Harassment. Is there anything to be done about it?

Merkabeh · January 2016

This is why World PvP is needed in every mmo, imo. So much easier to kill trolls and continue on. Lol

Besides that, could have tried phase shifting to a friend or guildie...unless the harasser was a friend or part of your guilds, would have been next to impossible to find you again.

Tan9oSuccka · January 2016

Something is missing from this story.

Most trolls have the attention span of a potato when you don't react to them.

Cherryblossom · January 2016

in the words of Stephen Fry

"It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so *** what."

You are aware you have the option to block a player, at this point you no longer receive any messages from the player that so offends you.

You have options to ignore, use them!

AchlysNox · January 2016

Generally when this happens, I just go to a wayshrine and port somewhere else. They won't know where you ported to, and thus can't follow you. Obviously this only works once you've discovered a few shrines, but that really shouldn't take too long. Keep a side quest or two in your journal for rainy-day events like this one, so you'll have something to do while he's wasting his time for you to port back.

Krainor1974 · January 2016

A shame, player should be warned of possible acct deleted if he continued

MornaBaine · January 2016

Zenimax plans to do absolutely nothing about player harassment of other players. Don't believe me? Check out the saga here: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/162311/harrassment-already-a-larger-problem/p1

This is a long standing problem and, as I predicted, it has just gotten worse since the game went B2P and they started slashing staff. When was the last time anyone got a response from a GM live in game?

Wolfenbelle · January 2016

OP, we all react differently to such situations, so there is no right or wrong way to handle it. But one thing everyone should realize is that what the offending person did is not simple harassment or interfering with gameplay. Griefing is a form of bullying, and it should not be tolerated in any way by ZOS or their player base.

So OP, I understand and sympathize with your frustration and anger about the situation. You'll probably never know if ZOS does anything about that bully, but reporting the person was the right thing to do. I also think that playing the lute or drum or even just the chair sit emote while otherwise totally ignoring the bully are great suggestions. Another is to run in the direction of a boss or dolmen and let the idiot get caught up in that fight while you move on.

Islyn · January 2016

Troneon wrote: »

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Troneon wrote: »

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Troneon wrote: »

Zone out, wait a few minutes, zone back in...

They will get bored...

Ignore and block.

Get a thicker skin? This is the internet?

I don't condone this at all but honestly if the big bad wolf stranger on a game is bothering you, don't let it?

Believe me, I can - and have - walked away. But seriously, if I have one final freakin quest to finish in a zone and I can't finish that quest because someone is literally screwing up my game - not just tossing out comments, but interfering with gameplay - then I need to log off and start the quest zone again??? And if I don't then I'm letting them bother me?

No. Wrong. Their conduct is interfering with gameplay. To be clear: I'm not talking about comments or even just gestures; this individual was literally preventing me from proceeding with the quest.

Sorry, @Troneon, my skin is thick enough.

How is it stopping your progression in your quest? I don't see how?

If it is, then that is griefing/harassment and should be bannable.

But give specifics, because I am having a hard time thinking of a single quest where anyone can stop you? Unless you let them.

They can kill all the mobs before you can because they're way over-leveled for the zone?

Is that clear enough for you?

Iv had people try that with me a long time ago when I was leveling, I just ran faster and spammed aoe everywhere and they failed at it....

I agree with you don't get me wrong, I just don't believe in waiting for ZOS to magically do something, they won't...or it will be in forever neverland....I believe in solving things myself and working around it.

And you are the exact reason ZOS more and more feels like they don't need to step in.

Obviously this person is bothered by what's happening and ignoring it is not working. No one Need Sensei States the Obvi to State the Obvi.

Also, do not BS please. If you were a lvl 15 and I roll up on my v16 there is NO CHANCE you could hit stuff before I nuked ALL OF IT, if that was my wish.

I can take out a boss with a 1-2 shot before you ever had a chance if I was that type.

If you cannot be supportive in this instance just hush and ignore the thread - since you're apparently so good at ignoring stuff.

(And look he/she even gave you an insightful, because ignoring stuff IS a good idea - but most of us already check whether the PC power is ON before we call tech support.)

Mivryna · January 2016

Sometimes the solution to a problem is worse than the initial problem.

You block someone and can no longer see their messages? Problem solved.

They're still ruining your roleplay by casting AoE abilities everywhere? What's the solution? Force them to forever be placed in a different phase and utterly destroy the phasing system?

Just do what we roleplayers have done for years: Ignore them until they get bored. Or be cool to them and treat them like bros.

IrishGirlGamer · January 2016

KramUzibra wrote: »

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Troneon wrote: »

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Troneon wrote: »

Zone out, wait a few minutes, zone back in...

They will get bored...

Ignore and block.

Get a thicker skin? This is the internet?

I don't condone this at all but honestly if the big bad wolf stranger on a game is bothering you, don't let it?

Believe me, I can - and have - walked away. But seriously, if I have one final freakin quest to finish in a zone and I can't finish that quest because someone is literally screwing up my game - not just tossing out comments, but interfering with gameplay - then I need to log off and start the quest zone again??? And if I don't then I'm letting them bother me?

No. Wrong. Their conduct is interfering with gameplay. To be clear: I'm not talking about comments or even just gestures; this individual was literally preventing me from proceeding with the quest.

Sorry, @Troneon, my skin is thick enough.

How is it stopping your progression in your quest? I don't see how?

If it is, then that is griefing/harassment and should be bannable.

But give specifics, because I am having a hard time thinking of a single quest where anyone can stop you? Unless you let them.

They can kill all the mobs before you can because they're way over-leveled for the zone?

Is that clear enough for you?

Let me get this straight, u have one quest left in an area, this player notices you, they know your doing a quest, they know you need to kill a certain mob in order to complete that mission so they purposely kill every single mod before u can get one hit in, cuz all u need it one hit for it to register that u killed it, this player did this for so long that it made it impossible to complete. Is that right?

Do you even play this game? If I'm a V16 Sorcerer at an anchor in Auridon, I can spam enough AoE to kill every single mob before any other player can touch it. If you haven't seen that, then you haven't played the game. I saw it freakin twice over the weekend.

The OP said the player was overlevelled for the zone. It's certainly possible that a high enough level player can completely disrupt an anchor, dungeon or boss area. But I suspect you know that and you're just being purposely optuse to make an irrelevant point about some imaginary party trying to PC a game that no one is trying to PC.

Either that, or you want the freedom to engage in this kind behavior when it suits your whim?

Edit: But yes, it would be lovely to be able to stick "Needle" through the eye of someone who behaved that way.

MaxBat · January 2016

IrishGirlGamer wrote: »

KramUzibra wrote: »

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Troneon wrote: »

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Troneon wrote: »

Zone out, wait a few minutes, zone back in...

They will get bored...

Ignore and block.

Get a thicker skin? This is the internet?

I don't condone this at all but honestly if the big bad wolf stranger on a game is bothering you, don't let it?

Believe me, I can - and have - walked away. But seriously, if I have one final freakin quest to finish in a zone and I can't finish that quest because someone is literally screwing up my game - not just tossing out comments, but interfering with gameplay - then I need to log off and start the quest zone again??? And if I don't then I'm letting them bother me?

No. Wrong. Their conduct is interfering with gameplay. To be clear: I'm not talking about comments or even just gestures; this individual was literally preventing me from proceeding with the quest.

Sorry, @Troneon, my skin is thick enough.

How is it stopping your progression in your quest? I don't see how?

If it is, then that is griefing/harassment and should be bannable.

But give specifics, because I am having a hard time thinking of a single quest where anyone can stop you? Unless you let them.

They can kill all the mobs before you can because they're way over-leveled for the zone?

Is that clear enough for you?

Let me get this straight, u have one quest left in an area, this player notices you, they know your doing a quest, they know you need to kill a certain mob in order to complete that mission so they purposely kill every single mod before u can get one hit in, cuz all u need it one hit for it to register that u killed it, this player did this for so long that it made it impossible to complete. Is that right?

Do you even play this game? If I'm a V16 Sorcerer at an anchor in Auridon, I can spam enough AoE to kill every single mob before any other player can touch it. If you haven't seen that, then you haven't played the game. I saw it freakin twice over the weekend.

The OP said the player was overlevelled for the zone. It's certainly possible that a high enough level player can completely disrupt an anchor, dungeon or boss area. But I suspect you know that and you're just being purposely optuse to make an irrelevant point about some imaginary party trying to PC a game that no one is trying to PC.

Either that, or you want the freedom to engage in this kind behavior when it suits your whim?

Edit: But yes, it would be lovely to be able to stick "Needle" through the eye of someone who behaved that way.

I see what you did there.

Hope499 · January 2016

So confused....

Cant you just, leave the area??? I am sure you could have lost them if you tried...plus there is the mute/block user...

Why cause so much grief to yourself? Easy, easy, EASY steps to take to solve it yourself.

Hope499 · January 2016

Cazzy wrote: »

I've had this happen multiple times. Seriously. I've left the game for a few days before where it irritated me so much to be followed and have mimicked assault happen. It's pathetic.

Crazy to me that some people can get this upset by a troll....just crazy to me....

ks888 · January 2016

Don't feed the trolls. Ignore, report and do something else for like 20 minutes and they'll generally move on. If you have any buddies in the same area, see if they have had the same issue and ask them to report the person if it's a valid issue. If someone gets reported for the same sort of conduct that violates policy enough, they'll get warned, then banned if it persists. It's not an immediate thing though. It's also ESO's responsibility to weed out erroneous reports from salty people.

Lysette · January 2016

Cazzy wrote: »

Acrolas wrote: »

We need an unlimited ignore list with at least a few quarterly Phase Out Player allowances for the real *** out there.

Because you shouldn't have to play an old Argonian woman to get people to leave you alone.

Troneon wrote: »

Zone out, wait a few minutes, zone back in...

They will get bored...

Ignore and block.

Get a thicker skin? This is the internet?

I don't condone this at all but honestly if the big bad wolf stranger on a game is bothering you, don't let it?

But that's why things continue. Just ignoring it means they can go on to harass someone else. It doesn't solve the issue.

Depends, griefers want to see your tears and make you annoyed - so if you react in that way, you are doing exactly what they wanted to achieve and they are happy. But if you ignore them and do not react to their "aggression", they will get bored rather quickly and leave you alone. Just refuse to give them what they want and act as if they would not be around at all.

starkerealm · January 2016

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Abeille wrote: »

I think that's all you can do, really. Report and move on.

Taking by all the posts I see on reddit of people annoyed because they were banned just for "fooling around", I imagine that reporting works.

Okay, that's comforting. Really.

I really, really just want to know that Zenimax will do something about this.

Generally speaking, with disciplinary actions in MMOs, unless you're on the receiving end, you're not going to be kept in the loop. So, even if someone does get banned for their actions, chances are, you're not going to be told.

Kimpire · January 2016

I'm so sorry you had to deal with that and I feel for you, having experienced situations like that myself. As a girl gamer I used to get harassed quite a bit when I played WoW back in college when trolls were abundant, particularly on voice chat. It's not acceptable and game makers should take it seriously.

Definitely and always ignore them. But I also like the idea of using your guild and having guild mates report them, as well. That way more reports should grab more attention. Guilds are there to support their members and I would think a good one would want to help in a situation like this.

vamp_emily · January 2016

I'm not to sure about how the game works behind the UI, but I used to play with my friend and half the time I could not see her. It was like we were on two different instances of the server.

So I am thinking, maybe you can log off and just cross your fingers when you log back in the bad guy is gone.

I really think they should add a blacklist option where you don't see the person you want blacklisted.

Cuyler · January 2016

vamp_emily wrote: »

I'm not to sure about how the game works behind the UI, but I used to play with my friend and half the time I could not see her. It was like we were on two different instances of the server.

So I am thinking, maybe you can log off and just cross your fingers when you log back in the bad guy is gone.

I really think they should add a blacklist option where you don't see the person you want blacklisted.

This is entirely plausible considering there are a few different "shards" of each zone. However, when someone can ignore up 100 different players at a time, it becomes technically infeasible to separate you from any combination of those 100 players. Unless they open 100s of each instance for each player (aka will never happen).

Cathexis · January 2016

Fundamentally harassment is bad. Sexually seggestive comments that are clearly offensive and unwanted should warrant suspensions if you can prove them. Actually also on the subject there has been a significant rise in discriminatory language as well lately (a lot of people using racist or homophobic hate speech) which is part of the reason I haven't been logging in a lot lately. I have been screenshotting and reporting but I assume it has fallen on deaf ears as things usually do here.

That said, following players around casting AoEs to mess up their game, while certainly not enlightened, is more of an annoyance than harassment. They aren't really harming you at that point, just being a dummkopf (the german word not the english one).

As a related sidenote, I think a lot of people in PvP lack basic manners or do not understand the use of wit. One thing I am finding is that some responses are disproportionately irrational. There have been times where I will make a sharp but friendly comment to opposing players about a specific tactic or battle, who then promptly fire back with a thousand curse words, sometimes with no logical sentence structure. Not that I never falk victim to my own rage on occasion, but Its a game - have some dignity.

Spacemonkey · January 2016

You should have spammed the person with gifts of 'used bait'.

:P

I swear, it works.

Abeille · January 2016

Just dropping by to let you guys know that you can actually put people on the forums on ignore too

ZOS_AlanG · January 2016

A large number of posts were removed from this thread, as well as any replies, and we are re-opening it. We ask that everyone remember to keep their posts civil and constructive, and abide by the forum rules. Additionally, if you feel that a comment or thread is inappropriate, please report it. It's also a good idea not to reply to anything you've reported, as your risk escalating the issue, and minimally you've embroiled yourself in it.

Regarding in-game harassment, if someone is acting inappropriately or you feel they are breaking the Terms of Service please report them in-game, or by submitting a ticket on the help site. The more detail you can provide, the easier it will be for us to investigate. Screenshots are particularly helpful - even for text chat, as it allows you to highlight the specific lines that offend you, and makes it easier for us to zero in on the appropriate part of the chat log.

As some have mentioned, you can also put players on an ignore list so they can't message you. This is an option both in-game and on the forums.

Zorrashi · January 2016

Bump

Prabooo · January 2016

Bumpity Bump Bump Bumpity Bumps

threefarms · January 2016

I think you need to get tough.

threefarms · January 2016

Also, another answer to your problem: don't play at midnight.

MaxwellC · January 2016

@ZOS_AlanG
Yeah submitting a ticket only gets you so far just ask the countless threads regarding how horrid support is on ESO.

MornaBaine · January 2016

ZOS_AlanG wrote: »

A large number of posts were removed from this thread, as well as any replies, and we are re-opening it. We ask that everyone remember to keep their posts civil and constructive, and abide by the forum rules. Additionally, if you feel that a comment or thread is inappropriate, please report it. It's also a good idea not to reply to anything you've reported, as your risk escalating the issue, and minimally you've embroiled yourself in it.

Regarding in-game harassment, if someone is acting inappropriately or you feel they are breaking the Terms of Service please report them in-game, or by submitting a ticket on the help site. The more detail you can provide, the easier it will be for us to investigate. Screenshots are particularly helpful - even for text chat, as it allows you to highlight the specific lines that offend you, and makes it easier for us to zero in on the appropriate part of the chat log.

As some have mentioned, you can also put players on an ignore list so they can't message you. This is an option both in-game and on the forums.

Wow. Just...wow. This right here is a stellar example of EVERYTHING that is wrong with the attitude of the powers that be in this game. You have been told time and time again that the way other players can and DO grief and harass players is a huge problem in this game. You have been told time and time again that the current system of reporting and /ignore for chat is NOT acceptable and does NOT address the problem. And yet you STILL trot out the canned answer above that does nothing but make those of us who HAVE been endlessly harassed feel like we just got griefed by ZOS. WTG Zeni, WTG.

Zorrashi · January 2016

MornaBaine wrote: »

ZOS_AlanG wrote: »

A large number of posts were removed from this thread, as well as any replies, and we are re-opening it. We ask that everyone remember to keep their posts civil and constructive, and abide by the forum rules. Additionally, if you feel that a comment or thread is inappropriate, please report it. It's also a good idea not to reply to anything you've reported, as your risk escalating the issue, and minimally you've embroiled yourself in it.

Regarding in-game harassment, if someone is acting inappropriately or you feel they are breaking the Terms of Service please report them in-game, or by submitting a ticket on the help site. The more detail you can provide, the easier it will be for us to investigate. Screenshots are particularly helpful - even for text chat, as it allows you to highlight the specific lines that offend you, and makes it easier for us to zero in on the appropriate part of the chat log.

As some have mentioned, you can also put players on an ignore list so they can't message you. This is an option both in-game and on the forums.

Wow. Just...wow. This right here is a stellar example of EVERYTHING that is wrong with the attitude of the powers that be in this game. You have been told time and time again that the way other players can and DO grief and harass players is a huge problem in this game. You have been told time and time again that the current system of reporting and /ignore for chat is NOT acceptable and does NOT address the problem. And yet you STILL trot out the canned answer above that does nothing but make those of us who HAVE been endlessly harassed feel like we just got griefed by ZOS. WTG Zeni, WTG.

It's certainly not ideal, but it is far from being a bad post. In fact I find it quite expected, it reinforces proper procedure that reports the problem and is intent on giving qualifying information that may help them better investigate the problem. Which is pretty much all they can do (aside from suggesting improvements in-house).