Quote Originally Posted by /? shout
ALIASES:
　/shout, /sh
USAGE:
　/shout [message]

→Sends a message to all PCs in the same area. The message will not be displayed if a PC has deselected [Shout] in the chat filter.
"area" is the official game term for what we commonly call a zone. Are you certain the messages you saw were shouts? If so, it would be helpful to take a screenshot and file a bug report in the In-Game Bugs subforum.