In Game Harassment

Support Customer Support
1

Hey all,

I would like to know to the lengths a person has to go through in order to stop harassment in game. I would especially love a bluepost to respond to this.

I have had multiple guildies report, block/ignore, and make attempts at avoiding ex guild members who left in an extremely toxic manner and formed their own guild, to no avail from Blizzard.

They monitor some of my members including myself and harass them within Oribos by crowding around and saying things around them/to them, bigotry remarks against trans (my co-gm is trans and its against her), trash talking me, my co-gm, or my guild.
Spamming messages under my recruitment messages within trade with messages such as “Join our guild instead who got We So Hordie their prog and left to be better.” Waiting outside SoD for us during invites to harass members, attempting to poach members, etc.

You can’t stop harassment, sure, we can ignore and try to avoid them, but I have now had members leave over this and my co-gm doesn’t even want to login anymore for the hatred spewed at her. I have a screen shot of this guilds GM stating “Why try to be a lady when you have D*&^*.” So, I am just curious as to what length a person must go to rid the game of toxicity and bigotry that an admin will actually do something.

FYI I have screen shots of all of this, over 50 and yet not a single report is possible because harassment isn’t an option and the only response given is to “block” people. I have screen shots of bigot remarks, following around, crowding around on multiple days, whispers, SoD screen shots, trade screen shots, I even have screen shots of account sharing between 3 of them during the legion event to get 3 of them the werebear skin before they left.

So, I will ask this same question again, at what point is this going to stop being allowed? At what point will any action occur. I have now had a guildie banned for a week after he was completely sick of it and acted out of character due to anger, was it justified? Absolutely not, but enough is enough.

Love: A person who has played WoW a long time and is pretty fed up at this point.

1 Like
2

The fact that your still seeing there messages indicates there not properly being right clicked and ignore if a person is properly ingored its there whole bnet account. Now if there properly ignored and account hopping to harrass that a more serious matter.

Now as to the solution you have 2 ways of doing this both = important and work together

DONT I REPEAT DONT RESPOND AT ALL NO MATTER WHAT NO ONE CAN RESPOND OR CONTACT HIM/HER I CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.

Failure to do to makes it look to blizzard that your encouraging his behavior as long as u can prove that your ignoring him completly it will help when u open a ongoing harrassment ticket below.

7 Likes
3

Acting like that is reprehensible, for sure. Blizzard does not allow ongoing harassment but it can take a while to prove and you need to take certain steps to do it.

Here is the Blue post on it that goes into the details.

It is critical that you, and everyone else, take the steps needed to ensure he can’t contact you. That means Ignore and not engaging in any dialogue. When they circumvent Ignore to still bother you then you can log the name, server, channel, time, nature of offense. That can all go in the ongoing harassment report via the website.

10 Likes
4

So its not the issue of “ignoring” its the issue of continuous harassment through the means of other guildies, alts, and people messaging me while im recruiting asking “what the drama is about with that other guild?” Essentially, I can only ignore so much as they can still follow us around, attempt to drag others into it, harass new recruits into leaving, poaching members through wowarmory, etc.

This reporting only allows one member when its an entire guild. I need this resolved by an actual means.

1 Like
5

Then open a ongoing harrassment ticket and just ignore them as long as u can prove that the better the case u have sooner or later there actions will catch up to them.

5 Likes
6

Its been two months, countless guildies lost, and a Co-GM who wont even log back into the game over this. Its not exactly easy for any of this.

1 Like
7

You should’ve opened a ticket a long time ago blizzard only actions what there made aware of im on your side i wouldve opened a ticket along time ago my self.

8

We did and that was part of the problem. However, I didnt do the on-going harassment one, so I appreciate that one. The previous ones always gave bs responses of just ignoring players. To even say that ignoring is the only justifiable means to people who are purposefully going around the system to continue harassment is insane.

9

Blizzard isnt mind reader or do they monitor chat they rely on players reports and tickets they wont know what steps uve taken.

1 Like
10

Some of this is also complicated.

Ongoing Harassment rules are aimed at a person going after a specific other who has them on Ignore.

It does not address someone who is a jerk but does not quite cross lines.

  • Standing near you in a city is not against the rules
  • Using trade to recruit by saying X guild is not as good is not against the rules
  • An initial message to someone new, not against the rules.

What is against the rules is

  • Profanity/racism/hate speech
  • Ongoing harassment to get around the Ignore feature, including using other people to do it

Some of this is going to involve having your guild members aware of the situation and telling them to put the person on Ignore from the start. Then they won’t get harassed or bothered.

I am not sure Blizzard really has a system in place to deal with harassment of a guild overall instead of an individual.

8 Likes
11

You’re correct and it is only allowing me to report one person. The issue with harassment is its very cut and dry, but the games perception is not.

They’re intentionally targeting my new members. Intentionally waiting for my recruitment messages, intentionally getting their new members to join in on the harassment as a work around, or alt accounts… They’re following or locating us out in the world just to continue following and trying to cause mayhem with anyone is around us…

12

They were telling you that step one of the ongoing harassment punishment is that the person goes around the Ignore feature. You MUST have them on Ignore or Blizzard can’t do more than action individual bad language. It is very very important that you have Ignore on or you can’t prove the ongoing harassment portion. YOu need to give them the tools they need by using the tools you have. That is what they were telling you.

Read the Spotlight article on Harassment that I linked.

6 Likes
13

This entire process is absurd to boot if I have blatant screen shots of no responses being made. I have images of removing them from ignore to simply take screen shots of the crap occurring including bigot remarks against trans people. I can ignore them all day, but if I can’t recruit because people are avoiding it due to “drama” or leaving the guild due to being harassed because of the guild they’re in… Ignoring isn’t going to resolve this…

14

So why havent u reported them for language that can get them into alot more trouble and get silenced wich doubles every single time.

1 Like
15

My Co-Gm did and was given an auto response of just ignoring it.

16

Blizzard does not accept screenshots as evidence against others. They only use their own logs.

What you can do with screenshots though is use them to help you record the name-server, chat channel, time, etc. You can use that info when you file an ongoing harassment report.

Hateful comments using language that breaks the rules can be reported via right click for language.

I also want to be clear here. Nobody is saying that kind of behavior is ok. It is not. It is a seriously jerk move on their part. What we are trying to do here is help you use the tools in place.

P.S. MVPs/Community Council are other players, not Blizz staff and don’t represent Blizz.

9 Likes
17

Most ridiculous thing I have ever read, but sure. I appreciate the honesty, doesn’t make it any less absurd and counterintuitive.

1 Like
18

Sadly screenshot images can be altered so they will only use their own long data when investigating and penalizing another player.

Again, you can use them for your own info to help track patterns and collect data you put in a ticket.

Again, they HAVE to put the person on ignore and the person has to circumvent ignore for Blizz to get involved. That is why you really need to read the Spotlight article.

5 Likes
19

I understand what you are referring to, but I believe we are going in circles. The harassment isn’t against one, but the entirety of the guild and all new recruits. It is impossible to try and fix these issues with the methods you are saying. The point I am making, you are making me feel even more hopeless.

1 Like
20

Not a ideal solution but if the realms become so toxic transfer servers sometimes its better to cut ur losses and transfer blizzard usualy offeres character transfers periodicly thru the year there even looking at bulk transfers.