How will the AI that monitors our in-game chats effect RP?

tsaescishoeshiner · September 13

If you get an unreasonable automod ban, appeal it with a support ticket, and make a forum post with your ticket asking for help. A screenshot of what the specific phrase they say you're banned for could help.

If it starts to cost more staff time to correct these errors, the program might be adjusted, reduced, or sidelined.

So appeal, and encourage your friends to do the same.

(Sometimes, game news sites look at popular subreddit posts.)

MudcrabAttack · September 13

@ZOS_GinaBruno clarification please.

Are people going to be instantly banned for messages that veer from pg13, even if they’re between role players?

Arunei · September 13

tsaescishoeshiner wrote: »

If you get an unreasonable automod ban, appeal it with a support ticket, and make a forum post with your ticket asking for help. A screenshot of what the specific phrase they say you're banned for could help.

If it starts to cost more staff time to correct these errors, the program might be adjusted, reduced, or sidelined.

So appeal, and encourage your friends to do the same.

(Sometimes, game news sites look at popular subreddit posts.)

The problem is, the screenshot going around is from an appeal apparently, and it says that the suspension is going to stay in place because it was correctly handed out. So like...obviously I don't know what the context for that appeal was but it worries me that people getting warned, suspended, or banned might stay as such even if everyone involved in any given chat was okay with it.

We really just need to not be Big Brother'd to death. People can report offensive language, so why take action against literally everything if 90% of it isn't being reported because it's either RP or just people bantering or joking around with each other?

Like CS is going to waste a lot more time reviewing appeals for people unjustly caught by a bot than they would reviewing reports made by actual people.

Dojohoda · September 13

This is disturbing.

endorphinsplox · September 13

Yeah this automatic AI banning thing is a huge problem. Why have an optional profanity filter, or an M for Mature rating if you're going to ban people for using the "f-word"? (yes I've seen this being done). The game's main antagonist is literally the god of the r-word that rhymes with nape. Maormer also reference their participation in such activities. You can hang gibbets with skeletons in them in your in-game houses, cover the floor in mummified bodies, the entire game's core gameplay is centered around swift removal of a target's life. Yes I'm being careful in what I say because I've already gotten a warning on my forum account for mentioning certain consulting firms in the games industry who are wildly controversial. And that's just it, that warning I got then, and this auto chat banning thing now is an admission of guilt as far as I'm concerned.

This is some serious cringe. I say we just have ChatGPT write up some placid template responses to common questions that are asked in-game and only ever use them in the in-game chats to immediately confuse new players or anyone not apprised of the situation.

LesserCircle · September 13

The new TOS and AI are a massive red flag to me, this is going to make people scared of talking with their friends in a casual and completely normal way which many times in some social groups includes insults or bad words. This will also be a problem without a doubt for RP players, this is something that in my opinion AI should never control, manual reports are the way this should continue to work, someone says something to me that I don't like I tell them to stop, if they don't stop I report them, that's it.

AltmerGF · September 13

If true this is pretty much going to murder the RP community. There's no way a machine is going to be able to distinguish genuine harassment and RP with slightly coarse language.

Juomuuri · September 13

I wonder if this works for other languages than English, since there are multiple words in my native tongue that are just normal words, but in other languages mean something crude. Would I get banned for speaking my mother tongue?

Sleepsin · September 13

People have been vocal about getting whispers from people that are playing offline. ZOS does use automated checking for the forums and even in-game mail, why wouldn't they also expand that to include chat. People complained and ZOS responded, this is the outcome of that.

Say_My_Name · September 13

This is absolutely absurd, extremely concerning! Please give me some assurance that my RP will not be effected by this nonsense or I will strongly consider canceling my ESO+ and stop buying crown crates.

Nharimlur_Finor · September 13

Juomuuri wrote: »

I wonder if this works for other languages than English, since there are multiple words in my native tongue that are just normal words, but in other languages mean something crude. Would I get banned for speaking my mother tongue?

Probably. I've been surprised to see the profanity filter applied over two words, where once you remove the space, apparently spells a profanity in another language. I don't know if this works the same way in Cyrillic.

VouxeTheMinotaur · September 13

Where are people finding RP guilds?

I play on PS/NA and find it to be extremely difficult navigating the guild finder for well-established / casual RP guilds, and there's barely anyone advertising theirs in zone for applications.

I can't find any RP guilds that actually RP through the game and not discord only, is it dying down a tad bit than years prior?

Bradyfjord · September 13

We will only be allowed to use nouns and verbs from elementary school. Best sharpen your pencil now.

Sleepsin · September 13

Bradyfjord wrote: »

We will only be allowed to use nouns and verbs from elementary school. Best sharpen your pencil now.

Better not make that pencil to sharp, or they will take that away also.

brylars · September 13

VouxeTheMinotaur wrote: »

Where are people finding RP guilds?

I play on PS/NA and find it to be extremely difficult navigating the guild finder for well-established / casual RP guilds, and there's barely anyone advertising theirs in zone for applications.

I can't find any RP guilds that actually RP through the game and not discord only, is it dying down a tad bit than years prior?

They are largely word of mouth through hub guilds since the guild finder is so unreliable. There are so many guilds on there that have one or two members due to the guild event from three years ago.

Syldras · September 13

Bradyfjord wrote: »

We will only be allowed to use nouns and verbs from elementary school. Best sharpen your pencil now.

Nah. Not even that. I've seen someone claiming a few days ago (here at the forum) that the word "sword" gets autocensored in the chat now?!

Haven't checked it yet, though. And if you write "broad sword", it's probably even worse.

acastanza_ESO · September 13

AI based moderation of private chats is completely unacceptable @ZOS_Kevin, this should never have been forced on us, especially not in secret like it was.

Pelanora · September 13

jaws343 wrote: »

Inari Telvanni wrote: »

TOS says,

" Content Moderation

To the extent that ZeniMax performs any content moderation of UGC to ensure its compatibility with these Terms of Service (including the Code of Conduct or any relevant EULA), such content moderation may be carried out via human review as well as through the use of AI-powered proactive and reactive moderation methods including without limitation, software that uses algorithmic decision making.

ZeniMax's proactive content moderation includes without limitation using tools to block and filter UGC that is illegal and/or incompatible with these Terms of Service.

Reactive content moderation methods include without limitation user reporting features which allow You to inform ZeniMax of the behavior or Content of other users that You have encountered which you believe is illegal and/or incompatible with these Terms of Service (including the Code of Conduct) and any such behaviour or Content can be reported to ZeniMax by contacting ZeniMax Customer Support at help.bethesda.net or help.elderscrollsonline.com. If You are in-Game, You can report an issue using an in-Game help feature where applicable. Where ZeniMax is required to do so by virtue of the Statutory Obligations (as defined in Section 1), ZeniMax shall advise You of remedial steps action taken against another user as a result of Your report including details of what steps ZeniMax has taken to investigate your report, if ZeniMax has removed Content that You have reported or if any other restrictions have been applied to the Content or the other user. "

This is an enormous red flag.

No it is not..

Zos, as a company that can be held liable for conversations that might happen through the use of their platform, have a responsibility to make sure that they can monitor illegal things being done in their game. Even if those things are done in private chats. If you are using their tools to do illegal things, they are legally put in a spot to intervene or face severe legal repurcussions if they do not.

'Illegal things.'

The whole game is about doing things illegal irl. Talking about the game would in that case be a bannable offence. They will need to be more sophisticated than key words.

ssewallb14_ESO · September 13

I hope I never get autobanned for teabagging Gothmau in solo IA runs, because it's gonna happen.

umagon · September 13

One solution to bypass filters and/or chat AI is create a new language for your role play participants. If you all commutate in a format it can’t understand then it can’t censor you.

NyassaV · September 13

To anyone asking if it's real. I talked to one of the people effected and they shared with me the support ticket so it's very real.

If it wasn't so depressing it'd actually be really funny because what they said was goofy [snip]. I'd put it here but the forum mods would delete it.

Syldras · September 13

umagon wrote: »

One solution to bypass filters and/or chat AI is create a new language for your role play participants. If you all commutate in a format it can’t understand then it can’t censor you.

That language would have to avoid all letter combinations that the word filter has listed as banned words. Which, I know it, also includes words that are only 2-3 letters long. Good luck with that.

I_killed_Vivec · September 13

Doesn't concern me... I'm too busy swearing at the screen to bother typing anything into chat

ragnarok6644b14_ESO · September 13

Sleepsin wrote: »

People have been vocal about getting whispers from people that are playing offline. ZOS does use automated checking for the forums and even in-game mail, why wouldn't they also expand that to include chat. People complained and ZOS responded, this is the outcome of that.

I don't think this is the root of that, because the obvious solution to this is just prevent people who are playing offline from sending whispers.

Not develop the infrastructure and systems (and purchase the software licenses) to build a massive, multi-server-wide surveillance system.

SilverBride · September 13

@ZOS_Kevin @ZOS_GinaBruno

Are they really monitoring our private whispers, and using AI to do it?

ragnarok6644b14_ESO · September 13

@ZOS_human_beings

Do you exist?

I_killed_Vivec · September 13

SilverBride wrote: »

@ZOS_Kevin @ZOS_GinaBruno

Are they really monitoring our private whispers, and using IA to do it?

They are using AI to predict your thoughts!

reiverx · September 13

Which alliance will you choose? Oceania, Eurasia, or Eastasia?

Sin_Arcain · September 13

This is very concerning. I would hate to have to leave the game due to this type of moderation ruining our landscape for RP. I really don't think that unreported things need to warrant bans. My characters usually don't curse but I have friends whose character sometimes drop an f-word and even that is usually toward antagonistic NPCs in our stories and the like. It would be ridiculous to get banned for that.

Please ZOS reconsider this type of moderating!

umagon · September 13

Syldras wrote: »

umagon wrote: »

One solution to bypass filters and/or chat AI is create a new language for your role play participants. If you all commutate in a format it can’t understand then it can’t censor you.

That language would have to avoid all letter combinations that the word filter has listed as banned words. Which, I know it, also includes words that are only 2-3 letters long. Good luck with that.

People don’t have to use the latin alphabet, and it’s unlikely the filter system supports censoring more than few common languages’ character sets. Also, one can just resign uncensored words that are not commonly used to be “code” for the censored word it’s done all the time.