Chat filters, in-game censoring and the trend of being sensitive.

I know Blizzard recently created an issue for themselves by adding a mandatory chat filter on top of the one that is defaultly turned on for its users.

On character creation they have a filter that protects their users from a variety of unsavory words - and this filter can be toggled off, which most people do.

Now they've added an additional mandatory filter that just disallows the use of some of these words completely.

In addition to whatever censoring a game company feels they need in place you then have the added tools that allow players to permanently block anyone that has ever said anything that offends them.

In a static (non instanced) world like AoC where player communication is so important, my fear is that by the time people have blocked everyone that has ever offended them - there will be no open communication left.

I'm exaggerating a bit for the purpose of making a point, but how do you think AoC should address all of this?

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Blackhearted

Its good for kids to face annoying people online, so theyll know how to deal with them irl.
Theyre just words, ure the one deciding when and how they affect u.

Yuyukoyay

I'm against any form of censorship for any reason. The optional filter should be a thing, but a mandatory one should not. If someone is a dirty racist I want to know they are a dirty racist so I know not to play with them. Not to have to decipher hieroglyphics to determine what kind of person they are or not.

I don't care about the stream ability of the game. If they want to stream it force them to cover the chat. I don't care about anyone's feelings. Fuck your feelings. Learn maturity instead of trying to cancel everything you don't agree with.

This is the one thing that has always been perfect in MMO's and there doesn't need to be an update in this area. I actually think it is more risky to put a mandatory filter in because it makes you more liable to a federal lawsuit over the constitutional rights instead of having no threat of lawsuit at all.

I know Steven's stance on it. He believes in completely free speech and I agree with that stance as well. Have the optional filter for those easily offended by swear words and have an option of absolutely nothing at all.

I do say there is probably no place for racial slurs to be used in names though. That is probably where the line between freedom and stupidity should be drawn. If I made a game I don't think having the top player be "N****slayer69" is a good thing.

Nagash

Dygz wrote: »

I pretty much ignore game-channel chat and only focus on skype/discord/twitch chat.

Some time you can get some great moments if you read the ingame chat

Neaux

Yuyukoyay wrote: »

I'm against any form of censorship for any reason. The optional filter should be a thing, but a mandatory one should not. If someone is a dirty racist I want to know they are a dirty racist so I know not to play with them. Not to have to decipher hieroglyphics to determine what kind of person they are or not.

... Learn maturity instead of trying to cancel everything you don't agree with.

Pretty much this. I also agree that you need some type of control over the names that people select though - it doesn't make much sense to allow people to pick horrible names and then obfuscate them with a filter.

Karthos

People need abandon the illusion that they have "free speech" everywhere they go. Your speech is only free when you hold the power. A game company can just ban/remove you, ergo, they hold the power. What these types of debates online typically are really about isn't even about "free speech", but about wanting "unaccountable speech".

I am a big proponent in individual agency and accountability. By not having a mandatory filter, you allow people to be accountable for themselves, and most people can handle that.

For those that can't, I think there should be consequences, you should be held accountable for what you say online. Good or bad. And when you censor chat, you remove part of these consequences because you aren't allowing that person to fuck up. It's like hand cuffing someone IN CASE they rob a bank. But we do handcuff people AFTER they rob the bank. That's what holding someone accountable is about.

Should a company have control over what people say and do on their platform? Should you be allowed to tell people what they can say and do in your house? I think yes. But I also don't go to other people's houses and wipe my ass on their couch, call their wife a fat whore and eat all their Doritos.

WarlockofCode

I've never been a fan of filtering. To be honest, I get annoyed when jumping into a new game and the "mature words" filter is auto checked. I'd rather have the option to mute people who are being obnoxious rather than seeing a chat window filled with asterisks.

Perhaps once AoC launches, we will have a similar situation that we had with earlier versions of WoW, where your reputation on a server was everything. If you cheated, stole, ninja-looted, or were otherwise a nuisance, word quickly spread about your poor reputation and eventually you boxed yourself out of find a decent group or guild in the future. After all, no one wants to play with someone actively ruining the game for everyone.

The only fix was starting a new character over on a new server and hoping no one found out it was you. Of course, if name changes & server transfers are a thing, that lessens the forced accountability that being bound to a server gives you--but it would be nice to see something similar again.

Dreoh

Karthos wrote: »

People need abandon the illusion that they have "free speech" everywhere they go. Your speech is only free when you hold the power. A game company can just ban/remove you, ergo, they hold the power. What these types of debates online typically are really about isn't even about "free speech", but about wanting "unaccountable speech".

I am a big proponent in individual agency and accountability. By not having a mandatory filter, you allow people to be accountable for themselves, and most people can handle that.

For those that can't, I think there should be consequences, you should be held accountable for what you say online. Good or bad. And when you censor chat, you remove part of these consequences because you aren't allowing that person to fuck up. It's like hand cuffing someone IN CASE they rob a bank. But we do handcuff people AFTER they rob the bank. That's what holding someone accountable is about.

Should a company have control over what people say and do on their platform? Should you be allowed to tell people what they can say and do in your house? I think yes. But I also don't go to other people's houses and wipe my ass on their couch, call their wife a fat whore and eat all their Doritos.

That's cool and all, but they could easily just not make the filter mandatory so that they aren't forcing their ideology on to people.

Sathrago

The only mandatory filter on words should be the obvious ones that will literally get you banned off of social platforms. The rest should fall under the optional filter and as long as I am not harassing another player or describing obscene sexual or graphic topics there should not be any actions against my account as there is a profanity filter in place that people can choose to turn off and on as well as outright blocking me if they don't like how I use words.

This system punishes dumbasses while keeping people's freedom to speak crudely to a certain degree.

Tyranthraxus

Sathrago wrote: »

The only mandatory filter on words should be the obvious ones that will literally get you banned off of social platforms. The rest should fall under the optional filter and as long as I am not harassing another player or describing obscene sexual or graphic topics there should not be any actions against my account as there is a profanity filter in place that people can choose to turn off and on as well as outright blocking me if they don't like how I use words.

This system punishes dumbasses while keeping people's freedom to speak crudely to a certain degree.

Well-put!

Tyranthraxus

Your use of the term "overly sensitive" has triggered my Millenial Self-Entitlement to take offense, yet to also cause my Best Self to feel compassion for your right to use the terminology with which your culture and upbringing have both enriched you!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm needed over at the local Target; There's a white Karen giving a well-dressed black woman an indignant side-eye, and someone needs to Woke her up!

Millenial Man, AWAY! /FliesIntoTheSky

....Joking aside, profanity filters should definitely be optional, and there should absolutely be algorithms to stop gold-sellers.

Neaux

My fear isn't that AoC will get carried away with censorship, because I just don't think they will - but that people will wind up ruining this game for everyone by having too much access to the tools and the inclination to block, mute and cancel anyone that upsets them.

In a game based so much on communication, long term relationships, reputation AND CONFLICT, not a lot will make sense if half the community can only hear the folks on their friends list.

Gizban

Blackhearted wrote: »

Its good for kids to phase annoying people online, so theyll know how to deal with them irl.
Theyre just words, ure the one deciding when and how they affect u.

Copy pasting attitudes and methods from 'the internet' is not going to help you 'in real life'.

Most kids and adults lack moral training, not to mention MANNERS. Discipline was vilified by the same breed of morons who now want to redefine and ban words.

Do you know why kids spout rotten things? Parents don't care. Worthless parents = worthless kids.

Dreoh

pyreal wrote: »

Blackhearted wrote: »

Its good for kids to phase annoying people online, so theyll know how to deal with them irl.
Theyre just words, ure the one deciding when and how they affect u.

Copy pasting attitudes and methods from 'the internet' is not going to help you 'in real life'.

Most kids and adults lack moral training, not to mention MANNERS. Discipline was vilified by the same breed of morons who now want to redefine and ban words.

Do you know why kids spout rotten things? Parents don't care. Worthless parents = worthless kids.

Lol this reads like a distant boomer uncle's facebook post

Let's not derail this conversation into "kids these days"

Lobodyne

I feel like being sensitive about a filter is silly in both directions. Restrictions breed creativity (not necessarily positive) so people will be rude or nice with or without a filter. In my opinion the amount of positive to the people who like filters is greater than the amount of effort it takes to misspell a word that is in the filter. I also think that filters are useless personally but I don't feel negatively affected by them.

JSJSCSV

I turn chat filter off because I want to see what people are actually saying than looking at ****** **** ******.

daveywavey

Karthos wrote: »

But I also don't go to other people's houses and wipe my ass on their couch, call their wife a fat whore and eat all their Doritos.

You're totally missing out, mate.

Blund

As others stated:
It should be an option to have a filter on or off.

If it's unfiltered and someone is harassing someone then I believe the community to punish him or why not put him at trial for his behavior in a town... that would be truly nice.

Would actually love to put down that banhammer (voiceban/chatban) for someone who's being a douche and just harassing a player.

Dygz

Nagash wrote: »

Dygz wrote: »

I pretty much ignore game-channel chat and only focus on skype/discord/twitch chat.

Some time you can get some great moments if you read the ingame chat

"Cyber me! Cyber! Cyber!"

Nagash

Dygz wrote: »

Nagash wrote: »

Dygz wrote: »

I pretty much ignore game-channel chat and only focus on skype/discord/twitch chat.

Some time you can get some great moments if you read the ingame chat

"Cyber me! Cyber! Cyber!"

I once had a guy start typing the song we are the champions after a world boss fight in guild wars and everyone started to join him. It was an amazing moment and why I love MMOs

Bot

Neaux wrote: »

Of course now they have a bunch of advocacy groups lining up to make sure that their favorite offensive words will be added to the filter which will, over time, basically eliminate the use of half the language on the planet.

What words exactly do you have an issue with these advocacy groups requesting a filter for? Sounds a lot like you're just ignorant and want to be ignorant openly

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