Zone Chat During Pride Month

shadyjane62 · June 2022

My husband and I are old, but we stand with the LBJT + community. It's the haters in this world that are ruining it.

We are in a period where mass murderers are coming out of the woodwork.

So far none of those haters are from the Pride Community.

SainguinKrist · June 2022

VaranisArano wrote: »

Wow, what a thread to wake up to. Some of you naysayers are determined to prove the OP's point for them.

..................

OP, it's early Sunday morning. The Mods may or may not see this before Monday, so I wish you the best in managing your mental fortitude when it comes to engaging with folks here and zone chat. For what it's worth, I think you've chosen a graceful way to respond to provocation.

I also play Warframe. Over there, we've noticed the same wave of players popping out of the woodwork to be toxic about Pride Month even though they got a sweet color palette out of it. It's the same sort of complaining about pushing agendas and propaganda or politicizing a game that already had those themes.

It's a shame, but for good or ill, you aren't alone in what you noticed. ESO isn't the only MMO facing these issues. Hopefully, both games learn from this experience so things get better for the rest of month and next year.

And I hope you have a great day!

I appreciate the kind words, and I've tried my very best not to let my emotions completely take over in my responses, but my god it is so hard when dealing with this stuff.

Thanks for being kind.

Grizzbeorn · June 2022

[snip]

It already applies to one side; the straight side. They aren't harangued into keeping discussion of their preferences behind closed doors like LGBTQ+ folks are.
And that is all the LGBTQ+ folks are trying to do here; be treated like everyone else (the straight folk) who already CAN express themselves openly without fear of backlash.

That's a big part of what Pride is all about -- the desire for LGBTQ+ folks to be treated like thinking, feeling human beings, the same way that straight folks always have been treated.

[edited to remove quote]

SainguinKrist · June 2022

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

[snip]

It already applies to one side; the straight side. They aren't harangued into keeping discussion of their preferences behind closed doors like LGBTQ+ folks are.
And that is all the LGBTQ+ folks are trying to do here; be treated like everyone else (the straight folk) who already CAN express themselves openly without fear of backlash.

That's a big part of what Pride is all about -- the desire for LGBTQ+ folks to be treated like thinking, feeling human beings, the same way that straight folks always have been treated.

thank you

Happy Pride

Dark_Lord_Kuro · June 2022

JavaRen wrote: »

If you are on PC screenshot and report. And keep reporting. Not sure how the logistics of doing that work on console.

Possible but more complicated
On ps ( not sure about xbox)
Using the share button to take a screenshot
Wich if you turned the setting on will automaticly be uploaded to the ps app on your phone from wich you will be able to replie the the automatic email from zos with the screenshot

ZOS_Lunar · June 2022

Hello!

First, we would like to acknowledge we took too long to respond to this thread, and for that we're sorry.

Everyone in the ESO community should feel welcome, regardless of their age, race, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, lifestyle, pregnancy, gender, or any other personally identifying factors. We take the use of hate speech very seriously in the official ESO community, and have a zero tolerance policy. Our definition of hate speech is prejudice or hateful comments, slurs, or statements that promote violence or intolerance toward others due to these personally identifying factors.

Hate speech is against both our Community Rules and our Code of Conduct. Please refer to these if you have any questions.

Hate has no place in The Elder Scrolls Online.

Thank you for your understanding, and Happy Pride.

SainguinKrist · June 2022

ZOS_Lunar wrote: »

Hello!

First, we would like to acknowledge we took too long to respond to this thread, and for that we're sorry.

Everyone in the ESO community should feel welcome, regardless of their age, race, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, lifestyle, pregnancy, gender, or any other personally identifying factors. We take the use of hate speech very seriously in the official ESO community, and have a zero tolerance policy. Our definition of hate speech is prejudice or hateful comments, slurs, or statements that promote violence or intolerance toward others due to these personally identifying factors.

Hate speech is against both our Community Rules and our Code of Conduct. Please refer to these if you have any questions.

Hate has no place in The Elder Scrolls Online.

Thank you for your understanding, and Happy Pride.

It's a Sunday and just hours away from a Chapter launch.

I don't blame you guys for taking a while.

Appreciate everything you've done to clean up this thread and I truly appreciate the statement.

Thank you everyone at ZOS.

You've also made quite a few people in my guild very happy.

KalevaLaine · June 2022

I'm sorry that this is happening to you and your beloved, friends, guild mates or call it whatever.

I would totally agree to screenshot it and report this to the costumer service. Hope thy will react and ban this idiot from the game, and if not, they deserve a social ban.

Reminds me on a post that day where the USMC posted a pride month related picture on social media. The comments... Just hell.

SainguinKrist · June 2022

KalevaLaine wrote: »

I'm sorry that this is happening to you and your beloved, friends, guild mates or call it whatever.

I would totally agree to screenshot it and report this to the costumer service. Hope thy will react and ban this idiot from the game, and if not, they deserve a social ban.

Reminds me on a post that day where the USMC posted a pride month related picture on social media. The comments... Just hell.

That's why Pride matters. We have to be out and open until hate like that ends.

It's happening, it's just gonna take some more time.

SainguinKrist · June 2022

[snip]

There's nothing political about our existence.

We're just trying to live and be happy.

[edited to remove quote]

Xinihp · June 2022

I'm not sure how suggesting a chat tab to ignore zone chat that is offensive was important to delete from the forums, but OK...

*backs away from thread non-threateningly, arms raised*

16BitForestCat · June 2022

Since it's Report Jerkwads Month again (actually, that's every month, sad to say, but especially bad during Pride), here's all y'all's semi-regular tutorial for proper reporting-of-jerkwads procedure. Because, like so many other things in ESO, it's a bit unnecessarily complicated due to how mod resources seem to be spread thin:

Make sure you report them through the https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/ website instead of in-game, and include any unedited screenshots you have of their bad behavior. Log in with your ESO game account information, click "Submit A Ticket" below the suggested options, and that'll set you on the right path to report a player or guild (different options for each). ZOS is bad about ignoring in-game reports, but I've always heard back from them when I report issues through the website. Just make sure you respond to the automated email you receive with something like, "Yes, I still want you to look into this" because your ticket will be deleted if you don't respond within a certain amount of time. Keep checking your mail and spam filters for any follow-up mails you may need to respond to, even if they're also automated. Be aware ZOS won't inform you what action they decide to take against the offender, if any.

You can totally still report the issue even without screenshots! ZOS asks you for date and time of incident in your report, as well as the account name and character name you're reporting--as much info as you can provide, basically. ZOS keeps detailed logs of all game activity that go back a pretty good way. I once reported (in-game) a furnishing vanishing from my inventory during a trade, heard nothing for two weeks. Reported it through the website when I realized reporting in-game was getting me nowhere, and within a couple days, the customer service rep got back to me--they were able to go back half a month in the game logs and see exactly what vanished from my inventory, how it happened, and which players were involved. Screenshots are helpful because they provide clear details on what exactly you're reporting, but the issue can often be resolved without screenshots, as long as ZOS can look at activity logs.

EDIT to add P.S. Don't "just ignore them" and do nothing as some here have suggested. That only makes abusive types like these bigots escalate their behavior, and also gives the false impression that you don't have any problem with the hate they're spewing, which allows them to attract others like them. Take it from someone with personal experience in being abused. Me, I always block them, then announce I'm reporting them, and then I carry through on that. Don't pick a fight with them or try to debate them down; that's what they want. If you feel you absolutely have to speak out (and you don't, so do what you need for your safety!), just let it be known you refuse to let bigotry and jerk behavior go unchecked, then do your part via reporting.

SainguinKrist · June 2022

16BitForestCat wrote: »

Since it's Report Jerkwads Month again (actually, that's every month, sad to say, but especially bad during Pride), here's all y'all's semi-regular tutorial for proper reporting-of-jerkwads procedure. Because, like so many other things in ESO, it's a bit unnecessarily complicated due to how mod resources seem to be spread thin:

Make sure you report them through the https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/ website instead of in-game, and include any unedited screenshots you have of their bad behavior. Log in with your ESO game account information, click "Submit A Ticket" below the suggested options, and that'll set you on the right path to report a player or guild (different options for each). ZOS is bad about ignoring in-game reports, but I've always heard back from them when I report issues through the website. Just make sure you respond to the automated email you receive with something like, "Yes, I still want you to look into this" because your ticket will be deleted if you don't respond within a certain amount of time. Keep checking your mail and spam filters for any follow-up mails you may need to respond to, even if they're also automated. Be aware ZOS won't inform you what action they decide to take against the offender, if any.

You can totally still report the issue even without screenshots! ZOS asks you for date and time of incident in your report, as well as the account name and character name you're reporting--as much info as you can provide, basically. ZOS keeps detailed logs of all game activity that go back a pretty good way. I once reported (in-game) a furnishing vanishing from my inventory during a trade, heard nothing for two weeks. Reported it through the website when I realized reporting in-game was getting me nowhere, and within a couple days, the customer service rep got back to me--they were able to go back half a month in the game logs and see exactly what vanished from my inventory, how it happened, and which players were involved. Screenshots are helpful because they provide clear details on what exactly you're reporting, but the issue can often be resolved without screenshots, as long as ZOS can look at activity logs.

EDIT to add P.S. Don't "just ignore them" as someone here suggests. That only makes abusive types like these bigots escalate their behavior, and also gives the false impression that you don't have any problem with the hate they're spewing, which allows them to attract others like them. Take it from someone with personal experience in being abused. Me, I always block them, then announce I'm reporting them, and then I carry through on that. Don't pick a fight with them or try to debate them down; that's what they want. If you feel you absolutely have to speak out (and you don't, so do what you need for your safety!), just let it be known you refuse to let bigotry and jerk behavior go unchecked, then do your part via reporting.

I really appreciate this info, because up until now, I've been solely reporting ingame.

Thank you!

And I also appreciate your advice on how to handle them as it happens

NotaDaedraWorshipper · June 2022

One of my main guilds is openly LGBTQ+ inclusive and we tell so on our guild page and in our recruitment.

The amount of hateful and bigoted comments our officers get either in whispers or afterwards in zonechat is sickening.

Makes us wish that whenever we get comments about why we need to claim that, how it's unnecessary because all guilds are that etc, we could just shove screenshots of all those hateful comments in those faces.

16BitForestCat · June 2022

SainguinKrist wrote: »

I really appreciate this info, because up until now, I've been solely reporting ingame.

Thank you!

And I also appreciate your advice on how to handle them as it happens

You're welcome! You might get a favorable outcome from in-game reports, but I've never had any luck with it, so I always recommend going through the help portal. Another advantage to the help portal reports is that they allow for much more text than in-game, so you can be very detailed in what you're reporting. You can include multiple screenshots, as well.

HonestLoverr · June 2022

if I remember right, OP also posts guild recruiting in zone chat regularly. Nothing wrong with that at all. The guild announcement contains the message that the guild consists mainly of LGBTQ+ directed likemined players.[snip]

Yes chats can be toxic. But not just about the LGBTQ+ community. [snip]

Whenever toxic behaviour in chat happens, me and my wife report as much as we can. All the people, no matter who does what, should always remember to behave well. The mistakes of others don't justify the own mistakes.

[edited for baiting]

SainguinKrist · June 2022

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

One of my main guilds is openly LGBTQ+ inclusive and we tell so on our guild page and in our recruitment.

The amount of hateful and bigoted comments our officers get either in whispers or afterwards in zonechat is sickening.

Makes us wish that whenever we get comments about why we need to claim that, how it's unnecessary because all guilds are that etc, we could just shove screenshots of all those hateful comments in those faces.

I, unfortunately, completely understand and can relate.

I actually don't ask my guild officers to recruit because I don't want to expose them to the level of hate speech I can manage to stir up by just advertising my guild.

Ingame moderation is a tricky thing though, I can't really blame ZOS for not being able to catch it all on the fly.

Credit where it's due, they're trying.

All we can do as guild/community leaders is continue to build up our communities to be safe havens and stay vigilant.

And maybe call it out here and there so that hatred can't fester unchallenged. It's not always productive to call it out, but at some point, you have to.

Muizer · June 2022

Are zone chats not monitored by AI ? It shouldn't be too hard to raise an alert based on word frequencies.

Browiseth · June 2022

i do feel like zone chat could do with being level locked, maybe level 15 or so?

<snipped for Baiting>

VaranisArano · June 2022

Sparxlost wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

Wow, what a thread to wake up to. Some of you naysayers are determined to prove the OP's point for them.

..................

OP, it's early Sunday morning. The Mods may or may not see this before Monday, so I wish you the best in managing your mental fortitude when it comes to engaging with folks here and zone chat. For what it's worth, I think you've chosen a graceful way to respond to provocation.

I also play Warframe. Over there, we've noticed the same wave of players popping out of the woodwork to be toxic about Pride Month even though they got a sweet color palette out of it. It's the same sort of complaining about pushing agendas and propaganda or politicizing a game that already had those themes.

It's a shame, but for good or ill, you aren't alone in what you noticed. ESO isn't the only MMO facing these issues. Hopefully, both games learn from this experience so things get better for the rest of month and next year.

And I hope you have a great day!

i did not get specified color palette idk what you mean

For Pride Month, Warframe has a color palette they are offering for 1 credit on their in-game market (so basically for free) that has some nice colors. Like ESO, Warframe is one of those games where fashion is the real endgame, and besides, the true black in the palette makes our explosive weapons easier on the eyes. They also have a cheap decorative display for housing and a glyph for player profiles.

https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1312926-warframe-pride-2022/

FeedbackOnly · June 2022

Browiseth wrote: »

i do feel like zone chat could do with being level locked, maybe level 15 or so?

<snipped Baiting quote>

Not fair for the new players who are often confused

[snip]

[edited for discussion of disciplinary actions]

Wolfpaw · June 2022

I just ignore both group of players, and my ESO time is good.

Tenthirty2 · June 2022

I understand the best course of action is to usually not engage, and trust me, I see this type of hatred every day I recruit for my guild and just silently report and move on.

But there are times we have to stand up and say something and bring attention to the horrible things going on within our community.

If there's ever a time to talk about this, it's Pride month. Something Bethesda and Zenimax both openly support. So they should care about this.

I do appreciate your kind words though, even if in this instance I disagree, there's a lot of wisdom in what you've said.

No worries, I appreciate that. Having read thru this thread completely, believe me, it's very difficult not to engage.
Instead I will sit here and smile.
I see you and wish you strength, peace and joy

SainguinKrist · June 2022

We're allowed to openly discuss our community, our sexuality, and our pride.
<snipped Quote>

Deter1UK · June 2022

Iselin wrote: »

This month specifically I expect and welcome members of the community to identify their preference in chat, with pride.

And I say this as an old hetero male.

This old hetro male seconds that sentiment!

All the Guilds I am in are LGB++ friendly - I would not be in one that was not (PC EU)

VaranisArano · June 2022

[Quoted Post Removed]

[snip]

And no, actually, players don't have the right to express points of view that go against the TOS and Code of Conduct they agreed to. ZOS has zero obligation to allow them to use the in game chat or the forums to express those views.

It's not about forcing someone to agree with me. It's about ZOS enforcing the rules to create an environment where players feel welcome regardless of their sexual orientation (and other listed factors).

Which is to say, if they are expressing hate speech as part of their point of view, report them.

[Edited to remove response to removed content]

SainguinKrist · June 2022

VaranisArano wrote: »

[Quoted Post Removed]

[snip]

And no, actually, players don't have the right to express points of view that go against the TOS and Code of Conduct they agreed to. ZOS has zero obligation to allow them to use the in game chat or the forums to express those views.

It's not about forcing someone to agree with me. It's about ZOS enforcing the rules to create an environment where players feel welcome regardless of their sexual orientation (and other listed factors).

Which is to say, if they are expressing hate speech as part of their point of view, report them.

[Edited to remove response to removed content]

Very well put.

I'm tired and wore out, so I'm losing a bit of my.. ability to write well.

You expressed some great points I wish I had.

And happy Pride

Didgerion · June 2022

essi2 wrote: »

/zone in the starter zones should just be removed, it has always been a cesspool.

ZOS needs to get more proactive with monitoring ingame chat

It would be too expensive to moderate every zone chat.
What they actually need is to start giving players the mod roles, there are a lot of loyal players out there that consistently participate in beta-testing, or players that run big and active guilds, I'm sure such players can be trusted the power of temporary silencing the players in the zone chat. The harm of miss-silencing someone is way lower than letting the hate spread.

Psiion · June 2022

Greetings again all,

After removing some posts, we would like to remind everyone that in addition to Hate Speech as stated above, Baiting is also against the Forum's Community Rules. As stated in the Community Rule for Baiting: If you do not have something constructive or meaningful to add to a discussion, we strongly recommend you refrain from posting in that thread, and find another discussion to participate in instead.

Also, if you see another member breaking this rule on the forums, we ask that you report the post for the Moderation team to review.

Please keep the Community Rules in mind moving forward.

TaSheen · June 2022

Deter1UK wrote: »

Iselin wrote: »

This month specifically I expect and welcome members of the community to identify their preference in chat, with pride.

And I say this as an old hetero male.

This old hetro male seconds that sentiment!

All the Guilds I am in are LGB++ friendly - I would not be in one that was not (PC EU)

As an older hetero female, I also agree with the sentiment. Happy Pride all!