Suggestion: Game Global chat rules made clear

[adolia]

There has been a lot of issues lately in the global chat on what is and is not appropriate. The code of conduct is not very clear on what is and is not allowed. While we are all here to play the game, it is a social game and interaction with others is part of the fun for many people.

There are many players who believe that they can set the world chat rules to their liking and force them on other players, but the final say is always with the GM's. At what point is the line drawn? do we have to make sure everyone in the global chat is satisfied with the discussion, or is there a level of tolerance that is expected? When should you ignore someone, and when should you report them?

Many have said that the chat should be kept at a PG level. However there is not a lot of agreement of what PG really is. What language is and is not tolerable? What level of joking around crosses the line of insults and racism? When is adult humor going too far?

The official guidelines for PG are as follows:
PG - Parental Guidance Suggested - Some Material May Not Be Suitable For Children. Generally appropriate for children age 10 and older and may contain milder swear words, brief smoking, crude/suggestive humor, natural non-sexual nudity, short and infrequent horror moments and/or mild violence. Usually no drug use is acceptable in this category. Topless men may be present but topless woman are not usually acceptable unless in an educational or scientific context. A few racial insults may also be heard. Before the creation of PG-13, many "PG" films (e.g. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins) included explicit violence.

Personally I have always followed the Loony Toons rule when it comes to adult humor: If a 10 year old can understand the underlying meaning then it has gone too far.

My understanding of the rules is this: is You should not use any words that are starred out, however many curse words are not filtered out, and many non-curse words are so use some good judgment. If a word is starred out and is obviously a curse word then no one should be working around the filter by inserting a $ for s or misspelling the word to skip the filter, the word should not be used at all. (There is one problem with this: The current filter does not star out the word on your screen if you are the one typing it, so you are not aware it starred out unless others tell you.) Joking around, flirting, teasing, etc is fine as long as it does not cross the line. If you do not like what is going on the place players on ignore unless it violates the rules. Racial slurs or personal attacks/insults are not acceptable. no explicit adult content. (Fully revealed or expressed without vagueness, implication: leaving no question as to meaning or intent.) If a GM tell you to stop, you stop without arguing. GM's always have the final say. And last but not least Trolls should be buried alive. (OK maybe not in the rules...YET!)

I do not think the problem is that people are intentionally breaking rules. I think the rules are not stated clearly enough for people to understand or define them, therefore they are making them up to fit their personal agenda.

I am suggesting that the GM’s set some guidelines for what is unacceptable and will result in a ban. For example, when a GM gives a warning the violation should be clear. Are they using foul language, insulting others, trolling or being too explicit? I witnessed today a GM giving a player a warning (deserved mind you) but then gave the player another warning that was not really understood by other players. We do not want the GM’s to have to police the game 24/7, they have more important things to handle. By making the rules clear their job will be easier. It will also give players some guidelines on what they should and should not be reporting, saving the GM's time as well.

Lets try to keep the game fun for everyone who has reasonable expectations. We cannot please everyone, since some people are unreasonable or refuse to tolerate anything outside of their personal comfort zone. Working together will make the job on the GM's easier, which gives them more time to improve the content and create fun events.

[Mistapink]

Excellent post Adolia.

[EpsilonSilver]

No offense adolia, and you obviously put a lot of thought and consideration into this post.
However, I suggest everyone in global chat use the ignore feature.
Problem solved.

[Skitzman69]

The ignore feature is fine if you are an adult (although it should be on the popup click menu when you click on a persons name in chat) but the one issue I have is when there are younger kids online. Most younger kids are very interested in learning bad words/sayings and don't understand when adults are just joking around about race/***/religion/etc. They can start emulating those bad attitudes (depends on kid and age of course), thus they will not usually add someone to the ignore list who is being offensive, they tend to read them more closely...

This all depends on the age and the personality of the kids, I have a 12 year old and a 8 year old. My 12 year old has heard most of this stuff already and generally just ignores it (I see eye rolls quite often when he plays online games). But my 8 year old... she is just learning all the bad words and I would rather she learned it from kids her own age instead of a pile of (potentially) offensive adults kidding around who may not even have children (if you have kids, you modify your behavior when other kids can hear), or realize that an 8 year old is reading over my shoulder/playing...

And before someone says this game is not suited to kids... Your kidding right? This game has very little violence (vs a FPS or WOT), it teaches them mathematics (e.g. production chain ratio's), delayed economics (using coins later in game for more important things), the value of friends (buffing each other), strategy, etc. I also don't remember anything when I signed up asking about my age...

[Mistapink]

Most of the players playing this game should know what is and isn't acceptable in game chat especially global chat, this game is suited for players of all ages and every one should be respectful of each other. Joking with each other is fine, and that's great in my opinion but, there is a line however undefined as it may be we should all have the common sense to know what can be said.

[adolia]

Thank you all for your input. I agree SirRoy, the ignore feature should fix most problems. However when someone is crossing the line everyone ignoring them may get some relief, but anyone logging on and just entering isn't aware, so you still get sucked into the situation. If the ignored person is saying your name constantly then other people in chat are asking you what is going on and expecting you to respond or defend yourself. At some point ignore just isn't enough.

I agree Skitzman69 that we do need to be aware that children may be online. However this game is targeted towards adults. The code of conduct states that anyone under 18 must have parents permission to play. Hopefully parents supervise their children when using a game like this where there is interaction with adults (for safety if nothing else!) I do want to point out that whether a child hears something from their friend, television, or other adults it will have the same effect. As a parent the best thing you can do is to be open and honest with your child so that when they are confused or have questions, they feel comfortable enough to come ask you. Damage can be done by the explanation (or lack of) more often than by the exposure itself. (sorry, 67 foster children, hundreds of hours of parenting classes and writing a guidebook on teaching children independence makes things like this a pet peeve!)

Mistapink I agree, most players should know what is and isn't acceptable. My post was to point out to the few who do not seem to get it that there are some standards that are expected, and to explain to those who are suspended from the game for global chat violations WHY.

[EpsilonSilver]

It is always a joyous event to be celebrated when someone is banned from chat. That means someone beyond the ignore solution is gone.

[Mistapink]

http://forum.castleempireonline.com/...ode-of-Conduct

Thought I should throw that in there.

[adolia]

I disagree SirRoy, when someone is banned it isn't something to celebrate. People who cannot seem to fit within rules, or who feel they are exempt are usually mentally unstable or mentally ill. It is much more satisfying to me when someone who is being inappropriate learns from their mistakes and conforms to the rules, eventually fitting in and becoming part of the community.

That being said, there are exceptions to everything, and there are those few people who have no hope other than a lobotomy to cure their behavior problems!

[Tarquinious]

first off, if kids are playing this, it is up to their parents to monitor what the kid is doing and reading and using the ignore feature when needed.
Second, to say someone is mentally ill or mentally unstable because of their way of "joking" or chatting is ignorant. no one fits into a small box and ONLY what you deem appropriate is what is allowed to be said. There is always a line, if it gets crossed, say something, if you do not like it... ignore them.

I have played more games than i should have and this always comes up. there is an IGNORE feature, use it. it is that simple. if someone is going off on a rambling of crap... ignore them. what else do you need to do ?