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Are we taking this too seriously?

AuthorMessage
Squire
Jun 19, 2009
514
This may be my last post, as my subscription was ended this month and July is nearing it's end. while I can say i'll miss this wonderful community, lately I think we have stepped some stones too far. I have read many post by the "Wizard City Protectors" and lately, they seem to have gotten deadly serious as if a life or death situation. I understand the importance of the problem at hand, with online bullying and cussing, and all the other matter. But what I have seen is these "Terms of Use breakers" being called "The dark side". is this too over the top? perhaps not… But my main problem is with the strictness of some of the members of the Wizard City Protectors. I have seen many, and out of the many I have seen, at least half of these Protectors end up in a huge hissy fight. Eventually, both the victim and it's prosecutor are breaking the rule of the "ToU" in argument, and gang up. Guys, let's be serious, it's great that you want to help clean up the game, but this is the main topic on the game and message boards. Let's focus on the game itself more.
I have a lot more reasoning, but am out of time at the moment, hopefully I can expand on this later… If not, well it means my time for the game has left. Please, before posting, think of what i'm saying here. Let's calm down a little. Greyrose has already made changes in response to our asking, and the game is a lot cleaner than it used to. So, let's all rejoice and calm ourselves.
Thank you all for this game and my friends. Goodbye.

Defender
Jul 28, 2009
190
I agree that we are taking it to seriously but to get to my point but ok here is my point. cya later hunter ray

Defender
Jul 23, 2011
117
I have to agree somewhat with you. While it's important to enforce the rules, I am not going to stand around in the trouble zones looking for trouble. I joined this game to develop my wizards, not to concern myself with violators. Besides bullying a bully just makes you a bully. Two wrongs never makes a right.

Mastermind
Dec 11, 2011
333
I agree 100%.

I agree that we need to report what we see, but spending all your time on the game ONLY doing that? I mean come on.. No offense WCPs.

~Eric CrowSpear

Armiger
May 10, 2010
2080
@Hunteray09,

Well, I guess, it's my job to respond to this message. You stated:
"Eventually, both the victim and it's prosecutor are breaking the rule of the "ToU" in argument, and gang up."

When I am around, what I try to do, is warn them before I report them.

1. Some of them state, that if they are warned, they will stop.
2. Others don't care about warning or rules.
3. Some are not familiar with all the rules of TOU.
4. Some claim they have the Freedom of Speech & can say anything they want, anywhere they want to, anytime they want to.

Some of us, try to eductate others on what the Terms of Use are and what Open Chat is meant to be.

Now, you claim we argue and gang up?

Many ask, who reported me?

I claim, I did and I tell them what infraction the occured. Why do I do this? Because many of them try and bully reporters or make threats against people who report. They state things like:

1. Reporting is for no life noobs.
2. Reporting is for wimps and snitches.
3. I will ban the person or hack the person that reported me.
4. Sometimes, they use even worse threats.

Now, sometimes, you can educate a few of them and sometimes you can't. When we can't, we no longer warn or engage them, we simply report them.

However, while some of them are continuing to argue, a few are asking questions or wanting to know more and to those we keep addressing.

Some even state, that our presence there is taking the fun from their game, why is this? Because they want to curse and carry on without report or any reprocusions for their behavior and language.

Does this mean we are breaking the TOU? I would hope not, because then every criminal in the world could sue the police, every arsonist could sue the fire department, etc.

We are here to clean, protect, and help educate the spiral. In no way is cursing or inappropriate behavior necessary in this game.

Some even go as far as state, if you dont like it, go to menu or text chat, or use the True Friends codes. What I say is, if you are not mature and responsible enough to obey the Terms of Use, you should be doing those things and leave the rest of the spiral safe and clean from you.


Survivor
Jan 11, 2010
10
Well they are trying to stop this kind of bullying because it teaches children bad words, first of all, and they, "the dark side," I presume, makes vulgar interactions that is very inappropriate, and the WCP try to be as serious as possible, I'm guessing, to show that this is not a joke, and they are trying there hardest to wipe off most,( if not all ), vulgarity in the Spiral. My two cents, peace. 8)

Zachary Shadowflame, lvl 6 Storm.

Armiger
Feb 25, 2009
2425
@Darthjt, very well said and I won't elaborate on it.

Hunteray09, this is a very serious problem and yes we do take it seriously. Many of us that are members of "WCP" have had to disable the accounts for our young family members just for this reason. We don't come here to abused and degraded when we just want to have some fun and relax after a long day in the real world. We get more than enough of this behavior in daily life.

Granted there are some players that are reporting are getting a little "trigger happy" and sometimes do report every little thing. The main objective of our group is to clean up the worst of this including the really nasty actions and chat going with those actions.

But, there is also one thing you should remember. Not everyone that wears that badge is a member of our official group. There are some out there wearing it while in the process of breaking the rules and making it reflect back on our group. We can't stop them from wearing the badge but we will do everything within the rules of the game to restrict their use of bad language and unacceptable behavior.

As Darth already stated, we do try to educate the minds on some of the kids about using bad language. We have had some success with this even if it takes a short term mute, some of them come back and tell us they are sorry for breaking the rules and promise not to do it again. We would rather see more of this than to have the young players being perma-muted or banned. Educations goes a long way. Once they learn they can actually have more fun without cursing in the game and in real life, it will make them a better person and they will respect themselves as well as others.

Those that refuse to be educated are older teens and adults that have no regard for anyone else in the game and more than likely in real life. Those are the ones that are creating the worst of the filth in the game and need to be dealt with in stricter sanctions from KI.

As has been mentioned in many posts on this site and Central, KI gave us the tools just for this reason and unfortunately, many have moved them to the attic where they are just collecting dust and cobwebs. Those tools need to be dusted off and used but used properly.

Mastermind
Feb 29, 2012
323
Well if you see anyone breaking the ToU, you can either tell them, report them, or both.
To me, the WCPs are a loosely knit group of players who would like to keep this game what it is advertised as, kid friendly. It is not a gang of bullies, police, etc. Just people who have taken a stand that they will no longer "ignore, avoid the commons, etc."
I tend to stroll through the commons on a couple of realms each night, in between quests. I pop into the dye shop every now and again. To me, it has gotten better by orders of magnitude.
And many of us have gotten very positive responses from players in the game., even those we have reported/spoken to.
Can it be taken too seriously? Sure. But I would rather have a note from KI telling me to knock it off than have one of my kids tell me about something as egregious as what can go on in the game.
Best of luck to ya!

Chris Nightwraith
Transcended Necromancer
WCP

Defender
Sep 10, 2011
191
hunteray09 wrote:
This may be my last post, as my subscription was ended this month and July is nearing it's end. while I can say i'll miss this wonderful community, lately I think we have stepped some stones too far. I have read many post by the "Wizard City Protectors" and lately, they seem to have gotten deadly serious as if a life or death situation. I understand the importance of the problem at hand, with online bullying and cussing, and all the other matter. But what I have seen is these "Terms of Use breakers" being called "The dark side". is this too over the top? perhaps not… But my main problem is with the strictness of some of the members of the Wizard City Protectors. I have seen many, and out of the many I have seen, at least half of these Protectors end up in a huge hissy fight. Eventually, both the victim and it's prosecutor are breaking the rule of the "ToU" in argument, and gang up. Guys, let's be serious, it's great that you want to help clean up the game, but this is the main topic on the game and message boards. Let's focus on the game itself more.
I have a lot more reasoning, but am out of time at the moment, hopefully I can expand on this later… If not, well it means my time for the game has left. Please, before posting, think of what i'm saying here. Let's calm down a little. Greyrose has already made changes in response to our asking, and the game is a lot cleaner than it used to. So, let's all rejoice and calm ourselves.
Thank you all for this game and my friends. Goodbye.


Somehow i agree with you. For me, kids needs to be trusted too. not only to be responsible in every actions they make but to trust them to be able stand up for themselves when a conflict arises. It's like letting them loose in a playground all the while trying to shield them from harm. But also letting them figure out the appropriate actions to take when bullied or being rudely spoken to.

Nothing too far from the real world. but the existing report, check and balance installed in-game for me i think is enough. In no way i am opposed to WCP beliefs but there should be a fine line between letting them on their own to learn the facts of life both ways. being in one or being shielded from them. Either way works (for me) but I'm pretty sure parents will run to their side whichever situation they experience. This is where responsible parenting comes in.


Defender
Aug 07, 2011
116
The false report thing protects against anyone who is hair trigger. If it doesn't warrant a report, they will be the ones in trouble. If you curse, you show disrespect for KI and all the other wizards in the Spiral. Why do you deserve respect for being disrespectful?

For myself, I can only say that I found the WCP about a week after intervening when a boy wizard was harassing a girl wizard trying to force her to be his gf and not being nice about it even when she asked him repeatedly to stop and leave her alone. That really rattled me. At 1pm in a quiet realm. Everyone seems to think this is just going on in Wu and late at night and it's not and something has to be done.

That harassment of the girl (who I got to put the boy on ignore and realm hop while the boy closely walked the line being careful to not use curse words but was rather forceful and threatening and kept pushing his avatar up into her face and yes I did report him for harassment) was the final straw for me.

Playing with my grandson, I've had to tell him switch realms a couple of times -- once when some boy wizard got mad at my girl wizard for not adding him (friend request was turned off but he said add me and grew angry when I refused saying I only add people I know) and started yelling at me and following me around on Triton while I told my grandson get out of here now he's following me. He switched realms and I ported to him. Nice activity for an 8yo to witness, right?

Wait. Here's another one: different girl avatar was dueling -- with grandson -- boy avatar stands behind her, looks at her backside and says "nice" with no regard to girl wizard might have been 8 let alone that the boy one dueling with her might have been. Not reportable. That's when we were pretty new to the game and I didn't know how to get a screen shot and send to support. We switched realms immediately. I did not tell Grandson (who couldn't see it but did ask why's he standing behind you) what was said just that he said something bad -- go. Now.

Are you still wondering why we're so heat up about what's going on in the game? I came very close to canceling our memberships and quitting the game. Grandson's play is very restricted -- very -- and only if I stay with him in-game. So WCP or no WCP I'd still do this because for the kids this game was designed for to have to quit just isn't fair or right. Without WCP and the support and the positive change I see them accomplishing -- they aren't the only ones doing this btw -- Grandson would def be off and I'd be even more frustrated dealing on my own to try and stop it and probably angrier and more hair-trigger.

I don't warn, I report. I don't care how mild the curse either. But if I'm not sure if it walks the line or not, I don't so I don't think I'm hair trigger. I let a lot of mild things that may or may not be reportable pass. But I see no need to warn first and no reason to hold back if someone's just mildly breaking the rules. Looking the other way at a couple of infractions -- and we've all done it, especially because we're afraid of it's being labeled a false report -- has led to here. If I know for sure, it breaks the rules, I'm not asking questions or anybody's permission, I'm reporting it.

I'm nervous about my grandson playing even though it is now severely limited to a couple of hours a couple of times a day in quiet realms with me there because they have added visuals with remotes. Menu chat won't stop him from seeing that and all I've been able to tell him is there are some very bad wizards trying to take over the game. I do feel that's true. That they're trying to steal the game and make it what they want it to be instead of the family game it was designed to be. I'm not about to stand by and let that happen but I probably wouldn't be allowing even the limited play by grandson if I didn't have that huge rhino mount that will block out darn near all of it as he rides on the back which is the only way he's being allowed to travel in game now. Oh, how I've hated the rhinos in the past for blocking the view; how I love it for doing so now.

Those emotes either have to be reworked so they can't be used to simulate lewd actions or removed from the game. Point blank.

I'm not rolling over and playing dead and turning the Spiral over to the thugs. If it comes to kicking my Grandson off, I'm staying on to report.

Defender
Nov 05, 2011
127
I agree. I have noticed many wizards complaining about the safety of the game. However, cyber bullying is a serious matter which I believe KI should sort out.

On the other hand, cyber bullying is almost impossible in w101 for you can easily just ignore and just get yourself lost in crowds of wizards.

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
No, I don't think we're taking things too seriously. If KI wants to preserve their E10 rating, something needs to be done, and we've chosen to take up a cause that most people turn a blind eye to.

1~ not everyone who wears the WCP badge is a member of the group. There are people who wear it because they just got the badge, and even those who do it while breaking rules for the sole purpose of discrediting us~ so don't assume that every "WCP" you run across is one of us.

2~ I have yet to witness any of my fellow WCPs engaging in any inappropriate conduct. That said, if I catch one of them violating the ToU, I will report and remove that person from my friends' list~ no one, ourselves included, is above the rules.

3~ We are routinely subjected to all kinds of abuse: name-calling, false reports, threats of violence... the list goes on. But, you know what? I don't care. Every threat or false report directed at me is one that's not aimed at a 10-year-old.

@gtafreak~ that's definitely not all we do. Yes, we take time out of our busy wizarding lives to do what's needed, but we do other things, too~ questing, crafting, gardening... and chatting/goofing off with friends (which, by the way, we are). We've mastered the art of acting silly, but we always have each others' backs and know how to have a good time without being vulgar.

Happy trails,

"El Veeb"
a WC Protector, and proud of it.

Survivor
Jun 09, 2012
3
Caballo203 wrote:
I have to agree somewhat with you. While it's important to enforce the rules, I am not going to stand around in the trouble zones looking for trouble. I joined this game to develop my wizards, not to concern myself with violators. Besides bullying a bully just makes you a bully. Two wrongs never makes a right.


i absolutely agree with you caballo. i wanted to play w101 because to me it seemed like a very good and fun game. i don't want anything like what we are talking about here. hopefully this will be fixed up :)

Survivor
Jun 12, 2010
20
Well I was there last night just to see what the big deal was. And a kid was there, respectfully (no name calling) arguing that we kids should be able to manage our own game, and that adults were just trying to take it over and make it like school and hall monitors and stuff. And he called people "sir" and "miss." I ask him and he said no one reported him for anything--because he didn't use any bad words. But they call him "annoying," say, "______(his name) go back to school you are ingnorant kid," and so on. He had only filtered chat and could not see all this. My question: if you Protectors want to help kids, why do you tell them to just be quiet when they stand up for what they believe--that kids learn in this game, that they can report bad talk and bullying themselves? He said he does, and I do too. Why you disrespect this respectful kid like that? As this kid said: "when will you adults think we are mature enough to manage our game? Never?" His point was that these Protectors are treating us like babies and not letting us learn to take care of ourselves. I hope I don't get trolled for this--I don't post here much cause of that. But I agree with this kid. This is our game too, not just adults game.

Squire
Jun 19, 2009
514
@darthjt: I understand your claims, and I do know not everyone who wears the badge is from your group. But my main point is, Wizard101 used to be a family fun game in 2009. Now all you see in the Commons is, "Please stop the bad language" and the victim tests the prosecutor usually. I understand this is better than seeing non-stop cussing, but it's getting to where if you accidentally slip once, you could be banned. Cyber Bullying is most depressingly natural. You can help the cause, but you cannot stop the cause. That's like telling everyone in the world to never do wrong again. Out of the billions of people in the world.

@goldendragon18: I also understand your statements, but please try to think of what I may be saying. We need to trust our new generation, we can't protect them forever. Some kids never see the outside world because their parents are too protective. How does this prepare them for Adulthood? I am fine with the WCP group, but I am saying you guys may be taking a stone too far. You'll probably think I am only saying this because I am one of the rule breakers. Not true. A month ago, I thought of quitting due to terrible community play in respect. Now it seems the opposite. The game has gotten too strict by players. Like I told darthjt, you can help the cause but not stop it. I am exhilarated that you guys are trying to stop bad behavior, it thrills me! But maybe it's time to settle down a bit, if you get my meaning.

@vonawesome1: I know not everyone is a member of your group who wears a badge, but what I am saying is, the WCP also bring some new behavior to the group. People will now make wizards then put the badge on, and discredit you by saying even more terrible things. Guys, KI is trying their best to fix this, but while they can control the game, they cannot control the people. PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES.
You cannot assume every person is as bad as the other by one rule breaking. If it's severe, then yes. But one cuss word isn't the end. They could have slipped. I am not teaming up with the rule breakers, but trying to tell you that yes, people do make mistakes at times.

So, in final words on my post, you guys seem to be too strict to some of the community. Whose to say that it isn't some nine year old who heard someone cussing and doesn't know better? You warn them yes, but that only makes them want to do it more. Human Nature. I know you'll reply to me, the three of you, saying i'm wrong, probably mentioning my rudeness in this post, but I am trying to get a point across. A point I am failing for you all to see.

Mastermind
Jun 23, 2010
345
dragonlad1230 wrote:
Well I was there last night just to see what the big deal was. And a kid was there, respectfully (no name calling) arguing that we kids should be able to manage our own game, and that adults were just trying to take it over and make it like school and hall monitors and stuff. And he called people "sir" and "miss." I ask him and he said no one reported him for anything--because he didn't use any bad words. But they call him "annoying," say, "______(his name) go back to school you are ingnorant kid," and so on. He had only filtered chat and could not see all this. My question: if you Protectors want to help kids, why do you tell them to just be quiet when they stand up for what they believe--that kids learn in this game, that they can report bad talk and bullying themselves? He said he does, and I do too. Why you disrespect this respectful kid like that? As this kid said: "when will you adults think we are mature enough to manage our game? Never?" His point was that these Protectors are treating us like babies and not letting us learn to take care of ourselves. I hope I don't get trolled for this--I don't post here much cause of that. But I agree with this kid. This is our game too, not just adults game.


I am not trying to treat anyone like a baby. I am stepping up because there are those that don't understand the rules/TOU they agreed to follow or they just don't care. My young friends I mentioned later in this post have influenced me to try to explain the rules/TOU to people and to warn folks about what they are doing. I have noticed others doing it too.

I have people in game put on a "show" worthy of an adult movie. From what the wizards involved said they are "kids". I have had other "kids" tell me this is how we talk, swearing and racial slurs, so we should just be able to do it. Not one "kid" would stand up to that, to afraid. When I do I get bullied and harassed.

Recently Darth and I were in the Dye Shop. We had a young lady want to talk to us. Well the other kids were doing their best to stop that. The end result was we goofed around with them in a fun way and had a nice discussion. I now have two wonderful young ladies who have my back. They learned about us and actively defend us/me. Now the other kids are turning on them and false reporting them. That makes me sad and mad, they are doing the right thing for the right reason and being punished by their peers.

I can say I have seen an improvement in game atmosphere. I also have seen many wizards learn from their mistakes and change. I also see more people stopping their friends from swearing and such.

Megan

Delver
Apr 10, 2010
286
Dragonlad,

I would like to ask you if you were present when this wizard was called annoying? Were you only taking his word for it? Because I know from raising two children that when something happens, there is one person's version and the other person's version. Usually, somewhere in the middle, you'll find the truth. At the time he was called annoying, it may be that he was bothering someone. We don't really know. I've had one of my sons do something and upon being asked what they had done, I'd get the "I wasn't doing anything."

I also want to explain that Wizard101 is for all ages, not just for kids. We adults haven't hijacked the game from kids. Many of us have been playing since the beginning of the game. Many of us adults have spent a great amount of money on the game. So, is it fair to expect adults to quit playing just because some Free to Play people complain? Not this kid in an adult's body!

Armiger
May 10, 2010
2080
dragonlad1230 wrote:
Well I was there last night just to see what the big deal was. And a kid was there, respectfully (no name calling) arguing that we kids should be able to manage our own game, and that adults were just trying to take it over and make it like school and hall monitors and stuff. And he called people "sir" and "miss." I ask him and he said no one reported him for anything--because he didn't use any bad words. But they call him "annoying," say, "______(his name) go back to school you are ingnorant kid," and so on. He had only filtered chat and could not see all this. My question: if you Protectors want to help kids, why do you tell them to just be quiet when they stand up for what they believe--that kids learn in this game, that they can report bad talk and bullying themselves? He said he does, and I do too. Why you disrespect this respectful kid like that? As this kid said: "when will you adults think we are mature enough to manage our game? Never?" His point was that these Protectors are treating us like babies and not letting us learn to take care of ourselves. I hope I don't get trolled for this--I don't post here much cause of that. But I agree with this kid. This is our game too, not just adults game.


He did not use any bad words while we were there, no.
He also admitted that he did not read the terms of use either.

The problem here, is that people want trust, but as soon as that bully is no longer supervised, they go back to cursing and bullying others. So, that person needs to earn the trust again. Which makes us wonder, why should it matter if we are there? If you are not breaking the rules or terms of use, nobody will be reported and you would not even know we are there.

This game is for everyone, not just parents and not just kids, for players of all ages. If you can't be responsible with text chat or open chat and obey the terms of use, those that break the terms of use and want to say curse words or bully people, those are the ones that need to go to menu chat until they are mature enough to use chat properly. Keep this game friendly and safe for everyone.

Some of them state, they don't care what the rules are, they want to be trusted, but they dont take the time to learn what is a proper report and what is a false report? They don't read the rules and posts by KI? This is what is called ignorance and it is no excuse for breaking the rules. An ignorant person can learn and better themself, the word is not filtered and can even be seen by text chat players. It is not even disrepectful, it just means that you are not taking the time needed to educate yourself on proper behavior and the rules of the game.

Survivor
Jan 11, 2010
10
After my last post, I read the other replies to this posts, and I haven't noticed any activity in Wu, but, that is, I don't have Open Chat, but since I looked at some of the hot spots, I haven't seen anything, so I bet the things that you guys are doing are working. Slowly. Keep up the good work, my two cents, peace.

Zachary Shadowflame, level 7 Storm 8)


Armiger
Feb 25, 2009
2425
In order to address several replies here, I will say again the same thing that I and Vonawesome both have already stated::::::

DO NOT ASSUME THAT EVERY WCP badge you see in the game is an official member of our group. I can assure you, they are not. We know who our members are but we will not tolerate any abuse from our members either. No one including WCP official members is immune to being reported for breaking the rules. Many players that have just defeated Lord Nightshade have this badge. Some of the offenders have started wearing this badge just to discredit our group. Some of our members do not wear this badge. WCP badge is NOT a requirement to being a member. What is required is that all members MUST follow all rules of the game. Some of our members are adults with young wizards waiting to start having fun again and other members are TEENS.

We all know what the ToU/Chat rules are of the game and we review them quite often for the simple reason, KI can UPDATE the ToU/Chat rules at anytime without NOTIFICATION.

Our members DO NOT bully a bully. Just because you see someone with that WCP badge doing this, does not mean they are one of ours. If you see anyone with this badge that is truly bullying another player make sure the actions are reportable and then report them. But please be sure of what you report and don't make FALSE reports against any player.

"Are we taking this seriously"? The answer is Yes. "Too" seriously, No. There are players that are still ignoring the problem. No one has to join a group to report any rule breaking. All it takes is to dust off that report button and use it. Our group has been thanked by other players in the game and we thank each other for their support. This is not an individual vigilante. We are just a group of concerned PAYING MEMBERS.

Survivor
Sep 23, 2010
42
dragonlad1230 wrote:
Well I was there last night just to see what the big deal was. And a kid was there, respectfully (no name calling) arguing that we kids should be able to manage our own game, and that adults were just trying to take it over and make it like school and hall monitors and stuff. And he called people "sir" and "miss." I ask him and he said no one reported him for anything--because he didn't use any bad words. But they call him "annoying," say, "______(his name) go back to school you are ingnorant kid," and so on. He had only filtered chat and could not see all this. My question: if you Protectors want to help kids, why do you tell them to just be quiet when they stand up for what they believe--that kids learn in this game, that they can report bad talk and bullying themselves? He said he does, and I do too. Why you disrespect this respectful kid like that? As this kid said: "when will you adults think we are mature enough to manage our game? Never?" His point was that these Protectors are treating us like babies and not letting us learn to take care of ourselves. I hope I don't get trolled for this--I don't post here much cause of that. But I agree with this kid. This is our game too, not just adults game.


I was there too, the kid you are talking about was going on and on for at least an hour while the wcp were trying to explain to him that this is a family game and we should all be able to play and follow the rules about appropriate language in game. No one is managing the game but KI. KI has made the rules regarding open chat and they clearly state that no foul language be used. We should all as a community be careful to follow the rules we have agreed to. Unfortunately this kid just wanted to argue, restarting his rant again and again, even his peers were tired of hearing him go on, you couldn't talk or reason with him. None of these wcp members wants to manage the game, they would be happy to go back to questing and having fun. All they are trying to do is clean up the language in the common areas because it has gotten out of control and make people aware that open chat does not give anyone the right to say whatever they want if it is a curse word.

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
dragonlad1230 wrote:
Well I was there last night just to see what the big deal was. And a kid was there, respectfully (no name calling) arguing that we kids should be able to manage our own game, and that adults were just trying to take it over and make it like school and hall monitors and stuff. And he called people "sir" and "miss." I ask him and he said no one reported him for anything--because he didn't use any bad words. But they call him "annoying," say, "______(his name) go back to school you are ingnorant kid," and so on. He had only filtered chat and could not see all this. My question: if you Protectors want to help kids, why do you tell them to just be quiet when they stand up for what they believe--that kids learn in this game, that they can report bad talk and bullying themselves? He said he does, and I do too. Why you disrespect this respectful kid like that? As this kid said: "when will you adults think we are mature enough to manage our game? Never?" His point was that these Protectors are treating us like babies and not letting us learn to take care of ourselves. I hope I don't get trolled for this--I don't post here much cause of that. But I agree with this kid. This is our game too, not just adults game.


I was there last night as well. The kid in question was polite, in the sense that he didn't cuss, but he also made a lot of blanket statements that were obviously false... and I called him out on that, but I also gave him credit where it was due.

A few others respectfully mentioned the rules (which said kid mentioned that he didn't care about), but the guy who was calling him names and telling him to be quiet wasn't one of us. No legitimate WCP will EVER shut down an intelligent/respectful discussion, as long as it doesn't break any rules.

-"El Veeb"
a WC protector

Survivor
Jun 12, 2010
20
Here I had to ask my dad what to do. I said, I know what happened and these adults are not telling the truth about this kid saying he "not care about rules." Cause I don't like to say people making things up. Especally adults. So my dad says, how do you know? And I tell him, I know because I wasn't really telling the truth on the Boards, cause I am afraid of getting bullied there like before. And he says, "you stand up for something, you stand behind it too."

So I am scared of all these adults with there 20 inch long posts. I am a kid and not a good writer. That kid was me. I apologize if it seemed like ranting. But no one was listening to me and I thought it was important that kids should be trusted and that to solve their problems in the game. I hear cussing, I report it. I have never been reported for cussing. I am raised right and I go to church, too. We don't talk like that. But when I see all these adults threaten people with reporting, and after, my friend with open, she tells me they all brag about how many kids they report there. I think that is wrong. You stand there and stare at kids and dare them to cuss, you making a situation happen, not fixing a problem. And most kids are more scared of being false reported than anything. I mean that. Ithappens a lot.

My parents say, you play this, you act mature. I try to. I am sorry if I seemed not that way last night. But that guy level 80 storm (boss, I guess, of the group) kept telling me I was annoying. I was trying to make a point that the game is for kids and adults, not just adults who are wanting to be police.

I do read rules. I play by them. That part you said, I never said it. It was untrue. A am sorry again for being too scared to be honest the first time. I won't do that again. But I hope someone listen to this cause I think these Protectors are scaring kids for no reason.

Tristan Lionrider, Adept Conjurer ( a kid who cares about the game, just like you)

Hero
Jan 24, 2010
705
I'll say "NO", we are not taking this problem too seriously. As the mom of a young wizard who has just earned filtered chat for learning to read, I am horrified by the prospect that he might read such filth while in-game. I already watched him carefully when he was chatting with friends, even at my house, but now I don't even let him play without me at his side. Why? Because I have been assaulted in the game at least twice now, and only one of those instances was in the Dye Shop.

When the game was young and had only a couple of million players, we did not have these problems with inappropriate behavior. It is really only within the past year and a half, corresponding to W101's growth in content and populace, that we have seen the growth of a visible and disturbing undesirable element in the Spiral. While we were all preoccupied with Celestia, Wintertusk, Zafaria and Avalon, others were carving out little niches in common areas, intent on obviously nefarious activities. Those wizards now make the common areas unsafe for children.

Do you really recommend that I, as a parent, ignore such a hazard to my child's safety?

As a long-term paying member of this community, and the responsible party for 4 accounts, I believe I have the right to use the reporting tools given to me by the makers of the game. As a parent, I have a responsibility to stand up for my child's right to play and roam in a safe environment. As a consumer, I have a right to demand that the product for which I pay delivers as promised. If I can't have it via in-game moderators, I will find another way.

I won't give up the hard work, time, and effort I have put into my own wizards. I won't forfeit my family's good times in the Spiral to miscreants who refuse to follow the rules. I won't accept the lack of respect, bullying, and other offensive influences now loose in the Spiral.

Warmest Regards,

Qbb
Iridian Shadowweaver, Archmage Theurgist

Armiger
May 10, 2010
2080
hunteray09 wrote:
@darthjt: I understand your claims, and I do know not everyone who wears the badge is from your group. But my main point is, Wizard101 used to be a family fun game in 2009. Now all you see in the Commons is, "Please stop the bad language" and the victim tests the prosecutor usually. I understand this is better than seeing non-stop cussing, but it's getting to where if you accidentally slip once, you could be banned. Cyber Bullying is most depressingly natural. You can help the cause, but you cannot stop the cause. That's like telling everyone in the world to never do wrong again. Out of the billions of people in the world.

I know not everyone is a member of your group who wears a badge, but what I am saying is, the WCP also bring some new behavior to the group. People will now make wizards then put the badge on, and discredit you by saying even more terrible things. Guys, KI is trying their best to fix this, but while they can control the game, they cannot control the people. PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES.
You cannot assume every person is as bad as the other by one rule breaking. If it's severe, then yes. But one cuss word isn't the end. They could have slipped. I am not teaming up with the rule breakers, but trying to tell you that yes, people do make mistakes at times.

So, in final words on my post, you guys seem to be too strict to some of the community. Whose to say that it isn't some nine year old who heard someone cussing and doesn't know better? You warn them yes, but that only makes them want to do it more. Human Nature. I know you'll reply to me, the three of you, saying i'm wrong, probably mentioning my rudeness in this post, but I am trying to get a point across. A point I am failing for you all to see.


Now, like I said, I usually warn people, because I know as you say, "People make mistakes" But as you also said, when some of us warn them, some just go off and attack the person who is giving the warning, so not everyone will warn, some do just sit quietly and report.

However, some things, you can not let slide as a simple mistake. There are some words, I don't care how you slice it, or dice it, there is no way, shape, or form, that these words are acceptable on what most refer to as a kid game. Now, while I consider this a family game, it's still unacceptable to see these words. I dont care how you use it, be it changing the word, using 2 or 3 acceptable words to say it, this is considered "Cursing around the Filter" and some words deserve no warning and no second chances.

While you may think we need to back down some, would you let your kid be bullied, then put a stop to the bully and not keep an eye out to make sure that bully does not show up again and bully even more? No, you keep watch and let them earn the trust back. They had their trust, the used it and abused it, so people had to take a stand, now they expect that trust be just given back? Let them start proving that they can use chat responsibly and be mature enough to know that it is unacceptable in this game, that will be a huge step in getting trust back, rather than trying to argue that cursing is their right and nobody can stop them from cursing and doing what they want.

I do not feel you are being disrespectful, you have your opinion and you are entitled to it. While some of us have ours. The best thing we can do, is still keep watch, still have fun, and educate those that want to know. I don't know how it can get any simpler than that.