Is moderation in this game a joke?

[ichigooo_milk]

I've reported a fair few people in this game for being disruptive and hateful. All of those times I've gotten a copy paste "we're sorry this happened to you, try blocking them though" response.

I'm actually very frustrated with this, considering that my home world is Balmung and that is where most of the disruptive people go to. I've reported a person who has been making alt character after alt character that was SA-ing people, openly being transphobic, openly homophobic, everything under the sun and all I have gotten was the copy paste report and a warning on my account for swearing instead. I've also more recently reported a person for making off "jokes" about child labor and child slavery with the same response received.

I'm trying to make this game a safer place not only for me, but for others that feel uncomfortable around people like those and I do not feel like reports are not being taken seriously, especially in Balmung. Many of my friends who have reported other people of similar behavior have told me that they have received the exact same responses as I have and the offender going unpunished.

The way that myself and others perceive the GMs in this game is that they ignore the serious reports of harassment and instead crack down on the most heinous of crimes that is swearing. This is not a good look. Please do better, I am exhausted of having to report terrible people to what is essentially a brick wall.

[Jeeqbit]

Well of course. They can't tell you what actions they took for privacy reasons. So you just have to trust that if they have sufficient evidence of wrongdoing on their system that they will pay them a visit.

Sometimes, this may just be a warning, or it may be a formal warning, or it might be a temporary ban so you'd just see them again a few days later. But regardless of which this is, it can motivate them to reconsider their behaviour.

[Wolwosh]

Maybe you should change server if you're that sensitive and on Balmung of all servers.
Its like the wokies go to these places on purpose to get triggered..
"I'm trying to make this game a safer place" holy sh*t thats a red flag if I ever saw one xD

[Local_Custard]

I say this with sincerity but you may want to stay away from places that you are feel upset by. I am a fragile person so I need to manage my energy and mental well being very well or else I spiral. I still am learning healthy coping skills so in its place I simply limit harms in my life wherever I can. I have been around a fair number of unsavory people and heard their horrible words. People like that are unlikely to change. It sounds like the system may or may not be helping you either (the moderators are being vague for privacy reasons- we might not know if they are taking action or not). At the end of the day the best I can do is not sticking around places that continue to harm me. Or if I either have no choice but to stay or I'm feeling particularly stubborn I tend to talk a break from those areas as salting the wound will not form scars but keep the rips open. ...it isn't literally like that but the metaphor works for the purposes of describing mental well being in an unhealthy environment.
Where do you usually hang out in Balmung that you run into these people? Is it in the overworld? Do you run into people like this in content like dungeons/raids/trials? I've heard of that world's reputation so I am not entirely surprised by what I am hearing. How far are you into the story? I ask this last question because there are some very nice locations you could possible set up camp to hang out at that are seldom visited (maybe by an occasional botanist/miner or a fisher or by the rare crafter who happens to be in the area).
As for your point on wanting to make the environment better for you and your friends I'll have to honest in that you range of influence is likely limited. Even if you were to put in a lot of effort you would likely get very little change and thus the energy conversion isn't particularly the good. In many cases it is like trying to get water from rocks.
tldr; my biggest advice is please do what is best for your mental health and the mental well being of your friends. Maybe it requires a change of scenery or limiting time in particularly populated areas.

It is frustrating- I know the feeling of being unable to really change a toxic environment. Change for toxic places cannot be done by a singular person alone.

[ichigooo_milk]

I feel like I have to specify that I have been playing this game for about 2 years. I'm caught up with everything, do a little raiding, crafting, fishing. I do have very good friends, and the reason why I chose Balmung is that I have made a character there when I was in free trial to play with a friend and join their FC. So I'm definitely not a new user. My habits in the game is to craft and hang out in Limsa, but when I do go to Balmung for things or to meet with other friends, it always is just annoying that whenever I go there and find unsavory people spouting off some clearly deranged things and displaying off-putting behavior. I am aware that Balmung is the sex hub as another poster said, and no I don't purposefully go there to get my wokie self triggered like wolwosh said. But I feel like I have to reiterate that I am not the only one in my circles that have been reporting, and as a collective we feel like nothing is being done.

[LianaThorne]

I feel like I have to specify that I have been playing this game for about 2 years. I'm caught up with everything, do a little raiding, crafting, fishing. I do have very good friends, and the reason why I chose Balmung is that I have made a character there when I was in free trial to play with a friend and join their FC. So I'm definitely not a new user. My habits in the game is to craft and hang out in Limsa, but when I do go to Balmung for things or to meet with other friends, it always is just annoying that whenever I go there and find unsavory people spouting off some clearly deranged things and displaying off-putting behavior. I am aware that Balmung is the sex hub as another poster said, and no I don't purposefully go there to get my wokie self triggered like wolwosh said. But I feel like I have to reiterate that I am not the only one in my circles that have been reporting, and as a collective we feel like nothing is being done.

So, what would your ideal solution be? Perma ban everyone or?

[Jojoya]

But I feel like I have to reiterate that I am not the only one in my circles that have been reporting, and as a collective we feel like nothing is being done.

What do you think the GMs could be doing that would make a true difference?

People will be people. The GMs can and will take action within the rules and policies they have been told to follow if someone is reported for behavior that is a clear violation. But they cannot make racists/homophobes/bigots/etc. change who they are.

Hopefully the number of people who act in such ways will diminish over time but human society is unlikely to ever be rid of them entirely. There will always be those who are ignorant and vocal. And those individuals will occasionally be found in online gaming just as they are found in other places like politics.

The best course of action is to not give those types of individuals power over you. Again: report, blacklist, and move on. If you notice them mainly congregating in certain areas, avoid going to those areas (unless a quest is specifically taking you there) if you're not capable of ignoring shout or say.

[Jeeqbit]

Maybe you should change server if you're that sensitive and on Balmung of all servers.

Well as someone who played on Balmung for most of my years playing this, the LGBTQAI community on Balmung was always especially large so if you would describe yourself as such it absolutely makes sense to play there to meet people you understand.

You're most likely to run into rowdy individuals in Ul'dah. If you simply don't go to a city state like that, then you never see this stuff.

[LianaThorne]

I've reported a fair few people in this game for being disruptive and hateful. All of those times I've gotten a copy paste "we're sorry this happened to you, try blocking them though" response.

I'm actually very frustrated with this, considering that my home world is Balmung and that is where most of the disruptive people go to. I've reported a person who has been making alt character after alt character that was SA-ing people, openly being transphobic, openly homophobic, everything under the sun and all I have gotten was the copy paste report and a warning on my account for swearing instead. I've also more recently reported a person for making off "jokes" about child labor and child slavery with the same response received.

I'm trying to make this game a safer place not only for me, but for others that feel uncomfortable around people like those and I do not feel like reports are not being taken seriously, especially in Balmung. Many of my friends who have reported other people of similar behavior have told me that they have received the exact same responses as I have and the offender going unpunished.

The way that myself and others perceive the GMs in this game is that they ignore the serious reports of harassment and instead crack down on the most heinous of crimes that is swearing. This is not a good look. Please do better, I am exhausted of having to report terrible people to what is essentially a brick wall.

Here's the thing:

Balmung is the sex hub of the game.

All of the things you're complaining about are norms there and accepted by the community and have been for years.

You are not going to fix Balmung. Balmung is too far gone at this point to not be a degenerate wasteland permanently. The GMs also won't step in unless someone is getting actually harmed in my opinion (like threats of violence against you in person). I had a stalker case that went unresolved until they went full psycho, took over my characters old appearance and name and started threatening me and my friends. That got them a perma ban (and I only know that through an acquaintance that knows my stalker).

They're also probably not going to take sides on any major issues such as transphobia, homophobia, etc. because they have to remain a neutral party to political issues. It sucks but I understand why from an objective perspective, they can't make any big statements like that unless the company is on board with taking that stance, otherwise they'll probably just lose their job and potentially land SE in hot water.

You have to kind of decide at this point whether or not you want to stay there. Any other server on Crystal would be calmer than Balmung is (Mateus debatable) and it's a whole other planet on the other DCs.

[ichigooo_milk]

Its like the wokies go to these places on purpose to get triggered..

go back to reddit