Muted from chat VS temporarily banned

#1 - April 24, 2013, 7:09 a.m.
Blizzard Post

I made a few distasteful jokes yesterday(no one thought they were offensive but I guess someone must have) and was blocked from my account for three days. I can’t help but think that this punishment is over the top for the most minor offense you can commit in this game; it’s simply unnecessary.

There should be a less harsh way of giving the very first warning for foul language, such as what I put in the topic title. If I’m muted then I still get to play the game, I would get the point that what I said was wrong, and I wouldn’t be able to offend anyone else for the duration of the mute. I would be very unlikely to repeat my actions, as would most other people who got blocked from their account for foul language.

Being temporarily banned from the game should be more of a second or third offense punishment, and should be distributed to those who actually deserve it. I’d much rather be muted from chat as a first offense than being completely removed from the entire game.

#37 - April 24, 2013, 4:38 p.m.
Blizzard Post

We’ve been supporting Guild Wars for 8 years now. And our devs have been supporting games for years and years before that. We’ve found that warnings are ineffective. That taking the time to send emails earns us arguments back and continued discussion for a subject that needs no discussion.

The 3-day suspension IS your warning. There is no lasting effect on your account, but this system has proved to be very effective, and our game world is regarded as a far more pleasant place to be than most game worlds, in part because we don’t fiddle-faddle around with offensive names and chat.

I’m sorry you’re uphappy, but I stand behind our policies because — quite provably — they work.