I have updated the initial post in this thread with an edit, after having a short discussion on the GD. I realised that what I had written in the original post wasn’t worded well enough and was up for misunderstanding, and I have tried to clarify that in the edit. I’m also going to add a little note down here:
I want to clarify that when I’m talking about Goldshire having problems, I’m not talking about the activity most players associate with it, ERP (erotic roleplay). I think engaging in that sort of activity, in of itself, is okay - assuming that it is between consenting and age-appropriate parties. Shaming people, harrassing them, and punishing people for participating in this, is what I would consider toxic behaviour. It is quite literally discrimination, and that needs to stop.
The problem in Goldshire, is that lines of consent and age, is often ignored. Not by everyone, and usually not even intentionally. When you visit Goldshire, the only safeguard you have in place for encountering content that should require your consentual agreement, is prior knowledge of the fact that this happens in this place, or to turn off chat and roleplaying addons. Some suggestions on curbing this sort of behaviour that was brought up, centered around self-regulation, where it is up to the players that do engage in these behaviours give a warning to other players that this is what they should expect. This is the key to consent, you cannot assume consent, you need to ask for it, and this is a step in the right direction.
It was also brought up that many prior attempts to curb this sort of behaviour has gone very awry, with many innocents being implicated in the heavy-handed solutions that followed. I’ve also been somewhat unclear about what I think is warranted for bad behaviour and subsequent punishment, so I thought I’d outline some thoughts here.
- Instantly banning an offender is definitely going to cause more problems than otherwise. If you are wrongfully accused, you now have no recourse to take other than to appeal your ban, and have to wait for your appeal to be processed, which can take a long time.
- Punishment needs to fit the transgression, there cannot be a single sweeping solution that fits all problems. It needs to start off with a warning, which gives the players some time to realise that perhaps they did something wrong, and can adjust accordingly. It will also give them the chance to appeal the warning, if it was given unduly. Repeated offenses will, of course, cause mounting grades of punishment. If you ignore the first few warnings, you will eventually be silenced, or even banned.
- I cannot stress the importance of the option to appeal, and the personal touch required by a fellow human being in these cases. Human beings that need to be held accountible if they are misusing these powers of moderation. Moderators have a lot of power, and they can wield it unjustly - and we need to avoid that. There have been cases in the past where this sort of power has been used to persecute individuals, and groups of people. That can’t happen again.
I still believe that we need more people, more oversight, and better relationships with both one another, and with the moderators that are there to keep us all safe. But I am really hoping to hear more from everyone else involved, because while Goldshire might be more of a roleplaying problem, that isn’t really what my post is about: I’m talking about toxic behaviour, whether that is harrassment, griefing, or exposing people to content without their consent - and this happens everywhere in WoW.