I feel like Blizzard has gone above and beyond already, but yes, they will view your suggestion that you made in-game.
If a parent truly is concerned about what their child has access to, then Blizzard already has the best options available. Turn off chat. Period. Nothing more secure than that and no further development needed.
Additionally, parents can chose not to allow access to the game at all by not installing it.
Essentially the posts from the time are lost, there was one event, but the game and classic versions have grown to big in the preceding years to make live moderation tenable.
If you see chat that violates the terms of use, report it.
But if they donât communicate in-game, is it acceptable to have 70+ players at any given time possibly engaging in this behavior? I donât think thatâs okay, and it seems like a loophole is getting exploited here.
Again, I fully agree with you here, I just donât think that data strongly indicates others are doing the same as you or I would, and I donât think I need to repeat why I thought about that so Iâll see myself out. Goodnight/morning, everybody.
If they donât communicate in game then itâs outside of what blizzard can monitor. If it happens in game in a public channel, report it. I wouldnât assume that everyone in the zone is participating in whatever activity you may have seen.
It is not any different now than it was then. There are some⌠exotic⌠folks who do RP in ways that are not allowed. If they are caught they will get penalized up to, and including, having the account closed.
A. Set up Parental Controls on the account. You can limit game play hours, turn off all chats, turn off in-game purchases, and get reports of the account activity. This covers everything, even if you donât do B, or C.
B. Security and Privacy Account Settings here on the website- turn the chat functions off there as well, turn off the ability to share data with third party apps, turn off anything else that can be used to communicate or share data. This impacts Battlenet Chat through the app and across some Blizzard games.
C. In-game Options there is also a place to turn off chat system that is legacy to WoW.
D. If you do have chat on for some reason, Enable the Profanity filter. It does not excuse or allow profanity in-game, but it does protect minors from people who canât follow the rules.
E. REPORT them. Right click report captures the name, server, chat channel, time, and chat logs.
F. Put them on Ignore! Then you wonât risk seeing them again either.
G. The Addon now has a REPORT function built into it. Use it to report any profiles that are displaying inappropriate language.
H. Do not install any RP addons on a childâs computer.
I. IF you do have an issue with a single person targeting you with chat - you can file an Ongoing Harassment ticket. To build that case they first need to be placed on IGNORE and kept there. Do not ever engage or talk to them. Write down any attempts to circumvent the ignore and report it as Ongoing Harassment. Some good info here Spotlight on: Harassment
All that said, if they keep it private where strangers canât see it, Blizzard does not go looking for it. Real time monitoring was tried and made things worse - people acted up to get GM attention and others just quit reporting thinking Blizz would somehow get them all. If you see something, report something. That includes all the visible chats, emotes, and RP profiles.
Be a great parent and use those tools to turn off chat! Then teach them how to protect themselves as they get older and able to understand safety and privacy lessons.
If they arenât communicating in game you, nor any outsider or child, would have any idea what they are doing. They can make assumptions but you canât action on assumptions. Everyone has their own reason to be in the area and not everyone in the area is doing questionable rp.
If users are doing inappropriate rping in the open char channels for anyone to see them sure report the offending chat. But a character standing around in an area not saying anything publicly is not cause for reports.
The rule is that they canât use Blizzardâs social communication channels to engage in langauge that is not appropriate. If they are using Discord or anything that canât be seen in-game, that is not something Blizzard has control over.
Again, they action based on reports of what other players see. Things in General chat, Trade chat, /say, emotes, whispers to you. Whispers privately between friends are not something they police. No more than in the real world. It is when those things cross the line to being in public or said to non-consenting parties that it is something they can penalize.
Just donât think too much about it (I donât think about what others do in the privacy of their bedrooms for example) and use all those tools Blizzard provided to safeguard your child!
The game is T for Teens, by ESRB ratings, but that is for game content. For the player-based element, there are no such safety wheels. Again, it falls to the parents. You are responsible for you and any minor children under your care. Anyone elseâs are their responsibility.
I respect you wanting to do more, but reporting anyone breaking the rules is all you can do, save for possibly offering your feedback in the in-game suggestions and feedback tool. (Normally I would suggest some forum here on the site, but this kind of topic goes off the rails and would likely be nuked quite quickly outside of here.) Itâs not your job to police what anyone else is doing. If itâs happening in private chats, itâs none of your concern, to be fair.
Another big thing? Those who frequent Goldshire are generally tourists from other realms who are there to watch the circus, as it were. The vast majority of Moon Guardians arenât involved with Goldshire shenanigans. The notoriety of that spot (and to a lesser extent, Silvermoonâs inn) draws people whoâve seen streamers come to point and laugh or just heard about it through the grapevine. That doesnât make it excusable, but yeah. And trolls aside, what people do on their own dime in private chats or moving over into Discord or whatnot, itâs not for us to police. Itâs impossible to monitor every single character and what theyâre doing, even if youâre only counting those there in Goldshire.
While the sad truth is that there are parents who donât monitor their kids, itâs on them to make sure to have the filters on, to have parental controls in place. We as adults agree to the terms and conditions of the game, or we do it for our children. Itâs a game we each and every one of us pay for. While Iâm all too happy to report miscreants for inappropriate TRPs or general rule-breaking, I also am not wasting my paid play time worrying about every little nuance of what someone else may or may not be doing. Ultimately, itâs the concern of the parents and/or guardians. Not me. I do my utmost best to ensure my RP partners are of age, or at least throttle my RP until Iâm sure of it before going into mature themes (not necessarily of the exotic sort, but even violent or darker themes). Past that, there arenât flags to indicate minor players.
And letâs be real. If there were such a thing? The ones youâre trying to protect would be the first ones to find the workarounds.
Thank you for being concerned for our younger population, and for the reporting that you do.
If itâs public, report it like youâd report offensive chat. RP or not itâs not something that should be seen in a public space.
If thereâs a raunchy TRP profile, TRP provides a tool to report said profiles. Be sure in the ticket to add:
Blizzard has always been reactionary: An offense needs to be reported in order for something to be done beyond hacks and other things going on, which has itâs own team dedicated to observing said things.
What two consenting, of age people do in whispers or chat I canât see is none of my business, but that sort of stuff has no place publicly.
This is where I see it differently. Unfortunately, again, I donât think the data demonstrates this is the reality for up to 40% of possible players. I think Blizzard could do better to meet players where theyâre at, especially as long as this game invites minors being a T for Teen game.
Are we confident that, for that 40% pool of kids, there isnât a way for them to find their way into these âmatureâ communities off of the public channels in non-ToS breaking ways in public messaging? Can we say that there is no avenue for a kid to fall between the cracks like I had while in a guild, not even in Goldshire? I donât think so, so Iâm going to continue looking into this issue further and find better platforms to get this message across.
I feel like this has been such a infamous stain on Moon Guard and WoW that has gone on for so long. I may consider sharing more of my personal details on another platform as I think it will lay out more realistic circumstances that could draw a minor into these situations, whether theyâre using WoWâs chat to eventually perform ERP or not.
I donât think thatâs good enough for me. I donât think I can throw my hands up and say ânothing you can do, report if theyâre stupid enough to use public channels and move on.â
This has been said numerous times, at this point you can move this thread to General if you wish to discuss it, as absolutely NO action will result from this post here.
You have two (2) options. Report what you witness in game, or donât. If you donât witness it you cannot report it. This is Blizzards policy and method for reporting., if you disagree or donât like that method you can suggest another, in General.
The only way youâre going to 100% prevent children from finding anything âadultâ on the internet⌠is to not let them use the internet. End of statement.
Iâm sorry, but if kids have access to the internet, they are seeing things FAR worse than ERP on ONE server in the MMORPG that is World of Warcraft.
I came from the era of dial-up internet and AOL chatrooms when I was a teenager, and let me tell you, where there is a will, there is a way. There is literally nothing anyone can suggest or implement that will ensure all people under the age of 18 will not be âexposedâ, especially the ones that are curious.
All you can do is report what you see, and have open/honest conversations about these things with any child or teen you are the responsible adult of.
Where are you getting 40% from?
Did you read the list of tools I gave you? A parent can 100% prevent a child from seeing or talking to ANYONE in WoW. A parent has total control over what games their child plays, when they play, what social aspects they have access to, and what payment methods they have access to.
What happens outside of the game in Discord, or in private chats is not something Blizzard has control over. They can only act on what is reported in game on their own platforms.
Be sure to share all the tools that Blizzard already offers to prevent children from having any social access - because parents do have 100% control already.
Further, by default all the privacy settings are turned ON. They have to be manually turned off. Blizzard also does not allow children under 13 to play their games, even with a parentâs permission.
Please, USE the tools I listed. Between the tools you have to protect a minor from ever seeing it, and the tools you have as an adult to report it, block it, and pursue ongoing harassment - you have a lot of options. A minor will NEVER see any chat at all if you use the tools you are given.
Blizzard does not permit any of the inappropriate chat and if you do run into it, by all means report it.
I think Mirasol more than adequately covered everything there is to on this subject.
If there is something inappropriate going on within the game, report it. You have parental controls at your disposal to mitigate any unwanted player interactions. Outside of that, the only other feasible option is not allowing children to play the game.
There is absolutely something you can do. Donât play the game. There is no 100% foolproof, absolutely certain method of avoiding unwanted content so long as you decide to use the internet to begin with.
I think itâs time to close this one out as its going in circles now.
While Iâm not trying to downplay how much of a cesspool Goldshire can be, have you even thought about what children are being exposed to everywhere else in game?
PvP is well known for its toxicity and all the joys that come with it. PvE content isnât much better when youâve got just as much a chance for jerks telling some random player to go and unalive themselves because they didnât meet a groupâs standards? Itâs unfortunately something that exists throughout the game, Even though Blizzard has really been coming down hard on social sanctions across the board, itâs a never ending battle.
Speaking from what Iâve seen here? I can think of at least two gems who ended up losing their accounts entirely based on repeated bad behavior from our realm, and countless more coming here mad or in disbelief for their speech/inappropriate name/bad behavior got them suspended for weeks on end.
Blizzard has provided several tools, as Mirasol has pointed out. But it is ultimately up to the parents to parent.
It appears that many of the key points in this discussion have already been addressed, so I will focus on a few specific aspects.
First, Iâm sorry that you encountered inappropriate content from other players. Unfortunately, unless in-game communication is removed entirely, there is no way to completely prevent individuals from engaging in potentially inappropriate behavior.
If you come across inappropriate chat or custom emotes, it is essential to report them. Please note that we do not actively monitor in-game chat. Our involvement is typically limited to cases where the content is public or directed at an unwilling participant. In general, consenting adults are free to communicate with one another as they choose.
Regarding in-game patrols, the initiative mentioned in the referenced article was a well-intended effort to address inappropriate behavior. However, it ultimately proved to be more disruptive than beneficial to the overall game environment. Our approach is reactive, so reports of inappropriate behavior are necessary for review and enforcement.
For some insight⌠As an experiment, a very small team was assigned to patrol certain areas and address publicly visible infractions. While this was effective in addressing issues at the time, it did not account for incidents occurring outside of those patrols.
Additionally, the misconception that Game Masters were constantly monitoring these areas led to a decline in user-submitted reports, limiting the effectiveness of our enforcement efforts. The attention drawn by this article and activities also encouraged others to go there specifically to add to the disruption. As a result, this initiative lasted only a few months and has not been reinstated. Relying on player reports remains the most effective method of addressing inappropriate behavior.
If you encounter inappropriate chat or emotes, whether in public or directed at you, please report them through the appropriate channels. This usually means the right click report option.
Our enforcement is based on properly submitted reports. Investigating potential violations preemptively is not feasible within our current system. However, when violations are reported, appropriate actions are taken in accordance with our policies.
There are safeguards in place to help protect younger players, such as Parental Controls, which some have already mentioned. While it is not possible to prevent all instances of inappropriate chat, we take steps to mitigate them. For example, the in-game Social Controls menu includes a âCensor Messagesâ feature, which can filter incoming whispers for inappropriate language and provides an option to report messages.
Submitting feedback via the in-game tool is the best course of action, as Customer Support does not have direct involvement in game development or policy decisions.