Why the harassment and toxic playerbase?

[Erevan_Kindelar]

This is an issue, to be sure. The harassment and insults can get way out of proportion to the faults or problems, and in many cases the one receiving the abuse is not even the cause of the problem.

 

The "grow a thicker skin" crowd also have a point, but my reaction on the whole is to borrow the name of a guild on The Red Eclipse... "It's a game, ffs". If someone is going to go postal and start throwing insults because Starparse says they are better than you, or because the group wiped and they have arbitrarily decided you were the cause, or even if you did make a mistake and you caused a wipe, then they probably need anger management classes - I have been there, I think most or all of us have too. At the end of a long crappy day at work, 8 wipes on Bulo because (in my mind) "the tank failed at this, or the DPS with the barrel failed at that, or the healer was useless, wah wah wah". But a deep breath and then saying to the group "Sorry guys, it is not working for me tonight, I am off. Good luck, and have fun." and I drop from the group and go do something else.

 

Fundamentally, this is a game. We PLAY it to have FUN and to ENJOY ourselves. Yes, if someone says or does something we don't like, we can add them to our ignore lists. But verbal (or written, assuming you are not on voice comms) abuse should not come into it. "If you have nothing good to say, and no constructive point to make, keep your mouth shut" is something my parents always drummed into me. It seems that some parents decided not to bother with that. (Great, so now I am blaming the toxic atmosphere in MMOs on the parents of the abusers. Yeah, that'll get the point across, not.)

 

Edit... forgot to mention. If I am running a group of any kind, and that kind of abuse starts, I tell that person to take a break and come back when they are calm, and then if they continue I just kick the abuser from the group. If they are in my guild, from there too. If the first tool someone reaches for when trying to address a problem is the "throw the toys out of the pram and bring out the abuse megaphone", then I do not want that person around, and neither does anyone else that I know.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Erevan_Kindelar

[Ruhun]

Oh my, the "tenth" wipe? My fuse goes off after the 3rd. I'm outta there.

 

I have a very misguided sense of loyalty.

I'll stick it out and try to show the group how to clear what we're wiping on.

When they quit then I leave.

 

I used to rage a lot more in the past, but the tank is empty.

[Zerileth]

why should i care? being offended by something doesnt entitle you to anything. if you choose to be bothered by something, go ahead. not sure why i need to change anything.

 

You're defending your opinion and position here. Doesn't that show that you care on some level? We're at an impasse of opinions here.

 

So I and others choose to care about toxic conversations, we're called snowflakes. Why the name calling? Why not comment without accusations?

 

Oh that's right, who cares about name calling because who cares who's offended? So you've never been offended in your whole life? Wow, nice. Robot you are good sir. < Don't get offended there.

[Transcendent]

Oh, and for the record, im old enough to be the parent of most players here, and if faced with any of them in rl, id happily grab them by the ear and listened to their screaming apologies :-)

 

The internet doesn't work this way. You'll just have to learn to either turn a blind eye to it and add them to ignore (and be the better person) or respond in kind and run the risk of getting a suspension / ban from the game / forums.

 

Do we all have off days? Sure. Do BioWare care if you're having an off day? Absolutely not.

 

Report for harassment (sends a copy of recent chat logs automatically) if you feel that strongly about the abuse you may or may not receive in the game. Same as for the forums, use the report / ignore functions if you feel the requirement to do so.

 

I shouldn't need to tell you all of this though, if you are as old as you say you are, you should know that progress =/= better.

[VanniSilvante]

block, report, and get on with your life.

 

This is literally a non issue.

[Ruhun]

You're defending your opinion and position here. Doesn't that show that you care on some level? We're at an impasse of opinions here.

 

So I and others choose to care about toxic conversations, we're called snowflakes. Why the name calling? Why not comment without accusations?

 

Oh that's right, who cares about name calling because who cares who's offended? So you've never been offended in your whole life? Wow, nice. Robot you are good sir. < Don't get offended there.

 

His point is that it doesn't matter if he gets offended or not, you shouldn't edit yourself around him.

We all get offended sometimes, but the world doesn't owe us anything. People will not censor themselves because someone said something mean on the Internet.

[AlrikFassbauer]

Growing up, I was taught that words are just words and to consider the source of them.

 

Well, saying "words are just words" is rather an insult to any good author ...

[Eillack]

Well, saying "words are just words" is rather an insult to any good author ...

 

"XYZ is the #1 best seller!"

 

"Yeah, but they're just words, man."

[Zerileth]

and be the better person

 

Good post. Taking the highroad can be very hard however! A challenge I don't always win.

[VanniSilvante]

"XYZ is the #1 best seller!"

 

"Yeah, but they're just words, man."

 

But that's, like, your opinion...man.

[Ruhun]

"XYZ is the #1 best seller!"

 

"Yeah, but they're just words, man."

 

I just read this with "The Dudes" voice.

[Atenah]

What im getting at is that we should be nicer and show eachothers respect, simple as that.

 

But to far too many, that is not very simple.

 

"Common sense is not very common any more"

[Qouivandes]

I have been navigating the web/net/whatever for a ridiculously long time. in fact, if you are under the age of about 19/20 then i have been online longer than you have been breathing. yes, im sure others have been online since we discovered air, but my point is that ive been online a long time...and from this humble beginning on my part, the caliber of people has mostly been constant. i wont lie and say that i have never let anyone under my skin because that would be an impossible task for anyone.

 

what i will say is this....never, and i repeat, never let them know that they got under your skin at all. good chances the average nipskull will levy glancing blows, but there are the few that make it past your defenses and strike a chord. just never let them know this...ever. i repeat: you can be screaming at the dust under the penny that made its home on the corner of your desk in 1997, but never let those nipskulls know that they did this too you.

 

Once i master the technology that will allow us to choke the snot out of folks through our monitors we will have our tool to cull the herd, but until then...stay strong. For an inspirational quote, " Nothing says everything like saying nothing at all" --dont know, i just made it up.

[Ruhun]

What im getting at is that we should be nicer and show eachothers respect, simple as that.

 

We're not going to be.

It's the Internet and you're all anonymous nobodies.

It's hard enough to not be an apathetic SoB in person.

[Eillack]

What im getting at is that we should be nicer and show eachothers respect, simple as that.

 

But to far too many, that is not very simple.

 

"Common sense is not very common any more"

 

And again: It's the Internet - what were you expecting?

[Zerileth]

His point is that it doesn't matter if he gets offended or not, you shouldn't edit yourself around him.

We all get offended sometimes, but the world doesn't owe us anything. People will not censor themselves because someone said something mean on the Internet.

 

We're going too deep into philosophies that don't have true answers. Saying the world doesn't owe us anything is a cliche. It's popular so we use it. It doesn't mean it's true. Again, I will stop after this post because this is taking the op's thread elsewhere. But shouldn't a rash and future thinking society/ government treat it's people as if they are owed something? Free education for example, etc. Of course that's not reality in most places.

 

Again, this is just back and forth unending arguments and I could stay here all day! I will go play now.

[Ruhun]

We're going too deep into philosophies that don't have true answers. Saying the world doesn't owe us anything is a cliche. It's popular so we use it. It doesn't mean it's true. Again, I will stop after this post because this is taking the op's thread elsewhere. But shouldn't a rash and future thinking society/ government treat it's people as if they are owed something? Free education for example, etc. Of course that's not reality in most places.

 

Again, this is just back and forth unending arguments and I could stay here all day! I will go play now.

 

You keep going with that kind of talk and I'll have you assume you're a dirty, dirty commie.

[Halinalle]

why are you looking for mommy and daddy to protect you from other people? too late after you ignore them? what does that mean...some stranger that you'll never meet on the internet dresses as a space wizard calls you a name and this affects you somehow?

 

the game offers many tools to censor and ignore players if you choose. they are only words and if you hate free speech and other people's words so much, perhaps you'd be better off with any of a number of singleplayer games.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viYalsKaETk

[Zerileth]

You keep going with that kind of talk and I'll have you assume you're a dirty, dirty commie.

 

Ikr. BERNIE FOR PRESIDENT! lol

 

And America the land of the free capitalists doesn't offer free education! < sarcasm

Edited January 28, 2016 by Zerileth

[LordSodos]

I really dont get why i should have to put up with harassment from other players in SWTOR.

If its not me its someon eelse that get harrassed almost every time an ops or fp goes wrong.

Name calling, idiot, moron, *********** **** asre some of the Words youre likely to hear both in groups and general chat.

 

Do you think this is acceptable, something EA and BW stands behind, an acceptable downside of free speach in an MMO ?

 

With the total lack of ingame GMs, (has anyone ever seen one?) the game is open to harassment and bullying.

Ill seriously reconsider re-subbing since this takes the enjoyment out of the game.

 

And, yes, i can ignore them, but then its already too late, isnt it?

 

I would like to see EA and BW stepping up as a Company and set the foot down.

 

Imperial side? Then it's more than allowed, then it is wanted and more than ok. Hatred, .. passion, letting his feelings free, great emotions.

 

If you play Republic noone is going to help you, because the Republic won't exist much longer

[Ruhun]

Ikr. BERNIE FOR PRESIDENT! lol

 

And America the land of the free capitalists doesn't offer free education! < sarcasm

 

Education is free for children/teens, and free education here is more or less a big joke.

Most of the time when people say free education they mean higher education.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Ruhun

[DayneDrak]

I really dont get why i should have to put up with harassment from other players in SWTOR.

If its not me its someon eelse that get harrassed almost every time an ops or fp goes wrong.

Name calling, idiot, moron, *********** **** asre some of the Words youre likely to hear both in groups and general chat.

 

Do you think this is acceptable, something EA and BW stands behind, an acceptable downside of free speach in an MMO ?

 

With the total lack of ingame GMs, (has anyone ever seen one?) the game is open to harassment and bullying.

Ill seriously reconsider re-subbing since this takes the enjoyment out of the game.

 

And, yes, i can ignore them, but then its already too late, isnt it?

 

I would like to see EA and BW stepping up as a Company and set the foot down.

 

You are completely naive if you think any game company is going to be able to police it's populace on a full time basis. The community policing itself is the only thing that would be effective.

 

The traditional counter to dealing with that type of behavior is to join a guild of like minded people, or form your own, and only play with those folks. If you believe that everyone should be polite by default, don't be surprised when people reject that obligation in a vigorous manner

[TUXs]

Interesting replies, all with the same bottom line:

 

"Too bad, but what you gonna do? *shrugs* "

 

I guess its just me who thinks its an issue.

Of course it's an issue...but one you can easily deal with yourself...we've all dealt with it at some point ourselves. /ignore the guy is the easiest, don't let it bother you is better, or fight back against him and kick his ***!!!

[RodneyMcNeely]

How about you get a thicker skin? You might not be suited for the Internet if your feelings are hurt by some random guy on the internt.

^^^^ Twenty bucks says this guy is on A LOT of ignore lists.

[AuckaLukaum]

A large part of the problem is that Tactical Flashpoints in particular should NOT go bad, ever. Most of them can be solo'd by a level 65 with a companion, but you need to suffer the random group finder to get the comms or fulfill conquest objectives. When I get in a group of 4 who are unable to get past the first trash pull without wiping, in an instance that I could otherwise solo, I am sorely tempted to lose my cool. It is incredibly frustrating to be held back by players who are so bad they lack basic competence in their class, and are furthermore not interested in even learning. They seem to exist solely to make group content a chore for everyone they get stuck with.