Online Bullying - A Dev request for a response and discussion

[kurokawa]

Bullies

Duty finder is increasingly becoming a playhouse for these folk, attacking any player, new or old, not just for their performance or ability, but going as low as attacking race, gender, sexuality and god knows what else. They are not just 'trolls'.

I'll leave this link here as an example. This was posted on twitter today. I wasn't in the party.

[Image removed by Moderator due to inappropriate language]

What should the devs seriously be doing about it and what should we as a community be doing to combat these individuals?

Outside the MMO bubble, these people could and would be charged with criminal offences for their behavior, so why are they getting away with it online?

We should not be burying our heads over this, as it will have more impact on the playerbase than RMT, login issues or otherwise.

Devs, I would be really grateful if you could make it clear what action is to be taken.

I love this game, please don't let people ruin it, but more importantly, don't stand on the sidelines and let people get bullied when everyone can see it happening.

Let's get together and kick these people from our realm.

EDIT:

I posted this earlier today, shortly after seeing the image from fusionx at gamerescape on twitter (sorry to implicate you pal!). I have read some good stuff here, some good points of view. Thanks to all that have supported my view that abusive shouldn't be tolerated. Appreciate the others that took time to post too. No point having a discussion if it's one sided. Gotta get the balance right.

TL: DR Really, I just don't like seeing people getting away with abuse, call it bullying or whatever you want, especially when the game is rated 12 and there are kids about who haven't yet learned to deal with trolls.

It's that simple.

There are some great posts in the thread talking about what can be done, what should be done, who's responsibility is, if anyone's.

I'm glad it's been brought up, hopefully these people will soon be ignored, blacklisted, banned or laughed at.

If any of you have experienced this stuff in game, don't let them get away with it. Report them.

Second Edit: Some pretty shocking views in the thread, but I think they're in the minority. I hoped to get a sensible discussion going but it seems to have got messy as always.

Most of you guys, like me, find this sort of stuff deplorable. Thanks for the support, but most of all, I hope this thread means that a few more people will speak out next time they witness any form of abusive/offensive behavior. Whether you agree or not, it's against SE's rules and regs.

I do hope the devs implement some more DF features in future to ensure a safer and more enjoyable journey for the majority.

[BrainWoodstock]

God, i miss the time where i could say that someone is bad, because he is bad, without them beeing butthurt. Soak it up, grow up or do something else.

I never even met such a person in duty finder, i really think you are totally overreacting as 95 % of the online community. And such playser are mostly really young ones that just dont know better, when they grow up they will learn it.

[d4rkie]

One thing you can do right now is take screenshots, search the name on the lodestone and report them using the "Harassment" channel. This is why I want a dota-like reporting system during and after duties, so that these guys will never get away easily.

[zPanda]

Most of these people are probably just kids who get bullied IRL or just losers that don't have much going for them in real life so they take out frustrations online and try to get an ego-boost that way. Just ignore them or blacklist them. People who have a pretty good real life generally don't act this way online IMHO .

[Doozer]

God, i miss the time where i could say that someone is bad, because he is bad, without them beeing butthurt. Soak it up, grow up or do something else.

I never even met such a person in duty finder, i really think you are totally overreacting as 95 % of the online community. And such playser are mostly really young ones that just dont know better, when they grow up they will learn it.

I don't really think that's the right mentality to have. Being angry/upset that someone harassed you because of your race, gender, sexuality, etc. doesn't mean you need to just 'soak it up and stop being butthurt'. That's serious stuff. Being on the internet doesn't make it any more okay, nor does it make someone's response to it any less valid.

As well, the belief that people will 'grow up and learn' is the reason why we still have such bigoted adults today. People don't just magically wake up one day and realize their mistakes. They have to be taught.

[Somi]

It's the internet, people are dicks. Enforcing anything will just make it worse.

Just don't be hurt by it and move on. Enjoy the nice people, it's just like real life, because it's the same people, except they feel safer in saying what they think.

I do support helping someone to get BETTER or tell him/her why he's bad over insults and name calling. This is a personal way of thinking though, most people don't have the patience and quite many of the hardcore (meaning playing all day every day) players are elitists and can't restrain themselved when they see someone who's not up to their standards.

All I would ask is a rating function that can keep players that are harassing others out of the Duty Finder, but this can be misused by those players to kick harmless noobs for being "bad" as well...so meh...

[Duelle]

It's the internet, people are dicks. Enforcing anything will just make it worse.

Just don't be hurt by it and move on. Enjoy the nice people, it's just like real life, because it's the same people, except they feel safer in saying what they think.

This. At the most we need stuff like "vote to kick" in Duty Finder, which I am surprised was not included with the game when it launched. Yoshida has experienced online games before, so I would never expect him to be in fantasy land like Matsui "please be nice to each other and invite players that aren't geared/optimal despite our conditioning you to take the optimal players/jobs or wallow in failure" Akihiko, and I as such hope they work on something where groups can handle trolls and abusive types by kicking them from their DF groups.

[koriandrr]

I agree and disagree, Doozer. People have the full right to be upset, but then again this is the internet. People like myself and I would say BrainWoodstock as well have grown up on it and it kind of makes you have thick skin.
It's in human's nature to act more cold and say things they wouldn't say irl when they're behind the keyboard, we can't change that. This comes to people as natural as breathing air.

People are different and some of them find it stress-relieving/satisfying to be rude online and of course there are other people who would take that seriously and get offended. We can't change people, but we can make them understand and see the other person's point of view.

If someone really pisses you off, calm down and try explaining to them how their behavior makes you feel and ask them kindly to stop. If that doesn't work then they are officially beyond help and do it for fun. Only then go and report them. I hope the SE team are doing something about these reports.

[Pandamonious]

This is why I want a dota-like reporting system during and after duties,

You want a terribly scripted auto ban system that's based only on the number of reports?

[kurokawa]

Glad to see a discussion has started. Talking about what the community thinks is why I posted.

I personally am a grown man, mid 30s, I've seen my fair share of bullies and can deal with them in my own way. However, it's not me I'm worried about.

It's kids bullying other kids that really troubles me, because it's often 'hidden' online. Kids won't often speak out, won't stick up for themselves, they won't tell anyone it's happening.

As a community I think we all have a responsibility to do something about it. Whilst I do agree with BrainWoodstock that 95% of the guys in DF are cool, it doesn't mean that we should let the 5% carry on.