Feedback on harassment

[MoraClaret]

I've been playing MMORPGs since they were a thing, and I've always believed that behavior like this should come with consequences.

Sadly this problem has only gotten worse and most developers seem to be taking an increasingly passive stance on it.

It's especially bad in FFXIV since it's virtually impossible for the community itself to regulate this kind of behavior. In older games if you behaved this way to everybody you met, you would earn a reputation and not be welcome in most parties. It meant that toxic people like this would have to control themselves a bit if they wanted to participate. Now, with DF and other systems, these people can just summon up a new handful of people to use and abuse at their leisure with no lasting repercussions.

[Seraphix2407]

Harrasment's comes in many forms, not the only the shit talk like Op mentioned. Am I going to explain what type of harrasment? No, because it should be obvious. You see it in game here and on the reddit page as well.

[Evangela]

Some people called me "n...", immigrant, and other racism terms (even though I'm not any of those ethnics). I reported them to GM, they shown up to talk to me, saying that they're taking it seriously and will punish them.

Then I kept refreshing their lodestone profiles and found out that they could change job and equipment for a week or so, meaning that they weren't banned even for a day.

I don't think I'll report anyone again. It's a waste of time.

[Culfinrandir]

You know, I may get some crap for this:

Just ignore it. It's a video game; an MMO.

A video game with cat people and small doll-like creatures with potato qualities.

Try not to take anything seriously. Now, on the other hand, if someone makes a legitimate threat on you, your family, your friends, etc., ignore report and contact the authorities.

It's a game that people *PAY* for. If you ordered a pizza & it arrived with a used condom on it you'd not say "it's just a pizza". When you pay for something you're entitled to expect a reasonably satisfying experience. If it was a free game that youyou didn't invest in then fair enough, but it's not, it's a paid for service - just like that pizza.

[UunoTurhapuro]

I've learned to just let it go in from one ear, and out of the other one. Saves a lot of your mental health in the long run. But if it really bothers you that much, just report, blist and carry on. GMs will do something if they see it necessary. You may or may not be the only one reporting them. If it's just you, the GMs may not be able to dish out judgement based on a single report.

[Gallus]

OP I believe this isn't so much a problem of this game but about finding that one guy. I'm pretty confident this happens on very rare occasions, no one has ever launched me a dead threat in this game, and played it thousands of hours. If things like the one you described were the norm then yes, you'd worry, but if I was you I'd just move on, I know it's unpleasant to meet these sort of people, but whether they take real action against them or not, your best course of action is to stay away from them and get yourself as little involved as you can with these individuals. There is no way to 100% shield the entire playerbase from any sort of verbal abuse without turning Eorzea into a dictatorship.

[Granyala]

Well OP you had to do something to set them off.
I never encountered death threats before.

This is the Internet and the internet contains flaming "tough guys". You need to grow a thicker skin.
That's probably what the GMs did, which is why you never saw any action.

BTW: Flaming/insulting you once or twice is not harassment.

IMHO, reporting players for simple insults is a waste of GM time. Leave them be, so they can help with more serious things.
If you can, try to kick the mean guy out, should be punishment enough.

Someone being nasty about someone's performance? Blacklist.

Yes, how dare they criticize the god given playing skill of the Ice III spamming Black Mage...

[Kallera]

Report, and specify what you have been experiencing. be sure to note the time and the date, and they will look into the matter.

However, due to policies(and possibly social implications) they cannot tell you when or what result the investigation leads to. The most that can occur is a GM asking you some questions for clarification.

But the system does work.

[Critical-Limit]

It's a game that people *PAY* for. If you ordered a pizza & it arrived with a used condom on it you'd not say "it's just a pizza". When you pay for something you're entitled to expect a reasonably satisfying experience. If it was a free game that youyou didn't invest in then fair enough, but it's not, it's a paid for service - just like that pizza.

If there was a used condom on your pizza that's the company giving you a disservice. SE is not harrassing people.

Not a good analogy.

Try someone, saying "kill yourself" in line at Disney land. Obviously Disney should "escort" someone like that out if he's being compulsive and angry everywhere.

[LadyVal]

Report, and specify what you have been experiencing. be sure to note the time and the date, and they will look into the matter.

I have noticed action being taken against some people I have reported, and I can't stress enough to be as thorough and direct as possible. The GM probably doesn't care what lead up to the harassment, just that it happened, and they want to know where, when, and exactly what was said. If you file a report and say "someone harassed me earlier today" you'll get much less of a response than if you say "At 1:00 pm on x server, this person said x, y, and z to me." Some people are just vile and should be banned, and the best way to get them there is to just be thorough and direct about what exactly it is these people do. Also, I really recommend that after you report just putting on some rose-tinted glasses and blacklisting them and moving on. It's partly the GM's responsibility to handle the situation for the sake of the community, and partly your responsibility to not put yourself back in harms way (with the same people), so to say.

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