The ingame report feature can be used by anyone with active membership or who has bought crowns in the last 30 days. The report sends the KI team event and chat logs before and after the report was made. We can't attach screen shots to ingame reports, but it isn't needed as all the info is recorded on the wizard making the report.
Everyone posting here currently has the report feature - having the report button is the same criteria as being able to post.
Sending an email with screen shots is the only way for anyone else to report anything. A lot of people don't know to email it and screen shots must be tricky to verify who was involved etc, leading many crowns players to feel it is ignored or not addressed properly, so they don't bother.
There are many long term players who have invested a lot of money into their accounts who are unable to report quickly, easily and in an efficient way. It can lead to them feeling KI doesn't care about their welfare. I understand that giving it to all accounts (eg accounts that have never made a payment) could lead to a lot of false reporting, which would be bad for players and KI filtering through them all, but the risk to an account is directly proportional to the time and money invested.
Currently we have invested players who would be able to help keep the Spiral family friendly but can't, and others who spam reports to trigger the auto-mute or upset players with false warnings who retain the feature because they have membership. I think the issues being discussed could be significantly reduced by enabling all financially invested payers access to the report feature.
How about giving the report feature to all accounts that have invested over $20? Perhaps even consider making the report feature a 'privilege' so it can be deactivated if the player repeatedly misuses it?
PS...it would be cool if the forum was opened up to crowns players too
"screen shots must be tricky to verify who was involved etc, leading many crowns players to feel it is ignored or not addressed properly, so they don't bother."
I don't know about now, but it used to involve going into controls, reducing the game from full screen to window, then finding a screenshot thingy or app or whatever and making a screenshot. Then it's not immediately clear where to send it to.
And by the time all those things are done, will the offense still be going on? There would be the chat window one could scroll back in I guess, but it's not really the same.
And then reported or not -- it doesn't really impact the phenomenon or its causes.
(I'm agreeing w/you, Vic.)
I still think at least one realm that had these types of safety features - and a helper hangout - would be a great...experiment let's call it. See how players respond to that. It will have a certain "vibe" that I think the grifers won't find it "cool" to hang out there.
Is all good thx everyone. You can't meet nice people without meeting rude ones as well. That's how the world works. While I had to block some people, I did meet new friends as well. Several in particular I gel with immediately .
The ingame report feature can be used by anyone with active membership or who has bought crowns in the last 30 days. The report sends the KI team event and chat logs before and after the report was made. We can't attach screen shots to ingame reports, but it isn't needed as all the info is recorded on the wizard making the report.
Everyone posting here currently has the report feature - having the report button is the same criteria as being able to post.
Sending an email with screen shots is the only way for anyone else to report anything. A lot of people don't know to email it and screen shots must be tricky to verify who was involved etc, leading many crowns players to feel it is ignored or not addressed properly, so they don't bother.
There are many long term players who have invested a lot of money into their accounts who are unable to report quickly, easily and in an efficient way. It can lead to them feeling KI doesn't care about their welfare. I understand that giving it to all accounts (eg accounts that have never made a payment) could lead to a lot of false reporting, which would be bad for players and KI filtering through them all, but the risk to an account is directly proportional to the time and money invested.
Currently we have invested players who would be able to help keep the Spiral family friendly but can't, and others who spam reports to trigger the auto-mute or upset players with false warnings who retain the feature because they have membership. I think the issues being discussed could be significantly reduced by enabling all financially invested payers access to the report feature.
How about giving the report feature to all accounts that have invested over $20? Perhaps even consider making the report feature a 'privilege' so it can be deactivated if the player repeatedly misuses it?
PS...it would be cool if the forum was opened up to crowns players too
"Ps...it would be cool if the forum was opened up to crowns players too" If you're referring to these message boards, they are.
I was disturbed by some replies to the opening post."Change realms", "Ignore", etc. Did you not take into consideration the accusations of SEXUAL harassment and Racial comments? If KI isn't muting/banning these players, what will this do to the reputation of the game? Already the opening poster is quitting the game and her daughters aren't playing, what do you suppose she'll say to friends if they ask her to recommend a family friendly/child safe game? If enough customers complain about the lack of accountability shown, could W101 even lose it's ESRB rating? Changing realms isn't enough nor is Ignore, because you haven't addressed the issue of players breaking the TOS and NOT being punished.
From Spark's replies, it sounds like sending an email with screenshots is now the preferred reporting method for this kind of thing. Maybe they get so many minor infractions and false reports that they have a huge backlog in checking the chat logs through the report button, and they want a different method to bring these real baddies to the front of the line?
"Ps...it would be cool if the forum was opened up to crowns players too" If you're referring to these message boards, they are.
Unless it's changed, they have to have made a purchase within the last 30 days. On my crown accounts I buy bulk crowns all at once so they get a month here and there but not continual access, while my membership accounts buy the $60 membership then crowns intermittently but have full access all year. I spend about the same on both types of accounts but they don't have the same access to arrange hatches or contribute to discussions on here etc. Obviously I only need 1 to join in here, but for someone without a membership account they can find their access here comes and goes, likewise the report feature.
If this has changed please correct me, obviously I only use this account on here so have no need to try my others to see if it has changed
I was disturbed by some replies to the opening post."Change realms", "Ignore", etc. Did you not take into consideration the accusations of SEXUAL harassment and Racial comments? If KI isn't muting/banning these players, what will this do to the reputation of the game? Already the opening poster is quitting the game and her daughters aren't playing, what do you suppose she'll say to friends if they ask her to recommend a family friendly/child safe game? If enough customers complain about the lack of accountability shown, could W101 even lose it's ESRB rating? Changing realms isn't enough nor is Ignore, because you haven't addressed the issue of players breaking the TOS and NOT being punished.
They can't lose their E10 rating because some players think/assume 'nothing is being done'. I don't think a banned account can log into the forum so we won't hear it here, but elsewhere there are plenty of threads about being banned or muted, so we know KI does take it seriously and does take action. Even in game we meet wizards who can hear us but can only respond in menu chat - they've been muted.
We won't know if someone we reported got muted or banned because it's nothing to do with us and it would be inappropriate for KI to tell us. That doesn't mean they're doing nothing. Since much of it is done with f2p accounts we can't even tell if we see 'the same' wizard again, it could be a new account with the same name and clothing...or even someone else copying or even by coincidence.
When this is considered, people often jump to 'IP ban them then' but that is a whole different ball game and involves all kinds of legislation, rights and controversy. Many people do not play from the same IP all the time and many people use shared IPs (eg hotels, cafes, colleges etc) and that's before we even get started on VPNs. They can't just go about banning IPs and any accounts that attempt to connect from them.
KI have had to deal with DDOS attacks and malicious people trying to sabotage the game, they also have to deal with silly little kids showing off and trying to be clever. The best thing we can do is report so KI know, then block so we don't hear them any more, and get on with enjoying being a kind wizard who has helped keep the Spiral safe.
PS. To those saying they see and hear the same wizards saying the same things over and over after reporting them...if you blocked them and can still hear them it's not the same wizard!
Unless it's changed, they have to have made a purchase within the last 30 days. On my crown accounts I buy bulk crowns all at once so they get a month here and there but not continual access, while my membership accounts buy the $60 membership then crowns intermittently but have full access all year. I spend about the same on both types of accounts but they don't have the same access to arrange hatches or contribute to discussions on here etc. Obviously I only need 1 to join in here, but for someone without a membership account they can find their access here comes and goes, likewise the report feature.
If this has changed please correct me, obviously I only use this account on here so have no need to try my others to see if it has changed
Ah, I should have made it clear that I do this monthly ( buy a game card ) then I have access.
Ah, I should have made it clear that I do this monthly ( buy a game card ) then I have access.
Yeah, my first account was crowns and I was gutted that I couldn't be part of the forum! I bought enough crowns for the entire game then 30 days later had no report feature and couldn't even join the forum! I think it's a bit of a shame because there are a lot of great wizards who would enjoy joining in here and sharing their ideas etc but can't.
When we email KI an idea they redirect us to post it here, but they can't! I was only able to join in here when I joined on one of my membership accounts but many (most?) wizards don't get more than one account and being able to buy in bulk instead of regularly can be one of the attractions of going the crowns route.
I'm grown and have been playing this game off and on for a long time. I don't even like going to the commons in the afternoon/evening. So much chatter and rudeness.
However, I'm confused how screenshots of user names and conversations happening in open chat can actually help. There are repeated names all over the place? You would need to be able to get the specific character ID, which I'd assume only can be gotten from reporting. Or else you're shot in the dark hoping that the intended person does get hit with a ban.
And from what I have gathered in here, you can only report if you're a member, which I feel is not entirely fair due to a lot of players being crown players. They are still investing in the game and paying some kind of money, they should have that feature.
I feel like if a player is put on ignore so many times, KI should investigate why. No one puts people on ignore for no reason at all. Top reason I put people on ignore: 1. Spam of uselessness. so.Much.SPAM! (LOLOLOL, etc etc.)
2. Begging for gifting/TCs/etc. after being told no.
3. Rudeness 4. Cursing
5. Harassment.
Maybe timing out people's ability to chat after being reported enough in a specific time frame? (I'm not 100% sure how reporting works). 30 mins at first, 1 hour for second, and a 24 hour ban on chat for the 3rd. If they figure out the chat report ban formula, after a consecutive 30/1hr ban happens, just to 24/permaban. If they come back with a new character and continue, eventually the IP should be timed out.
I'm grown and have been playing this game off and on for a long time. I don't even like going to the commons in the afternoon/evening. So much chatter and rudeness.
However, I'm confused how screenshots of user names and conversations happening in open chat can actually help. There are repeated names all over the place? You would need to be able to get the specific character ID, which I'd assume only can be gotten from reporting. Or else you're shot in the dark hoping that the intended person does get hit with a ban.
And from what I have gathered in here, you can only report if you're a member, which I feel is not entirely fair due to a lot of players being crown players. They are still investing in the game and paying some kind of money, they should have that feature.
I feel like if a player is put on ignore so many times, KI should investigate why. No one puts people on ignore for no reason at all. Top reason I put people on ignore: 1. Spam of uselessness. so.Much.SPAM! (LOLOLOL, etc etc.)
2. Begging for gifting/TCs/etc. after being told no.
3. Rudeness 4. Cursing
5. Harassment.
Maybe timing out people's ability to chat after being reported enough in a specific time frame? (I'm not 100% sure how reporting works). 30 mins at first, 1 hour for second, and a 24 hour ban on chat for the 3rd. If they figure out the chat report ban formula, after a consecutive 30/1hr ban happens, just to 24/permaban. If they come back with a new character and continue, eventually the IP should be timed out.
I have a few points and opinions
1. Screen shots can be used to trace people because KI know who WE are so they can trace the connection. The trouble is, will they if the infraction is 'minor' as opposed to 'major'? IDK and either way I think it is disheartening and off-putting to a customer to have to jump through more hoops to make a report than is necessary. Even if KI does trace every issue reported in this way it seems like far more effort than it is worth...and not even well known!
The worst thing said to me in game went unreported because my report button had vanished (it was over 30 days from buying a ton of crowns) and I had no clue how to! I was also so sickened I logged out, losing the relevant data or ability to screen shot. I have never had an encounter like that since (almost 5 years) but that happening should be seen as justification to change things for crowns players.
2. I believe the main reason F2P do not have the report feature is to save money wasted on false reports and trolling. It absolutely makes sense when customers are harassed by it and the consequence of false reports is being muted or banned - the false reporter lost nothing when they invested nothing. However, anyone who has paid into the game has an investment to protect. The consequence of misuse would affect them. Therefore, a crowns player or member between memberships should still be able to help keep the Spiral safe!
3. I don't think KI should check why someone is put on ignore. I've ignored people just for being rude or annoying, neither of which is against ToU. It's only a very small number of people but I like to be able to do that without worrying I am going to to cause them issues. They haven't done anything serious enough for a report, but I confess, if someone is whiny and negative I have little time for them...main 'offenders' being people who add just to ask for gifting. They don't deserve a ban or sanction, I just don't want to hear them lol.
4. In your list of 5 issues there are only 2 that are reportable - cursing and harassment. I agree that customers should be able to report these issues. Being rude, begging, spamming (unless it is outside links or advertising) are all just irritations we can solve with 'ignore', they're not offenses that deserve sanctions. EG what is 'begging' to one player can be 'asking' to another.
5. Time out - the bot does this. If a person is reported X number of times by X number of people (IDK how it works exactly, it's never happened to me but I've heard lots of examples of it happening to other people) the person is put on 24 hour mute while KI checks logs and make a decision. This is a good thing when used appropriately, bad when it has been used to bully people. IDK the specifics and it's never happened to me so I trust KI to be looking into it and working on making sure it's appropriate.
Overall: I agree with you that customers should have the report feature. I feel very strongly that this should be increased to include crowns players and those between memberships. All invested CUSTOMERS should have the ability to report...these are a significant part of KI's army of people who love W101 and want to keep the Spiral safe!
As to the original post: The major questions are how and who would KI get to be 'Hall Monitors'? Surely they should use their army of invested customers? If more is needed (we don't actually know if there would be a need if the report feature wasn't so restricted) who would they get?
They can employ people - hmm, nope. Spending even more money on (predominantly) F2P accounts is silly. They don't care if they get banned or sanctioned, they just make a new account. So KI spend time and money dealing with people who have nothing to lose...let's keep that to a minimum, not employ extra staff for it.
They could get responsible players to do it? Hmm, also a bad idea. I've seen how badly it can go wrong when a player gets an elevated status over other players and it can be ugly! The cognitive dissonance is difficult for the most well-meaning of people with one foot in as a player, one as an enforcer of the rules.
What alternative is there? I really think giving invested accounts the ability to report would help a lot. There is an army of good people, with a lot to lose should they misuse the 'power to report', that is currently being treated like they don't exist. There will always be people who break the rules but we already have a big part of the solution if all invested customers are given the ability and rights to help!
"I've heard lots of examples of it happening to other people) the person is put on 24 hour mute while KI checks logs and make a decision. This is a good thing when used appropriately, bad when it has been used to bully people."
Yes that could definitely be abused. What happens to people who were obviously ganging up on an innocent person to use the auto-mute thing to bully them?
"I've heard lots of examples of it happening to other people) the person is put on 24 hour mute while KI checks logs and make a decision. This is a good thing when used appropriately, bad when it has been used to bully people."
Yes that could definitely be abused. What happens to people who were obviously ganging up on an innocent person to use the auto-mute thing to bully them?
They're put on a 24 mute, obviously. A 24 hour mute is nothing.Then the report is examined, if the report is a false one then they're cleared and the false reporter has a mark against them. If they continue on this path, they'll get penalties.
"I've heard lots of examples of it happening to other people) the person is put on 24 hour mute while KI checks logs and make a decision. This is a good thing when used appropriately, bad when it has been used to bully people."
Yes that could definitely be abused. What happens to people who were obviously ganging up on an innocent person to use the auto-mute thing to bully them?
KI recognises that false reporting can be bullying/harassment. They check every report and if someone has false reported they have essentially reported themselves because KI has the info for both the person reported and the person reporting. We do not need to report someone for false reporting (KI already know because of their false report).
KI assess the situation and where a false report has been made they will either issue a warning or sanction. It is right that they start with a warning to explain how reporting works and what is reportable because sometimes there is no malice behind it - eg a new player not understanding what is a reportable offense in w101, or a player discovering the report button and 'trying it out'.
It feels horrible to be false reported but we can remember that 1) it might have been a mistake as above and 2) if it was malicious they just reported themselves!
PS. Just to clarify the 'lots of examples of it happening to other people' - they were not all innocent victims! Some have been and KI removed the sanction and investigated the accounts reporting, but many are not innocent and the bot quietened them before they offended more wizards!
call this a controversial opinion, but it's really not that hard to just leave the commons. I personally avoid it for the reasons listed and whenever I have to go through there I just go from point A to point B without really paying attention to the chat there. nobody's forcing you to stay in the commons, there's a go home button on your screen and you can use that to simply teleport away from them. the ignore feature is also pretty useful if you ask me
That only helps one person, not all the others who will be subjected to the offender's behavior.
Putting the onus on people to flee from trouble does not remove or resolve the trouble.
yeah just a quick heads up, people aren't gonna stop doing this. it's the way online communities work. best you can do is avoid it yourself and tell other ppl being affected to just leave the area or switch realms or ignore them or SOMETHING
yeah just a quick heads up, people aren't gonna stop doing this. it's the way online communities work. best you can do is avoid it yourself and tell other ppl being affected to just leave the area or switch realms or ignore them or SOMETHING
I addressed that outlook in the post and quote you attached to your reply. I obviously have already thought about it and disagree with "just ignore it."
"That's how it is," is akin to "boys will be boys," "kids will be kids," etc. It's a cop out.
It's obvious that some people love to break rule and bully others. So do we just go for anarchy and do nothing about it?
So no, again, telling people just to leave the area -- when they did nothing wrong -- is *NOT* "the best you can do."
call this a controversial opinion, but it's really not that hard to just leave the commons. I personally avoid it for the reasons listed and whenever I have to go through there I just go from point A to point B without really paying attention to the chat there. nobody's forcing you to stay in the commons, there's a go home button on your screen and you can use that to simply teleport away from them. the ignore feature is also pretty useful if you ask me
People don't only bully others in the Commons, but there is no reason law abiding players should not be able to use the Commons because of bullies camping out there. That makes no sense in any way.
call this a controversial opinion, but it's really not that hard to just leave the commons. I personally avoid it for the reasons listed and whenever I have to go through there I just go from point A to point B without really paying attention to the chat there. nobody's forcing you to stay in the commons, there's a go home button on your screen and you can use that to simply teleport away from them. the ignore feature is also pretty useful if you ask me
This still doesn't solve the problem; the disgusting speech is still going on, "ignoring" them helps you but no one else. I've always believed that if you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem. This is why so many of these trolls continue, they believe they'll get away with it, because no one reports.
This still doesn't solve the problem; the disgusting speech is still going on, "ignoring" them helps you but no one else. I've always believed that if you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem. This is why so many of these trolls continue, they believe they'll get away with it, because no one reports.
2 u and sparkle:
Yes it's true that the Commons needs more hall monitors, but literally nobody is forcing you to sit in the commons and talk to people. If you quest like normal, the only times you EVER need to go through the commons is the very beginning of the game going to Unicorn Way and Nightside, the pet pavilion, and the occasional library quest.
If it is, as you say, not being dealt with - what else can you do but ignore them and leave? You can't expect any amount of hall monitors to be on every minute of every day in every realm. Just report if you have the option and leave. The reports are [hopefully] looked over pretty quickly, and if there's harassment the player will be punished, simple as that.
"I've always believed that if you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem."
What kind of claim even is this LOOL
This is like saying I'm a bully because I just zip by the commons not paying any attention to whatever's going on there. If I do see a message appear in chat saying "bro u soak" it's really not worth my time to go and report that if I'm trying to go somewhere else. If that makes me a bully, then I guess I'm the worst bully that ever lived ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
For other people being affected by this, it really isn't that hard to just do the same and press a button and wa-bam you're suddenly at your house and not in the commons being "bullied" anymore.
"People don't only bully others in the Commons, but there is no reason law abiding players should not be able to use the Commons because of bullies camping out there."
Yeah so if you want to talk to a group, obviously it's annoying to be interrupted by level 1 Wolf StormBlade calling you stew pet. If you want to continue talking to them, just go to someone's house or another realm or something. Tedious, but if you really want to avoid the trolls, it's necessary. Do you have a better idea of how to go about this, by any chance?
Disclaimer: By no means do I side with the trolls. What they're doing definitely isn't right.
TL;DR: if there aren't any hall monitors around, best you can do is just leave the area, be it by porting to your house, a recall mark somewhere, or leaving through a tunnel. Or just press Esc on your keyboard and then switch realms. Encourage people around you to do the same if they're also being harassed. If you want to talk to a group of friends, just go to someone's house or a different area or realm. Simple.
Hello! The situation in the Commons it totally out of control! The same rude, crude, foul trolls show up night, after night, after night, and are reported, and reported, and reported, and NOTHING is ever done! They laugh at being reported, and get even fouler than before, like it's a joke, because they know no one is going to stop them. Most of them are low level less than level 10 wizards that could care less if they are muted or banned, they got nothing to lose. Meanwhile no girl can be in the commons without being sexually harassed, subjected to foul language, and crude propositions. My daughter has quit playing it's so bad, but young, adult, even old, makes NO difference, ANY female is a target. It's SICK! Especially on what is billed as a family game. I personally know several girls who have quit, besides my daughter, and others who are on the fence about leaving. Lately, even high level trolls, level 80 all the way up to 130 been joining in the fun, and they got plenty to lose, but they know there are NO consequences! So why not? Quit being so cheap, penny wise, and pound foolish, get out the crowbar, open the wallet, and pay some bloody overtime to clean up the mess! Ban their IP address so they can't just make a new wizard and return. It can be done, there is just NO will to do it, and we all know it. My account renews in 60 days, if nothing is done, you lose another customer. You've already lost one, because I'll not renew my daughters, I cannot blame the girl for not wanting to be sexually harassed and abused, and me paying for the priviledge!
EightBall88 you're so right! girls get tormented in the commons! you should tell you're daughter to use the mute button! and at one point i thought about making a male character! kinsisle you NEED to do something about this! and i have been playing often lately and i haven't seen ONE monitor! it MAKES me SICK
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