Feedback Desired: The Report System

Welcome to 1984
Next command - /reportthoughtcrime

EDIT Bah didn't see second page, thought i was first to mention 1984 owell

They do the rules right

Let me tell you a tale. The tale of slashdot.org, one of the biggest (if not the biggest) site of technological news on the net. Years and years ago, slashdot (who was a very friendly website full of latest news on all things technological, some said a "geek's den"; each piece of news was commented) got invaded by kids and opinionated people. A lot of discussions quickly ended up in flame wars, pointless debate that were repeated over and over again (Free vs. Commercial, Windows vs. Unix, Microsoft vs. anti-Microsoft, etc.). After a few months of deep thinking, the slashdot admins introduced a new system of "self-moderation" quite elaborate (see details here: http://slashdot.org/moderation.shtml). A LOT of people were afraid of how their contributions would be removed and factions would take control.

None of this happened. The moderation system was a great success, notably thanks to a very smart and "intuitive" system which was used "correctly" by the slashdot community, and enabled slashdot to grow to a very unexpected size (see the Slashdot Effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slashdot_effect), after a few tweakings of course (such a fundamental system could not work from scratch, furtheremore they were among the first to introduce such a system).

End of story. (one can continue with countless similar features, such as ebay's feedback system, please read this: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol7/issue3/boyd.html)

In conclusion: fear of the unknown usually make people say things that are not "rational", even more when they only look at their own situation "out of context" (see the messages "it's not a problem because it's not a problem for me"). Stop speculating on what will happen, no one knows for sure, not even Anet. As I said before, this is a test for the GW community: if it succeeds or fails, it will be also because the community hasn't been able to realise the potential of this feature. If Anet has to remove it at one point, I will see this as a very sad news, possibly the proof that this community is immature, and/or selfish, and/or undisciplined. On the contrary, if it improves the situation, it will be the proof that a majority of people are reasonable.

I haven't really gotten the gist of the feature fully yet, but if it's double-sided it would work. Dishonor those who do abuse it by checking their reports to see if they're frequently reporting fraudulent claims or pointlessly abusing it.

WOOHOO!! FLAMEWARS ARE OF THE PAST! REPORTWARS IS NOW HERE...Report Wars: Pvp Edition? Perhaps this IS the expansion after gwen!!

its a little off topic, but is anyone else having problems using it?

i had a guy in AB who stood in the same spot half the match before i figured he was leeching for sure, tried the report thing and nothing happened.
typed /report [name] and nout happened, no appearing box or anything.

odds are its me being retarded but was wondering.

i can see the huge chance for abuse of this, but the little kids that're going to abuse it are unlikely to be able to back up their reports. so long as the scanning system is thorough enough, which as someone said before i sure hope it is.

well,
/thread

Yes can anyone comfirm the report system is actually working? i know the dishonor system is in place (after seeing a leecher rage quit GW over "Anet screwing them over" ) but i am seeing loads of people saying the report system has not been activated yet.


Wow....i really hope to see the thread you make about your necro being forced to get a name change. You came up with a name that you knew would offend people and now your crying about the report system possibly taking the name away?........go go report system.

You might want to whisper your teammates to make sure they report as well. Remember that 1/3 of the team has to report, otherwise you end up with the dishonor.

You might want to whisper your teammates to make sure they report as well. Remember that 1/3 of the team has to report, otherwise you end up with the dishonor.

haha, good going anet,
glad I uninstalled this game

I will start by saying I like the feature. But has anyone thought that there are probably many people who will have no clue as to the fact that the /report even exists. Forum posters know because they keep up with what happens in the game, but more people just play and never check the forums and even the GW site. I think you will be hearing all sorts of confused conversations going on when the /report threat is used.

If the team is made up of 4 people of which one is a leecher or leaver, that leaves 3 people actually playing, which makes me 1/3 of the team. So if that is the case I can report without a problem, I would like to know if this is the case.

In support of SotiCoto (and anyone else with a name that might make you raise an eyebrow):

Maybe the name is supposed to send a message, or give some kind of insight. Maybe it's supposed to say something about the player himself, or maybe it's meant to be a little offensive in addition to any of the things above. But whether or not any offense was intended doesn't matter. The name is ambiguous. It COULD be offensive to SOME, but they'll be in a small minority. Maybe you just happened to lose a baby to crib death. Well, my heart goes out to you, but SotiCoto doesn't know that. You don't like the name? You want to make an impact? Then whisper your heartfelt plea, don't immediately threaten to run to the name police no matter how angry you might be. All that does is make the person you're threatening indignant and spiteful (as well they should be - again, they don't know anything about you or your experiences).

If you want to be the bigger person when you see a name you don't like, don't go tattling to an adult. Just tell the person what you think (protip: direct insults are an immediate fail). Personally, my measure of maturity is how little a person gets offended. Ignorant assholes are usually the type to run for the hills every time some little thing gets to them. Guess what? It's not personal. Shrug it off, let out an annoyed sigh, PM the person if you must, but only PM death threats if you want that person to immediately know exactly what kind of an ignorant asshole you are. There are exceptions of course. Nobody needs racism or sexism for example. Feel free to report those - you don't even need to tell the person you're doing it.

This is a game, people don't know who you are, nothing is personal. Be a big man - don't take it personally.

-Jessyi

Jessyi, I am sorry if you don't like my feelings on the matter, that does not change the fact they are what they are. If he has to whine on the forums about how he is such a social outcast and he has no manners nor respect for others around him, who am I to care if he gets his name banned? Why should we show him any respect or compassion for him, when he himself truly has no respect for others! A little bit of social decorum goes along way in this world.

Maybe he needs to learn what empathy, compassion and sympathy are, he sure doesn't have any!

The name itself it is not the problem,the fact that he is proud of it, knowing it is offensive which he admits is the sole reason he created it.Then proceeds to whine oh no I might lose my charactor because people find it offensive is just beyond description.

Btw, I would never waste my time whisping people like this, especially when it is quite evident they could really care less. Whisping them would only sink myself to their level of maturity. If something crosses my path I will take the appropriate action to deal with it, which is not whisping someone and tearing them apart, offensive behavior gets a report to Anet and I wash my hands of it, nothing more nothing less. Alas, I do not go looking for offensive behavior I would much rather enjoy my time playing the game.

Btw, I think my husband would take great offense if I was to be the man! :-P

Let's say you're right. I respect your opinions as valid as well. Maybe he is a whiner. Maybe he was intentionally offensive. Maybe he needs to learn empathy, compassion and sympathy.

Will banhammering his name make that happen? Even if he was being offensive just for the sake of being offensive I would have my doubts. I read the reason he gave for choosing the name, that the whole world doesn't stop for you during your time of tragedy. It doesn't matter whether or not I agree with the message, and it doesn't matter whether or not you agree with it. SotiCoto chose the name as a matter of principle - it's something he believes in whether you like it or not. Banning his name in a video game isn't going to change that. It won't make anything different in your life or his.

This isn't just about SotiCoto either. This is a question about slippery slopes and just what kind of philosophy ANet will have when it comes to picking and choosing who gets hit by this system. That is why people are uneasy right now, and that's what SotiCoto was trying to say. You might not like SotiCoto, but that doesn't change the content of his message which happens to have some merit.

-Jessyi

Yea, I think it's retarded. For example, I was running HoS yesterday and a ranger pinged his build... it was honestly the worst build I've ever seen. He was a R/P, with no elite, his healing skill was.... MENDING REFAIN. He had no shouts or chants to keep his +2 regen up anyway. It was an extremely crappy build so I said in chat "lol, kick the noob please." And he says "REPORTED!!!!!! /REPORT!!!! EVERYONE REPORT HIM!!!! HAHA LOSER YOUR GONNA BE BANNED!!!!"

ANet seems to be more on the side of banning for any remotely offensive name, I've seen a lot of people post names on here that got banned and were maybe minorly offensive at worst, and I've seen another one that was similarly offensive to Soti's name, it was along the lines of, not to name actual names, "Joe has Aids". Now, on one hand, for all anyone in-game knew, it was a guy named Joe, who happens to have Aids, and is big on Aids awareness and promoting social acceptance of people who have Aids. On the other hand, for all anyone in-game knew, Joe was making fun of people with Aids by naming his character "Joe has Aids". You would think that if this would get you banned, that the word "Aids" or "A I D S" would be in the no-no name list, but it wasn't, and Joe assumed his name was ok. The fact that some people could possibly be offended by his name caused ANet to decide that the person would have to rename his "Joe has Aids" character. ANet doesn't care if you don't or do realize your name offends others, or if you had any intention to offend, if anyone tells ANet they are offended by your name, you get a mini-ban and then have to rename your "offensive" character's name. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if that poor person whose name is Raccoon has to change their name because some people are really easily offended and unable to see certain things in more than one context.

I don't think ANet sees it as a slippery slope, since as far as I know their policy is to enforce a name change for any name reported as offensive, if the name can be interpereted as being the slightest bit offensive or inappropriate. While I do not think it's the best use of their support staff's time, giving out mini-bans and forcing renames for the slightest naming snafu, that's what they have decided to make sure none of their customers feels unnecessarily subjected to offensive material. Blame lawyers, they make overbearing stuff like this so commonplace.

EDIT:
Sadly, if that dude was offended by you referring to him as a noob, and says he was offended, and other people report being offended by you saying he was a noob, you just might get a ban. Hopefully not, but corporations seem to bow to the slightest sensitivities when policing behavior reported as offensive.

Seriously, I've gotten lectured at work for politely telling people, in a whispered tone, only audible to the intended recipient, "Hey, you can't do that on your computer, if someone else ever sees that you'll get in big trouble, watch out, ok?" because the person I told that to reported feeling "offended" by my warning. You'd think they would have gotten in trouble for what they were doing to break the computer use regulations when I tried to be nice and let them know they could get in trouble, but instead the HR people hear "offended by worker's comments" and get all huffy about that instead. This is the way corporations work, instead of worrying about making things work and being productive and having good service or good products, they focus on not getting sued, and "offended" "harassed" and "hostility" are words that get the overreaction lawsuit-protection train running at full speed! Expect to be banned anytime someone uses any of those 3 words when reporting you.

We are trying the /report system out for the weekend event. If we find problems, we will fix them. Please try the system out before you jump to conclusions.

Thanks Andrew, I think a lot of people would feel less worried to hear something like "Don't worry, this isn't fourth grade, people will get banned for offenses that are blatant rule-breaking or obviously offensive behavior" if you are able to offer any more reassurances