Online Bullying - A Dev request for a response and discussion

[Thunderz]

there is no reason for this to be posted on the forums

please report it to a GM

this is pointless drama

[Araeya]

Report extreme offense using the Service Desk > Harassment option available to everyone in game and blacklist the player. A vote to kick option would be great just to immediately solve the problem as it happens.

That said, people really do need to be able to handle these situations. Yes, the person spewing nastiness needs to be more mature, but also remember that part of being mature is learning to handle people being assholes, as well. If you are too young (in which case, parents shouldn't be letting the kid play unsupervised) or too emotionally sensitive to do that, maybe MMO's aren't for you.

I don't believe in coddling. I'll try to help folks grasp mechanics and encourage them to blacklist the offending party, but that's the extent of it. Report and move on.

[Jess72]

So then the bullies can be entitled to special treatment to continue such behavior? No. There's a system in place already to report harassment, because it is not acceptable. Don't try and tell others it's ok because you might have dealt with some BS in your life.
Fact of the matter is, if you conducted yourself in the same behavior as OP pointed out IRL, you'd be charged with harassment and/or something more.
The net does not give you the right do it without repercussions

Per the Terms of Service, which can be seen here http://support.na.square-enix.com/fa...6&id=5382&la=1

Which everyone here agreed to when you signed up, now if YOU choose to violate that TOS, it's on YOU, not the "crybaby"
Man up and read what you agreed to when you signed up to play

Next time you quote someone, don't remove half of their post.. that's very selfish.

Rekujen made a very good point and I think you need to read his post again, he never said immature players should be entitled to it.. he said YOU'RE not entitled to special treatment just because you're upset.

Limiting communication is stupid because players that are well-mannered suffer in the end. I can't whisper my friend because there's a limitation on tells, why? because people are mean to each other. Who suffers in the end? we do.. the good players with no bad intentions.

Why make game-breaking changes that affect loyal customers just because there's a few bad apples in the bunch?

It's simple

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

Vote kicker, this is pretty standard in multi-realm duty finder utilities, even in party groups... why isn't it available?

I'm all for sorting bad people out, with proper methods... NOT limitations.

[Iolair_Silverwing]

Next time you quote someone, don't remove half of their post.. that's very selfish.

I'm all for sorting bad people out, with proper methods... NOT limitations.

I edited the quote because the forum limits the number of characters. Just as i had to do with yours. He used his post to give his schpeel, I used my post for mine..
With his text and mine I couldn't post it all. Besides, why would I repeat all of that acceptance of unacceptable behavior?

[Ptolemy]

Report them then blacklist.

You are not helping the situation if you just blacklist.

[Sneakaboo]

Make an option for duty finder to queue as shard only.
The problem will solve it self that way.
Rude players will end up being blocked by about every one they party with.

Since the game is not about alts they will just end up playing with each other.

[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.

[Malakhim]

As for the Duty Finder, I've had nothing but positive experiences with it thus far aside from some rather gung ho DDs and tanks on occasion who I have to learn a thing or three, but I usually do it in a non-abrasive, friendly way that keeps group cohesion high. A hard task, because I'm usually the only person actually talking!

I really think a lot of you are missing the point of what some other people have been saying. The people telling you all to "grow a thicker skin" and what not aren't doing it to be "internet tough guys" or to be dismissive; they're saying it for your own good and well-being. Hell, even Jesus Christ told everyone to "turn the other cheek".

In both the on- and off-line realities, there are assholes. There will always be assholes. Hell, just a few weeks ago, some dude told me to blow it out my ass while I was driving, and I heard some other guy just straight up flip out on an older gentleman in front of his(the antagonist's) family. That's not even a fraction of the "assholery" present in the real-world. As a side note, several of you seem to be UK posters. Correct me if I'm wrong(and my information is outdated), but wasn't the house of lords or commons full of grown men screeching at each other at times?

Add the face of anonymity, and you get a whole buffet of asshats who want nothing more than to see the world burn. But then, are all of them really that bad? Maybe they were having a really bad day, and someone who didn't know their role in a game they're playing(everyone is paying a sub to have fun after all) messed up badly, and that was the last straw for that person. We don't know these things. Obviously this is just a hypothetical, and who knows how often it occurs, but the point still stands. Maybe the person just really needs some help with anger management.

I won't take a stance on whether or not we're coddling people far too much(this coming from a guy who was bullied for a period in his life), mostly because I know that like the "internet asshole", many of you are afraid of acknowledging things about yourselves or others that may or may not be true, but I will say this: The best thing you can do, as others have said, is black list 'em, report 'em, and move on with your life. It takes two to tango; don't be their dance partner. And on the internet, EVERY hole has a festering pile of toxic, bile-spewing hate mongers just waiting for a chance to see you squirm, and this is a problem that regardless of how we want to "change the world", will NEVER go away. Many of you cite the law, but the law can't be everywhere all the time.

And really, why are some of you letting your kids online, let alone playing an online game whose ToS ALSO states that you need to be above a certain age to even be playing? That's about as irresponsible as taking them to the theater to see an R-rated movie. I really don't see where you get off complaining that someone else is violating the EULA. It's unfortunate, but sometimes, you gotta say "no", but that's just a side note to the discussion.

[Erismontez]

Thankfully I haven't run into this as of yet on DF, but if I do, I'll be pretty sure to do two things:

Send messages to the others in the group asking if they would like to try this with someone else.
Leave instance and add them to friends list and attempt a second run with someone who is capable of playing the game without that type of attitude/language.

Hell, I don't care. I'll be the first to leave and take the penalties. It'll be better then sitting around and listening to someone that I refuse to have any time for. Oh, and if I remember I'll be sure to screen shot it so that I can post it somewhere so that the problem can get handled, name unblocked.

[Scarletyoshi]

Bullying like that should not be tolerated, online or off. There should be a function allowing for the reporting of players for such harassment.

Never let anyone tell you to just tolerate bullying. That is how it survives.