Trade chat bans for racists

#0 - March 12, 2010, 6:50 p.m.

hey I have an idea. how about short term bans from trade chat or general chat for the people who make repeated racist, sexist and gay-hating comments? to show that blizz actually cares about this issue and really does not condone it like they say in their TOS. this way, these people still get to play the game and pay blizzard every month (so blizz does not lose money) but they just suffer some lost privileges. i hope this is possible to code. not a programmer but would really appreciate such a change in the game :D short term bans only; because honestly...many people who make these comments are really not bad people they just think its funny and the like to joke around and be annoying. i don't mind them but it is hard to tell the difference between the harmless jokers and the real weirdos. even so people that joke around like that gotta know they can be offensive and hurtful to others. also some of these people really truly feel prejudiced and i do not want these people to be encouraged or tolerated. nuff said.

anyway, again, i love this game. best MMORPG ever. i never << removed >> about the mechanics of this game because honestly....they do a great job and only whiners want it to be better.

also to those of you who are gonna say "leave trade chat" or "ignore them" well...these are bandaids on the problem, the problem being the tolerance of this behavior in the game. Blizz should not be perceived as tolerating this << removed >>. I imagine it must be almost impossible to police and probably might represent a loss of profits to enforce it. Hence i think the short term trade chat ban is a great solution. Can anyone think of a reason why it would not be good? Would it lose money for blizz? Cuz that's gotta be the bottom line. I mean i imagine a few irate people might quit the game....but probably at the same rate that anyone else leaves the game for any reason including the tolerance of racism, sexism and gay-bashing in the general chat channels... lol and maybe those folks would not leave the game if the other kids were told to << removed >> by the powers that be.

Syndri

#6 - March 12, 2010, 7:52 p.m.

The following response was written by one of our new teammates. Because they are still in training and do not yet possess a forum account of their own, they shall be posting via proxy through me.

Your idea, Jededae, is something that is already present and part of our harassment policies. Chat expressing racial hatred, as expressed in our Harassment Policy stated below, is not tolerated and can result in action being taken against an offending account. Additionally, players that show repeat and flagrant disregard for our in-game policies can be subject to increasingly severe action, as noted in our “Penalty Volcano” account penalties overview.

Chat Harassment Policy

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=20226#racialethnic

Account Penalties

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=20221

That said, if you see anyone engaging in inappropriate chat or any other behavior you feel is unacceptable for the game, please do submit an in-game petition or send an email to [email protected] and explain the situation. Be sure to include the name and realm of the offending character and the receiving Game Master will be happy to investigate the issue and take all appropriate actions.

Orlyia

#10 - March 22, 2010, 8:56 p.m.

Q u o t e:
Ok blizzard let's get serious, u honestly expect me to sit and report everyone I see being racist in trade chat. I would be doing that all DAY! I get on to enjoy the game, not to be harassed nor to do your JOB! Get some GM's to sit and watch Arthas trade chat, you for 5mins, and someone will say something racial.

Our job is to respond to player concerns via petition, Psypo.

Have you done the math on how many personnel it would take to actively monitor chat on every realm, both factions, in all the areas that might be in question?

Responding to reports is a far more efficient system and keeps our Game Masters actively working on player issues.

There are also safeguards to help filter this sort of nonsense for you, but putting in a petition is essential to actually report players for such behavior.

Also, if your realm is true to form to most, I suspect there are actually not all that many players involved. Things like this tend to revolve around literally a handful of players. Others may jump on a bandwagon, but if the chronic offenders are removed you'll most likely see things improve rather quickly.