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Hey All,
It's time for fireside chat with your friend in the control room, GM Destra.
Champions is a fun game to moderate. We've got a diverse, colorful crowd that loves to express themselves. This is great, and makes for a very stimulated community. People are social, communicative, lively, and creative.
On the opposite side of the coin, we see our fair share of heated disputes that result in vociferous strings of obscenities which only a Game Master can keep a straight face while reading.
One of the questions I've seen popping up in the ticket system lately is "I reported this guy yesterday, but I still see him online! Ban him!"
If there is still a perception that reporting someone gets them banned instantly, I would like to take the opportunity to correct that and shed some light on the system.
First off, we investigate all harassment reports - primarily by viewing chat logs. We view the chat of the reported player, and the player that sent in the ticket, to determine the language that was used by both players. If either of the players were found to have used language against our policies, we allocate the appropriate penalties.
Penalties are different depending on the severity. Think of a spectrum, with words that 5th graders giggle about on one side, and phrases that people can go to jail for saying on the other. In the middle we have the well known four letter words that have stood the test of time in common societal interaction.
Depending on how severe the language is, a player can get a warning, a short temporary suspension, or a long one. Repeat violations can eventually result in a permanent account closure, however very few players in Champions have unlocked that Achievement.
Of course, besides just the language itself, there are additional factors we take into account:
-Is the language directed at another player? Generally, we will overlook the occasional slip of the tongue that happens when you unintentionally agro the entire room
-Does it seem mutual? If two buddies are joking around over chat, or if a Supergroup is made up of heroes that talk like sailors in the privacy of their own channel, it's all good
-Is the "guilty party" innocent? If we see trolling on both sides of the fence, we'd rather leave them both alone, than action both of them, unless it's causing a public disturbance.
I also want to provide some tips for keeping would-be "harassers" at bay. I would like to deliver them in a metaphor, which is based on a true story:
The other day I was cycling in San Jose. In front of me was a group of guys riding their bikes who were clearly out to have a good time. We came to a section of the road that was only one lane, and were forced to go single file and share the road with traffic of the vehicular sort. Not to my surprise, the particular car that ended up behind this group of guys was not fond if this and began to show signs of impatience. She revved her engine, honked her horn, and drove close to them in hopes they would move out of her way.
As the one-lane section of road came to a close, the cyclists fanned out to take the entire width of the road, further impeding the raging driver's ability to drive faster than 14MPH. Her rage escalated - she began screaming and yelling out the window, and the cyclists continued to respond by laughing at her until she finally squeezed through and sped off.
Not everyone has the patience of Mahatma Grondhi, but when it comes down to it, most griefers will continue to grief if you are letting them feel like they have power over you.
Pro-Tip: Zen powers counter Grief powers. People who gain pleasure from shaudenfraude are fueled by emotional reactions, and the easiest way to make them stop is to cut off their fuel supply.
In the past I have seen counter-arguments to this philisophy along the lines of "Why should I have to change my behavior when they are the one griefing?" and the answer is that you shouldn't. We will still take action against players who are out to ruin someone's day, however I will continue to encourage players to resolve these issues on their own so that they are not escalated to the GMs. Our resources are limited and I feel we gain the most out of our time when we are hunting bugs and troubleshooting issues.
Got questions? Feel free to ask. Although I must provide fair warning that discussing specific disciplinary actions is against the forum usage guidelines, however any questions about the process itself or insight into what it's like to moderate an online game are completely welcome.