#0 - Oct. 6, 2009, 3:33 p.m.
I'm not going to go into detail on what was said. I'll just say I've played WOW off and on since launch and I'm retired law enforcement. I've seen a lot and I'm not easily shocked. I made a report to a GM and received the standard email response.
I looked this person up on Armory for about the next week and noticed that the character had not been updated since the day the report had been made. I checked today and saw the character had gained 8 levels and was being actively played.
I have some questions amd comment for the GM's who handle this type of situation:
The obvious question is why wasn't this person banned permanently? (I know this question won't be answered.)
What is Blizzard's policy on evaluating whether a person is a danger to children? What level of proof is required for a ban or other follow-up to take place? By follow-up I mean letting the local law enforcement where this person lives aware of the situation.
What kind of training do these employee's have in making a decision like this?
Does Blizzard take child safety serious in this game?
If in fact this person is a child molester and not just someone who talks about it. I can assure you they will not be cured by a 72 hour ban from the game. Statistics will show you multiple arrests and long prison terms do not "cure" them.
These type of people are experts in manipulating others. They manipulate both adults and children.
If something does happen where a child is abused and it originates in the game environment. I can see a smart attorney using a situation like I just described against Blizzard. It would tend to show that Blizzard does not take child safety seriously.
If I were a Blizzard Attorney I would recommend a policy where any suspicion that a person may be a danger to children is permanently banned from the game. Why take the chance legally, morally, or with the bad publicity that would certainly arise?
