Bigotry in Gorefiend trade chat out of hand

Q u o t e:
I think it would be really helpful if a GM or GMs could spend some time monitoring the Horde trade channel on Gorefiend and see for themselves how bad it's gotten. Maybe if a few people were busted directly by GMs, then other people would think twice before they typed.

Though we have, on occasion, visited realms and monitored chat to a degree this is not something that we are normally able to do and the appropriate method of reporting inappropriate behavior is best used. Rexerengeti, you simply need to submit an in-game petition and report an individual or individuals who you believe are violating our Terms of Use.

I see you submitted one petition regarding the chat in trade but it was simply to suggest that we monitor the channel and did not contain any individual reports. It is important to report the name of the individual who is using the inappropriate language, if the violations took place within a cross realm battleground or instance you'll need to include the player's realm as well. Our In-Game Support staff will investigate the chat and take any and all actions that are appropriate.

Q u o t e:

There are built in tools to help the PLAYER handle this issue. Language filter and Ignore list should do the trick. In my opinion it is not the duty of a gaming company to control what the players say inside of a MMO. While I agree that type of language is offensive, I don't feel that the GMs should spend their time censoring players. Just my opinion though.

You are welcome to your opinion, Mattheas, and I believe many share that opinion but ignoring inappropriate behavior doesn't make it go away or help to create a fun and fair environment for those who wish to spend their leisure time here. Evidence has shown when you ignore this type of behavior it only becomes more prevalent and escalates in severity.

There are tools to help the player handle these issues, they are the spam report feature (to be used only for spam and gold/powerleveling advertisements) and the petition feature. Remember this is a Teen rated game and therefore there is certain language and behavior that is simply not welcome as many people, who purchased the game did so with an understanding that a specific type of environment was to be expected.

Q u o t e:

I'm not using this as a way to bypass the ticketing system; on the contrary, I am using it as a means of informing Blizzard that in at least this one case the ticketing system is not sufficient to address the problem.

Did you submit these petitions from another account, Rexerengeti? As I said I only see two recent petitions. One was the request that we spot check/monitor trade, which is why you were referred to the Suggestions forum and the other is a question about the Recruit a Friend program. The only other harassment report I see was submitted and answered 125 days ago.

Q u o t e:

The world is a lot different than the bubble your parents kept you in. You can't repel everything for the rest of your life.

Which may be true if this behavior were to take place in public but it isn't. Even in public there are certain restrictions. This is akin to walking into a children's book store and shouting profanities. That store will likely have you removed from the store, forcibly, if necessary and be perfectly within their right to.

Again, Teen rated game and with that rating comes certain expectations and behavioral requirements.

Q u o t e:
Would the whole <edited> [ability] spam that appears from other players be classified as something that I can use this for? I see it from time to time, and normally it's two to three people, sometimes more only saying it once or twice. Can I use report spam for this? Or should I send an email instead?

Absolutely. The Report Spam feature was implemented to help the denizens of a realm determine what type of behavior is acceptable, if you and the others on your realm do not wish to see the [body part] ability spam or other link based spam, use the Report Spam feature.

Q u o t e:

You should report them as Trade chat is used for Tradeing etc and not the (explicit) spam with abilities.

The name of the channel is simply a suggested use for the channel, it isn't a requirement. Sorry, Vereor.

Q u o t e:

Fair enough, I haven't reported many players lately, but I think part of my failure to do so is because the number of incidents is so high it can seem overwhelming or hopeless.

I understand, Rexerengeti, given the shear volume of these violations on certain realms, it can seem a little daunting. Much of the problem stems from people simply not reporting because they feel much like you do, that their report doesn't matter or couldn't possibly have a noticeable affect. I can assure you that it does matter and it will have an affect.

Q u o t e:

So, I guess I feel like I shouldn't have to be my own policeman to make sure the rules governing offensive speech are enforced.

You don't need to be a policeman, Rexerengeti, that wouldn't be your role. You are concerned neighbor filing a complaint. Your realm is much like a neighborhood that if you don't take an interest in the condition of it, who will? Our In-Game Support staff is happy to help and address such issues but they must be brought to our attention through the appropriate means.

Q u o t e:
But if the reality for the moment is that there are just not enough GM resources to monitor trade chat, I'll accept that. It sounds like the most effective way to demonstrate the extent of the problem is simply to report the incidents as normal.

With 220+ realms, 2 factions on each realm, etc... actively monitoring channels would be logistically difficult at best. Not to mention it would be to the detriment of all the other duties a Game Master has.

My advice would report what violations you find. If there are a bunch, start with the worst. Even if someone claims that they are going to report the person, report them yourself, just to make sure. This didn't happen overnight, so it may take some time to return to normal but persistence is key for that happening. Encourage others on your realm to report the violations they see.