Curse

Chthon · Apr 19, 2009, 03:30 AM // 03:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Regina Buenaobra

Again, Support will take action on names that break the rules, regardless of whether the person reporting it is doing it out of malice. The responsibility for a rule-breaking name lies with the person who created the name in the first place.

Let me see if I have this straight:

If a potentially offensive name is not reported, you do nothing. Presumably because no one has been offended enough to care.

And, if a name is reported, you act on it. Presumably because the name did offend at least one person enough to care.

But, if a name is reported, although the reporter had an ulterior motive and was not actually offended enough to care, you still act. Because why?

This is not consistent. If the threshhold for a-net to act on a name is someone actually being offended enough to report, you shouldn't act on malicious reports. If you're not actively scanning for offensive names, you should not subject particular individuals to added scrutiny because someone has a grudge against them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fril Estelin

For the sake of this thread's survival, I just want to point out one fact (many may have seen it already but just in case...):

s/he's not "agreeing", s/he's "trolling", knowing that each of his/er statements will contribute to more heated debated, instead of the quite nice discussion there's been so far. And Martin talking here is a testament to that.

Let me rephrase that. Martin, both your naming policy itself and your defense of it in the forums are "throwing fuel on the fire" for certain malicious trolls. That's not wise, and you should reconsider.

fenix · Apr 19, 2009, 03:40 AM // 03:40

This is my opinion;

The game is rated T.
ANet have a comprehensive list of banned names/words.

THAT IS ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

If someone makes a silly name within the limits of your blacklist, then fine. The game is rated T. For Teen. TEEN. There is NOTHING you can make as a name that would offend people assuming they were legally allowed to buy the game. All the 'bad' words are already banned. Get over it.

People need to stop ULGGing up the game, it's stupid.

LowOiL · Apr 19, 2009, 04:06 AM // 04:06

I like the toughness ANET has started enforcing. I am sick of reading junk on the game screen.

Just because people are older than 17 or such age, does not at all mean people like to read vulgar names constantly on their screens. I have kids, I don't care for them to pass by when some of the stuff people spout gets spewed.

Regina, this clean up your act policy has my thumbs up. Way up. Others may be using other fingers, but believe you me, lots and lots of us are proud to see a cleaner screen.

Red Sonya · Apr 19, 2009, 04:20 AM // 04:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowOiL

I like the toughness ANET has started enforcing. I am sick of reading junk on the game screen.

Just because people are older than 17 or such age, does not at all mean people like to read vulgar names constantly on their screens. I have kids, I don't care for them to pass by when some of the stuff people spout gets spewed.

Regina, this clean up your act policy has my thumbs up. Way up. Others may be using other fingers, but believe you me, lots and lots of us are proud to see a cleaner screen.

Bravo, see I'm not the only one glad of this new JUSTICE system for the naming policy. Some people have been getting away with it for far too long they are even admitting to it. Now is the time for change and a cleanup like Elliot Ness did in Chicago The Untouchables.

You can tell who they are here as they call people names like "Trolls" and "Idiot" typicial of the kind of mind who would do such acts in the game and then cry innocense or non-guilt everywhere else. Fortunately this isn't a court nor are their any jurors one can payoff for the deal. There is merely Anet (the Judge) and that is all that is required.

Fitz Rinley · Apr 19, 2009, 06:18 AM // 06:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowOiL

I like the toughness ANET has started enforcing. I am sick of reading junk on the game screen.

Just because people are older than 17 or such age, does not at all mean people like to read vulgar names constantly on their screens. I have kids, I don't care for them to pass by when some of the stuff people spout gets spewed.

Regina, this clean up your act policy has my thumbs up. Way up. Others may be using other fingers, but believe you me, lots and lots of us are proud to see a cleaner screen.

I think you will find that the vast majority of the names using really inappropriate language are not from adults. However, while you castigate others for not being as perfect as Jesus and yourself, maybe you can talk Him into a quicker rapture. Afterall, no one who is so in touch with the absolute perfection should risk their perfect average down here with us merely common people.

And if you didn't want to live with the content of a Teen rated game, you should have stayed with something safe like Purble Palace.

immortius · Apr 19, 2009, 07:19 AM // 07:19

The game's rating specifies a maximum maturity level of the content contained therein as an advisory for potential customers. It is entirely acceptable for ANet/NCSoft to moderate content at to any level below that if they so wish. And language is only one facet contributing to that rating anyway. As it happens the box specifies that the rating is because Guild Wars contains violence - and says nothing about language.

It is annoying when people and particularly guilds get caught out obscure or foreign cases of inappropriate language, but it works both ways: otherwise we would end up with foreign players with names inappropriate in english (intentionally or otherwise).

It would be good if there was better handling of inappropriate guild names though, with the ability to rename them.

Gun Pierson · Apr 19, 2009, 08:40 AM // 08:40

I think we need a new title track: Grand Inquisitor.

Witch Hunter (1): After reporting 500 names

Preacher (2): after reporting 1000 names

Exorcist (3): after reporting 2500 names

Inquisitor (4): After reporting 5000 names

Grand Inquisitor (5): After reporting 10 000 names

Conn · Apr 19, 2009, 08:59 AM // 08:59

Just report every Anet employee you see in game, and keep reporting them for name violations. Keep harassing support about them and see if they truly follow their own rules.

Empress Amarox · Apr 19, 2009, 12:15 PM // 12:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gun Pierson

I think we need a new title track: Grand Inquisitor.

Witch Hunter (1): After reporting 500 names

Preacher (2): after reporting 1000 names

Exorcist (3): after reporting 2500 names

Inquisitor (4): After reporting 5000 names

Grand Inquisitor (5): After reporting 10 000 names

YES! Want!

kedde · Apr 19, 2009, 12:27 PM // 12:27

1. Thinskin
2. Easily Offended
3. Overly Protectionist
4. I force My Opinion Down Other People's Throat
5. I Enjoy Ruining People's Game
6. I Serve The Honor Watch
7. My Life Is The Report System
8. I'm The Word Police
9. My Life For A Ban
10. GM Banning Amongst Undeserving Players

FalconDance · Apr 19, 2009, 12:59 PM // 12:59

Quote:

I like the toughness ANET has started enforcing. I am sick of reading junk on the game screen.

Just because people are older than 17 or such age, does not at all mean people like to read vulgar names constantly on their screens. I have kids, I don't care for them to pass by when some of the stuff people spout gets spewed.

Problem is, the naming policy is NOT being enforced equitably or consistently. It needs to be heavily enforced in the original character creation, period. That would "fix" the problem of people trying to be cutsey or vulgar. But no, it's being imposed on folks after the fact, often after a length of time has gone by and acomplishments garnered.

As for the rest of it, there is a chat filter. On "Normal", it filters out quite a bit - even from Anet's naming conventions! Several folks have already mentioned Quimang's name being bleeped out (from Shing Jea Island, Cantha). There are two other levels of filter available, Maximum and None. Maximum bleeps out most everything, even references within sentences that have no ulterior naughty meaning (much like the Normal) and None, well, you get it all in its dubious glory.

Some people get caught up in the game and don't stop and think about cursing and such that others might be offended. Some people are just plain vulgar and coarse; the worst of those folks are called attention RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOs. If one of the folks who suffers a very bad case of potty mouth is in your district and doesn't want to see reason (I've been in districts of outposts wherein a person was unbelievably crude - just because he could be - and no amount of other ppl telling him to stop worked), then report that person and put them on your Ignore List. Believe it or not, once on your Ignore, you will never see a word they "say" again.

And some people simply refuse to use their chat filter. If you refuse to use the filter, then why? Because you think you shouldn't have to? Maybe not, but Anet installed that little feature knowing that human nature would present itself on several levels. It is a tool, a much more easily wieldable tool than an all-out ban hammer. And a tool under each player's control. Fancy that.

All this fuss about GW not having to abide by the ERSB rating because the box says only that it was "violence" and use of alcohol is a bunch of hooey. If a company uses a rating on a product, it must legally abide by all the contents of that rating, not pick and choose which one(s) it wishes to police. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean they must include all the contextual matter listed within the rating, but they cannot and should not arbitrarily decide when convenient to their current purposes which one is enforceable or pertinent if that content is already present.

Chthon has the right of it. If no one ever reports you, you're fine. I.e. if you don't run afoul of someone who 1) gets their ingame jollies by being an ass, or 2) has become upset at you for some reason (in my husband's case, he had mistakenly left his perma 'sin "away" ingame on Easter and wasn't answering prompts to run a team), you'll be fine. BUT if you really did think you were being "cute" or "clever" by using an name in obvious violation of the policy, unless someone reports you, you'll get away with it.

No consistency. No equity. Anet can't be bothered to enforce their own policy from the outset and so has set up this whole brouhaha themselves. Unfortunately, that leaves the rest of us to either try and bring Anet to see reason or abandon the game as it becomes more and more draconic and "politically correct".

cthulhu reborn · Apr 19, 2009, 02:23 PM // 14:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenix

This is my opinion;

The game is rated T.
ANet have a comprehensive list of banned names/words.

THAT IS ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

If someone makes a silly name within the limits of your blacklist, then fine. The game is rated T. For Teen. TEEN. There is NOTHING you can make as a name that would offend people assuming they were legally allowed to buy the game. All the 'bad' words are already banned. Get over it.

People need to stop ULGGing up the game, it's stupid.

Well, there is one issue I have with this. In essence you have a point, but the bigger problem is the international nature of the game. It has occurred to me that the update on the name rule might have to do with which languages are represented in the game. We now have a French coordinator and I can no longer name my UW spider Bite Me, presumably because "bite" is a bad word in French meaning d*ck.

So then I ask the question. How fair is it to have people censored because of a language that is not their own?

I guess that if the language is not prevalent enough you can get away with about anything but as soon as there is a coordinator representing a language the rest of the world suddenly has to be "considerate". To me this is going a step too far.

I am Dutch and my gaming language is English. I do speak French and German aswell but how in the world can I be censored according to the French rules when my names are in English? That to me is ridiculous.

I think it's wrong to simply blacklist all bad words in all represented languages for everybody. Perhaps it would be better that people need to choose a language as their gaming language and only have the blacklist of that language apply and for cross language infringements it would have to be looked at on an individual basis to see if there really is an issue.

I would think a French speaker has no business being offended by my spider being named Bite Me, so I don't see why I would have to change my name because of that.

A multi-lingual blacklist that applies to everybody is a BAD thing. I understand Anet want to automate as much as possible but this is not the way to go.

Fitz Rinley · Apr 19, 2009, 02:51 PM // 14:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by immortius

The game's rating specifies a maximum maturity level of the content contained therein as an advisory for potential customers. It is entirely acceptable for ANet/NCSoft to moderate content at to any level below that if they so wish. And language is only one facet contributing to that rating anyway. As it happens the box specifies that the rating is because Guild Wars contains violence - and says nothing about language.

Language is included in the ESRB rating. No, they may not pick and choose which parts of the ratings they wish to practice. That is the same as saying a person gets to pick and choose which parts of the law the wish to follow with impunity. And yes, this comparison fits, because the law is the standard of behavior which one may look up and expect to be followed. One does not walk into a strip club and then call the police for being offended at indecent exposure. By stating this game is Teen rated they create an expectation that all facets of the rating are expectable and acceptable in the game. They may emphasize specific areas if they wish, but they are obligated to the inferred advertisement of the rating, or they are legally liable for fraud. Certainly, they are socially liable for lying to their customer base. By creating grief for their players in setting up false expectations with a rating they do not mean the customer certainly has the right to Never trust any advertising they put out again.

Quote:

It is annoying when people and particularly guilds get caught out obscure or foreign cases of inappropriate language, but it works both ways: otherwise we would end up with foreign players with names inappropriate in english (intentionally or otherwise).

I happen to know of a Vietnamese word used as surname. The word is in this phrase, "ban phước cho anh," which means "Bless you." A US of A highschool attempted to force their validictorian of Vietnamese descent to omit his family name from his graduation ceremony because of its sound and spelling. That name is from the word "Phước," it is a religious name much like Jones means "followers of the monks of Iona." In older transliterations to American there is no Ph but an F, no C but a K, and no ướ, but a U. The highschool lost. It is not acceptable to outlaw people's heritage because it differs from your own or means something inappropriate in your own. The Mexican name Chachi is a reference to a specific member of the male anatomy in Korean. Are we going to make hispanics change their name because some Koreans might choose to be intolerant of another culture and heritage than their own? It seems to me the last social group to do that on a world scale ended up being defeated by 58 allied nations and suffering punitive actions that still include their occupation by foreign powers. Then people wonder why we refer to them as Liberal Nazis.

The correct thing to do is follow the ESRB and require toleration. Not attack your players because they have personal, political, artistic, or religious expression in their own heritage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cthulhu Reborn

I am Dutch and my gaming language is English. I do speak French and German aswell but how in the world can I be censored according to the French rules when my names are in English? That to me is ridiculous.

The problem with this is my nation. There is no quarter of the earth from which we do not have refugees from political, racial, religious, or cultural oppression. I live in a backwoods farm community where the nearest metropolitan area is 75 miles (120 km) away, the nearest gas station is 10 miles (16 km) and the nearest town with a grocery store 20 miles away (32 km). If you go to our social services department you will find translation available for Vietnamese, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, and others. My nation was formed from refugees, and those who weren't when Europeans arrived were made to be shortly thereafter. To impose on all of them a requirement that they know American for legal and social purposes (such as getting news, working, etc.) is one thing. To impose upon them one language as an option for expression is to deny them their heritage. That is unacceptable in my nation and it is unacceptable in the world. While I understand your idea as an easy way to fix it, I can't accept it as a response by those who must lead with a best example.

cthulhu reborn · Apr 19, 2009, 04:07 PM // 16:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz Rinley

The problem with this is my nation. There is no quarter of the earth from which we do not have refugees from political, racial, religious, or cultural oppression. I live in a backwoods farm community where the nearest metropolitan area is 75 miles (120 km) away, the nearest gas station is 10 miles (16 km) and the nearest town with a grocery store 20 miles away (32 km). If you go to our social services department you will find translation available for Vietnamese, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, and others. My nation was formed from refugees, and those who weren't when Europeans arrived were made to be shortly thereafter. To impose on all of them a requirement that they know American for legal and social purposes (such as getting news, working, etc.) is one thing. To impose upon them one language as an option for expression is to deny them their heritage. That is unacceptable in my nation and it is unacceptable in the world. While I understand your idea as an easy way to fix it, I can't accept it as a response by those who must lead with a best example.

I don't think you understand what I am saying. I am not imposing one language on all. You misread my post. I am simply saying that it's wrong from my point of view to impose the blacklist from other languages on people.

Also I am specifically speaking about the automated blacklist and not the reporting system. Everybody should be able to report a name that is offensive to them and then there needs to be an investigation to see if the name is offensive indeed...or not.

But I did not say that everybody needs to speak English or something like that. Where you came up with that I do not know, but it's not what I posted.

Raccoon · Apr 19, 2009, 04:11 PM // 16:11

Political correctness and deep poetic explanations aside, who here really gives a toss? Now before the oldies and parents come barging in with "My child cannot be subject to naughty words", can we stop to ask ourselves if it's really that big a deal that anet should be allowed to ban people for it?

If someone has named a character "Vaginal Explorer" or "Altheas Giant Monster Cawk" then sure, make them delete the character. But banning people? Please. You guys are having enough trouble keeping people in the game as it is.

Put some effort elsewhere. Send all whining mothers my way.

all13d · Apr 19, 2009, 04:48 PM // 16:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Kerstein

The main problem with this statement is that this is the US rating. And yes, you probably bought a US box of Guild Wars.

But Guild Wars is an international game, where through the district system people can meet people from all other parts of the world.

And the rating systems in Europe for example are completely different, we have the USK in Germany and the PEGI (Pan European Game Information).

And Guild Wars is rated USK and PEGI 12+, and this in case for PEGI means:

"PEGI 12+ - Videogames that show violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy character and/or non graphic violence towards human-looking characters or recognisable animals, as well as videogames that show nudity of a slightly more graphic nature would fall in this age category. Any bad language in this category must be mild and fall short of sexual expletives."

At least here in the US, the box clearly states that "Game Experience May Change During Online Play," which leads me to conclude that foul language within an online game or in a character name does not affect the rating of said game whatsoever.

FalconDance · Apr 19, 2009, 05:12 PM // 17:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Political correctness and deep poetic explanations aside, who here really gives a toss? Now before the oldies and parents come barging in with "My child cannot be subject to naughty words", can we stop to ask ourselves if it's really that big a deal that anet should be allowed to ban people for it?

Exactly. Have you heard the language allowed in movies? Or on tv these days, for that matter. If you wish to monitor your child's activities so closely, I applaud you. Really I do because so many parents these days don't pay much attention to what their kids are doing! BUT Anet foresaw a problem with people's language and integrated the filter system for just such an instance. My suggestion is to set the thing to Normal or Maximum if graphic or quasi-adult language is truly offensive to your minors and the way you're trying to raise them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raccoon

If someone has named a character "Vaginal Explorer" or "Altheas Giant Monster Cawk" then sure, make them delete the character. But banning people? Please. You guys are having enough trouble keeping people in the game as it is.

It almost seems like Anet puts your account into time-out like a little kid who's been naughty. Three days' ban first offense and then rename the 'toon. I would think the more reasonable thing to do would be to simply lock that character when found to violate the policy until a rename occurs. If the player refuses within a certain amount of time, the character will be deleted wholesale without any way to strip inventory, etc.

Seems a much more suitable solution than an account wide smack with the ban hammer. Especially if Anet continues to refuse to enforce the naming policy in character creation.

(Can anyone tell me why the word "ass" is forbidden in a name but the word "butt" is allowed?)

Ironballs · Apr 19, 2009, 05:35 PM // 17:35

Just because I don't mind seeing it doesn't mean I want to see it.

Referring to the language and offensive wordage, of course.

Savio · Apr 19, 2009, 05:51 PM // 17:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz Rinley

Language is included in the ESRB rating. No, they may not pick and choose which parts of the ratings they wish to practice.

You really don't get what ESRB ratings are and how they function. Of course, you also insisted that the U.S. Constitution applies to Arenanet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raccoon

If someone has named a character "Vaginal Explorer" or "Altheas Giant Monster Cawk" then sure, make them delete the character. But banning people? Please. You guys are having enough trouble keeping people in the game as it is.

I just got banned for making "Altheas Giant Monster Cawk". I think I'll rename it to "Altheas Giant Monster C A W K". After that, just "Altheas Giant C A W K". And there are probably a thousand other variations I could use after that.

They don't make people delete characters, Arenanet would have much more trouble keeping players if they started deleting characters for violations.

FalconDance · Apr 19, 2009, 06:54 PM // 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Savio

I just got banned for making "Altheas Giant Monster Cawk". I think I'll rename it to "Altheas Giant Monster C A W K". After that, just "Altheas Giant C A W K". And there are probably a thousand other variations I could use after that.

Nope, couldn't have. That name exceeds the 19 allowed total.