Option to privatize or opt-out of lodestone displaying character. Show your support!

[Senn]

Even with a name change you can still be found, the lodestone links stays the same, they'd have to create a new character entirely

I think we were talking about a scenario where we could opt-out or privatize our lodestone pages. The above poster is concerned that a player could harass someone, change their name, and then hide their lodestone page to avoid being found.
But the thing is, you can still report them. GMs have chat logs, and they probably even know the x,y coordinates where harassment occured. Just make sure your report includes all the necessary information, like the time, date, what happened, etc...

[Gemina]

I'm also 50/50. I will admit that the OP makes a strong case for it, but I also can't shake the feeling that such a feature would also promote illicit activity. It's a double edged sword. Somewhere in the middle is the concrete thought I have that believes if you play the game as intended, the less likely you are to be harassed. Making yourself stand out in any way also increases the likelihood of being harassed and stalked.

Even with the option, there still is not a method that works 100% to avoid being harassed. Having to make yourself private on lodestone, changing your name, switching servers etc. are all things that inconvenience the player much in the same way a person will change their phone number or email address to lose the trail of someone they don't want following them around. It also makes thing inconvenient for those of friendly intent if they want to show their support.

Like I said, it's a double edged sword and it's better to just play the game along with being very selective with those you allow into your social circle.

[Reinha]

I think you can already hide alts on the forum. You can click on them in the settings and the character plates go brown or gray. The one marked with a star is the forum face and can't be grayed out.

[Seraphor]

I'm also 50/50. I will admit that the OP makes a strong case for it, but I also can't shake the feeling that such a feature would also promote illicit activity. It's a double edged sword. Somewhere in the middle is the concrete thought I have that believes if you play the game as intended, the less likely you are to be harassed. Making yourself stand out in any way also increases the likelihood of being harassed and stalked.

Even with the option, there still is not a method that works 100% to avoid being harassed. Having to make yourself private on lodestone, changing your name, switching servers etc. are all things that inconvenience the player much in the same way a person will change their phone number or email address to lose the trail of someone they don't want following them around. It also makes thing inconvenient for those of friendly intent if they want to show their support.

Like I said, it's a double edged sword and it's better to just play the game along with being very selective with those you allow into your social circle.

Making your profile private might be slightly inconvenient, but it's 100% less inconvenient than having to delete your account and start again from scratch...

I'm still not quite sure how this could promote illicit activity. If you report someone, SE would still be able to see who's account that report is linked to, even if they changed their name and settings.

[Senn]

I'm also 50/50. I will admit that the OP makes a strong case for it, but I also can't shake the feeling that such a feature would also promote illicit activity. It's a double edged sword. Somewhere in the middle is the concrete thought I have that believes if you play the game as intended, the less likely you are to be harassed. Making yourself stand out in any way also increases the likelihood of being harassed and stalked.

Even with the option, there still is not a method that works 100% to avoid being harassed. Having to make yourself private on lodestone, changing your name, switching servers etc. are all things that inconvenience the player much in the same way a person will change their phone number or email address to lose the trail of someone they don't want following them around. It also makes thing inconvenient for those of friendly intent if they want to show their support.

Like I said, it's a double edged sword and it's better to just play the game along with being very selective with those you allow into your social circle.

Sure, it would be better to not make enemies in the game, but some people are crazy and irrational. Like a vindictive ex that wants to drag you through the mud and ruin your social life. Relationships sometime fall apar, it's just life. Sometimes people take it way too far. I've noticed a lot of women in particular being stalked and harassed by an ex and they can't escape it, even with a name change or server transfer. It's not fair that the victim has to abandon their account - all those years of achievements, mounts, glamour, and other sentimental reasons. And it can happen to men too, I just notice it a lot more with women. Heck, sometimes the woman in this scenario was never even in a relationship with the guy, but he won't take no for an answer. Even if she blacklists him, he'll just use an alt, make a new account, or create a trial account. Victims of stalking and harassment need a way out without throwing out their entire character.

Give us the option to privatize or opt-out of lodestone. There are plenty of MMOs that don't even have a lodestone-like feature, and they function just fine.

I think you can already hide alts on the forum. You can click on them in the settings and the character plates go brown or gray. The one marked with a star is the forum face and can't be grayed out.

I thought you could still see other people's alt accounts on their forum profile though? Do I have that wrong?

[Gemina]

Making your profile private might be slightly inconvenient, but it's 100% less inconvenient than having to delete your account and start again from scratch...

I'm still not quite sure how this could promote illicit activity. If you report someone, SE would still be able to see who's account that report is linked to, even if they changed their name and settings.

It's 100% more convenient to not have to do it in the first place. That's the point. And if a good person can make themselves a shadow to avoid a troublesome individual(s), the same benefit is granted to a toxic person who wants to evade the trouble they've caused. Zoom out and put more thought into what you're proposing or supporting.

Sure, it would be better to not make enemies in the game, but some people are crazy and irrational. Like a vindictive ex that wants to drag you through the mud and ruin your social life. Relationships sometime fall apar, it's just life.

Ever hear or read the saying, "Birds of a feather"? You're right, some people are crazy and irrational. Those people tend to surround themselves with others who are crazy and irrational. Hopefully you see where I am going with this.

[Senn]

Ever hear or read the saying, "Birds of a feather"? You're right, some people are crazy and irrational. Those people tend to surround themselves with others who are crazy and irrational. Hopefully you see where I am going with this.

Yes you're right, but that's not always the case.

It's 100% more convenient to not have to do it in the first place. That's the point. And if a good person can make themselves a shadow to avoid a troublesome individual(s), the same benefit is granted to a toxic person who wants to evade the trouble they've caused. Zoom out and put more thought into what you're proposing or supporting.

If your concern is that toxic people can abuse the system by "disappearing", well... they are already doing that. A toxic person can already stalk and harass someone by making an alt, making a new account, or free trial account. They are already hiding themselves. What difference does it make if they private their lodestone? Which, by the way, they can still be reported and banned even if they do private their lodestone. This might even be better in the long run because if people choose to be toxic on their main account and not on an alt, they can get banned and lose their stuff - which probably means they're less likely to do that kinda thing on their main.

If your goal is to be toxic and harass/stalk someone, why would you do it on your main account? Like, why would you risk a ban on your main character?

Toxic people are gonna toxic. The victims of their harassment and stalking are sitting ducks with no way out of the situation.

[Bobby66]

Assholes will always be assholes with or without anonymity, I think being able to private your page would offer an extra layer of protection from such people. End of the day it is not up the community to enforce the rules or seek out their own form of justice. Leave that to GM's and give players more tools to police their own experience and maybe even mitigate risk factors of running into said people.

Edit: Before someone stats it will provide bad actors a way out of their BS. Sure that may be the case but who is to also say they do not troll / stalk people on throw away accounts? So their main account could still very well be protected.

[Senn]

Edit: Before someone stats it will provide bad actors a way out of their BS. Sure that may be the case but who is to also say they do not troll / stalk people on throw away accounts? This is a throw away account.

Exactly this.
Being able to private your lodestone makes little difference to the harasser (they can just make an alt), but it makes all the difference for the victim. It gives victims of stalking and harassment a way out.

[Reinha]

I thought you could still see other people's alt accounts on their forum profile though? Do I have that wrong?

I'm not sure about alt accounts but I have other characters on the same account that aren't visible on my forum profile. Although if someone had saved an alt's lodestone page back when I had them visible they would still be able to track them.