Hi everyone! I just wanted to come and talk about a serious problem in the game. CyberBullying I have the urge to type this post because I was in the commons recently to meet a friend of mine in real life. As i was waiting i saw a poor girl getting cyberbullied on this game by a group of people who were making fun of her weight because she had confined in a friend that she had weight problems i believe. They called her horrible horrible names and if i were in her boots i would have been crying. I know that you guys are going to say "Well if you get bullyed blah blah blah then you can just change realms or port out of there blah blah blah." But even though she did this those words will scar her for the rest of her gaming experience. And this is NOT a problem just occuring with immature children. A few adults are also bullies and if anything are much worse than the child bullies.
So after watching this awful display of CyberBullying occur i decided to test out a theory i had. I logged on to both of my accounts and pretended that my higher level wizard was making fun of my lower level wizard who was "crying" the entire time. To my shock, NO ONE even bothered to help the lower leveled wizard, a few wizards even JOINED in the fake taunting of my other lower leveled wizard by calling him a "noob" and such. And it wasnt like this occured in an isolated area in the game, this experement was conducted 3 times in the most populated realms of the commons.
Is this honestly what this game has come to? I am trying to raise awareness of CyberBullying on this game. Please fellow wizards assist me in keeping this game a safe, clean, and family fun game. I may be a kid but i can tell when something is wrong and CyberBullying is completely wrong! Next time you see someone getting cyberbullied, give them guidance, tell them to just ignore their bullier (not sure if thats a word lol) and please dont chew the bully out, two wrongs never make a right. Instead play pvp or help them with a quest or something to get their mind off it. I hope reading this post has enlightened your view on CyberBullying and what you can do to stop it! We can do it! If all of us work together those bullies dont stand a chance!
Anthony Lifeheart Level 51 Grandmaster Theurgist Go Green!!!
Currently I try to spend the least amount of time I can in the Commons, just making a new wizard I have had to go though there a few times more then I care to and see quite a few things I would rather not. I used to sit in the Commons to see all the new stuff, gear, mounts, pets but it isn't worth it any more.
The fighting and name calling does seem to be more common then when I first joined the game. Kids that are bored with the game tend to spend too much time there and trouble begins. The only recourse we have is usually when this all goes on swearing around the filter is common so you can report them for that which from what I have found doesn't really stop or slow them down at that time they just swear more about being reported. Often they brag about getting a muted account and had to make another one.
Bookmark11, It has become a problem and there are those that are trying to help reduce it as much as we can.
Under the Terms of Use Agreement; Use of Site; section (a) clauses (12,13), stalking, abusing and harrassing another is going against KI's Terms of use. Unfortunately, you do have to be careful what you report, but, if the name calling was that bad, it would be best to report the incident.
Brwac, usually when an account gets muted, KI can tell when that person tries to make a new account. I am sure there are instances that some manage to get past them, but I would think the only way they could do that is by getting someone else to set the account up for them. I will not even guess what KI would do in this case, but I don't think I want to find out either. I do know that according to ToU it is against policy to impersonate another person. The biggest problem for the person setting up an account for someone else will be the conduct of the actual user.
About the best thing you can do for someone that is being bullied, if it is not reportable without making a false report, is first check to see if they have menu chat. If they don't, try to send them a private message asking them to change realms. Also ask them to remove any of the abusers from their friends list if they have befriended them. You can also try to friend them at least until you can get them to a safer zone. If it is possible to do and this player does have chat, even filtered, try to show them how to use the ignore button. Some of the new players may not be aware of how to use this option, but it is something that does help to avoid further abuse from the abusers. Just don't put yourself in the verbal exchange with the abusers that may cause you to inadvertently say something that can get you banned as well.
These are just suggestions. I am no expert but I do try to help those that are being bullied.
The only thing we can do is report them, ignore them, and move on. After that, it's up to KI to handle it.
I avoid the commons as much as possible, but I report, and often, if I see this kind of thing. What always amuses me is they then yell about being reported, start swearing around the filters, and are reported yet again. :)
Any online community, sadly, is going to have this kind of thing. KI does a great job, but we have to be diligent in reporting or they can't do anything.
To be honest, I find it hard to seriously classify what happens in Wizard101 as cyberbullying. When I think of cyberbullying, I think of constant belittlement and degradation by peers you can't simply escape from because they're in your environment. Obviously this doesn't apply here since not only is the chance highly unlikely that you run into someone you're not friends with in game two days in a row, but you don't have to stand there helpless and be bullied. You can be the bigger person, ignore the bully (literally), and/or change realms. I have had experiences with some jerks in game, and although I may remember what they said I can't possibly take it seriously because all they know about me is that I'm a Lvl. 67 Sorcerer. They know nothing about me. I honestly don't see how comments from faceless strangers that you will most likely never hear from again can "scar [someone] for the rest of [their] gaming experience." As much as I'd love for this game to truly be safe an family-friendly, it's just not possible. All we can do is find quality people to befriend and ignore the idiots.
Hi everyone! I just wanted to come and talk about a serious problem in the game. CyberBullying I have the urge to type this post because I was in the commons recently to meet a friend of mine in real life. As i was waiting i saw a poor girl getting cyberbullied on this game by a group of people who were making fun of her weight because she had confined in a friend that she had weight problems i believe. They called her horrible horrible names and if i were in her boots i would have been crying. I know that you guys are going to say "Well if you get bullyed blah blah blah then you can just change realms or port out of there blah blah blah." But even though she did this those words will scar her for the rest of her gaming experience. And this is NOT a problem just occuring with immature children. A few adults are also bullies and if anything are much worse than the child bullies.
So after watching this awful display of CyberBullying occur i decided to test out a theory i had. I logged on to both of my accounts and pretended that my higher level wizard was making fun of my lower level wizard who was "crying" the entire time. To my shock, NO ONE even bothered to help the lower leveled wizard, a few wizards even JOINED in the fake taunting of my other lower leveled wizard by calling him a "noob" and such. And it wasnt like this occured in an isolated area in the game, this experement was conducted 3 times in the most populated realms of the commons.
Is this honestly what this game has come to? I am trying to raise awareness of CyberBullying on this game. Please fellow wizards assist me in keeping this game a safe, clean, and family fun game. I may be a kid but i can tell when something is wrong and CyberBullying is completely wrong! Next time you see someone getting cyberbullied, give them guidance, tell them to just ignore their bullier (not sure if thats a word lol) and please dont chew the bully out, two wrongs never make a right. Instead play pvp or help them with a quest or something to get their mind off it. I hope reading this post has enlightened your view on CyberBullying and what you can do to stop it! We can do it! If all of us work together those bullies dont stand a chance!
Anthony Lifeheart Level 51 Grandmaster Theurgist Go Green!!!
I totally agree with you. THIS HAS TO STOP!. I was just hanging out in the commons the other night( can't recall what realm) And I was taken aback my the language from the other players. I was hoping that I would see a KI Support Wizard, but sadly there wasn't. I noticed that a few of them did get reported. I didn't witness any cyberbullies while I was there. I made this comment outloud. " Where's a KI support when you need one?" Then all seemed to quiet down a bit. I am there with you on stopping the bullies. There is no need for that. We all start out at Level 1. Sometimes I have to ignore/report disrepectful wizards and or change realms to get away from the rude ones. I'm right there with ya! GO KI Tara Sunshield
To be honest, I find it hard to seriously classify what happens in Wizard101 as cyberbullying. When I think of cyberbullying, I think of constant belittlement and degradation by peers you can't simply escape from because they're in your environment. Obviously this doesn't apply here since not only is the chance highly unlikely that you run into someone you're not friends with in game two days in a row, but you don't have to stand there helpless and be bullied. You can be the bigger person, ignore the bully (literally), and/or change realms. I have had experiences with some jerks in game, and although I may remember what they said I can't possibly take it seriously because all they know about me is that I'm a Lvl. 67 Sorcerer. They know nothing about me. I honestly don't see how comments from faceless strangers that you will most likely never hear from again can "scar [someone] for the rest of [their] gaming experience." As much as I'd love for this game to truly be safe an family-friendly, it's just not possible. All we can do is find quality people to befriend and ignore the idiots.
Bullying is BULLYING no matter what the invironment. Unfortunately, there are some young players that do have chat even if it is filtered, the bully can still make it plain enough what they are saying. I have seen it happen and have reported for it.
In fact, the person I reported was and ADULT. Now, how do you expect a younger player to be able to just go on and forget it happened? As adults, a lot of players can just walk away from it, but some of the newer players may not have learned how to use the IGNORE button.
Cyberbullying is a big problem and it is up to US, the WIZARD community to help KI by reporting it when we see it happening and if possible to help the one being bullied get away from the bullies. Try to get them to at least change realms.
AkihiroHattori5, It would really be nice of you to help someone that is in this position. For all you know, the person being bullied may actually know the ones that bully them in real life. There should be some place they can play and have fun without this kind of thing happening.
Hootfl61, unfortunately, it is not humanly possible for members of KI support staff to be on security patrol in the commons in every realm 24/7. As I said before, It is up to the WIZARD community to help when we see this kind of thing happening.
Bullying is BULLYING no matter what the invironment. Unfortunately, there are some young players that do have chat even if it is filtered, the bully can still make it plain enough what they are saying. I have seen it happen and have reported for it.
Well I disagree, and I just stated why.
In fact, the person I reported was and ADULT. Now, how do you expect a younger player to be able to just go on and forget it happened? As adults, a lot of players can just walk away from it, but some of the newer players may not have learned how to use the IGNORE button.
And you know they're an adult because...? Unless the person explicitly said, "I'm an adult," you're just making assumptions, and even then are you really going to trust what that person said to be true? You do bring up a good point though. KI shouldn't just have these tools present without explaining them and how to use them. I suggest they add a tutorial.
Cyberbullying is a big problem and it is up to US, the WIZARD community to help KI by reporting it when we see it happening and if possible to help the one being bullied get away from the bullies. Try to get them to at least change realms.
The 25 million players of Wizard101 don't all come from the US. Just sayin'.
AkihiroHattori5, It would really be nice of you to help someone that is in this position. For all you know, the person being bullied may actually know the ones that bully them in real life. There should be some place they can play and have fun without this kind of thing happening.
I would, but I honestly haven't been in a situation like this.
agreed!!!!!!!!! cyberbullying is aweful these days you go to commons and you see people getting name called or even being sweared at I saw a wizard getting bullied for being new to the game. I mean what is up with that just because they new doesnt mean you have to bully them! Seriously people well i am going to join everyone to stop bullying :D
Bullying is BULLYING no matter what the invironment. Unfortunately, there are some young players that do have chat even if it is filtered, the bully can still make it plain enough what they are saying. I have seen it happen and have reported for it.
Well I disagree, and I just stated why.
In fact, the person I reported was and ADULT. Now, how do you expect a younger player to be able to just go on and forget it happened? As adults, a lot of players can just walk away from it, but some of the newer players may not have learned how to use the IGNORE button.
And you know they're an adult because...? Unless the person explicitly said, "I'm an adult," you're just making assumptions, and even then are you really going to trust what that person said to be true? You do bring up a good point though. KI shouldn't just have these tools present without explaining them and how to use them. I suggest they add a tutorial.
Cyberbullying is a big problem and it is up to US, the WIZARD community to help KI by reporting it when we see it happening and if possible to help the one being bullied get away from the bullies. Try to get them to at least change realms.
The 25 million players of Wizard101 don't all come from the US. Just sayin'.
AkihiroHattori5, It would really be nice of you to help someone that is in this position. For all you know, the person being bullied may actually know the ones that bully them in real life. There should be some place they can play and have fun without this kind of thing happening.
I would, but I honestly haven't been in a situation like this.
AkihiroHattori5......... so we meet again. Why do you always point out everybody's faults? Mistakes? You know, you are cyber-bullying by doing this. Yes, I know that I have cyber-bullied before but ONLY when I actually have a point. I don't go around calling people noobs because for some reason it is a "hurtful" insult. LOL i don't really care if i am called a noob.............. ANYWAYS back on topic.
Why do you go to a CyberBullying- Please help us stop it. thread if YOU are just going to do just that (cyberbully)???
I realize that this is a problem and it needs to be stopped. If I see someone getting harassed i'm going to politely ask the bully to stop. If he/she doesn't stop then I will report them. I'm not going to chew them out as you put it bookmark11, but I will try to stop it. Sadly this is all I can do. At least it's something. As for the swearing, I absoulutely hate it. However, KI cant block out everything. As long as some of us stand up for what is right, maybe we can make some changes. So let's stop this pointless harassment!
AkihiroHattori5......... so we meet again. Why do you always point out everybody's faults? Mistakes? You know, you are cyber-bullying by doing this. Yes, I know that I have cyber-bullied before but ONLY when I actually have a point. I don't go around calling people noobs because for some reason it is a "hurtful" insult. LOL i don't really care if i am called a noob.............. ANYWAYS back on topic.
Why do you go to a CyberBullying- Please help us stop it. thread if YOU are just going to do just that (cyberbully)???
Tiffany Wildrider "Think before you post......"
I'm terribly sorry! I guess I missed the memo where giving constructive criticism and offering a different point of view on a topic was also deemed "cyberbullying". Not everyone is as perfect as you seem to think they are. Everyone has faults; therefore, everyone's ideas have faults. I just try and point out what's a fault in my opinion so that hopefully the person will take my criticism as well as the criticism of others into account and refine their ideas to be more lucid and effective. I honestly don't see the problem with that, but according to you my account should probably be shut down because by your definition I've been cyberbullying people ever since I started posting in the Forum. I always have a point and I try my hardest not to use disparaging language or insults, but that doesn't matter to you. In your opinion, I should be stopped before I cause any more irreversible damage to the members of this Forum. What verbal havoc will I wreak next?! Get over yourself. The next time I'm in the Forum and you don't like what I have to say, how about you save your groaning and ignore it? Chances are I'm not even responding to you in the first place.
Tristan Lionheart "Whose advice is better to follow than your own?"
I realize that this is a problem and it needs to be stopped. If I see someone getting harassed i'm going to politely ask the bully to stop. If he/she doesn't stop then I will report them. I'm not going to chew them out as you put it bookmark11, but I will try to stop it. Sadly this is all I can do. At least it's something. As for the swearing, I absoulutely hate it. However, KI cant block out everything. As long as some of us stand up for what is right, maybe we can make some changes. So let's stop this pointless harassment!
Destiny Ashstone Grandmaster theurgist
I completely agree Froggurl.
And Turbonator, You are right.
There does seem to be CyberBullying happening in the Forums as well. I just never thought about it. But I have been the brunt of a lot of it from a select few. HMMM. I have on a few occasions stopped posting on some subjects just for this reason.
cyberbullying is really annoying to me because one of my friends friend bullied me about my level (i was like lvl 20-24 at the time but that was a week ago ) and i started to get annoyed and the second time he did that i got extremely annoyed, please stop this nonsense :(
Padric Wildbane lvl 27 adept thatamurge (look me up in MB at newgate prison or knight's court :D )
Speaking as someone who had a pretty bad in-game experience a few weeks ago, I know that there are nasty, rude people out there, for sure. I wrote about the incident here, so I won't reiterate it--but I am an adult and it was pretty upsetting for a day or two. The funny thing was this: I talked to my pre-teen son about it--he also plays this and other games--and he said that he had mostly learned to just get over it when things like that happen. He said "that's the gaming world--people hide behind toon faces and say whatever they want. I don't think of it the same way I would in real-life." I found that interesting--because I thought that maybe I, as an adult who didn't grow up with games, was more sensitive about it than many (not all, obviously) kids would be. It did make me think, for sure.
About forum "bullying"--well, some people can be a bit undiplomatic for sure, and occasionally even mean-spirited. But I don't think this is bullying--it's just poor people skills, or poor word choice, or just a sour temperament. I wouldn't classify any of it as bullying.
AkihiroHattori: I agree with your assessment, basically. Although I do think that not everyone (me, for example) can just brush this stuff off that easily. However, I have seen the results of real-life bullying, and it's quite a bit more traumatic and long-lasting than a bad game experience. Oh, and I don't think your comments were bully-ish at all. Simple disagreement is not a form of rhetorical violence when it's not personal or nasty in tone. And your comment wasn't.
Overall, I agree that we need to intervene when we can, and prevent this kind of thing. But most of it, sad to say, happens outside of public viewing. I think the suggestion that KI come up with a tutorial on the subject is an excellent one. I'd like to see that.
I completely agree. Actually, this happened to me before, but I think the guy who was cyberbullying is now banned or muted. If you wanna know the story, here goes: The guy was originally my friend. He had sort of helped me, seemed nice and all, then I heard a shocking thing from him. He lied about his dad working at Kingsisle. And that was only one small thing he did. He lied about having crowns and he said he ran a dumb program about helping his low level wizards getting higher levels and he gifts you five things in return. I fell for it and when he leveled a few times he said he would gift me later. So I leveled him more, he said later still. He went from level five to 35 and he still said later. So, thats when he started being mean about it all. He started calling me noob, bossing me around, telling me I have awful resistance when it was way, way better then his(Lol, fail), he said I was ugly, he said I was fat, and I didn't feel like listening anymore, so I did 3 things about it. 1:I deleted him from my friends. He started yelling horrible things at me getting around the filter when I did that also saying "Fine. Have it your way. Have a happy ban! So, you won't be able to log in in a few days, ok?" 2:Then I ignored him, and he told me before I did that, that he sent a banning request. I didn't believe him anymore. 3:I reported him for a good reason to. He scammed a lot, and I mean a lot of people. Another thing, he didn't like one of my friends that was black (I'm not being racist, I like to hang out with blacks) and he was talking all about his resistance, boost, appearance even, health, and level. Then the really bad thing started. He said "And he's black." I told to back off, just because he isn't the same color doesn't mean he's any different. We were also going into the tower of the helephant with the guy and my friend, and then I told him that we gonna go just me and the awesome black friend. He said we would lose without him. He was right though, but, hey it was fun because he wasn't there! Anyway, thanks for reading this super long post that if it gets rejected I wasted an hour of my life typing this. Lol, so, anyway, he got banned/muted, dunno which, but thanks.
I report cyberbullying- harassment, cursing as soon as I see it. But as everyone else has said the ones who get muted just make another account and brag about it. I am totally against cyberbullying, harassment cursing and the sexual nature of the language i see on there so yea I will continue to report. :D
AkihiroHattori: I agree with your assessment, basically. Although I do think that not everyone (me, for example) can just brush this stuff off that easily. However, I have seen the results of real-life bullying, and it's quite a bit more traumatic and long-lasting than a bad game experience. Oh, and I don't think your comments were bully-ish at all. Simple disagreement is not a form of rhetorical violence when it's not personal or nasty in tone. And your comment wasn't.
I'm glad someone more or less agrees with my take on this issue (and to clarify, I don't think "cyberbullying" is the word, but I will not say that this isn't an important issue), and I can definitely see how some are a little more sensitive to name-calling and such even over the internet. For the most part, unfounded, moronic comments don't phase me anymore since I've had years of experience with bullying (no, I wasn't the bully). It's for that very reason that I truly resent being accused of being a bully, so thank you for also explaining the difference between what I do and what online bullies do. I hate when my comments are misconstrued as abrupt or abrasive because 9/10 that isn't my intent.
What you should experiment to test out cyber bullying is to get the lower level wizard to bully the higher level wizard. I can assure you that you'll see a difference from a higher level bullying a lower level.
Bullying is BULLYING no matter what the invironment. Unfortunately, there are some young players that do have chat even if it is filtered, the bully can still make it plain enough what they are saying. I have seen it happen and have reported for it.
Well I disagree, and I just stated why.
In fact, the person I reported was and ADULT. Now, how do you expect a younger player to be able to just go on and forget it happened? As adults, a lot of players can just walk away from it, but some of the newer players may not have learned how to use the IGNORE button.
And you know they're an adult because...? Unless the person explicitly said, "I'm an adult," you're just making assumptions, and even then are you really going to trust what that person said to be true? You do bring up a good point though. KI shouldn't just have these tools present without explaining them and how to use them. I suggest they add a tutorial.
Cyberbullying is a big problem and it is up to US, the WIZARD community to help KI by reporting it when we see it happening and if possible to help the one being bullied get away from the bullies. Try to get them to at least change realms.
The 25 million players of Wizard101 don't all come from the US. Just sayin'.
AkihiroHattori5, It would really be nice of you to help someone that is in this position. For all you know, the person being bullied may actually know the ones that bully them in real life. There should be some place they can play and have fun without this kind of thing happening.
I would, but I honestly haven't been in a situation like this.
Pretty sure that when golden dragon said "Cyberbullying is a big problem and it is up to US, the WIZARD community..." that he was referring to the wizard community, not the United States...
Bullying is BULLYING no matter what the invironment. Unfortunately, there are some young players that do have chat even if it is filtered, the bully can still make it plain enough what they are saying. I have seen it happen and have reported for it.
Well I disagree, and I just stated why.
In fact, the person I reported was and ADULT. Now, how do you expect a younger player to be able to just go on and forget it happened? As adults, a lot of players can just walk away from it, but some of the newer players may not have learned how to use the IGNORE button.
And you know they're an adult because...? Unless the person explicitly said, "I'm an adult," you're just making assumptions, and even then are you really going to trust what that person said to be true? You do bring up a good point though. KI shouldn't just have these tools present without explaining them and how to use them. I suggest they add a tutorial.
Cyberbullying is a big problem and it is up to US, the WIZARD community to help KI by reporting it when we see it happening and if possible to help the one being bullied get away from the bullies. Try to get them to at least change realms.
The 25 million players of Wizard101 don't all come from the US. Just sayin'.
AkihiroHattori5, It would really be nice of you to help someone that is in this position. For all you know, the person being bullied may actually know the ones that bully them in real life. There should be some place they can play and have fun without this kind of thing happening.
I would, but I honestly haven't been in a situation like this.
Pretty sure that when golden dragon said "Cyberbullying is a big problem and it is up to US, the WIZARD community..." that he was referring to the wizard community, not the United States...
Sallyh, you are right. I was referring to the wizard community.
This isn't anything new. I remember cyber-bullying in Tradewars, back in 1994 on a MBBS (old dial-up multi user bulletin board) system. It happens on every MMORPG and even the text MUDs. It's especially common on Runescape, and it's an accepted way of life on Toontown. If all the cyber-bullies were banned from those two games, they'd lose at least a third of their subscribed players.
That said, nobody is forcing the target to stand there and take it. Ignore and realm-change both work, and reporting is encouraged by both the target and observers. I report all cyber-bullying, swear-filtering, and scamming. I haven't had a warning about doing so yet.
Those said, penalties should be handed out more liberally, in my opinion, and everybody should be responsible for what happens on his/her account ("My brother did it while i was out of the room," doesn't work). A mute doesn't prevent somebody from playing the game, but it certainly cuts down on their ability to bully.
Bully n. A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people. 1. To treat in an overbearing or intimidating manner. 2. To force one's way aggresively or by intimidation.
By that definition, Goldendragon isn't a bully, cyber or otherwise. He seems to be trying to get his point across. Discussing the matter, but not really bullying.
But, on the other hand, what I have seen many, many times in the Commons and in Olde Town, is bullying. I do try to step in when I see it. It just seems that some feel they can say anything they want as long as they aren't having to look that person in the eye. No matter whether or not its hurtful or true, or if they know that person or not. They somehow feel more "powerful" (for lack of a better word) when they do so. I have been bullied as a child and as an adult. It isn't nice to be on the receiving end of such behavior at any age. I remember when my sons were small, how I hurt when others deliberately would be hurtful to my children. I do feel that we chronological adults need to step into these situations when we come across then in the game, if we feel that its out of hand.
Unfortunately, there will always be bullies in this world. those who feel if they go on the attack first, they can/will intimidate others to bend to their will.
Why do you always point out everybody's faults? Mistakes? You know, you are cyber-bullying by doing this. Yes, I know that I have cyber-bullied before but ONLY when I actually have a point. I don't go around calling people noobs because for some reason it is a "hurtful" insult. LOL i don't really care if i am called a noob.............. ANYWAYS back on topic.
) and i started to get annoyed and the second time he did that i got extremely annoyed, please stop this nonsense :(
