The In-Game Reporting System Is Severely Flawed And Needs An Overhaul

[Glaschuu]

I'd like to begin my statement with the fact that I've never been suspended and/or banned. However, I and my friends have experienced multiple instances of reports weaponized against us for matters that have nothing to do with harassment and/or cheating. Simply put, they were personal matters that aggrieved parties chose to take in-game (i.e. RL!stalking and doxxing in my case).

Right now, these are my two biggest grievances with the in-game reporting system:

1) A game with an OPT-OUT profanity filter shouldn't allow reports to be filled on filler words such as 'fu**' and 'sh**'. I understand this is in the TOS, that 'profanity' shouldn't be used, but in no country are online interactions rated. I find it a bit hypocritical that you have to toggle the option to see profanity in the first place, yet you can report people for it. I also worry about this situation from a roleplay perspective: some characters are crass and they curse. Yet I've had friends be reported at roleplay venues for curse words such as 'sh**'.

Players with grudges and trolls are already taking advantage of this easily exploitable feature to report those they don't like for grievances as silly as, "This person got a Saint title and I'm salty about it."

2) If I'm being warned/suspended/banned, I should be told what I did wrong so I can correct it (if possible), or at least learn from it. I understand there's a fear of retaliation towards the person who issued the report, but even the most basic systems of justice have mechanisms in place for this situation. It's unethical not to tell a person what they did wrong, not only because it breeds paranoia, but because it lacks transparency as it doesn't allow a person to learn from their mistakes, nor allows the game's community to understand boundaries. Logs should be provided, period, in the name of transparency, regardless of whether I'm a citizen of Europe (GDPR) or California (CCPA).

The reporting system in this game is incredibly flawed. As a victim of stalking in-game not once have I felt any of my reports have helped my situation at all. The blacklist system in this game is beyond weak, and I worry that the blacklist system, combined with my grievances above, will make Data Center Travel a nightmare for those of us who've transferred data centers to avoid abusers and harassers.

Thank you for reading.

[MightyTachikoma]

It's a little ridiculous that I feel the need to warn sprouts in dungeons/Alliance raids about language usage in a game where you have the option to turn on a profanity filter.

Doubly so that it's well known how abusable the report system is, which is the primary concern: Everyone knows it's busted.

As for point 2: You can tell someone, vaguely, what they did wrong without giving any personal details of the reporter away. Isn't that the job of a GM? To interface with players when these issues arise?

[BraveMustaine]

When NPCs in the game regularly use 'shite' 'damn' and other words and phrases that would be considered reportable its honestly ridiculous that this works out this way. The harassment reporting system more or less exists as a tool for people to abuse it to get rid of people they don't like, and almost entirely falters when it's used for a purpose that's important like OP mentioned - it does almost nothing to stop stalking or troublesome individuals invading others personal space. Blacklisting does not help in that regard and unless that is overhauled, it will continue to not help.

Not being told in the slightest what you did wrong aside from a vague blanket statement is entirely unhelpful - there's no way to ascertain WHAT you did wrong so you have no idea what was construed as 'harmful language' in the first place. Having a GM appear and say 'you did bad! don't do it again!' and then disappear into the ether is about as unhelpful as you can get. I have more or less stopped talking in-game entirely outside of with friends that I know personally, and go out of my way to avoid other players because of this, and aside from glaring technical issues, has really soured my experience of the game over time.

[Doozer]

I was hoping this thread was about making reporting a better system rather than mostly just "how am I supposed to know what I did wrong" and "people misuse it".

I've never been disciplined in all my years of playing this, and I've pushed it a few times. One even sent me a link to a screenshot of them reporting me. If you're really not sure what you could've possibly done to get warned or suspended, you need to wonder why that's so difficult for you to remember (I'm speaking about the general 'you' here, by the way). Sometimes I have interactions with people that, had I been put in a gaol within a few hours, I would easily be able to guess what I did.

There's reasons why they don't always tell you, like you said, but they're also not obligated to tell you. There's no rule or law that states they have to. Even in the user agreement, I believe, it says they can even terminate your account for any reason or no reason at all. They don't work for us, they don't owe us anything.

Best of all, you don't have to worry about remembering what you did if you just behave yourself. Remember that even if you use profanity and do other things around friends, that doesn't mean a stranger is going to be okay with it. You can argue that someone might report you for "nothing" and it could be something you're fine with so you don't remember it, but you need to remember that you're coming in contact with all different types of people, and 99% don't know you. Would you say the same things to a cashier who's ringing up your stuff? A cab driver? The waitress who just asked you if you want more coffee? Have more respect for people around you and you won't find yourself confused when confronted by a GM.

It's also not an automated system, so someone trolling and reporting someone because they have a title that they're jealous of doesn't mean someone will get disciplined.

[Glaschuu]

I was hoping this thread was about making reporting a better system rather than mostly just "how am I supposed to know what I did wrong" and "people misuse it".

I've never been disciplined in all my years of playing this [...]

Maybe re-read my thread, because I made it clear why I've started this thread as someone who's gone through the gauntlet that is their abysmal customer support to due a serious matter that ended up requiring RL!llegal help (stalking and doxxing) acerbated by their poor handling of the matter. I also stated I've never been suspended and/or banned. Even Blizzard has better customer service than Square Enix. And now, as a victim of stalking and doxxing, I'm worried that Data Center Travel will only acerbate the two glaring faults I've outlined above. Things which not only I've experienced, but also watched my friends experience.

I don't use profanity and/or curse at all in this game. But I have seen enough bad faith reporting to know it is an issue. A hypocritical issue given that the game's profanity filter is OPT-OUT. A frustrating issue given that serious grievances like stalking, doxxing and bigotry-based harassment aren't taken seriously at all.

They don't work for us, they don't owe us anything.

And that's where you and I will never agree. Because, actually, they do: I'm paying for their service (since 2.0), therefore I'm their consumer. They're providing a product (the game itself) and a service (the subscription). And as a company, they're bound to certain rules they must follow. As a consumer, I too have rights and I too am free to state my displeasure with their procedures and policies, even if I agreed to them, and especially after they failed to keep me safe and actively undermined my enjoyment of their product. That's what feedback is, and that's why this forum exist.

[Doozer]

Maybe re-read my thread, because I made it clear why I've started this thread as someone who's gone through the gauntlet that is their abysmal customer support to due a serious matter that required RL!llegal help (stalking and doxxing)

Mate if you're having real life problems, you go to the police, not the in-game report system. Finding out their username won't make a difference when you're literally dealing with them in real life. If someone is actually stalking you in real life (you know, like in person), that's a matter for law enforcement, not Square Enix. What, you think banning them will make someone stop harassing you irl?

And as a company, they're bound to certain rules they must follow. As a consumer, I too have rights and I too am free to state my displeasure with their procedures and policies, even if I agreed to them, and especially after they failed to keep me safe and actively undermined my enjoyment of their product. That's what feedback is, and that's why this forum exist.

I suggest you read the things you agree to when you make your account and play the game. They can do whatever they want with your account, or anyone else's, including nothing at all. Stating your opinion is fine, but acting like they work for you (they still don't, by the way, you license their product, nothing more nothing less) is arrogant and false.

[Glaschuu]

Mate if you're having real life problems, you go to the police, not the in-game report system. Finding out their username won't make a difference when you're literally dealing with them in real life. If someone is actually stalking you in real life (you know, like in person), that's a matter for law enforcement, not Square Enix. What, you think banning them will make someone stop harassing you irl?



I suggest you read the things you agree to when you make your account and play the game. They can do whatever they want with your account, or anyone else's, including nothing at all. Stating your opinion is fine, but acting like they work for you (they still don't, by the way, you license their product, nothing more nothing less) is arrogant and false.

I'm going to stop engaging you now because 1) I'm not interested in outlining my experience of being stalked/doxxed in-game which escalated to RL, which was not helped by Square Enix's negligence/devil-may-care attitude and their deeply flawed blacklist/report system, and 2) we fundamentally disagree on what a company owes its customers. I also don't understand why you seem upset someone is providing feedback of an in-game feature in the feedback forum. Have a good one and all.

[Doozer]

I'm going to stop engaging you now because 1) I'm not interested in outlining my experience of being stalked/doxxed in-game which escalated to RL, which was not helped by Square Enix's negligence/devil-may-care attitude and their deeply flawed blacklist/report system, and 2) we fundamentally disagree on the duties of what a company owes its customers. I also don't understand why you seem upset someone is providing feedback of an in-game feature in the feedback forum. Have a good one and all.

I didn't demand you divulge details about your experiences. I told you that if you're actually in danger you should be taking it to the police, not SE.

Here's the User Agreement by the way, maybe give it a read in your free time. It may help shed light on a few things.

[MightyTachikoma]

To be clear: I, too have never once been even so much as warned. Yet I understand how problematic their current policies are regarding this topic.