KingsIsle, there is a growing problem within the commons. If you go there anymore, the conduct and actions of some of the players can turn your stomach. What can be gotten through your chat censors, would surprise you. Something needs to be done about it as I have spoken with others and they have since gone back to games they played before Wizards. How many accounts would you have to loose before you decided that something needs to be done? You need monitors within the game in each realm. At the very least, one monitor per commons. With the ability to halt the actions of the few that cause the problems. If it were myself, and I lost even one account because of the inappropriate actions of a few, it would be one account too many. You have a wonderful game KI and its a lot of fun playing it. But this needs to be addressed and something done about it. Please take heed KI and allow those of us who enjoy the game to do so again. Please ...
I do happen to agree with this... I let alot go thinking "kids will be kids" but it is starting to get out of hand.. Kids are figuring out how to put things together to cuss or get the idea across of what cuss words they are trying to say. They are making very "adult" inappropriate comments that at 16 might be funny but it shouldnt be said around 6, 7 and 8yr olds.
I have played on a game previously that there were moderators who were volunteers who offered a couple hours of their time every day to watch lobbies, they had the ability to "SILENCE" a person for 10-30 and 60 minutes. First time there was an issue you silenced for 10 minutes, and the moderator wo have left a kind of mark that other moderators would see on their side that they had been silenced. Once they have gone through the 3 stages they could then "ban" them for 24 hours so that an actual empolyee could go over the situation and see if they should be removed or could be let back into the game after 24 hours.
I personally would be willing to volunteer 2 hours a night to moderate a commons area... I have special needs children on my account that should not be seeing the things these children are saying... I have tried "reporting" these people but nothing is done to them... Does anyone really look into these reports? I dont do it often, only when I thinkthey have actually crossed the line... A kid trying to say they are "level for ty to(42)" is not something they should be punished for but some of these things are way out of hand. I could give you so many example just from YESTERDAY alone, but I do not feel its appropriate for this forum as children come in here and read as well. You can email me on the other hand and I would be more then willing to explain.
You can tell they are children/teens saying these things. Personally I would hope that an adult signing up for this game would respect the family atmosphere and not act like these people are...
So, essentially, you would be looking for KI to implement moderators and perhaps even player moderators to help curve behavioral problems. I know that in other games I've played, there's a very easy-to-follow report process. It just asks for the name of the player and to highlight any of the rules they had broken. Players who were found to be in violation of the rules would have varying actions from being "muted" (restricted to menu chat only) to permanent account bans. The mechanics of that game, however, are extremely different and many of the common rules that warrant the higher punishments do not apply to this game.
All the more that happened between player reports and the actions of the moderators and player moderators is that the moderator disciplinary action took immediate effect, whereas player reports had to be verified before disciplinary measures could take effect.
I, too, have seen some of this appalling language being slipped through the chat filters. Some of the stuff I've seen, it would come to a fist fight in the real world. It is amazing the creative ways that people have come up with to use foul language. And not just in the commons, but in all the different worlds, and places in the worlds. I have reported a couple of people for it when I've seen it. I wonder how it would be stopped though. Would they need more people to read all the chat logs? Or just people stationed in the different places to pick up the chats? Or does one have to be relatively close to others to pick up the chat? If chat log readers are what is needed, or even game mods to just stand around in strategic spots, I'd be happy to volunteer some of my time for it.
The worst player conduct in online games tends to show up in the starting areas and especially free areas. This is why, for example, some games put heavy chat restrictions on trial accounts. If you could block all chat from unsubscribed players in free areas but allow other chat (including subscribers in free areas and access pass players in non-free areas), you'd probably see most of the chat problems vanish. That would be far easier to implement than trying to preemptively track down every single person inclined to cause trouble.
Another thought for KI is many people would probably join to be able to text chat....and they would then be less willing to say anything to get banned as that payment would be non-refundable.
I am just here to let you know that we do hear your worries. Daily we do have members of the KI staff wandering the areas in Wizard City and beyond, always on the look-out for ill-mannered Wizards. As we witness how players manipulate the current filters to be inappropriate, we are quick to add words and phrases to our black list for the next big update to the game. Unfortunately though, people always seem to find a way to make a simple word sound wrong.
On another note, please feel safe in knowing that we do read each and every report we get for bad language. A system is in place to censor bad language or behavior which include warning, muting, suspension or a permanent ban from Wizard101.
It is important for you parents with youngsters to remember that you can limit your children from seeing what these other wizards are saying. To do this turn the Filtered Text Chat off. Doing this limits their account to use the Menu Chat only. Your young wizard can still communicate with others for in game purpose and will not be able to see what Chat enabled players type. All accounts set up as under the age of 13 (or with no birthday entered at all) are automatically set to have the Filtered Text Chat disabled.
We want Wizard101 to remain a safe environment for players of all ages, your help in creating message posts like this as well as reporting others in game is very much appreciated.
I very much appreciate KI's commitment to keep the game kid-safe. Still, there is value in stopping bad behavior while it is happening and before it escalates. Sometimes I think kids discover that they CAN curse through the filter, or see someone else doing it, and then let loose with bad language they might not otherwise have used. Also when players get into an argument they may try to save face by being ruder than the other person. If these particular players could be muted for ten or twenty minutes at the time they are cursing or harassing someone, it not only means an immediate consequence (easier to learn from than a delayed one) but also protects the other people in that area from more of the same behavior.
I support the idea of volunteer moderators hanging out in the free and common areas in addition to the KI staff (and covering times when traffic is high but KI staff are not on duty). I would be happy to spend a couple of hours a week doing this (I already do actually, answering questions and chatting with people and watching for bad language). I'm sure there are many others who would do the same, both here and on the fan site. If other games have done this, there must be knowledge out there of how to set it up and what pitfalls to avoid. Combine this with temporary muting at the time of the problem and I think we could make a noticeable difference.
KI, let the player community help in making the spiral a safe place for kids. The energy and dedication are here; can you find a way to use them?
