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This behavior is unacceptable. People who are around this behavior but say nothing are not helping the problem. If you see this behavior speak up.

DamnYuppie 13y ago
Agreed, it is not acceptable to threaten people or their families, least of all over a video game.
timje1 13y ago
There's also the problem that if an online conversation has nine "Hi, keep up the good work" responses for every "I'll rip off your head and shit down your neck" response, the ones that really stick in the mind are the latter... and the ones that get the most replies and attention will be the latter also. See the DailyMail
DanielStraight 13y ago
And if you run a gaming community, or really any online community, immediately hellban anyone who threatens someone else. Someone who threatens to kill someone's children does not deserve a second chance.
- gte910h 13y ago
  I think blizzard has the right approach: You don't get to post unless you post from your account which is linked to a credit card by which you pay for the game. If you post something like this, it's easy peasy to get your ass arrested.
astrodust 13y ago
Although vigilantes or a mob whipped into a frenzy are often worse than the problem they're trying to solve, isn't there room for a group of well-intentioned, level headed investigators that can help address issues like this? As in, instead of SWATting the person in question or destroying their life by posting personal details, they'd collect information, try and resolve the situation before things got out of hand, and where that failed, hand off to law enforcement? Some kind of community watch would go a long way towards clearing out a lot of the trash.
- zeckalpha 13y ago
  When I say speak up, I don't mean report it to the authorities (though in some cases, you should). I mean tell people that what they are doing is wrong.
  - astrodust 13y ago
    Having a better defined, field-tested procedure is probably a good idea. Roughly A) Confront the aggressor to communicate problems and see if the situation can be resolved. B) Where it can't be resolved, investigate if the aggressor has a pattern of such behaviour, or if there are individuals in a position to be more persuasive that could help. C) If the behavior continues, institute bans, document incidents. D) Where bans are insufficient and repeated warnings have been ignored, escalate to involve relevant law enforcement agencies.
drone 13y ago
Just speaking up is not enough - as long as people can hide behind anonymity, the social repercussions are limited, they can just change screen names if needed. Since they are taking advantage of the fact that their target is not anonymous, then the best response is to pierce the veil of anonymity the attacker hides behind. Don't just speak up - out the attacker if you know them.

DamnYuppie 13y ago

Agreed, it is not acceptable to threaten people or their families, least of all over a video game.

timje1 13y ago

There's also the problem that if an online conversation has nine "Hi, keep up the good work" responses for every "I'll rip off your head and shit down your neck" response, the ones that really stick in the mind are the latter... and the ones that get the most replies and attention will be the latter also. See the DailyMail

DanielStraight 13y ago

And if you run a gaming community, or really any online community, immediately hellban anyone who threatens someone else. Someone who threatens to kill someone's children does not deserve a second chance.

gte910h 13y ago
I think blizzard has the right approach: You don't get to post unless you post from your account which is linked to a credit card by which you pay for the game. If you post something like this, it's easy peasy to get your ass arrested.

astrodust 13y ago

Although vigilantes or a mob whipped into a frenzy are often worse than the problem they're trying to solve, isn't there room for a group of well-intentioned, level headed investigators that can help address issues like this? As in, instead of SWATting the person in question or destroying their life by posting personal details, they'd collect information, try and resolve the situation before things got out of hand, and where that failed, hand off to law enforcement? Some kind of community watch would go a long way towards clearing out a lot of the trash.

zeckalpha 13y ago
When I say speak up, I don't mean report it to the authorities (though in some cases, you should). I mean tell people that what they are doing is wrong.
- astrodust 13y ago
  Having a better defined, field-tested procedure is probably a good idea. Roughly A) Confront the aggressor to communicate problems and see if the situation can be resolved. B) Where it can't be resolved, investigate if the aggressor has a pattern of such behaviour, or if there are individuals in a position to be more persuasive that could help. C) If the behavior continues, institute bans, document incidents. D) Where bans are insufficient and repeated warnings have been ignored, escalate to involve relevant law enforcement agencies.

drone 13y ago

Just speaking up is not enough - as long as people can hide behind anonymity, the social repercussions are limited, they can just change screen names if needed. Since they are taking advantage of the fact that their target is not anonymous, then the best response is to pierce the veil of anonymity the attacker hides behind. Don't just speak up - out the attacker if you know them.