Squelches…
Silence is a punishment handed out AFTER a GM reviews it, and adds a blackmark to your account. If you get squelched, you are unable to chat for a few hours til a GM looks at it.
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Because behavior that qualifies like spamming and abuse in chat channels has to be dealt with somehow.
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Because if Blizzard get a MASS group of complaints, it’s a bandaid fix til a GM can properly review it.
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Sure, by a GM. One who takes the time to actually determine if punishment is deserved and applies sufficient punishment to fit the offense.
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Yes, but at 2am when no GM’s are at work you expect Blizzard to just let players run rampant?
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The discussion on Game Masters during the original launch versus what is done in the modern support structure is interesting. There were a lot of things learned on the fly during the original launch because of how fast everything had to expand to keep up with the player demand. These processes were heavily refined over the years as well.
I don’t have anything to share on this subject at the moment, but I just wanted to weigh in that I think it is an interesting discussion, considering how much changed in this specific aspect over the past 14 years.
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You’re severely over estimating how many people are going to gang up and do it, and underestimating how many reports it takes.
If I join a group and all 4 report me nothing is going to happen if it happens multiple times then yeah it’ll happen - but if I’m getting reported by every group I join what are the chances it’s not real?
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The GMs are on call 24/7, I know because I used to deliver food to a friend of mine at the Blizzard Campus in Austin at 2-3am
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Night shifts have always been staffed by a lesser number of GM’s. Always.
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But still, not the same as NO GMs at 2am.
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Oh, I’m glad this is all you need to be convinced because it’s quite easy to provide.
https://www.reddit.com/r/heroesofthestorm/comments/6mnwwl/grubby_suddenly_unmuted/
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GM’s are already involved before a silence happens. They arent involved before a Squelch happens. Im no fan of the system either, but since Im not a programmer and have no better suggestion to give to make the system as effective but less onerous then I just clarify how the system currently works.
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Thank you for contributing. Knowing you guys are watching keeps my optimism healthy.
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Whatever. Pedantry is alive and well.
Ah lol Reddit…
Same group of people that spammed the forums a few weeks ago about a guy being suspended for pvping, til a GM stepped in and proved that was not the case.
Anything from Reddit is suspect. I can show proof the moon landing was fake and the earth is flat too.
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Then what was the point of posting?
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To answer this specifically, the auto-mute (squelch) helps with a variety of other situations, such as a stolen account that would otherwise have been used for a significant length of time to spam gold-selling ads, or a blatantly offensive troll who is sending vile messages as frequently as the chat delay allows.
It can be abused. No argument there. The result of that abuse is a mute that persists until reviewed, then is removed with no other consequence to the player.
The lack of it can also be abused, and was for years, which is what led to the new system. The result of that abuse was a lot of frustrated players tired of being unable to actually engage in normal game chat to buy or sell items, seek out a group, etc., and an enduring sense that reporting got nowhere because the hate-mongers always reappeared and continued spewing their bile.
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Small group settings don’t worry me. If someone is taking part in actionable offenses in a small group setting, they’ll get reported and a GM will take care of it. If someone is not violating the ToS in a small group setting, and someone reports him, then there aren’t going to be enough reports to auto-mute and the report should be overturned. It’s when players engage in larger forums that this system breaks down.
If I can’t speak in a civil and calm manner on subjects that aren’t against ToS (but are controversial enough to cause others to report you) because of a very real possibility of being auto-muted, then the social nature of the game has taken a gut shot.
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To let you know he has seen the discussion, and at some point he will get some clarity on the subject. At least we know that the subject isn’t just falling on deaf ears.
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A reddit post containing a large chain of unhappy players due to the automated system that I am referencing in this post as well as a link to the twitch clip of Grubby logging back in, both of which I’m sure you’d like to ignore.
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