Racial Slurs

Q u o t e:
Nearly every day a certain member of my server enjoys using the infamous "N" word repeatedly in trade. Then laughs at everyone who says they are reporting him, stating that if blizzard actually cared about such racial slurs, they would have banned him the first time.

Unfortunately our policies are often misunderstood as well as what happens in these cases.

We do care that someone uses inappropriate language in game, but our goal is to educate players that such language is not welcome here and encourage them to change their behavior, not simply close the account and be done with it.

This person is also probably suffering from the illusion that he has been reported when using that and similar words. The problem stems from people shouting "Reported!" and never actually submitting a report. If they believe that they've been reported and they never get so much as a warning they may then believe that perhaps their actions are not against policy. After all you said you have seen this nearly every day and today is the first report I see about this from you.

Since our policies are reactive in nature what is tolerated on a realm is usually up to the population of that realm. If they do not report offensive chat or are not consistent it can lead some thinking that such behavior is, if not completely acceptable, at least treated lightly.

I can assure you that is it anything but. If you come across behavior that you believe is inappropriate please report it. Include the name of the character (and realm if this is in a Cross realm instance or Battleground). You may include the offending comment if you wish (we don't offend easy), and may help in our investigation.

An example of how the penalty system works can be found here.

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

Q u o t e:

Turn on your profanity filter I believe it covers this word you're talking about.

It does but the Mature Language filter is there to provide an extra layer of protection for parents who do not want their children exposed to such language and for others who don't care for it either. That does not give anyone permission to use the language.

Q u o t e:
Choosing not to use it does not reserve the right to punish others for your decision though.

It exists for a reason.

No, Kindaria, it does not. The Mature language filter exists, as I said, to give parents and others an added layer of protection. As a game that has a Teen rating it is important to have that option. Our policy still prohibits the use of inappropriate language both clear and masked though.

I think one of my favorite analogies is : Simply because I am wearing a bullet proof vest does not mean you can shoot at me.

What most people seem to forget is that the opinion regarding the language is not under consideration. Even if you are not personally offended, this is still a Teen Rated game and because of that fact use of certain words and subject matter should not be used here.

We seem to be going in circles here. Of those who care, those who don't and those who don't think anything is done anyway. I can assure you if reported we will take any and all appropriate actions for the violations found. If you remain consistent and encourage others who feel the same to report as well, not simply say they will, the overall tone of the realm should change.