During my travels in the Exiled Lands I have found certain signs that have caused concern for the language used on them. As a concerned parent I have reported these ‘offences’ to Funcom, and on the whole have been treated respectfully and the issue has been dealt with accordingly. However, on the odd occasion, certain signs seem to be left alone and allowed to remain in game, which I find incredulous. As an example, I will include a screen shot of one of the signs I have recently reported (censored, of course). If I was to repeat what the sign says in Global Chat on an Official Server, and someone was to report it, no doubt it would be me that faces a ban, yet this sign is allowed to remain.
What I am trying to say is that whilst Funcom employs their current efforts into making the game more socially acceptable by merging lesser used servers as well as wiping land claim bases (ad hoc), it would be nice for Funcom to have a measuring stick as to what IS acceptable, and what IS NOT, and stick to it with no room for movement when it comes to offensive language.
Yes @Rekt, I have indeed. I received the generic ‘Our investigation has now concluded. At this time, the issue you’ve reported was not found to be a violation of our rules and we consider the matter resolved’ response.
So you’re playing a game with graphic dismemberment, nudity, slavery, and the wholesale slaughter of all existing wildlife but the word dick offends your sensibilities???
I’m pretty sure it says “Suck my balls” which is less offensive and more just kinda funny tbh. The rest of his base is pretty small, not in violation of any build rules.
I would say to file another ticket for it, including this quote from their official ToS:
"If you experience harassment or observe inappropriate content in-game, please be aware that there are tools in-game put in place to help you improve your experience such as muting.
However, there are be cases where we may intervene, for instance:
Offensive and defamatory chat and user created content of racial, sexual, hateful, illicit or of other nature. This extends to character names, guild names, in-game signs and so on."
If Funcom still doesn’t deem it offensive, then so be it. Personally, I don’t find it offensive, but that’s just me. YMMV
Edit: There is an option in the settings that you can use to mute other player’s signs. I think that it will improve your gameplay experience
Definitely vulgar but in a game where genitalia can be flopping around and reset to unusual and grotesque measures, how does this vulgar word rate? This goes back to what is considered offensive and the subjective nature.
The rule is
" * Offensive and defamatory chat and user created content of racial, sexual, hateful, illicit or of other nature. This extends to character names, guild names, in-game signs and so on."
So the real question on this would be when is sexual content an offense of the ToS and when is it not in a game where full nudity is allowed?
I think you guys (for the main part) are missing my point, either that, or I didn’t explain myself properly (which, if I’m going to be honest, is more likely).
The very fact that if I was to say ‘Suck my balls’ in Global Chat and someone reported me for it, I would be most likely banned. But because someone has put the exact words on a sign seems to differ Funcom Staff’s opinion as to what is offensive.
I hope that is a little more clear. Of course I know the game is an 18 rating with blood, guts, gore and sexual organs… That is all part of the game. I accept that. But if I am holden to Funcom’s ToS with regards to language, I expect others to do so as well. Is that too much to ask?
@Zeb, you are absolutely right, in my opinion. It is indeed an adult game, and I would not normally find the sign offensive, even outside of the confines of the game, but what I have to question is, and I’m going to try and bring it back to the post’s original title… Inconsistancy.
If someone says Suck my balls in global chat on an official server and someone found offense in that and reported, via Zendesk, they would be facing a temporary ban. If someone reports a sign with those exact same words they face the now legendary inconsistancy that Funcom provide in their care of duty as custodians of this game.
Land claim abuse. Foundation abuse. Excessive decorations. Excessive lighting. All of their recent actions have had an air of inconsistancy regarding their decision making. Different Funcom members of staff have different opinions on what is abuse and therefore act differently when issues are brought to their attention. This level of differential can not be allowed to continue or the game as we know it will die a very painful death, and I for one, do not want that. I love this game and wish nothing but the very best for it.
This thread is a perfect example of why I don’t take complaints about Funcom’s administrative decisions seriously. OP goes on about how bad ‘Suck my Balls’ is and conflates that with exploits, hacks, and malicious play.
Community needs to sort itself out before looking outside.
I will say this though. The thread has one silver lining. The fact that the OP admitted to making a frivolous report and shows that Funcom does dismiss those things.
Not quite. Mostly about how inconsistent Funcom is. They’ll ban it if you put it in chat, but on a sign is just fine. It’s inconsistent, and that is the root of OP’s issue. OP’s not asking for Funcom to be stricter. Just if you’re going to say it’s against the ToS in one area, but it’s fine in another, then that’s inconsistent and means that the rules are open to interpretation.
You can say suck my balls in chat just fine. In fact I’ve said it twice now in the forums. I’m pretty sure you can go on any official server, right now, and say, “Hey guys, what do you think of the phrase, Suck my Balls?” and you will not get actioned for it. Hmm up to three times now.
The real issue here is centered around Funcom’s consistency or lack thereof. If Funcom says “it’s not offensive” once, then they should say “it’s not offensive” every time it gets brought up to maintain consistency
But that would require the moderators to be fully versed with eachothers decisions and able to cross reference when called via zendesk (IE some sort of organization for other moderators to quickly pull up). Not saying that it isn’t in the realm of possiblity and I do support consistency but I don’t think FC is going to pony up for the tools to moderate in a consistent manner.
