Is it aganist the rule to cuss?

Sorry for the temporary lock, folks, I had to get caught up in the thread.

So, welcome to the Customer Service forum everyone! This is where we discuss many in-game issues as related to the In-Game Support department. For clarity I'll go over some of the posts that have been made.

Q u o t e:
in trade or in bg chat? basically ingame.

In trade, battlegrounds, raids, whispers, say, etc... Maycian, Our Terms of Use prohibit the use if inappropriate language and context.

Please note that many of our policies are reactive in nature, not proactive. Therefore inappropriate language must be reported to us via the In-Game petitioning system or by sending an e-mail to wowgm@blizzard.com. To report a person for using inappropriate language or subject matter please submit a petition including their name and if applicable, their realm (i.e. for violations in Cross Realm Instances and Battlegrounds).

Penalties are based on the severity of the violation as well as the history on the account. Though our goal is to educate players and hope they correct the behavior these penalties do stack and it could lead up to suspension or even closure of the account.

Penalty Volcano
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20221

Q u o t e:

what will *actually* happen is nothing, as the gms are too busy to deal with you

That's not "actually" true, Lapse. Though it is unlikely that anything will happen if the matter isn't reported. Yes, our queues are much longer than normal and it is taking time to get to each petition but those petitions are still investigated, this includes harassment reports.

Q u o t e:
And they just don't care. They would ban a lot of paying customers if they banned people for using inappropriate language.

As I said, severity and account history play a big part.

Q u o t e:

I swear like a sailor in chat and I've never been warned, suspended or anything.

I do avoid racial/sexual slurs though, which is probably the "Breaking point" when it comes to getting warned.

As Crepe said you were likely not reported for your sailor like verbosity. :)

Q u o t e:
What about pvp servers? I heard you can swear all you want in a pvp server. Confirm/deny

Deny. Regardless of realm type such language is not permitted.

Q u o t e:
in truth with as much money as they make, or what others assume they make

blizzard can easily hire people to sit in the trade chat of EACH server and have people banned on the spot for violations... the problem is blizzard does not care... i truthfully will say that they just do not care.. certain reports i've made (of which i gave proof and times on the chat) and yet nothing has been done...

Technically, could we have people sit in-game and monitor both factions for each of the over 200 realms? Yes, I suppose that is possible but it is financially and logistically impractical.

Q u o t e:

if blizzard would just give some guy five bucks an hour to just stare at trade chat.. for each server, more problems would be solved much quicker...

No, if people would actually report violations when they occur that would help address the issue. The biggest problem is consistency and perception. A lot of times you'll have someone who uses inappropriate language in a public channel and almost immediately someone else shouts out "Reported!". Usually the person who shouted "Reported" never does report the incident. So you have someone who believes they are reported waiting for something to happen and you have others who saw the person shout "Reported" assuming that something will be done.

Unfortunately because a report was never put in the person who was "Reported" thinks that what they said was either not a violation or that we simply don't care. Others that were in the channel may see additional comments from the same person the next day and think that we didn't do anything based on the report.

It is an endless cycle and one that gathers steam as more and more people believe in the false perception. It also isn't something that can be corrected overnight. The activities on a realm can only really take place by the permission of its population. If you don't report these violations it is unlikely someone will do it for you.

The more your report it the less over all it will happen.

Q u o t e:
O.. rly?

That appears to be on the PTR, Looloolool, it's a different environment. :)

Q u o t e:

I've always been of mind that they should call it the "Immature Language Filter."

I've always held that there is a time and a place for most behavior, maturity is knowing where and when that is. If profanity and other subject matter is not offensive to you, that's great, but this is an MMO, Massively Multi-Player Online game. Understand that you are not the only person playing at that not all language and topics of conversation is appropriate or desired for all audiences.

Q u o t e:
"to trouble by repeated attacks, incursions, etc., as in war or hostilities; harry; raid."

"(n) harassment, torment (a feeling of intense annoyance caused by being tormented) "so great was his harassment that he wanted to destroy his tormentors"

I can find convenient internet definitions that may or may not have anything to do with our policies too =D.

Q u o t e:
Using profanity in general is not attacking somebody.

Correct. Inappropriate language is not always an attack. It does, however, create a hostile environment. An environment counter to the atmosphere we want for our players.

Q u o t e:
Using profanity in general to insult them is. What is harassment to others is just profanity to me, so why should I be limited in what I say on grounds of punishment when the greater majority of the people who play the game have the same view as I do on top of the fact that there is a mechanic actually in the game to censor it out?

I will simply say that it is unwise to make assumptions regarding how 'the greater majority of the people who play the game' feel. Regardless, majorities are something that we take into consideration, but our policies are intended for the protection of all players, not a hypothetical 'majority'.

Q u o t e:
And veiled profanity is not "cussing". I deliberately replaced the profane word with asterisks because it was an example and an easy way to voice my opinion on the matter.

Masked profanity, whether on the forums or in-game, is just as subject to our policies as blatant profanity. You might want to read the forum code of conduct: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/forum-coc.html

Q u o t e:

I just don't see why anybody should be banned for using profane words in general because children get offended or adults think that the censorship system is not enough when it is.

Players who deliberately flout the rules that we've put into place, and that we expect every player to follow, will very likely run afoul of policies. Misconceptions about what 'maturity' is in this context consistently plague this discussion. Maturity is learning, acknowledging and following the rules that one agrees to. Maturity is not spewing a stream of sewage, or tolerating that kind of behavior from others.

It can be helpful to think of World of Warcraft like a theme park where we try to provide a clean, fun environment for every player, and where those who wish to continue to enjoy what we have to offer are beholden to a certain standard of conduct.

Q u o t e:
My stance on this is,
No words are bad by themselves they are just words it is how you use them.
I see nothing wrong with cussing when used correctly like a raid wipe that def deserves at least one "F bomb", but there is NO reason to be cussing just because you can in trade or whatever.

I understand that you have an opinion, but I must make something absolutely clear: there is no 'correct' profanity in World of Warcraft. Period.

It takes more effort to type a piece of profanity than it does to simply avoid it. There is absolutely no reason that profanity or harassment is ever appropriate within World of Warcraft.

Q u o t e:
That being said if you have ever read any forum (almost any forum) you can see what the online community is like, and playing this game is no different as far as im considered the minute you hit the play button you are saying "OK i can deal with people,and if i dont like it i can ignore them" and as a parent myself , if i was to let my kids play i am saying that its ok for them to see that. Blizzard can only do so much , people are still people.

I appreciate your rational approach to the infinite variables present within an online community. That said, we are less tolerant of inappropriate behavior, as are many other players. The /ignore feature and the mature language filter are useful tools, but we also fully expect all those who enjoy World of Warcraft to fulfill their responsibility to us and their fellow players by abiding by our policies.

Q u o t e:


Which is to say that ONLY Blizzard is allowed to cuss. Bastard sword of this, and countless other times in quests. Hello Pot meet Kettle. It is supposed to be 18 and over so what is the big deal? There is a filter for a GD reason.

You are correct. These standards of conduct are indeed one-sided and only apply to our players. That said, we do strive to provide content which is amenable to our player community.

As an aside, 'bastard sword' is an established term used to reference a particular style of longsword.