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.

[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.

[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.

[necrosis]

I don't really think that's the right mentality to have.

Yes it is. This is a GAME. Not real life. If someone bothers you there are options. Like leave the party or just get up and walk away from the game for a while, blacklist them...

Your options compared to an actual physical confrontation are much greater. I do not condone bullying and agree physical "in person" bullying is a serious issue. But complaining about "online" or "virtual" bullying is just stupid. YOU HAVE OPTIONS.

[Usotsuki]

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.

Pretty much this. You should not be buttmad because of some kid giving the group some free comedy.

>Bullying
>Internet

Pick one.

Laugh it off, these kids wont make it far with this attitude.

[wirewitch]

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.

Only way children learn, is if there are consequences to their bad behaviour. Ignoring it, is not a consequence they fear. Ban them. I'm sure they'll learn a little faster.

[Yuichi]

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.

Thing is they are not "young ones" unless you mean mentally developed. Most who use such insults are 18+ and I have even seen some 35 year olds act that way.

[urieaal]

well you don't get around the internet much if you don't see this kinda of bs very often.. its every where. While yes they are mostly children There are some adults that act like this too. I really have to ask where the kids parents are and how come there not doing there parental responsibility's and taking care of there children, teaching them right from wrong. As this is wrong.

This kind of behavior is not acceptable IRL nor is it imo acceptable online. If my kid talked to someone like this online i would bare ass whip him.

Not to mention that even talking like that to someone can get you jail time, easily..

the problem is that there not really learning and that most people don't want to put up with it. where here to enjoy our self's not to parent others children. There really needs to be some consequences for this kind of behavior.

[Alhanelem]

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.

Telling them they are bad doesn't help anything. You are doing nothing but picking a fight. And you're actually wrong. The average age of a gamer is in the 30s. Just becuase someone has inferior equipment or skills that aren't up to your standard doesn't mean they are young, either.

Instead of saying "UR BAD!" you could try giving them some advice for a change. Telling them their bad won't do anything to solve your problem of getting bad players. But if you are constructive, you can potentially reduce the number of bad players you and other people encounter in the future. tl;dr: telling people they're bad achieves nothing. It's a waste of their time and yours.

Block them using your blacklist, this should also prevent them from being queued with you again in the future (something Square should implement)

Blacklisting people you might never even see again in the DF is a waste of space on your blacklist. There should be a command to mute individual players in the duty finder without using the blacklist.