attempted coercion are literal crimes.

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Originally Posted by Sylve

For regular players a name means very little.
For Streamers or other content creators, Their character names are often associated with their brand.

If someone just took it to annoy them by never actually using the character, that's fine. Happens to all streamers who play MMOs.
The problem is when someone uses that name to impersonate you.
That can do irreparable damage to people with a public image, like a streamer.

Doing or saying something while pretending to be someone else can cause loss of sponsorships, channel demonetizations etc.

Losing your name to a normal player is not the problem.
Impersonation and attempted coercion are literal crimes.

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And Squenix taking away another players name to give it to a streamer would be a PR disaster for them. Because it would be seen as favoritism.

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Originally Posted by Sylve

For regular players a name means very little.
For Streamers or other content creators, Their character names are often associated with their brand.

If someone just took it to annoy them by never actually using the character, that's fine. Happens to all streamers who play MMOs.
The problem is when someone uses that name to impersonate you.
That can do irreparable damage to people with a public image, like a streamer.

Doing or saying something while pretending to be someone else can cause loss of sponsorships, channel demonetizations etc.

Losing your name to a normal player is not the problem.
Impersonation and attempted coercion are literal crimes.

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It doesn't matter if someone is using a name as their brand. They do not own the name within the game. Names are first come, first serve.

Someone having the same name does not mean they are attempting to impersonate another person. To be impersonating, they would have to be telling others that they are the other person.

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Originally Posted by Conundrum

And Squenix taking away another players name to give it to a streamer would be a PR disaster for them. Because it would be seen as favoritism.

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So .. you're more OK with literal crime than perceived favouritism?

SE doesn't have to give the name to the OP, but they can sure as hell ban the character using the name, not only is impersonation a crime, it's also against ToS.
SE has every right and an obligation to intervene.

SE terminating an account for breaking ToS AND law is perfectly reasonable.
It's on the OP to try to get their name back once the offender has been dealt with.

"Square refuses to help a player whose name was taken and used to impersonate and coerce them"

"Square assisted a player whose name was maliciously taken during a transfer issue and used to coerce and impersonate them"

Which story is worse PR?
Even if the OP never gets their original name back, the one who took it needs to be punished for their behaviour.

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

It doesn't matter if someone is using a name as their brand. They do not own the name within the game. Names are first come, first serve.

Someone having the same name does not mean they are attempting to impersonate another person. To be impersonating, they would have to be telling others that they are the other person.

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Did you even read my post?
Taken names are common, especially for streamers.
However, the difference is how that name is used.
If they just play normally, no one would even notice.
If they used the name and proclaimed they were someone they weren't, that's a crime and it has repercussions for the person being impersonated.
Public image is important to brands, even more so for streamers who can lose sponsorships and monetization if the impersonator manages to fool the right people.

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Originally Posted by Sylve

So .. you're more OK with literal crime than perceived favouritism?

SE doesn't have to give the name to the OP, but they can sure as hell ban the character using the name, not only is impersonation a crime, it's also against ToS.
SE has every right and an obligation to intervene.

SE terminating an account for breaking ToS AND law is perfectly reasonable.
It's on the OP to try to get their name back once the offender has been dealt with.

"Square refuses to help a player whose name was taken and used to impersonate and coerce them"

"Square assisted a player whose name was maliciously taken during a transfer issue and used to coerce and impersonate them"

Which story is worse PR?
Even if the OP never gets their original name back, the one who took it needs to be punished for their behaviour.

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Please stop trying to be an internet lawyer. It's ridiculously cringe.

There is no crime and any law enforcement agency on the planet would laugh at you...as would any lawyer if you try to portray it as such.

Name on transfers are never guaranteed but a person can take steps to try and ensure they have them.

1) Make an alt (on the same account) on the world you want to transfer to with the name you want
2) Initiate the transfer process
3) Wait
4) When the character is showing on the world screen then delete the alt with the name you want to use
5) Click on the main character and rename it

It is unfortunate that due to a mistake the name got returned to the "pool" and taken by someone else but that's what happens sadly. SE makes no guarantees over who gets what name so you have no leg to stand on there. SE also do not police what happens on other platforms. If the person has messaged you in game then they will pay attention.

They are standing in front of me atm, talking to momodi, i dont think its a bot

Lol, that "deadline" made me crack up. What sort of baddie does this person think they are? I bet they said nothing when OP explained that's impossible because people are in the middle of transferring, like a kidnapper who hangs up on the hostage's relative when they say "how am I supposed to get the money?"

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Originally Posted by Zomkei

impersonation is against TOS. if you haven’t done it yet, file a report

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Much as I sympathize with OP, putting on my "god help me I used to be on the other side of the player/developer divide for an MMO at a past job" hat for a moment, "impersonation" in the context of a TOS document usually means that someone is deliberately misrepresenting themselves as a different person with intent to either defraud (such as by pretending to be a Square-Enix GM and trying to scare someone into giving up their password) or defame (such as pretending to be a prominent streamer with a very distinctive name and then deliberately acting in a way to ruin their reputation).

From what I see in the original post, the person's being a blackmailing jackass -- and there might well be something in that behavior that you can pin a TOS violation on, don't get me wrong -- but it sounds like they're just inconveniencing you, not impersonating you, so I strongly suspect you're not going to manage to make "impersonation" stick.

Especially since "Sarah Jane" is not a distinctive enough name that I think you can argue meaningfully that someone looking at the name will immediately think of you specifically. I mean, I had a character briefly (on a different MMO, not here) named Sarah Jane, as a reference to Sarah Jane Smith from Doctor Who. My friend had managed to make a character who looked like David Tennant, and we decided to make a joke out of it and a bunch of friends and I put together more or less an entire TARDIS crew drawing from both NuWho and Classic Who; there was an AussieTeagan and a SarahJane and a RoseTyler and a DoctorMartha... and one friend even made Adric (as "MathBoy") before he reconsidered the wisdom of that choice. It was a whole Thing.

(In my defense, we were really, really bored that weekend.)

Don't get me wrong, I think this person's being a jerk. I just don't think "impersonation" as it's likely meant in the TOS is going to work to try to nail them to the wall.

But you have my sympathy, nonetheless.

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Originally Posted by Packetdancer

...one friend even made Adric...

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I liked Adric, pity he had to end up on the B-Ark and plummet to a fiery dinosaur-killing death.

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Originally Posted by Packetdancer

I mean, I had a character briefly (on a different MMO, not here) named Sarah Jane, as a reference to Sarah Jane Smith from Doctor Who. My friend had managed to make a character who looked like David Tennant, and we decided to make a joke out of it and a bunch of friends and I put together more or less an entire TARDIS crew drawing from both NuWho and Classic Who; there was an AussieTeagan and a SarahJane and a RoseTyler and a DoctorMartha... and one friend even made Adric (as "MathBoy") before he reconsidered the wisdom of that choice. It was a whole Thing.

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If only Black Wolf would have been a less popular of a name so you guys could have nabbed that too.

Bad Wolf not Black Wolf

Sorry OP. Sucks, but there is no way to prove anything from out of game chat. Moreover, as many people said, your name is a pretty “John smith” common name- a random name generator could have made the character using your name.

Get the character offering to sell you the name or otherwise screenshot them threatening you/impersonating you in the actual game then go for it. So far there is no actual impersonation or threat happening.

Otherwise, the GMs really just have to assume it’s a random player. I’m sure you didn’t, but there is no way to prove you/your mods aren’t just chatting randomly to yourself/a friend in twitch to make it look like someone is harassing you.


Moreover, I would exercise caution if you are streaming. Basically, if you rant about some one stealing your name and your fan base starts harassing them in game, you might land in hot water.

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Originally Posted by Shibi

I liked Adric, pity he had to end up on the B-Ark and plummet to a fiery dinosaur-killing death.

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I actually think poor Adric got a really lousy deal, yeah, though I recognize he's not a terribly popular character. The reason the person thought better of it was less because of Adric-as-a-charcter and more we gave him a lot of crap about picking one of the only companions to permanently die in an episode and how he was dooming his character from the start.

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Originally Posted by RobynDaBank

If only Black Wolf would have been a less popular of a name so you guys could have nabbed that too.

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Oh, the short-lived guild we made was named "Bad Wolf Incorporated". We went deep on the joke; as I said, we were bored.

But as much as I love fan-nerding out about stuff I enjoy, none of that's directly relevant to OP's situation. Save inasmuch as an illustration of the fact that unfortunately it's hard to argue that "Sarah Jane" as a name is specifically and uniquely identified with this particular player.

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Originally Posted by Bearded

Bad Wolf not Black Wolf

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To be fair, on an FFXIV forum, accidentally writing "Black Wolf" (i.e., Gaius van Baelsar) instead of "Bad Wolf" is a pretty understandable typo. ;)

Sorry to hear this happened to you, but to be brutally honest I don't expect the mods to help you on this and the best thing you can do is just ignore them. Blacklist them in game, ban them on your Twitch, and neither you nor anyone representing you should bother to respond to them or give them attention on any platform. Move on, and take all the fun out of it for them.

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Originally Posted by Bearded

Bad Wolf not Black Wolf

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Fuuuu, now I'm embarrassed!

The lengths these people will go to to try and get their streamer to do something. Lol.

There's at least 20+ characters with the name Sarah Jane on the lodestone >_<"

He sounds like a simp. I’d report and ignore him. Also let the name go and get a new one, it’s tainted now.

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Originally Posted by Conundrum

And Squenix taking away another players name to give it to a streamer would be a PR disaster for them. Because it would be seen as favoritism.

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This depends on if it's trademarked. I know Towelliee''s name is trademarked, and he's had several games force the company to give him the name and they have done so.

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Originally Posted by Sylve

Did you even read my post?
Taken names are common, especially for streamers.
However, the difference is how that name is used.
If they just play normally, no one would even notice.
If they used the name and proclaimed they were someone they weren't, that's a crime and it has repercussions for the person being impersonated.
Public image is important to brands, even more so for streamers who can lose sponsorships and monetization if the impersonator manages to fool the right people.

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Yes I did read it. I guess you don't understand basic concepts.

Streamers do not own their name.

Having the same name as a streamer does not mean you're impersonating that streamer.

A streamer trying to build a brand using a common real life name that millions of people have is an exceptionally dumb streamer. No one is going to run into a "Sarah Jane" and automatically think "oh that must be the FFXIV streamer". If you really want to build a brand, pick a name that's both catchy and unique.

Sponsors probably aren't going to take action against a Sarah Jane streamer because of something a random Sarah Jane has done. If they're that dumb, find better sponsors.

To be honest, after this I'd just ditch the name lol. I've had a skinwalking ex-friend steal a past name which I openly changed and made sure everyone knew so that they knew the ex-friend was just a creepy weirdo and I've had an ex-partner steal a name too, in hopes I'd talk to them to get it back. Left them to gag and choke, anyone who needs your attention that much is down so astronomically bad, even acknowledging it pulls you down near their blackhole of desperation too. Couldnt be me. Shouldnt be you either. You can wake up and name yourself whatever you want any day of the week. You dont have to bargain or reason for a thing. People can take your name, your look, your tastes, but they can never take your identity nor can they take your attention if you dont let them and it sounds like thats all that person is after. Your attention.

Block them, see if GMs do anything but if they dont, happily change name and move on. They're likely to dump it anyway once they realize you've stopped caring since it'll no longer be of any use.

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Originally Posted by Menriq

This depends on if it's trademarked. I know Towelliee''s name is trademarked, and he's had several games force the company to give him the name and they have done so.

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Thats kindof different. Try trademarking the word hello, the courts wouldn't allow it. When your brand name is that common your name isn't special and isn't protected. Also that would also mean banning all the other 20 something players with it on the lodestone and the "thousands" of similar names. Thats not gonna happened. OP is in the wrong anyways.

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Originally Posted by Bsrking5

Thats kindof different. Try trademarking the word hello, the courts wouldn't allow it. When your brand name is that common your name isn't special and isn't protected. Also that would also mean banning all the other 20 something players with it on the lodestone and the "thousands" of similar names. Thats not gonna happened. OP is in the wrong anyways.

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Oh I'm not disagreeing, especially since it's a common name. I was just simply saying that a company giving a streamer their name might not be favoritism or a PR move, but rather a legal one.

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Originally Posted by Sylve

So .. you're more OK with literal crime than perceived favouritism?

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lmfao you and anyone who agrees with you are being ridiculous. this is basically bullying and very much a "just look away from the screen". harassment? yeah sure report to discord/in game when the person harasses the OP in game. otherwise? nothing the gms can do, Sarah Jane is literally the most plain name in the universe. SE shouldn't give the name away because "I had it first for my twitch and it's my brand!" pick a better name

there's no crime other than feeling entitled to an username lol