Harassment. Is there anything to be done about it?

MornaBaine · February 2016

Note my weary sigh. This issue is astonishingly simple. People who harass are breaking TOS. As such they should be banned. They are breaking a contract they agreed to abide by. End of story. Now, MY feelings are not hurt nor am I emotionally traumatized when some tool starts spewing filth in chat (I report and then ignore) or spamming noisy, flashy abilities in order to disrupt and grief groups of people playing in a way they don't get or don't approve of. I am merely ANNOYED. It reduces my enjoyment of this game that, to date, I have spent a small fortune on. Yet I do not really WANT them to be punished. Really. I just want to be able to make them "go away" in a way that does not disrupt MY game OR THEIRS. This is not a matter of wanting revenge or being thin skinned. This is a matter of calling on the makers of this game to improve the game in such a way, which is possible with the existing technology, that NONE of us have to endure the unwanted company of players we find annoying. I am just as happy to BE ignored in such as fashion as I am to do the ignoring. We just need ZOS to make it possible. Because it is simply the right thing to do.

nimander99 · February 2016

MornaBaine wrote: »

Note my weary sigh. This issue is astonishingly simple. People who harass are breaking TOS. As such they should be banned. They are breaking a contract they agreed to abide by. End of story. Now, MY feelings are not hurt nor am I emotionally traumatized when some tool starts spewing filth in chat (I report and then ignore) or spamming noisy, flashy abilities in order to disrupt and grief groups of people playing in a way they don't get or don't approve of. I am merely ANNOYED. It reduces my enjoyment of this game that, to date, I have spent a small fortune on. Yet I do not really WANT them to be punished. Really. I just want to be able to make them "go away" in a way that does not disrupt MY game OR THEIRS. This is not a matter of wanting revenge or being thin skinned. This is a matter of calling on the makers of this game to improve the game in such a way, which is possible with the existing technology, that NONE of us have to endure the unwanted company of players we find annoying. I am just as happy to BE ignored in such as fashion as I am to do the ignoring. We just need ZOS to make it possible. Because it is simply the right thing to do.

TL;DR Make the whankpuffins go bye-bye

Genomic · February 2016

They've let a lot of staff go. Maybe they lack the resources or manpower to properly police their game.

MornaBaine · February 2016

Genomic wrote: »

They've let a lot of staff go. Maybe they lack the resources or manpower to properly police their game.

Oh I think that's pretty obvious by now. Gms actually responding to you in game are vanishingly rare now unfortunately. But that's all the more reason why they just need to put the power to take care of the problem themselves into the players hands. Then the issue of reporting and them actually needing to investigate and take action vanishes as well.

erliesc · February 2016

[/quote]
Well who is to blame, when you accept a friend request without to know a person?- Friends can teleport to their friends at any time, this is not some kind of a crack software, but a normal game feature. Just saying.[/quote]

As a newbe...what did I know?

Except....even after I unfriended this player...they would still show up. A trading dialogue would open without my permission....etc. Have seen other instances of "forced" dialogue.

On the funny side....this happened one time on Kanarth's Roost....shows up...messes around....gets jumped by two Alites and gets snuffed....I enjoyed that.

Probably an indication of a player that gets more kicks out of messing around than learning to play the game?

KingDuncanVII · February 2016

If someone is following you, why not go to a Wayshrine and teleport to a different location (farm or something to pass the time)? And in a few minutes, go back to where you were. Hopefully, they bailed.

Yeah, you shouldn't have to do that but this is where we are, unfortunately. It would be nice if the block feature (that mutes mics) also disables a player's ability to interact with your character (view profile, trade, invite to group/guild, etc.).

MornaBaine · February 2016

KingDuncanVII wrote: »

If someone is following you, why not go to a Wayshrine and teleport to a different location (farm or something to pass the time)? And in a few minutes, go back to where you were. Hopefully, they bailed.

Yeah, you shouldn't have to do that but this is where we are, unfortunately. It would be nice if the block feature (that mutes mics) also disables a player's ability to interact with your character (view profile, trade, invite to group/guild, etc.).

yep the /ignore function should be total. Chat, visual, ALL interaction. Gone.

MornaBaine · February 2016

On the bright side...

Last night our guild held a small (about a dozen players) RP event up at Ravenwatch Castle. Being a Saturday night there were, of course, quite a few questers passing through. Only one made a negative remark and insisted on playing dead on the table for a little while but we all put them on ignore and as we were playing in group chat they eventually got bored and wandered off.

Another fellow decided to become a werewolf and run up and down the table on 2 separate occasions. The second time he did it I whispered him and asked him politely to stop as it was distracting and thanked him. He promptly apologized to the entire group and left.

Exact same thing (with different forms of spamming) happened 3 more times and each time I simply politely whispered the player and asked them to stop. Every one of them did and with some sort of friendly exchange as they departed.

2 other players were fascinated by what was going on (12 vampires sitting at a banquet table makes folks curious I suppose) and both ended up asking for more information on our guild so they could look into joining.

While, in a perfect world, we could have private instances for this sort of group roleplay so these interruptions would not happen at all I just wanted to point out that not only are all people not jerks, but most of them are willing to be perfectly reasonable. MOST players DON'T merit being completely ignored. It's for the few but, sadly, frequently encountered persistent jerks that we need a visual ignore option for.

Also in zone yesterday there was some tool asking for "advice" on how to best "roleplay" sucking his own member. He merely became emboldened as several people reacted to his arsehattery. I then simply posted something along the lines of: I hope you realize you are engaging in a violation of the TOS you signed and agreed to, one that can potentially get your account suspended.

Complete and beautiful silence thereafter.

Francis_Toliver · March 2016

Pheefs wrote: »

sounds like he was raised by the Reachmen and he thought he was flirting...

SO! when this sort of thing happens to me I just stop and play the lute or drums until they get bored, usually less than three minutes.
don't forget that your reactions feed the weirdo, be calm & be sarcastic, & in an emergency you can always claim to be a 50 yo asian male... that gets rid of most of the Rude Boys.

don't let the ash-holes get you down!

Hey! As someone playing a Reachwoman in the game I have to say that an A** like she is describing would be tossed off the nearest cliff! Crappy behavior is a trait of you civilized folk! We Reachmen know how to deal with it...tall cliffs and sharp knifes <g>

In all seriousness, complain, don't get locked into the situation; go to a different zone and do another quest and come back later. Let your friends know what a jerk this player is (get some sympathy) and know that this guy (and it probably was a guy) will get enough complaints over time that he WILL get banned. And that is a good thing as it keeps trolls from getting good people banned with one and done complaints. Not fun for us, but it will still wash out in the end.

emily3989 · March 2016

I harvested a node in Hew's Bane the other day, some potency ruin. A few seconds later some guy started spam cussing me out for stealing his resource. I didn't even see the guy. I told him I did not see his name on it, and to just move on. He started threatening me, cussing at me, saying stuff like "you better hope I never see you again". I told him that I had picked up 3 more ruins while he was yelling at me, to move on with his life. More cussing, so I just put him on ignore.

Anyway, I reported him, and just got auto-replies from ZOS to put the guy on ignore, and that they consider the matter resolved if I don't reply in so many hours. I replied - got same automated email telling me to put him on ignore, and that they consider the matter resolved...you get the picture.

It would be nice if they at least attempted to clean up some of this behavior.

rotaugen454 · March 2016

Do people see more of this on console or PC? My sister uses Playstation and says she get harassed in about every online game. I occasionally run female characters on PC, and see it occasionally, but not often. Someone called my female Orc fat, so I put on the wedding dress and followed them around complaining "how could you say such a mean thing after all our time together?" until they said I was pretty. I've had some bad things said to me, but not on the scale of the OP. I don't know if the PC crowd tends to be older, or if I've just been lucky while running female characters.

Nerouyn · March 2016

MornaBaine wrote: »

Now, MY feelings are not hurt nor am I emotionally traumatized when some tool starts spewing filth in chat (I report and then ignore) or spamming noisy, flashy abilities in order to disrupt and grief groups of people playing in a way they don't get or don't approve of.

I encountered one of those the other day, spamming shards on top of a dye station. How bored would you have to be to even consider it?

MornaBaine wrote: »

Really. I just want to be able to make them "go away" in a way that does not disrupt MY game OR THEIRS.

A good use for their phasing or mega-server technology. Or something new. Not rendering players and their messages would be very simple. Their effects though might be another matter. For the sake of network efficiency effects might not be tagged with player ID.

Though I distinctly remember these forums having an extremely low limit on its ignore list. Something like 10-15 members. So it seems like ZO want to force us to interact with horrid individuals.

Nerouyn · March 2016

emily3989 wrote: »

I harvested a node in Hew's Bane the other day, some potency ruin. A few seconds later some guy started spam cussing me out for stealing his resource. I didn't even see the guy. I told him I did not see his name on it, and to just move on. He started threatening me, cussing at me, saying stuff like "you better hope I never see you again". I told him that I had picked up 3 more ruins while he was yelling at me, to move on with his life. More cussing, so I just put him on ignore.

Anyway, I reported him, and just got auto-replies from ZOS to put the guy on ignore, and that they consider the matter resolved if I don't reply in so many hours. I replied - got same automated email telling me to put him on ignore, and that they consider the matter resolved...you get the picture.

It would be nice if they at least attempted to clean up some of this behavior.

Threats - even in an online setting - are a different order of harassment. I'm shocked they'd be so dismissive of them. That strikes me as negligent.

I wouldn't worry about them myself and it doesn't sound like you are. But malicious harassment and threats should be grounds for an instant ban. Period. Not advice to put them on ignore and considering the matter resolved.

Wifeaggro13 · March 2016

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

I am so freaking frustrated right now.

Last night, at approximately 12:00 a.m. my time, I was running a zone when a player began harassing me. The harassment took the form of following me around, making psudeo-sexual gestures, and asking inappropriate personal questions. When I tried to ignore the player, they began casting area spells to annoy me and mess up my game. When I finally stopped asked what was going on, the player responded with another sexually suggestive comment. I turned to leave (I was just trying to complete a quest in that area) and he (and I'm using He as the indefinite pronoun; I acknowledge it could have been a she) began throwing out additional comments, questions, and gestures. I finally told him that if he didn't stop I would report him. He LOLed me and then said he was going to report me for being a prude.

I tried to ignore him but he just continued to follow me. Finally, I did report him (twice, in fact, because he wouldn't stop) once with a screen shot and his character name. But of course, this is the response I got:

Greetings!

Thank you for your inquiry. Please note that our support office is currently closed. Our support hours are between 9am and 10pm Eastern Standard Time, seven days a week. We will investigate your inquiry as soon as we reopen.

Our goal is to investigate and respond to your contact within six business hours.

We appreciate your patience.

Warm Regards,
The Bethesda Support Team

I finally had to logged off to get away from him. I still have not received any further response from Zenimax or Bethesda.

Okay, so here's my question: What can we do about this? Yeah, report it but you can see how effective that is. Normally, I can just brush this adolescent behaivor off, but this person so intent upon interfering with what I was doing that I couldn't even play the freakin game. Yeah, I could have gone to another zone or teleported (for gold) away from the situation. But why should I have to do that?

I can anticipate some responses:

This is an MMO. You have to deal with this stuff.

No, I don't. If that is the response from Zenimax, then give me my money back, including the cost of the game and all the subscriptions I've paid. Is that unreasonable? You bet it is. But so is doing absolutely NOTHING to stop harassment in the game.

Zenimax deals with harassment. They just can't talk about it.

Really? You believe that? That seems to be really easy way of not doing anything and hoping the problem goes away. And clearly, they're not doing anything except during regular business hours.

Grow up and get a thick skin.

You do realize I couldn't play the game. This isn't a thick skin issue; I can fire off snarly responses with the best of them, and I'm happy to walk way from a jerk, if I can go somewhere else and do something else. I am not happy when I have to leave a quest and come back and finish it later because some idiot is intent upon ruining my game.

So my question to Zenimax employees is: How do you anticipate players dealing with this? Really? You made this game. You had to expect this would happen. What do you want players to do?

Yes, twelve hours later, I am still quite angry.

you can block them simple. you wont see any text from them at all

CherryCake · March 2016

rotaugen454 wrote: »

Do people see more of this on console or PC? My sister uses Playstation and says she get harassed in about every online game. I occasionally run female characters on PC, and see it occasionally, but not often. Someone called my female Orc fat, so I put on the wedding dress and followed them around complaining "how could you say such a mean thing after all our time together?" until they said I was pretty. I've had some bad things said to me, but not on the scale of the OP. I don't know if the PC crowd tends to be older, or if I've just been lucky while running female characters.

You gave a perfect example, you know why? Because I am on the PS4, playing for a long time, and I never had something I would call "harassment".

Someone annoyed me? Didnt give them any attention and they moved to the next. I do PvE and PvP.

There was once like an event that all the alliances would be on one hill together and have friendly "arena style" battles, one on one, it was a very fun experience, and I did have a guy coming in front of me, hitting once, I took my lute started playing...hit me again just once, picked up my lute again... he got the hint and got away. At the same day I also had a sad guy that even though he saw I wasnt interested in battles, he killed me twice or three times. Got resurrected by my alliance everytime, and kept on playing my lute, he left me alone as he saw I was not minimally giving him attention.

I also wondered if the whole harassment topic this was a "PC problem", but no. Its a problem of bored people that have nothing better to do than pick on others, and a problem on the receiver for giving them attention.

There are plenty of things to do:
-Move to another wayshrine, it takes one minute.
-Play an instrument.
-Completely pretend like you are not there.
-Block their chat.
-NEVER just accept friend requests from people you didnt have any pleasant interaction with.

And last and most important:
DO NOT let this reach to you. Gaming should be a fun experience, but in a mass of people you will ALWAYS have "that one guy". They cant control how you feel, thats what they want, but you have to show them that is not what they will get.
Harassment and bullying is not a joke, and it is something that can cause a lot of anger, stress, depression and so on.
You have to remember that you CANNOT CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR. But you can change yours. You can learn and say to yourself you will not allow someone in a virtual world to control your feelings.

And @rotaugen454 ... Bravo to you for doing that xD, could have been something I would have done.

carlyon91 · March 2016

I know it would be annoying but log out and back in or travel somewhere else for 5 mins. They'll get bored and move on

Woeler · March 2016

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Grow up and get a thick skin.

You do realize I couldn't play the game. This isn't a thick skin issue; I can fire off snarly responses with the best of them, and I'm happy to walk way from a jerk, if I can go somewhere else and do something else. I am not happy when I have to leave a quest and come back and finish it later because some idiot is intent upon ruining my game.

Well, porting somewhere else for 10 minutes and coming back would probably have solved the issue.

However, that leads me to a thing I had in mind earlier. Why is ignore just in chat and mail? why not just complete? Like you can't see this person anymore?

spoqster · March 2016

Hmmh. Interesting debate. May I ask if you are a guy or a girl?

First of all, I kind of like that the game allows player interaction in general, but obviously I don't condone harassment.

On the one hand I don't think a player should be banned for something like this (he was most likely just a little drunk and lonely, and socially awkward enough to not find the appropriate outlet for his feelings), but you shouldn't be hindered in playing your game.

Also, I see it as a very easy, and only marginally inconvenient solution to pause the quest, ride ro the next wayshrine, port to the bank and clear your inventory and come back five minutes later with the player in question most likely gone.

For me the most interesting aspect of this scenario, is the question why this problem couldd not be resolved peacefully. Was he truly out of line or were there maybe cultural differences in play?

Appleblade · March 2016

"spoqster wrote: »

On the one hand I don't think a player should be banned for something like this (he was most likely just a little drunk and lonely, and socially awkward enough to not find the appropriate outlet for his feelings), but you shouldn't be hindered in playing your game?

People are generally held accountable for their actions when drunk. They chose to drink.

Socially awkward? My brain has so little social wiring I would probably diagnose as a high functioning something or other from the DSM-V. It would never even occur to me to harass someone like OP described.

I always play as female, but have never been harassed. I rarely have area chat on, though. I'm one of those crazy, rabidly solo players, and I don't really care about Mr. XxxBlazeDa420xxX's public dissertation on race relations in contemporary American society.

I think others have suggested logging out and in? You'll likely wind up in a different instance. I do that when I walk into a delve or quest area and it's basically Grand Central Station.

Vangy · March 2016

nimander99 wrote: »

MornaBaine wrote: »

Note my weary sigh. This issue is astonishingly simple. People who harass are breaking TOS. As such they should be banned. They are breaking a contract they agreed to abide by. End of story. Now, MY feelings are not hurt nor am I emotionally traumatized when some tool starts spewing filth in chat (I report and then ignore) or spamming noisy, flashy abilities in order to disrupt and grief groups of people playing in a way they don't get or don't approve of. I am merely ANNOYED. It reduces my enjoyment of this game that, to date, I have spent a small fortune on. Yet I do not really WANT them to be punished. Really. I just want to be able to make them "go away" in a way that does not disrupt MY game OR THEIRS. This is not a matter of wanting revenge or being thin skinned. This is a matter of calling on the makers of this game to improve the game in such a way, which is possible with the existing technology, that NONE of us have to endure the unwanted company of players we find annoying. I am just as happy to BE ignored in such as fashion as I am to do the ignoring. We just need ZOS to make it possible. Because it is simply the right thing to do.

TL;DR Make the whankpuffins go bye-bye

Came in to read this post again ^

Krist · March 2016

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

I am so freaking frustrated right now.

I am not saying I have not run into trolls or griefers, but it has been so seldom and far apart I hardly recognize it. I usually just leave the area and go do something else, without ever acknowledging them. They simply go away because they did not get the response they wanted. I know I have been around some that harass, but cannot tell you the last time I even recognized anyone trying to harass me. It really does depend on if they get some kind of acknowledgement or not, whether they continue to harass you personally. Sad but true.

With that said, they do deal with griefers, you will just never know if they did or not. They will not tell you what they did, or how they did it. That in itself CAN be frustrating, but do not hesitate to report them. I know people that were banned for x amount of days and have, as others have said, known OF SOME that were permanently banned. Guild members have talked about them that knew them personally. As another poster said waaaaay earlier in this thread, they always claim it was for nothing, with little concern for the ones they were harassing.

istateres · March 2016

Woeler wrote: »

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Grow up and get a thick skin.

You do realize I couldn't play the game. This isn't a thick skin issue; I can fire off snarly responses with the best of them, and I'm happy to walk way from a jerk, if I can go somewhere else and do something else. I am not happy when I have to leave a quest and come back and finish it later because some idiot is intent upon ruining my game.

Well, porting somewhere else for 10 minutes and coming back would probably have solved the issue.

However, that leads me to a thing I had in mind earlier. Why is ignore just in chat and mail? why not just complete? Like you can't see this person anymore?

A visual ignore has been mentioned several times in this discussion. I think it would be an excellent addition. ZOS has never commented on the idea.

MornaBaine · April 2016

Woeler wrote: »

RizaHawkeye wrote: »

Grow up and get a thick skin.

You do realize I couldn't play the game. This isn't a thick skin issue; I can fire off snarly responses with the best of them, and I'm happy to walk way from a jerk, if I can go somewhere else and do something else. I am not happy when I have to leave a quest and come back and finish it later because some idiot is intent upon ruining my game.

Well, porting somewhere else for 10 minutes and coming back would probably have solved the issue.

However, that leads me to a thing I had in mind earlier. Why is ignore just in chat and mail? why not just complete? Like you can't see this person anymore?

This is exactly what we've been asking for, for quite some time. Yet ZOS has not deigned to respond to the request to tell us if it is or isn't possible or even with their patented, "We'd like to do that....but no ETA."

MornaBaine · April 2016

Just a quick reminder for all those suggesting to port or log out and back...
1. We shouldn't have to. Yeah, it's kind of a matter of principle.
2. If you happen to be attending an event that is set in a specific location and there are several other players there participating this simply doesn't work. Why should a dozen or (often far more) people have to literally flee and then start their event up again somewhere else?

idk · April 2016

You received a response that they would investigate the matter. Not sure what more you are interested other than they will look into this.

At that, they will NEVER tell you what action they took but silence would give you some indication.

I also suggest placing the player on ignore which works wonders. That should have come quick wns early.

emily3989 · April 2016

Zorrashi wrote: »

Bump

ZOS_AlanG wrote: »

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!!! Epic Advice. I submitted a ticket multiple times, each time the same response (automated):

"Put he person on ignore. We consider this matter resolved unless you respond. Have a nice day. "

I respond that it was not resolved. Next day, automated reply:

"Put he person on ignore. We consider this matter resolved unless you respond. Have a nice day. "

Rinse and repeat.

Zos, at least you could contract out customer support to India or something, even if I could not understand the representative, at least I knew I would be talking to a human being.

Appleblade · April 2016

MornaBaine wrote: »

Just a quick reminder for all those suggesting to port or log out and back...
1. We shouldn't have to. Yeah, it's kind of a matter of principle.
2. If you happen to be attending an event that is set in a specific location and there are several other players there participating this simply doesn't work. Why should a dozen or (often far more) people have to literally flee and then start their event up again somewhere else?

1. Or accept the imperfection of life, and that which you can and cannot control, and mitigate situations with the tools available. Geez, now I sound like an AA meeting.

2. I don't think anyone suggested it for a group.

PS4_ZeColmeia · April 2016

OMG I am so glad this thread is still going because I actually went through the process of joining the forums just to respond to this thread.

First, grow up. Anyone complaining for a string of emote gestures that they are construing as "offensive" is just plain sad. Sad, why? Because you are so upset in real life that you can't help but paint everything as "offensive" you see, including in a game.

Next, how much time do you have available to play? No seriously, how much time. I get on, I have a mission to get SP, CP and get sweet l00t. How do you have time to stay in one place long enough to get harrassed? I'm running around in delves, instances, dungeons, and zones so much I would leave almost everyone in the dust before I had time to notice their attempts at harrassment.

So that's visually, what about conversations? Have you bothered to use the UI and block someone? When I was waiting for a Vamp bite, I had a bunch of annoying kids talking over the top of me and others in area. We all blocked them, and went about our day. Simple.

___

So I don't even understand the premise of this thread except that you want everyone to play your way/the way you approve. You have every opportunity to save yourself from being bothered, including zoning in and out which will likely place you in another instance of the game.

This post could be taken as offensive or mean, instead take it as an opportunity. An opportunity for you to reevaluate your perception and realize happiness is 80% your perception of events. I hope you all get a chance to enrich your life in a way that helps you stop being upset at every event which could be construed as offensive and either join in the fun or go about your life and stop feeding the trolls.

emily3989 · April 2016

PS4_ZeColmeia wrote: »

Next, how much time do you have available to play? No seriously, how much time. I get on, I have a mission to get SP, CP and get sweet l00t. How do you have time to stay in one place long enough to get harrassed? I'm running around in delves, instances, dungeons, and zones so much I would leave almost everyone in the dust before I had time to notice their attempts at harrassment.

Not everyone plays the way you do either. And someone spamming C-U-N-T at you in chat should not be acceptable, ignoring function or not.

And you don't have to be next to someone for them to whisper at you constantly. Man, you need to think before you type.

MornaBaine · April 2016

Appleblade wrote: »

MornaBaine wrote: »

Just a quick reminder for all those suggesting to port or log out and back...
1. We shouldn't have to. Yeah, it's kind of a matter of principle.
2. If you happen to be attending an event that is set in a specific location and there are several other players there participating this simply doesn't work. Why should a dozen or (often far more) people have to literally flee and then start their event up again somewhere else?

1. Or accept the imperfection of life, and that which you can and cannot control, and mitigate situations with the tools available. Geez, now I sound like an AA meeting.

2. I don't think anyone suggested it for a group.

Nor are you or anyone else coming up with any worthwhile suggestions for group events that are targeted by trolls. So it might be logical to endorse the request for a full visual ignore in PvE areas of the game instead of repeating the same tired advice that only "works" on an individual basis and even that rather imperfectly. The beauty of the visual ignore is not only would it be the perfect solution to trolls at group events but would also work for individuals and eliminate any need for running away.