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Cyber Harassment in STO.
oldkhemaraa
Member Posts: 1,039 Arc User
Due to some recent incedents in game I've finally found what works.
The number of people the purpously engage in ingame harassment and cyber bullting of players in STO is remarkably small.. Honestly no more then a few dozen players out of thousands. Unfortunatly thy have impact all out of purportion to thier numbers.
You Can DO Something About It!
Most typically effected are those attempting Role Play activities in public areas where the the typical cyber bully will attempt to disrupt your role play activities through the use of "party poppers" from STO anniversery events and the more recent Subspace party ball, or even just the fire extigueshers from the fed side augument mission series. The persona in question will repeatedly spam the effects of these devices in the vicentity of those trying to Role Play with the direct intent to "Drive them away"
If the victims of this abusive behavior engage in any attempt as reasonable discourse the parties involved will play word games to get the victims to loose thier cool (which wont be hard...its a natural human reaction) and WILL capture any and all text in public and private chat and file a GM behavior complaint against the very people they are harrassing. They will use the rules of the TOS against the players they are bullying.
This has been going on in game by the same small group for over a 2 years now if not longer.. And folks, it's always the same group of players doing this.
It's time for this sort of behavior to end.
To bring it to and end, we, the majority over the cyber bullies, are going to have to go the extra mile and DOCUMENT this activitie when it happens.
Now, we are told that when you post a GM ticket for harassment a game screen shot goes with it. I do not know it this is true.. Perhapes if cryptic did a vidio game blog showing us the process I'd be likely to belive this. But I personally have posted numerous GM behavior tickets since launch... some have been acted apon.. other apparently not. And I'm pretty carefull to hold of on posting such a ticket untill the behavior of the perpatrators is clearly into the violation of the Terms of Service. There is also reason to belive that thier might be someone on the development teams who's has been effectivly sanctioning the activities of this small in game group. I have been personally told they do... I am also aware the some folks external to STO who take part in STO social activities have been effectivly blackmailed into permitting members of this small group access to thier IRC chat channels or risk having this group stomp all over thier in game activities. It's pretty much crossing the line in a criminal act. But the old internet bug a boo of no real names, no real information being provided protects there persons from being held responsible for thier activities. The guilty get protected.. it's not right, but its the way it is.
(no, I not supposed to name them..it's possibly a violation of forum posting rules. So i won't but if you've been round the social scene in STO you likely allready know who they are!)
End of Opening Statement.
............................... Part 2, What to do! ................................
preperation:
You need a couple of tools. I strongly recommand the use of an external screen capture utility. I use a little freeware gem thats been around since before window called Infranview, for the capture of still images, and FRAP's for motion video capture.
The games own screen capture does not show text or user names.
If your going to RP, try to have some buddies in the area, If your getting victimized by the cyberbullies have them DOCUMENT it also. Vid capture, screen shots, and of cours, file GM harrassment tickets.. The more that get filed, the sooner action will be taken.. Its very easy for the GM's to over look a couple harassment tickets out of the hundreds they look at in a single day on the job. If how ever they recieve a couple dozen all concerning the SAME person they tend to pay attention right then.
Now, when you file a Harassment ticket/Violation of TOS you must target the offender, right click on thier portrait which should be in the focus area at the top center of your display) and select the appopriate entry from the pull down that opens.
As soon as you do that, punch the "print screen" key on your keyboard (soma one you use for in game captures), ALT+TAB to shell toyour destop, open your image viewing util of choice, create a new image, and paste your capture to it, and then save to a folder (i suggest one on your desktop)
Do this about every 5 min of real time. Infranview will autimaticly timestamp the file and give it a unique name. Opening a FRAP's session should also be done at this time. 5 min of FRAPS if that much should be all you need, and of course be sure to save the file.
All of the people present should be doing the same thing. You will get an email from PWE/Cryptic customer support where they will give you an opportunity to replay. Thats where the screen shots, and video captures come in, and where you get to have YOUR say.
...It may be difficult but try to keep it clean...
Do NOT deleate your video capatures and screen sh0ots.. Save them onto a CD_RW or DVD-RW.. if you have a fleet site with online strage availible.. copy them there..
This is the critical part.. Getting rid of these folks is not going to happen over night by any means. They are orginzed, they have infiltrated Role Fleets with the specific intent of gathering information on when said groups plan to have a public role play session so that they can target and grief the RP.
SO here is the kicker... YOU out number THEM by a significant amount.. a VERY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT. your numbers are well into the thousands, their's are at best around 50, if that many. The folks doing this are quite well orginzae, It would be but for thier activities admirablel... But, they make use of multiplule accounts. They quite possibly will have anywhere from 3-5 computers up and operating at the same time. They are quite serious about what they consider thier mission, and they have crossed the line into what amounts to a criminal conspiricy to harass, defame and other wise inconvenience the play and enjoyment of this game by anyone enguaged in any type of in game role play. And they are absultutly willing to go after anyone who might try to stand up to thier activities in game, or even ask them to simply stop. After two years the group in question has harassed thousand of players. Cryptic is a SMALL studio with a limited staff, and even with the addition support staff from PWI they just do not have sufficient "Boots on the Ground" to properly police this disruptive activity.
If you and your in game friends and aquaintences want to NOT have to endure this sort of garbage your going to have to get pro-activly involved in self policing and covering each other. The more complaints, and the more evidence of the activities produced and submitted to cryptic and PWI, the sooner the people in question will have thier accounts shut down. Up to and possibly including the service provider that thier web site is on refusing service.
Turn about is fair play in this case.
If your the victim of in game ongoing harassment, or witness to the same ACT, ACT NOW. KEEP ACTING. Do depend on Cryptic and PWI to do it for you. They cannot.
(come on folks, they can't even keep on top of on the game bugs much less this sort of thing. They just don't have the number of people to do it)
I've been witness to this stuff, and been on the recieving end of it for years in STO. It's gotten a little old. They do no have any right in letter or word to do this to you or others. It is a violation of Cryptic and PWI's own terms of service for them to do so. It crosses the line into criminal activity. They are having thier fun at your expence. And thier "fun" is simply bullying... They are a gang engaged in forcing thier view and will on the majority, and they take advantage of the providers inability to be everywhere at one, and the communities own lack of orginization to combat this sort of activity. They're quite smug about it, arrogant even, and belive not unjustifiably concidering how long its been going on that no one can touch them.
They Are Wrong.
I touched them.. I had help doing it, but they got touched. On Saturdey the 6th of July the group decided decided it was time to "teach me a lesson" on the dance floor at the Risa summer event by purpously blocking over my avatar with thier own..there were 5-to 6 of them present..one of which was a dual box account avatar.
(obvious by the fact it just stood thier after the rest of them one by one went "poof" with no beam out effect. A sure sign of being forcibly dis-connected from the game.)
In a very very short time span a great many tickets, froma great many users, were filed documenting what they were doing..it took about a half hour or so but I and others are quite certain they got a half hour, to an hour, to up to a 24 hour ban-hammer dropped on them by the night shift GM over at PWI who was monitoring the game. The group in question will keep engaging in these activities, and have done so since then...especially thier "leader" who tryed to do it to me some more the following day.. and got 4-8 complains registered against him by players in game when he did so.
What this proves is you can fight, and you CAN WIN! You do not have to be a victim!
Consider this a form of social PvP... and remember, they don't play by the rules.. and they don't play nice. I do not think that there is any place for this kind of behavior in any MMO, much less one based on Star Trek.
(And I play Klingon for crying out loud.. might explain why I have been going after these folks.. I so love a good fight against an honorless, despicable opponent... really, it's a game, how real many opportunities am I going to get like THIS? WHOOHOO! I am so on them! Yea! Little so-and so just stuck thier hands into the mouth of a rabid targ this time! I'm actually having fun going after them.. Follow Me.. we got whop TRIBBLE to deliver to the worthy!)
SO step up.. they can be beat, and I proved they can be beat. and it's long over due for it to happen.
Most Cordially
Kui del Solima
aka
Uru-Ani
aka
Khemaraa Iron Hand of the Klingon Black Fleet (est.1990)
P.S> sorry for the typo's I get excited, I typo...I transpose, I get words out of order.. stuff happens.. its still pretty readable.
Rumored to be overheard in STO offices:
unnammed forum moderator: He's at it again Daniel, at least he's not after you this time!
Daniel Stahl: *frowns* Yep..
The number of people the purpously engage in ingame harassment and cyber bullting of players in STO is remarkably small.. Honestly no more then a few dozen players out of thousands. Unfortunatly thy have impact all out of purportion to thier numbers.
You Can DO Something About It!
Most typically effected are those attempting Role Play activities in public areas where the the typical cyber bully will attempt to disrupt your role play activities through the use of "party poppers" from STO anniversery events and the more recent Subspace party ball, or even just the fire extigueshers from the fed side augument mission series. The persona in question will repeatedly spam the effects of these devices in the vicentity of those trying to Role Play with the direct intent to "Drive them away"
If the victims of this abusive behavior engage in any attempt as reasonable discourse the parties involved will play word games to get the victims to loose thier cool (which wont be hard...its a natural human reaction) and WILL capture any and all text in public and private chat and file a GM behavior complaint against the very people they are harrassing. They will use the rules of the TOS against the players they are bullying.
This has been going on in game by the same small group for over a 2 years now if not longer.. And folks, it's always the same group of players doing this.
It's time for this sort of behavior to end.
To bring it to and end, we, the majority over the cyber bullies, are going to have to go the extra mile and DOCUMENT this activitie when it happens.
Now, we are told that when you post a GM ticket for harassment a game screen shot goes with it. I do not know it this is true.. Perhapes if cryptic did a vidio game blog showing us the process I'd be likely to belive this. But I personally have posted numerous GM behavior tickets since launch... some have been acted apon.. other apparently not. And I'm pretty carefull to hold of on posting such a ticket untill the behavior of the perpatrators is clearly into the violation of the Terms of Service. There is also reason to belive that thier might be someone on the development teams who's has been effectivly sanctioning the activities of this small in game group. I have been personally told they do... I am also aware the some folks external to STO who take part in STO social activities have been effectivly blackmailed into permitting members of this small group access to thier IRC chat channels or risk having this group stomp all over thier in game activities. It's pretty much crossing the line in a criminal act. But the old internet bug a boo of no real names, no real information being provided protects there persons from being held responsible for thier activities. The guilty get protected.. it's not right, but its the way it is.
(no, I not supposed to name them..it's possibly a violation of forum posting rules. So i won't but if you've been round the social scene in STO you likely allready know who they are!)
End of Opening Statement.
............................... Part 2, What to do! ................................
preperation:
You need a couple of tools. I strongly recommand the use of an external screen capture utility. I use a little freeware gem thats been around since before window called Infranview, for the capture of still images, and FRAP's for motion video capture.
The games own screen capture does not show text or user names.
If your going to RP, try to have some buddies in the area, If your getting victimized by the cyberbullies have them DOCUMENT it also. Vid capture, screen shots, and of cours, file GM harrassment tickets.. The more that get filed, the sooner action will be taken.. Its very easy for the GM's to over look a couple harassment tickets out of the hundreds they look at in a single day on the job. If how ever they recieve a couple dozen all concerning the SAME person they tend to pay attention right then.
Now, when you file a Harassment ticket/Violation of TOS you must target the offender, right click on thier portrait which should be in the focus area at the top center of your display) and select the appopriate entry from the pull down that opens.
As soon as you do that, punch the "print screen" key on your keyboard (soma one you use for in game captures), ALT+TAB to shell toyour destop, open your image viewing util of choice, create a new image, and paste your capture to it, and then save to a folder (i suggest one on your desktop)
Do this about every 5 min of real time. Infranview will autimaticly timestamp the file and give it a unique name. Opening a FRAP's session should also be done at this time. 5 min of FRAPS if that much should be all you need, and of course be sure to save the file.
All of the people present should be doing the same thing. You will get an email from PWE/Cryptic customer support where they will give you an opportunity to replay. Thats where the screen shots, and video captures come in, and where you get to have YOUR say.
...It may be difficult but try to keep it clean...
Do NOT deleate your video capatures and screen sh0ots.. Save them onto a CD_RW or DVD-RW.. if you have a fleet site with online strage availible.. copy them there..
This is the critical part.. Getting rid of these folks is not going to happen over night by any means. They are orginzed, they have infiltrated Role Fleets with the specific intent of gathering information on when said groups plan to have a public role play session so that they can target and grief the RP.
SO here is the kicker... YOU out number THEM by a significant amount.. a VERY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT. your numbers are well into the thousands, their's are at best around 50, if that many. The folks doing this are quite well orginzae, It would be but for thier activities admirablel... But, they make use of multiplule accounts. They quite possibly will have anywhere from 3-5 computers up and operating at the same time. They are quite serious about what they consider thier mission, and they have crossed the line into what amounts to a criminal conspiricy to harass, defame and other wise inconvenience the play and enjoyment of this game by anyone enguaged in any type of in game role play. And they are absultutly willing to go after anyone who might try to stand up to thier activities in game, or even ask them to simply stop. After two years the group in question has harassed thousand of players. Cryptic is a SMALL studio with a limited staff, and even with the addition support staff from PWI they just do not have sufficient "Boots on the Ground" to properly police this disruptive activity.
If you and your in game friends and aquaintences want to NOT have to endure this sort of garbage your going to have to get pro-activly involved in self policing and covering each other. The more complaints, and the more evidence of the activities produced and submitted to cryptic and PWI, the sooner the people in question will have thier accounts shut down. Up to and possibly including the service provider that thier web site is on refusing service.
Turn about is fair play in this case.
If your the victim of in game ongoing harassment, or witness to the same ACT, ACT NOW. KEEP ACTING. Do depend on Cryptic and PWI to do it for you. They cannot.
(come on folks, they can't even keep on top of on the game bugs much less this sort of thing. They just don't have the number of people to do it)
I've been witness to this stuff, and been on the recieving end of it for years in STO. It's gotten a little old. They do no have any right in letter or word to do this to you or others. It is a violation of Cryptic and PWI's own terms of service for them to do so. It crosses the line into criminal activity. They are having thier fun at your expence. And thier "fun" is simply bullying... They are a gang engaged in forcing thier view and will on the majority, and they take advantage of the providers inability to be everywhere at one, and the communities own lack of orginization to combat this sort of activity. They're quite smug about it, arrogant even, and belive not unjustifiably concidering how long its been going on that no one can touch them.
They Are Wrong.
I touched them.. I had help doing it, but they got touched. On Saturdey the 6th of July the group decided decided it was time to "teach me a lesson" on the dance floor at the Risa summer event by purpously blocking over my avatar with thier own..there were 5-to 6 of them present..one of which was a dual box account avatar.
(obvious by the fact it just stood thier after the rest of them one by one went "poof" with no beam out effect. A sure sign of being forcibly dis-connected from the game.)
In a very very short time span a great many tickets, froma great many users, were filed documenting what they were doing..it took about a half hour or so but I and others are quite certain they got a half hour, to an hour, to up to a 24 hour ban-hammer dropped on them by the night shift GM over at PWI who was monitoring the game. The group in question will keep engaging in these activities, and have done so since then...especially thier "leader" who tryed to do it to me some more the following day.. and got 4-8 complains registered against him by players in game when he did so.
What this proves is you can fight, and you CAN WIN! You do not have to be a victim!
Consider this a form of social PvP... and remember, they don't play by the rules.. and they don't play nice. I do not think that there is any place for this kind of behavior in any MMO, much less one based on Star Trek.
(And I play Klingon for crying out loud.. might explain why I have been going after these folks.. I so love a good fight against an honorless, despicable opponent... really, it's a game, how real many opportunities am I going to get like THIS? WHOOHOO! I am so on them! Yea! Little so-and so just stuck thier hands into the mouth of a rabid targ this time! I'm actually having fun going after them.. Follow Me.. we got whop TRIBBLE to deliver to the worthy!)
SO step up.. they can be beat, and I proved they can be beat. and it's long over due for it to happen.
Most Cordially
Kui del Solima
aka
Uru-Ani
aka
Khemaraa Iron Hand of the Klingon Black Fleet (est.1990)
P.S> sorry for the typo's I get excited, I typo...I transpose, I get words out of order.. stuff happens.. its still pretty readable.
Rumored to be overheard in STO offices:
unnammed forum moderator: He's at it again Daniel, at least he's not after you this time!
Daniel Stahl: *frowns* Yep..
"I aim to misbehave" - Malcolm Reynolds
Post edited by Unknown User on
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This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Keep it simple... use the ignore option, and no one is forcing you to stay in a channel/instance.
I swear, some people just feel this strange need to be a victim, and then tell it to the world how victimized they are.
Plus, there's the irony of trying to "beat" an anonymous group of people.
Wait a second, are you that guy that keeps spamming the forum about how people won't let you dance and get in your screenshots? Seriously, if that's you, I think your the one harassing the forums. I have never, ever, seen this harassment/bullying you speak of, and I've been here since OB.
Edit: Way too many typos...
"Second star on the right, and straight on till morning."
U.S.S. Weatherlight
And they have multipule accounts on these forums specificly to to belittle, and discount any posting or activity that might be aimed against them. And they are very well orginized.
Those who have had the pleasure of being victemized by them know exactly who they are.
The old saying information is ammunition applies. and folks do need to have a better idea of what they can do to protect them selves. And noone should have to change instances or zones.. which by the by, the folks in question will follow you. Adn most players simply do not know how to prevent themselves from being found in game. Note also that role play is a social activity.. Hiding one self in game is contra-indicated. It defeats the entire purpous of public social role play which is to engage and involve other players.. The griefers could just put the role players on ignore... instead, they grief the role play activity. The vast majority of role players know to take any sort of "erotic" role play to either thier player housing (ships) or /tell or team chat... as you cannot cross faction team in anything other then specific PvP/PvE instances team chat doesn't work for cross faction rp though.
Also bear in mind that the /ignore function does not block thier avaters off ones display.. when they grief folks involved in RP.. they're not doing in verbally in chat for the most part.
They're spamming effects and interposing thier avatars over the person engaged to disrupt thier play. This activity is a clear violation letter and word of the terms of Service and they've been pretty much getting away with it over two years.
Putting someone on ignore has zero effect. STO is not "Second Life" (tm) in second life if you put a person on ignore you don't even see thier in game avatar (a lovely feature by the way), on the other hand Second life is perhapes the ultimate MMO sandbox.. it would be nice if STO had this functionality, but it does not.
If you want to add something positive, please do so.. But if all your going to do is discount, then you run the risk of being noted as one of THEM. It is a problem that has effected thousands of players. They don't have the right... and it long overdue to make sure they get that.
I'm quite willing to debate with anyone on this subject, but you better bring better ammo then that, and you best show better knowlege of how STO's social tools and mechnaics work.
I on the other hand can almost quote letter and verse on how these functions work in STO. This is not about being a "Care Bare" or any sort of bleeding heart. ALL players of STO have the right to enjoy thier play of STO in anyway they choose socially, as long as its not at the expense of other players enjoyment. I do happen to love engagingin some truely knock down drag out pvP myself from time to time... It's a shame that sto is more of a magic bullet sort of ship to ship combat game instead of something requireing forthought and planning while in combat. But thats the way it is.. I seriously would have designed the space combat in sto quite a bit differently.
But about the social aspects of STO which IS what this is all about..
Social RP is generally understood to mean "Play responsibly. Be aware their are children and minor's that play the game and do not need to be exposed to adult, or sexuall innuendo or situations that may be inapropriate to thier age group". Of course thier are players that don't get this, and need to be hauled up by the the you know whats if needed to get them to pay attention to it. But griefing the activities of those that are playing with the socially accepted parameters IS WRONG. Those doing it aren't protecting anyone.. they are turning other player into victims and its time for it to stop. DOing something about players engages in inappropriate social behavior is the job of the GM's and the customer support team, not a bunch of 'leetist self imposed vigilanties
(who by the way are not. It's just a cover to provide an excuse to grief players)
I'm a real vigilantie in this matter, with a specific and very focused aim, and a limited, well defined mission. I will not step beyond my mission aprameters, nor will I attept to force my view aopon players that may be in agreement with the guilty but do not take part in thier griefing activity. I recognize that you have a right to a dissenting opinion on the matter. But no one has the right to do what those in question have done, and continue to do. Someone's got to advocate for thier victims. I've been a victim of thier activities, and it that time.
I am about the worst possible enemy this group could possibly have. And I mean to have thier you know whats on a platter served ice cold. It's time for some Wrath and Revenge. And it needs doing. Badly.
if they want to wise up, put an apology on these forums, and never ever do it again, i could accept that...possibly... But the group in question also has a history of reneging on such agreements.. They have a real problem keeping thier word. Real hard to trust anyone like that. Especially when they are known for creating multipule accounts both in game and on the forums to pursure thier chosen activities. They engage in purpously deceptive and distracting tactics to pursue thier goal..
I don't. I'm strait arrow up front about it. I'm after them like ugly on a ape. This is social warfare against a specific group of people.. If a Forum moderator chips in on this thread and tells me i can name the fleets and avatars involved, I will.
With offical sanction I'll not only name them, but with permission of those effected, thier victems too. These folks are scurring cockroaches operation in the shadows.. they cannot survive public exposure. They thrive on crating a sense of helplessness in thier victims. They've been awefully succesfull.
This isn't Eve, This isn't GW-2, This isn't SWTOR.. this is Startrek online...and its a way different audience..
The gamer geeks need to make room for the Trek fans who are not the type to tolerate this.. And many who do want to be able to role play.. in social settings. I just want to make sure that those folks get empowered and know what they CAN do that WORKS.
so find your side of the fence or get out of the line of fire,'cuz, son.. this is war.
But since you a rp'er, can't you just pretend it's not happening
That. A hundred times, that.
It's simple, these people are a Goon Fleet, a self-admitted one that relishes in griefing and harassing others, they even have a manifesto up somewhere as to what's the proper attire for griefing (EV Suit) and the preferred methods (Fire Extinguishers, Party Poppers, Lobi Store Energy Whips) and so on.
Perhaps they do not understand the RP of the MMORPG acronym.
It really is a "They Live" scenario, where we need some shades to ID who is and who isn't on the forums and in-game.
You would think an RP'er would be able to control his reactions. He admits he flies off the handle, and knows that he's giving the people he wants punished ammo with which to punish him. Yet he does it anyway.
I severely doubt there's a group of people that run around with multiple accounts just to harass him. And even then, there's a spam/ignore option. I have dozens of ignored EC spammers. Seriously, OP's problem is not my problem, and I doubt it's a problem to the extent OP makes it out to be. The tools are available, and instead of utilizing them and moving on, he bugs Cryptic/PWE, and us, on how we must all help him in his personal crusade against "cyber bullies".
The only bully (such a stupid word) I see is the OP, demanding punishments, vendettas, and aid in his personal crusade against fellow players.
His "enemies" live to get reactions, and this guy gives it to them by his own admission and actions.
"Second star on the right, and straight on till morning."
U.S.S. Weatherlight
I Support Disco | Disco is Love | Disco is Life
if i want to use a social device with my friends on a social map i can . if you dont want your immersion to be broken then USE THE FOUNDRY or your own STARBASE ASSETS and SHIPS to complete your immersion .
what ive seen most is RPers that they get bent outta shape when anyone outside there niche comes near them . its that attitude i see in itself is cyber-bullying . which in itself is the Cause and effect of the situation .
I respect the fact your playing the game your way . but you really need to respect other players way of playing the game too . Social zones are open to EVERYONE .and adapt your RP around that fact when you use these social zones you will get non-RPers present that may or may not use these devices .
If i want to celebrate or goof around thats my right . as is yours to act like a real Starfleet or KDF officer .
Section 10
(f) "Stalk," threaten or otherwise harass or cause discomfort to another
(g) Collect, store, post or otherwise disseminate any personal data about other users [Targeting Role-Players in particular, especially since they have characters posted on their forum as targets for harassment, count]
(h) Impede or disrupt the Service or the normal flow of game play or dialogue in the game or in Interactive Areas on the Site or use vulgar language, abusiveness, use of excessive shouting (ALL CAPS) "spamming" or any other disruptive or detrimental methods in an attempt to disturb other users or PWE employees
(i) Engage in, encourage, or promote any illegal activity, or any activity that violates these Terms or the Rules of Conduct;
(n) Take any action that disrupts the Service or that negatively affects or may prohibit other users from enjoying the Website, the Games or any other aspect of the Service.
This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Perfect World Entertainment Community Rules and Policies . ~Bluegeek
That should about sum it up for anyone who couldn't get through the wall of text.
Shutup Wesley: First In Everything
I would laugh, if your idealism wouldn't be so seriously sad. Cryptic will do nothing. They've loved the Dentists since the game came out, and what you have there is not on their boards, could be fake and they can't be bothered to verify it.
Sometimes, if you want to bury the hatchet with a Klingon, it has to be in his skull. - Captain K'Tar of the USS Danu about J'mpok.
I'm way more sophisticated then the un-named by me miscreats.. They are being openly challanged. This is something they cannot survive. Public awareness of what they do will sink them.
I am absolutly certain that the AVERAGE age of many STO players is well into the 20's
It's easy for these folks to intimidate a 15 to 19 years old gamer,leaving them feeling isolated, and without support or recouse. I'm in my 50's and they have zero chance of intimidating me.. *grin* And I have been doing social gaming for decades... and i was doing it before there was an Internet.
to put a twist on an old saying... Old age and wisdom beats youth and ignorance EVERY TIME!
I have a legal opinion from a lawyer dealing with social media who has told me that yes, I can do something within the legal system if absolutly nessesary, but its going to be most likely expensive and time consuming. And more importantly I might win the case, but the results will be a great deal of damage, and a net loss for everyone involved with rather limited results unless the state should choose to get involved. Thats not what i want.. I don't desire to take cryptic or PWI into a court room, or see the resultant fall out from what could be a rather involved and messy court scenario. Thats a last resort effort.
The better solution is for the players to get pro-active them selves. To engage Cryptic and PWI on thier behaf. To use the tools we DO have availible, and the channels that ARE opne to us to combat htis form of anto-social activities.
Note that several of the replies on the thread have allready generated attempts at misdierection, thinly vieled statement of disparagement ...I have some lovelt tech at my fingertips dealing with pattern and word recognition... Several of the replies are indeed members of "THE ENEMY" *cue ominous music Bum Bum da DUM!*
I am pleased to see that like scum they are, they have come up the dark depths and out of the shadows that they haunt to do battle.. Should be a small by tidy body count by the time this one finishes.
To my fans and viewer/lurkers.. notice I hide nothing.. Notice i fight with honorable tactics. ( one eye brow lifts* Mostly) Notice how they make futile, and childish attepts to misdirect.... Indeed they would be better served to say nothing, nothing at all.. to be silent, and, unseen.
tell me oh wintensses to this, WHOM is rising to the bait. They? or I?
I warned them fair and square.. I guess they didn't get the memo... (pssst.. hey, you, bad guy team.. your being set up! Do you really think you can survive a fixed fight?)
Of course.. I have plans within plans... with in plans...
You see, if they choose to disist from thier activities... I win, and so does everyone else.
If they attempt to further harass in game, and I will have ready friends around to ensure propper reportage is done... and they get bounced out of STO on thier hinies... I also Win, and so does everyone else.
being anonomus only goes so far. There is only so much you can do when you depend on deception and misdirection to engage in one chosen activity. If you do naughty deeds publicly, then there are going to be concequences.. That right, pesants with pick forks and torches will ruin your day.. and thier are sooo many of them! *big eyes!*
I'd really have to work at it to foul this up! I mean really.
Its all loose loose for them this time. This is a fight they can't win. And, as can be seen from some of the replays to this thread so far *Puts on Khemaraa of The Iron Hand hat - a grey Stetson, with the yellow band of the Cavalry apon it and a rather jaunty ostrich plume- and chortles with great joy and merriment* (Ohh He's Role playing.. and he's doing it on the forum!*gasp!*) ... oh man...to quote the words of Sheriff Bart in Mel Brook's Blazing Saddles as I hug myself.. "I am soooo smart... and they are soooo dumb!"
reread the lead post folks.. Those are the tools you need to not only put an END to the kind of disruptive in game activity practiced, But prep coffins down at the undertakers for thier outlaw hides.. those that don't have the sense to take a long ride on a fast starship elsewhere in a hurry.
We've already won... Just gotta do the scut work, and be ready to do it in the future. Damd STO.. even in social play ya end having to do grindage!!! *mutters fouly*
There is nothing wrong with someone being a "deviant from Second Life".
There is something wrong with being rude towards or trying to incite "deviants from Second Life".
If you can't see that, I'm sorry that your family, society, and education system failed you. But you're not entitled to a fun experience in a privately owned game when you take that attitude and a good portion of Europe and Canada and increasingly the United States won't tolerate the kind of behavior that you're advocating. If any of your friends are Canadian, some of the behavior your friends engage in comes with $5,000 fines attached to it.
That's why I prefer these forums to SW:TOR's. The crazy is much better written despite a few technical flaws. Even the quote was incorrect. Love the bit about pattern recognition. Do you do two shows a day?
If you have to constantly proclaim that you're winning, you aren't.
And let's just face facts, the toothers have been judged by a jury of their peers as long as they've been around. They're not worth the effort of weeding them out one at a time. They're crossing a line to where they've actively devalued the time and gameplay of another player. They should simply all be removed from the game.
When the consequences of a real life reputation are removed from a person, all that is left is that person's real character. People laugh off online trolling like it doesn't matter, and people should just ignore it since there aren't 'real world' consequences- but it is that lack of consequences that makes online trolling so telling about a person. Just take solace in knowing that in reality, anyone who proudly dons the toother banner alongside their name is just a bad person through and through. In the absence of consequences, they choose to inflict greif on others: online trolling is the telltale sign of a sociopath. Just pity them. Thank your stars you're not that way, turn your back and walk away.
It's with the targeted harassment of and libel against roleplayers, furries, the disabled, ethnic minorities, players of certain sexual orientation, transexuals, and women. And in particular the equation of these things with erotic roleplay and, from there, criminal pederasty and other false allegations used to slur a whole people. And "doing it for the lolz" just proves you are a jerk.
I'd wager that MOST people who say "that's just the internet" are under 40 or a bit TOO connected to 2000s internet culture.
But Something Awful was founded in 1999 and I'd wager some of their grandfathers were roleplaying furries in 1980; roleplaying geeks playing cat people or gushing about the minutae of their beloved canons has a richer tradition than any meme cartel. It's not "just the internet." It's people, same as everywhere. And some are jerks and jerks need to be kept in check by everyone else. The internet has just been slow to move but it's thankfully happening.
It really is just the internet. Even back in BBS days you couldn't play a round of Usurper without being confronted with at least one of the things you mentioned. So it is, was, and shall be. People get on the internet seeking the freedom to express themselves sometimes. It's not always a pleasant thing, but the moment you expect individuals to take responsibility for the entire world's full spectrum of emotional reactions you basically limit a person to total inaction on all levels because no matter what someone's going to get offended.
My problem is with actions that have consequences to a player's ability to actually play the game. If you sabotage an STF so that a player must leave, unable to proceed, you are stealing an hour of that person's time. If you sabotage an STF so that an otherwise good team fails the optional, you are stealing marks from that person's account.
Offensive people should be protected. Nobody should have a right to not be offended. But that's passive, subjective offense. It is when offense crosses into measurable injury that the hammer needs to fall. If someone is vandalizing your gameplay to steal your time or your 'money', they have crossed a line to where authority should be asserted against them.
I won't argue with you on that. Let's really place the focus where the problem lies though. A design that allows for this as a possibility is not such a hot design. If you create an opportunity, someone will take advantage of it. A rethink of the optionals might have far better results than more restrictions and/or witch hunting. Let's say for example the optional for ISE were set as such that it's a personal objective rather than a team objective to kill 5-10 ships. Would that work for everyone?
Hey quepan.. a couple technical points.. Using Foundry missions for RP.. it is done, people do it.. but.. and important point.. Player limit.. typically no more then 5 period. A foundry author is certainly welcome to chip and provide some technical details but that really is beside the point.
The Point of the tread is providing examples and EMPOWERING harrased players by showing them that they can combat in game abuse. Again, much as I would like to, untill I hear from a forum moderator, as the Original poster i will not name names or fleets. or link to any external web sites or images.
Ya'll got google.. use it *grin* it's also free to play... And your right, there are role players that need to pay attention that there are those present that are NOT role players in social zones..
On the hand, most of the social zone chat I've heard in STO could use being replaced by Role play chatter. Is craptastic a word?.. yep tune into zone chat in ESD... pretty amazingly foul.. free use of explitives, racially and sexually demaning laungage etc.. It goes on constantly. Do they have right.. ah well, you know, not really.
Basic rule of thumb should be, if you wouldn't say it in real life without having to deal with real world concequences then you shouldn't be saying it in a virtual world setting either.
On the other hand, this is veering into off topic..
The Topic is Cyber Harassment in STO, and the starting posts is examples of cyber bullying of a specific type happing IN social zones, and the steps and tools that players, and victems can use to combat this kind of abuse.
It's not about STF's, or AFK players on teams, and has nothing what so ever to do with that kind of behavior. (noted in another post after your sir.. your pretty specific. Tip o' the hat)
The rude RP'r is a minority.. as much of a minority as the griefers.. And, they tend to be froth at the mouth defensive... perhapes its because they've had to tolerate griefing and trash talk for so long... Cause, effect, more cause, more effect, yet more cause, yet more effect. I'll be the very first to say that a little civility is in order by all participants willing, and unwilling.
My concern is all about activly combatting abusive tactics directed specificly against the role players, and non-role players. DO the griefer draw any distinction betwenn Rp's in public and those just hanging out with them? No they don't. DO they harass non role player...
I'f you have ever been to any of the in game dance parties put on by various and assorted net radio station associated with Star Trek Online.. a purely social activity which may or may NOT include any sort of role play at alll, then you have seen people harassing non role players. Those doing so are in violation of Cryptic TOS as these are orginized player run events. The groups in question do not bother to make and distinction between the two.
..........................................cut and paste ...............................................
While playing Star Trek Online it is against the game policy to intentionally disrupt the game play of other players. Disrupting actions would include:
Preventing content access to other players by Blocking Mobs, Doors, Nodes, Etc
Spamming excessive effects
Interfering with player-run events
Interfering with player gatherings
Intentionally exploiting game bugs
Utilizing third-party programs to automate unattended game-play
Disobeying instructions given by a Cryptic Game Master
.................................................. ..................................................
And thats whom this thread is aimed at.
Cordially
Khemaaraa of the Iron Hand.
Damd strait.. Totally agree! Wish we had the feature big time. betcha the guilty parties don't want it though... they like bullying and harassing players... Thier fleet names have been mentiond.. do a Google search on em.. Big eye opener.. They are really seriously dispicable.
QFT
OP, if you decided to seek legal action, I'm sure coming here and parading it around in a threatening manner is illegal, at least in my state. Courts don't look kindly upon people like you who try to attack people outside legal channels.
"Second star on the right, and straight on till morning."
U.S.S. Weatherlight
It doesn't have to, and shouldn't, be that way.