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Chat filters, in-game censoring and the trend of being sensitive.
Neaux
Member
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?
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?
2
Comments
I hope for the method above. I understand, from a financial perspective, what it may cost to pay employees to essentially babysit. Maybe a mandatory filter might be more cost effective....and I am ok with that too if they add it.
People should not be overly sensitive and people should not be overly toxic. We will be a community that revolves around open world pvp, an immense trade market, and destroying each others things. Speak through actions, not through toxic (and childish) comments IMO.
While this is only my opinion, people who curse constantly seem to either be trying to appear mature and tough when they aren't OR have such a poor grasp of their language that they use curse words for lack of knowing adjectives and adverbs that would far better describe what they are trying to say. Either way they come off as rather ignorant.
The above is just my personal opinion. My preference is to play with mature people who can express themselves well. I am sure I am doomed to be in a minority in the multi-player game universe.
Aren't we all sinners?
Character creation mandatory filtering should not be a thing. It's way too easy to do it the wrong way, and it's a waste of resources. A bad example is ArenaNet with GW2. Try creating a character like 'Shabooba the Fierce'. You'll get an Inappropriate Name error due to the word 'boob' being in the name. It's just awful design.
This is what happens when companies lay off GM's and replace them with automation purely for the sake of cost savings.
Leave it to the players to report bad character names, or constant harassment from the same account, and the GM's will fulfill their important roles and take action if the offense breaks ToS.
If I want to offend someone, I can do that without using any word that any sane person would want to see filtered. Offense is in the intent behind what the person is saying, not the individual words they use.
If you are offended by the use of a single word, that is social conditioning.
Now, there are many words I won't ever use - because of social conditioning - but I also won't be offended if people use them around me. I will assume that either they have different social conditioning to me, or that they are trying to offend and can't think of anything I would find more offensive than using those words - and that would just make me laugh.
100% agree with this.
The only reason a chat filter should exist, is for parents to decide what content their children digest.
Couple years ago there was a study done on a private FB page. People using nasty racial slurs. They banned the words and the people just used other words to fill in the gaps but everyone knew what was going on.
I disagree with this behavior but people need a chance to express themselves. As the OP said eventually you will run out of words to communicate with. Intent are purpose are very important. Taking things out of context and using that as a means to silence others will doom everything.
Ever read 1984? New speak is not your friend.
Recently Twitch banned "Obese" (an actual medical term btw) in their ever marching towards a "safe" environment.
Only a very tiny bit. What we have seen I think was justified. Every now and then we get a jerk that feels this is the place to post how dumb they are by devolving into the rancidness that is racism here and those threads fortunately get killed quickly.(not talking about the minor anti elf stuff) Good job to the mods and IS for keeping that nonsense out of here. I am all for free speech and expression but if that is who you are I don't want you anywhere near me.
In my time here, I believe I have had three posts censured. Two of them I agree with in hindsight, though one of them I absolutely do not. The two I agree with were on the verge of being able to be read as personal attacks, and even though that wasn't the intent at all (I'm happy to attack ideas, but generally not people), I can agree that removing those posts and me re-writing them better was perhaps a good idea.
This is what most - though not all - of the deleted posts and banned users here that I have seen did.
I'm not going to get in to the post that I outright disagreed with being moderated, as like I said above, I am not wanting to turn this in to a discussion on the forums moderation.
In general though, it is fairly good, and generally consistent moderation.
If it is similar to this in game, then that will be just fine, imo.
Also, when people compare in-game content to hideous diseases like cancer and AIDS. I'm absolutely certain that no in-game content is anything like either of them. This winds me up a whole lot more than swearing, which I agree is generally unnecessary and ignorant.
Filters are fine, mandatory ones are not.
Makes for a much more enjoyable gaming experience!
Maybe it could be replaced with other synonyms: Filth? Dirt? Hated-By-The-Gods? Hated-By-The-Everybody?
Theyre just words, ure the one deciding when and how they affect u.
You're bleeding for salvation, but you can't see that you are the damnation itself." -Norther
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.
U.S. East
Some time you can get some great moments if you read the ingame chat
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.
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.
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.
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.
This system punishes dumbasses while keeping people's freedom to speak crudely to a certain degree.
Well-put!
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.