Real life harassment and how it's handled.

I been quiet for the most part about people that harass folks in game and in scary RL ways out-of-game over game related stuff. But there are fun things that have and can go on in game that I cant enjoy as much when these folks are around.

It's not just trash talk or anything like that, its just feeling like thereare genuine psychopaths around me when they are around in game.

I can deal with it, i just dont understand it. There have been no attacks on me personally, im just frustrated that it seems to be ignored in some cases, cuz some of the out-of-game attacks sound like the begining of a murder documentary.

This is about the hacking and emails (and regular postal mail)that go on and not the pvp or trash talk in game

Id feel better if i knew the process for how this is handled by portalarium folks.

Thanks for hearing my ventings.

 

I'd say the first step is to give a heads up to the support team with screenshots or documentation to make them aware of it. I haven't personally experienced what you have witnessed, but I try to call people out when I see them going too far and remind them that this is just a game and to chill out. There is also the aspect that they may be role playing psychopaths, but I'd err on the side of shooting them a whisper or give the dev team a heads up if you don't want to directly draw attention to yourself.

I'm 100% on the side of everyone having access to a fun enjoyable and safe environment when playing (or on the forums or in chat or really anywhere) so kudos for bringing up a touchy subject that other's may sneer at. I for one hate it when people go out of their way to make others uncomfortable, which seems to be a major theme on a lot of online media. Its definitely something that we don't need here.

 

I can take pretty much any "in-game" threat lightly, but when people start saying stuff like "I will find you in RL and kill your family", that's where the joke has to end.
Sure the person issuing the threat might be a spoilt child, or an Asperger syndrome patient under treatment, but I would draw the line right there.

As Moiseyev suggested, I would avoid any further contact and just notify support.

 

OK I just wanna say that turning on my Love Machine in the game is not harassment.

 

I agree. Definitely alert support. This is not a place where fear or worry should be a common thing. This is a game coming to fruition for more than just a few disgruntled players. As for you Budner, never ever turn off that Love machine!!

 

Prior to any Dev reply, I'd like to remind everyone of the channels available in the different environments.

Forum: Report button on any post
IRC: PM an online moderator
In-Game: Use the command /reportplayer name-of-player
For more serious or confidential matters, you could also email support@portalarium.com

If you feel somebody is breaking the rules, please do make use of those channels.

 

To point out what is hopefully obvious, we take reports of harassment very seriously, investigate them quickly and resolve them outside of the public eye.

 

Which is why Lum is also known as the "Bourne Avatar".

 

To add further, if you are getting treated this way out of game you can contact the police as well. Some areas don't have police departments savvy in these things but others do. Swatting is also gathering attention and becoming a bigger problem so local police will get up to speed. As an Abuse enforcer at an ISP I would seriously recommend against harrashing me out of game. If anyone needs help in this regard please reach out an I will help where I can.

To the original topic which sounded more like understanding, I also don't understand people that bother people to this extreme. I am not a competive person and have never been comfortable with trash talk, but I can understand those mentalities. However, the vindicativness of doxxing and swatting is a level of hatred I have never been able to understand.

 

If this is happening out-of-game, you'd want to retain as much evidence as possible for every incident. Make use of the abuse contact forms or methods provided by the service where this harassment is taking place. Here's a handy list:

http://cyberbullying.org/report/

All else fails, contact your local police and bring all that evidence.

 

I don't know why you would be frustrated if no attacks are made on you personally. I have experienced nothing but meeting people who care about the success of this game. The team has said they don't take this lightly. For myself I'm not going to add something that is not there, I'm just going to have fun. If I have a concern I will mention it to the Developers of the game which is appropriate. If someone has a personal issue with someone they can try to talk to that person. I did not have harrassment but I did have an issue in my mind once with someone and I talked to the person about it by PM, it didn't solve anything but I tried and moved on. I also don't have a thin skin in regards to what people say. I'm confident in myself not needing someone to define me as a person, not saying you're not, but people are in RL playing this game under whatever circumstances they are playing this game, fights with a loved one, drunk, angry, sad, whatever. They come here to get away from some of that sometimes and no they should not abuse someone. Don't stay around and be abused I say, walk away, and if they don't allow that and harass you, stalk you, then report them, but I try to understand people are people and I take compassion on their pain too.

 

I could not have said it any better myself. Harassment violates our Terms of Service and should be reported through support@portalarium.com along with any supporting documentation.

 

Never give out your physical address! Especially to someone you meet on an online game. Way too much potential for trouble. PO Box, maybe.

And beware others willingly giving you their physical mailing address. Because there have been instances where people bawl and complain on chat and gain sympathy from gullible people that end up sending money and/or gifts in the mail because they think the person they are sending the stuff to really needs it. When in fact they are scammers just trying to get stuff out of others.

If you ''meet'' someone online, vet them 100% before ever meeting in person (in a very public place, preferably) or giving out your personal real life information.

 

Great advice Ceara_Quein. Did you mean to say Vent them or Vet them, but I agree you should talk to them for real and get to know them like on the phone vent or team speak before meeting. I have actually met a few people from UO and no one was off the wall weird and they were all nice people. Not to say it couldnt happen if you don't take care and take time.

 

Vet, not vent.

I have heard horror stories about a moocher who complained a lot about their life and actually suckered people into sending that person stuff and cash money in the mail, only for that person to turn out to be a liar.

My husband and I actually met on UO, back in 1998. But we didn't meet in person until late 1999 and by that time we had exchanged work info and checked up on each other anyway and felt confident meeting in person. And we've been together 15 years!

I am not saying everyone is naughty and thinking of doing harm. But just to stay safe, it is always best to vet everything before hooking up in person.

 

I am a fraud prevention specialist and ex- Counterintelligence agent. While I agree with having some caution, I will add a little. Some people can actually use help. If you feel the need to be charitable, and have the ability to spare, go for it. I always hear "I am not giving that homeless person money, what if they buy alcohol instead of food?" You never know, it might feed a hungry person, or it might get a man a drink, either way, you did what you felt was good, and it will not hurt you either way.
Yes, be careful who you give your information out to, but what if that person is actually sending you something you want or could use? That being said, what the OP is talking about does not have to do with this. The person doing the harassing was not GIVEN the information willingly. They obtained it through various methods.

I hope the persons who received these harassments report them to the authorities.

 

Don't hesitate at all if anyone feels harassed or even threatened contact support immediately. This is a game which is meant to be fun and there is no room for people that go out their way to harass others.

Some great advice from the fellow posters above too.

 

It was just stuff i had been hearing from friends. I dont like anyone gettign that kinda treatment, and there has been alot of speculation amongst peopel about it, and how it's handled, so i was jsut askignf or horses-mouth info ^^

Thanks horses. @Lum @FireLotus @Lord_Viator and the other supporting community members discussing thsi maturly.

And also Budner <3 @Budner

 

What obligation would devs have to follow up on a random E-Mail sent from a disposable service through the Tor network? I believe it would be beyond their scope of expertise to chase such a thing with any success, however they should take whatever action they can to prevent and put a stop to use of all Portalarium services if an offender could be actually located.

 

Authorities in this instance does not refer to Portalarium in any way. I suppose I took it for granted that most would take that to mean LE Authorities, Law Enforcement. "Authorities seeking inmate who escaped from Hays County."

Threats are often acted out, and taken seriously in the United States.