Reasons for Ban

[Lucerna]

While I agree that the most likely case is that the OP used inappropriate language that wasn't curse words, I can see part of their point.

GMs are, by policy, not allowed to give details on the behavior that caused a ban. I don't fault the GMs for following policy, they need to keep their jobs and some of them probably have cats to feed. However, I believe the policy should be changed to allow for more information.

I know the concern is that the offender will know who reported them and be able to retaliate. However, some one who reported once is also likely willing to report again in the event of retaliation, which will lead to further action on the offender's account up to a permaban. And on the other hand, I've known people who suffered account action but honestly wanted to apologize to those they hurt. So I think it will be beneficial to the community at large if more information could be given to ban recipients on the reason for the account action.

[Blokeymon]

While I agree that the most likely case is that the OP used inappropriate language that wasn't curse words, I can see part of their point.

GMs are, by policy, not allowed to give details on the behavior that caused a ban. I don't fault the GMs for following policy, they need to keep their jobs and some of them probably have cats to feed. However, I believe the policy should be changed to allow for more information.

I know the concern is that the offender will know who reported them and be able to retaliate. However, some one who reported once is also likely willing to report again in the event of retaliation, which will lead to further action on the offender's account up to a permaban. And on the other hand, I've known people who suffered account action but honestly wanted to apologize to those they hurt. So I think it will be beneficial to the community at large if more information could be given to ban recipients on the reason for the account action.

The problem you have there is that harassment isn't just limited to in-game. Some douche finds out who reported them, they can pursue them outside of the game.

Email harassment, social media, possibly face to face if they know each other IRL, and that kind of harassment is out of SE's hands.

Their policy may seem unusual, but they do it for all the right reasons.

[The_Last_Dragoon]

Honestly, any sort of ban involving harassment should require multiple infractions and reports due to the interpretive nature of the violation. The fact that telling a player that they shouldn't be equipping Strength accessories on their Black Mage can be considered "nuisance behavior" and the complete lack of guidelines as to what constitutes "excessive criticism" means telling someone how to do something twice can land you a temporary ban.

[Oopsy]

Honestly, any sort of ban involving harassment should require multiple infractions and reports due to the interpretive nature of the violation. The fact that telling a player that they shouldn't be equipping Strength accessories on their Black Mage can be considered "nuisance behavior" and the complete lack of guidelines as to what constitutes "excessive criticism" means telling someone how to do something twice can land you a temporary ban.

I think small infractions this might be reasonable to ask for. Bans do not happen with out any form of investigation. They are not banning people purely because the other person did not agree with their political view on global climate change. They could... but I seriously doubt it. Most bans I've heard of like this one were temp bans more as a warning. When you are a child and you say something offensive to another student is it not reasonable for the teacher to separate you from the other children for a while? Even if its the first time you ever said something offensive? I think it is, gives you a chance to think it over and in the future you will be more cautious.

I work at a call center currently, I get 10-50 calls a day. Most are okay but some customers can really grate on me. The next customer might say something that just adds fuel to the same fire. If I come home and watch my Lalafells dance and start getting harassed by some bloke who wants to stand on my lalas it might just wreck my day. I ask them to leave and they insult me... It might be their first time getting reported, but it might have been a big impact on my day. Mind you It is a little over the top example but still you get the point right? Might not be big for the person reported but it could be the proverbial straw. In cases of much worse forms of harassment including those that are race, politically, or sex driven everyone should have a basic understanding that it is socially unacceptable by now. One time is enough. Plus, if SE has 99999 one time reports and someone gets wind of it and they never acted on it... That does not look good in SE's part especially if you see 3 of the most extreme one time reports that happen to be on a similar topic a soar opinion of SE might be formed.

[DamianTenbe]

They should make a seperate thread discussion in which players can ask out in a public why and what for. They don't have to include names, just the the harassment or against policy part. Soon players will be scared to interact with each other if aggressive enforcing tos will be in place like this.

[Oopsy]

Omega being Trans could be true or false hard to say, Never asked Omega for its opinion on the matter.
But if you rush in to a raid and say something negative about Omega paired with calling them a transsexual. Or if you imply the reason you are killing them is because they are transsexual. I'm sure that will offend a good number of people. Some people would think it means nothing while others would find it highly offensive. If some one accused Kefka of being homosexual and said lets kill him, would it not be offensive? Sure not to some... but does that make it right? If some one said titan was the N word and that we should kill him, wouldn't most people find it offensive? Transgender does have derogatory terms, though not all know or feel the same way. Though LTGBQ+ acceptance and understanding is still growing many people falsely believe they are using the correct terms. And awareness is not yet to a point where people fully understand. I am not part of this community, though when I was described as A-Sexual in the past I found it offensive. I don't need a label and don't believe love or gender is as simple as one or the other or even directly related. If you want to look into some information on Transsexual terms and what some consider politically correct and not here is a link to an article I believe is useful: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/le...rms-and-labels

I would say if you are going to say something that is funny but touches a topic that can be sensitive it is best to make sure all parties are people who share your tastes in humor or keep it out of the game altogether, discord, ventrilo, mumble, team speak, and/or PS Chat? There are a good number of places where you can be as raunchy as you want.

I admit a lot of jokes, sarcasm, and jesting can easily be taken the wrong way. Banning everyone over everly little dumb blonde joke or your momma joke may be too far, but there is a time and place. FFXIV hopes to be a safe place for all including some minors. The age cut off of 13 still leaves a number of impressionable minds who need protection. The variety of people who play who are of different nationalities, heritages, religions, genders, sexuality, and other classification/labels. The punishment should match the crime and awareness should be spread.

I once worked for Xbox support. They had a shift in policy while I was working there. When players were banned they used to be able to get an explanation from the enforcement team. They would post in the forums and they would get a response with a short explanation. This was not working out, Some of the responses were comical like the blue smurf racism post (Like 3 page story the enforcement team wrote about a historical smurf book, after a user was angry they were banned for modding their characters skin color)... but other just were well straight forward. This took a lot of enforcement teams resources and to simplify they switch to a generic response. When a player got banned they would just reply with the section of the TOS that was violated. This was easier and had a template that could be used. This isn't to say the investigation process changed. They still investigate each claim, some even involve sitting and watching the player or playing with them... They do not ban for no reason but they give a very generic response now. I have known a GM here and they have tools and they do investigate claims. Chat logs and other forms of proof can easily be obtained in most situations. A generic response does not mean there is not a reason or a weak reason. Not that one is required, silly EUA.

We could come up with a dozen reasons to tell people the full reason they were banned and to present evidence of the reason and allow for an appeal or to mount a defense. We could also come up with a ton of reasons to justify vague or template based responses. I do love to debate and feel if I reported some one I would rather they not know, at the same time if I were banned for insulting someone I would have a fair understanding as to why, I do not say much to offend, nor much at all... well okay... maybe Lalafell Master Race may have been said a few times... And I do often say other races are inferior to lalafells and highly recommend people change their race to improve their lives. I am only looking out for their best interests. So If I insult someone I would have some thought as to why, If I was only told I offended someone I would know that I need to tip toe a bit more in the future. If you or others have a hard time raining things in because your beliefs often clash or you have a dark sense of humor or because you are an extremely religious person, or strongly opinionated it might be easier to offend. You may be best keeping to FC private, and linkshells. Though that does not mean you can go above and beyond you are less likely to offend.