Feedback Desired: The Report System

I am not exactly what you would say, a person who has all his stuff together. I suffer from certain bouts of paranoia frequently, I will admit that to reinforce my opinion on the report command. You may mock me for showing this weakness if you wish. However, because of certain issues with myself, I find the report command a very threatening encounter.

Aren't there many immature people out there that'll just abuse the report command to target players that they don't like or that they'll just attempt to ban because of a conversation gone wrong?

And I occasionally let loose a curse word here and there because it's part of my vocabulary, and in a non-formal social arena, I don't tend to watch my tongue. With the report command, my sense of freedom in speaking feels very censored. ArenaNet stated that people can report others for anti-social behavior, but this declaration makes me feel like I should now engage in non-social behavior, pretty much becoming a silent character moving in and out of outposts.

Of course, I'm not someone that'll spam something stupid or pointless, but whenever I had a heated and mature discussion with other players, someone always threatened to report me because they felt insulted! (Even if we weren't targeting that player or anyone he knows!) Now I feel like I need to shut my mouth or Anet will say "Thanks for all your money, now you've been a bad boy so go to your room and never play this game again."

I really think that the report command should only be used on leechers and RA leavers. This current testing period features a broad selection of options that quite frankly, make me feel very uneasy. I hope that after the testing period, they'll tone it down a little, because I can't help but think that there's always someone watching me now.

And this really detracts from the enjoyment of a game. On a final note, the manual report ticket on their support site should be enough. If someone did something so wrong then obviously the victim would take enough time out of their day to report them. This new and convenient way to report someone will attract people who wish to abuse the system.

Once again, I really hope Anet redesigns the new report system to a more limited scope of options.

Thank you,

From a long time GW player.

Reports in local chat are reviewed...not instantly applied to your account. It's the reports in PvP arenas that are instantly logged.

There is a chat filter, so swearing is not the issue, its swearing in a way that is beyond normal. I too first though of this as a way for people to report others just for 'fun'. However, you should have noticed that it requires multiple people on the same team to report someone, and reports that are 'bogus' go against the person making the report.

If you are told frequently that you are going to be reported for your activities/conversations, maybe you should consider changing the things you do/say. There are people who are report happy, and think anything can/should be reported, but if you are getting this a LOT, maybe its because you are not behaving appropriately.

there's still so many leavers and leechers in ab

I said this in the other post, but it deserves to be repeated. Maybe now with this new /report system for reporting bots, we can get our old LOOT scaling back like it used to be when I could make some decent cash while casually playing.

What does a PvP problem have to do with PvE?

^ because you can use /report on both sides.

I'm guessing they'll only look into someone if they get a certain amount of reports, and even then, if you've done nothing wrong and have just been the victim of abuse, I'm sure Anet will notice that.

Seems like a great update to me, but we'll see how it goes.

I have 2 questions about /report system:

1. What happen if a farmer (not bot) is reported several times about botting?

2. What happen if many people report someone as spammer, abuser or leecher just for fun?

I have never attacked a race with spews of hatred, I have never personally insulted someone in an exclusive and cruel manner, bringing unwanted attention to them. I have never personally sought out to create a conversation or situation that creates chaos or flaming.

I merely partake in some conversations a few people don't want to hear because of sensitive ears or something silly like that. I talk about news, other games, societal issues, whenever another person who wishes to talk about that surfaces somehow, we engage in a conversation. I rarely start them.

And I also rarely get the whole "You're going to be reported" phrase thrown at me, but it has happened from time to time...and this reporting feature makes me wary...

Just watch what you're saying and be civil about it. Remember it's not just you who play this game so if it sound offensive, it properly is. You wouldn't like it if you heard anyone saying stuff that grinds your gear, would you?

My local chat is off for the time being, though.

OP has a valid point I think (lots of us occasionally slip up in the heat of the moment, some more than others), but...

a) It's only a test so far.

b) It's already possible to report people, and A-net investigates reports before taking action against anyone. I doubt A-Net has changed this, and all they've done is to make it easier to send the reports now. If people are already reporting you often (or threatening to)... well, as others have said already - maybe you need to adjust your behavior. Because with this new and easier reporting mechanism, they're more likely to actually carry out their threat.

c) I'm sure A-Net is well aware that griefers may try to abuse the new facility and have planned for that... it could even be that A-net will take action against would-be griefers, and false reports will backfire on the sender. I hope so!

Personally I am hoping this test is successful, and it DOES make people more mindful of their behavior. I've never found it difficult to watch my manners... I just behave like I do in real life. But it seems to me, some people NEED the threat of a fast and easy report system like this, to curb their anti-social behavior.

I'm generally very civil and the thing is, some of the subjects I talk about could barely be considered offensive to a newborn kitten. But some people are just so beyond skittish or pissed off about something that they'll bare their teeth at you.

I know it's possible to report people, I mentioned that in my post. What I also mentioned is that the new report command will make it easier for false reports to be made. And whatever happened to freedom of speech? Adjust my behavior? I can't share my opinions on anything anymore in the game of Guild Wars?

I can't talk about the news or the weather or what I think should change in one aspect or another because that might insult someone? I think that society needs to stop covering themselves in a protective bubble. If we don't talk about things and learn from each other's experiences and opinions, we'll become hate mongers.

Sometimes, even during ingame, it's nice to step back and talk about something other than builds and how to take down Justicar Thommis and so forth and so on. And before some of you say "Wow, OP has no life", I tend to open up a little more online...

...And plus, I work a graveyard shift, so I rarely get to spend time with my girlfriend or friends. So I talk to people on GW in between questing and whatnot.

So please, no more of the "Watch your behavior" posts...I've done my best to remain civil and polite. But as human beings, we are prone to err, and with this new reporting feature, I feel that our leeway is far less now.

I might seem a bit paranoid, I know. But I couldn't help sharing my opinion on this new update.

Exactly, that's why you need to think twice about what you're saying these days. It's a PC (Political correct) world we're living in, there're so many different kind of people in this game. Most are just playing it for fun but some are just there looking for troble.

Exactly...I say leave it as is...if you get reported a lot it should be you who adjusts...not the game.

It's about friggin time they add in a report feature...I wish it would be extended to bugs as well so we could have an easy interface to use to report those.

Then you have nothing to worry about. I seriously doubt a-net is going to take action for an occasional slip-up, or things that are really, part of everyday speech.

Reports are investigated. You can't simply /report and cause an automatic ban. If reports are false, the sender is the one likely to be in trouble.

You have no "right" to freedom of speech in a game... A-net can decide that discussing the weather is a bannable offence, if they choose to.

But regardless, now you're verging on the ridiculous - you're imagining the problem to be bigger than it is, then building gigantic society-wide problems out of it. In reality, there's nothing to worry about - of course you can talk about whatever you like, as long as you are civil (and you said you were). It's usually apparent if you accidentally offended someone, in which case a simple "sorry, I didn't mean to cause offence" will be the end of it. Unless you did it on purpose, of course :-D

There will be griefers now and then, but nothing will change that, no matter how well-mannered you are. No point worrying about them

You can not be serious. Freedom of speech! Are you going to bring up that old horse now. Newsflash! Freedom of speech have never applied for what goes on in privately owned enterprises like the guildwars servers.
Freedom of speech on the internet is an illusion.

So the reporting abuse have gotten more userfriendly. This does not equal a change in the policies of what in PvE counts as abuse or review process.
A false report is a false report, no matter if it's been submitted via the cumbersome old way, or via /report.

What this does mean for PvE is that the ones that are banking on that the reporting abuse is so cumbersome that most users do not bother even when they see obvious examples of it. As a free-pass to feel immune to continue the behaviour they know damned well is against the EULA.

I remember Gaile saying something along the lines of "these are private servers" so your freedom of speech still applies, but you are playing on their servers and you have agreed to their rules. There's nothing stopping you from speaking your mind, but they do have the right to seize your account if you breach their EULA - which you agreed to when you made an account.

If you read the Developers update, you need more than one report to get someone investigated, and if you make a false report, it will just backfire on yourself.

You know the old sentence: Man+Anonymousity+Audience=Jerk.
Now it won't be possible to be a jerk as before. The community will /report you. But if you /report falsely you will be banned also.
A-net made a move to have a healthy community. You've still the freedom to do what you want. Scam, insult ingame. You will just have to suffer the consequences of such an act. It's still a game, that's not like if you 'll be put in jail or whatever for acting like a moron.
You speak about being "threatened". That's exactly the way to go. Most jerks are jerks because they have an immunity feeling. The old reporting way was already sucky enough not to bother about being reported. Now, without this immunity feeling, most jerk will start paying attention and respect to other people. Some will be jerks anyway, but this simple threat will cure a lot of the GW community diseases.
Just see how a single threat on the log panel about WTS spam provided a clean local chat.
That's really for the better, I think.

yay maybe they are preparing people for 7 heros. You know, they said that this was a "social" game, now you have to worry about immature brats. So, now noone will want to join a pug with the fear of some little shit using the /report command for using mending. Thanks anet...I really hope (since you destroyed the "community" which you thought was so sacred) that you implement 7 heros. You have made my dreams come true