SE's inability to protect players from stalking/harassment

[AiUsagi]

It won't. Honestly, as others have pointed out, I doubt the devs even pay attention to the forums. It's unfortunate, really. Almost any other official game forum has some presence. We have some big threads with suggestions on these forums with pretty much no interaction at all.. but deleted posts.

You're right. I doubt this thread alone will be enough. That's why I have every intention to post multiple places regarding this matter and I encourage everyone else to do so too. Theyre only going to take notice if it causes a real stir in the community.

[Jojoya]

You're right. I doubt this thread alone will be enough. That's why I have every intention to post multiple places regarding this matter and I encourage everyone else to do so too. Theyre only going to take notice if it causes a real stir in the community.

You're going to have a hard time stirring up the community when the community is not being affected. Such harassment as you describe is relatively rare in games. Most harassers get bored with their activity and give it up after a few weeks.

It's even rarer that a game company doesn't take any action against a player engaging in genuine, prolonged harassment. They don't want to have to deal with subpoenas and the need to present records if the issue should end up in court. They definitely don't want to be involved in publicity if that harassment leads to real life tragedy. SE is usually very prompt in responding to player harassment claims and I don't know anyone who has reported harassment that continued to have a problem after. I have no idea why it's different in your case.

If it's been going on as long and is as severe as you say, it may be time to take legal action. Make certain you've got everything well documented, including your reports to SE and their response, then contact an attorney. Depending on how online harassment is viewed and prosecuted where you live, they may refer you to law enforcement. Or they may decide some sort of civil suit is appropriate.

But honestly, the best way to escape harassment in a game is to make a new character and leave the one known to the harasser behind. They've got no way to trace your new character unless you or someone else who knows about the new character shares the information. Should it be necessary? No, but sometimes it's the only effective course to take.

[Absurdity]

But honestly, the best way to escape harassment in a game is to make a new character and leave the one known to the harasser behind. They've got no way to trace your new character unless you or someone else who knows about the new character shares the information. Should it be necessary? No, but sometimes it's the only effective course to take.

Let's be honest here. If having to abandon your current character is the best way to escape harassment it doesn't exactly speak well of the game and it's systems in place to prevent said harassment.

The simple fact that you can remove someone from your friend list and even blacklist them but you still show up on their friendlist, with all the functionality that includes, is a joke, and not the "haha funny" kind of joke.

[AiUsagi]

Let's be honest here. If having to abandon your current character is the best way to escape harassment it doesn't exactly speak well of the game and it's systems in place to prevent said harassment.

The simple fact that you can remove someone from your friend list and even blacklist them but you still show up on their friendlist, with all the functionality that includes, is a joke, and not the "haha funny" kind of joke.

So much this, I couldn't agree more!!!

[Jojoya]

The simple fact that you can remove someone from your friend list and even blacklist them but you still show up on their friendlist, with all the functionality that includes, is a joke, and not the "haha funny" kind of joke.

Except that's the way most games function when it comes to friends and blacklists, even if players don't realize it. In WoW, you can add another player's character to your friends list without their knowledge or consent at all. It's only if you want to add them as a Battle.net friend so you can see if they're online regardless of what character they're playing or what server they're on that you need consent.

It's situations like the OP's where the problem with the system becomes apparent but these situations are extremely rare. There are plenty of things players can do that don't technically fall into the category of harassment even if they're annoying and game companies won't bother taking action against the other player.

As I said before, SE is usually very good about dealing with genuine harassment issues. They're definitely more responsive than Blizzard was to a harassment situation I experienced in WoW that led me to quit playing on my main server for a few months (and no more harassment was experienced once I returned). We can't know why SE is apparently not addressing this situation like they normally would. All we have to go by is the OP's version of events.

Ultimately, we're responsible for protecting ourselves and we're the ones that have to take actions even if it's inconvenient. It's not up to SE to protect us. If the harassment is continuing and is that bad, playing on a new character for a while or quitting the game altogether is what needs to be done. If the harassment is at criminal levels, get law enforcement involved.