Welcome to the Wizard101 Message Boards


Player Guide
Fansites
News
Game Updates
Help

Follow important game updates on Twitter @Wizard101 and @KI_Alerts, and Facebook!

For all account questions and concerns, contact Customer Support.

By posting on the Wizard101 Message Boards you agree to the Code of Conduct.

Random chat filtering?

AuthorMessage
Hero
Feb 26, 2012
709
So my daughter has a sloth mount. We were chatting about it. She has filtered chat, I have open chat. She could type the word "sloth", but when I typed it the word was filtered out.

I emailed KI support about this, and they told me they "could not discuss game design!" They told me to post my concern on the forum. So here is the post.

But this is ridiculous!

I don't want to discuss game design. I want you to fix a silly bug!

KI, please fix this random filtering of chat!

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
It's like you can't Savage Paw too. People ask what spell, and you can't type it. Why name it that if players aren't allowed to even mention it's name?

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
FinnAgainWindrider on Feb 12, 2014 wrote:
So my daughter has a sloth mount. We were chatting about it. She has filtered chat, I have open chat. She could type the word "sloth", but when I typed it the word was filtered out.

I emailed KI support about this, and they told me they "could not discuss game design!" They told me to post my concern on the forum. So here is the post.

But this is ridiculous!

I don't want to discuss game design. I want you to fix a silly bug!

KI, please fix this random filtering of chat!
I have experienced a similar issue since Khrysalis was released.

I once typed to a friend "I was here the whole time". He has filtered chat and I have open; the word 'whole' showed up as red for me, though he could still see it. Similarly, he said that the name Finnegan was filtered for him, but it showed up just fine when I typed it back to him (white text, no yellow).

If words are filtered, seemingly at random, for only specific accounts, it's a bug and needs to be fixed. This has nothing to do with discussing game design. I wonder sometimes if it's even a person responding to our emails or just some automated system that picks up key words in the message and responds with a prepackaged answer.

(I hope that's not true, but I worked web support for 3 years and that's what we used to do)

-von

Astrologist
Aug 20, 2011
1077
Certain strings of text are flagged in the game in order to prevent saying words that are not seen as child-friendly. It's the strings of letters the algorithm looks for, not the total word. (I can't type the strings of letters that are banned because they will too obviously resemble the words you're not supposed to say.)

Perhaps, savage, whole, slot, sloth, and several other useful and innocent words are the victims of this filtering method because developers have figured out that kids like to add extra unrelated letters to banned words in order to bypass filters. The filter attempts to thwart that behavior. Is it perfect? No. But it is improving bit by bit, even if it is ridiculous at times.

Defender
Apr 07, 2012
135
i know i thought it was just open chat ki needs to fix this bad i cant say my friends name i have to call him finn

Explorer
Jul 15, 2012
94
Yea, sometimes whenever I type K, (to confirm something a friend says) it shows up as ..., even though I tried mixing them with the phrases I said before k and they did not make any bad words. K even shows up as white, but when I actually press enter it shows up (for me, I don't know if my friends see it as K) as it is filtered. I hope this is a bug, cause K is my favorite "word" to use sometimes.

Robert Angleblade
Promethean Theurgist (L95)

Hero
Feb 26, 2012
709
Dr Von on Feb 14, 2014 wrote:
I have experienced a similar issue since Khrysalis was released.

I once typed to a friend "I was here the whole time". He has filtered chat and I have open; the word 'whole' showed up as red for me, though he could still see it. Similarly, he said that the name Finnegan was filtered for him, but it showed up just fine when I typed it back to him (white text, no yellow).

If words are filtered, seemingly at random, for only specific accounts, it's a bug and needs to be fixed. This has nothing to do with discussing game design. I wonder sometimes if it's even a person responding to our emails or just some automated system that picks up key words in the message and responds with a prepackaged answer.

(I hope that's not true, but I worked web support for 3 years and that's what we used to do)

-von
Funny, I hadn't checked my name -- and yep, "Finnigan" is also filtered. Really?

Survivor
Aug 18, 2013
2
hi im blake shadowstaff and I am lvl 95 balance an I wanted to get a type of wand called frosty tiki wand I don't remember the whole name, but I jut got a 20 dollar card today an spent all 10000 crowns on the islands hoard pack an still haven't got it yet, so far altogether I spent 0ver 20000 crowns on that one pack for it. is it that rare or am I doing something wrong?

Astrologist
Aug 20, 2011
1077
FinnAgainWindrider on Feb 15, 2014 wrote:
Funny, I hadn't checked my name -- and yep, "Finnigan" is also filtered. Really?
Again, there's a string of letters in your name that KI has banned. They are trying to make it impossible to say the string of 3-letters in your name that resemble an inappropriate word. Make sense?

It's an algorithm doing it. In other words, the game is programmed to eliminate any word containing those 3 letters whenever they appear together, along with all the rest of the word just in case.

Explorer
Jul 15, 2012
94
balance boy on Feb 16, 2014 wrote:
hi im blake shadowstaff and I am lvl 95 balance an I wanted to get a type of wand called frosty tiki wand I don't remember the whole name, but I jut got a 20 dollar card today an spent all 10000 crowns on the islands hoard pack an still haven't got it yet, so far altogether I spent 0ver 20000 crowns on that one pack for it. is it that rare or am I doing something wrong?
Wrong topic, anyways, just bad luck, and it is pretty rare too.

Robert Angleblade
Promethean Theurgist (L95)

Hero
Feb 26, 2012
709
balance boy on Feb 16, 2014 wrote:
hi im blake shadowstaff and I am lvl 95 balance an I wanted to get a type of wand called frosty tiki wand I don't remember the whole name, but I jut got a 20 dollar card today an spent all 10000 crowns on the islands hoard pack an still haven't got it yet, so far altogether I spent 0ver 20000 crowns on that one pack for it. is it that rare or am I doing something wrong?
I don't see how this has anything to do with this thread. This belongs in ravenwood commons areas.

Mastermind
Jul 26, 2011
306
balance boy on Feb 16, 2014 wrote:
hi im blake shadowstaff and I am lvl 95 balance an I wanted to get a type of wand called frosty tiki wand I don't remember the whole name, but I jut got a 20 dollar card today an spent all 10000 crowns on the islands hoard pack an still haven't got it yet, so far altogether I spent 0ver 20000 crowns on that one pack for it. is it that rare or am I doing something wrong?
All pack drops are random you can't do anything to determine them so nothing you do is right or wrong . And that is so off topic

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
Lucas Rain on Feb 16, 2014 wrote:
Again, there's a string of letters in your name that KI has banned. They are trying to make it impossible to say the string of 3-letters in your name that resemble an inappropriate word. Make sense?

It's an algorithm doing it. In other words, the game is programmed to eliminate any word containing those 3 letters whenever they appear together, along with all the rest of the word just in case.
Yeah, I've seen it in many game chat filters. Some filters block glasses, grapes, spice... and loads of totally innocent words because of certain words contained within the words.

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
seethe42 on Feb 17, 2014 wrote:
Yeah, I've seen it in many game chat filters. Some filters block glasses, grapes, spice... and loads of totally innocent words because of certain words contained within the words.
People who want to use inappropriate language will always find a way to do so. And, before we know it, KI will be blocking words within words within words... until chat is eliminated completely. The day that happens will be the day that I hang up my wizard hat for good.

There has to be a better way of censoring those who require it.

-v.

Survivor
Mar 19, 2012
5
I have the same beef with the updated chat features. I play with my son and I can't even say his name in game even though there is a NPC with the same name, Sir Nigel Higgenbottom. How do you explain to a child that you can't type his name because it is associated a "bad" word? I feels like open chat has become more of a bother than text chat. Too many words are not just questionable, but simply banned. Why does KI even bother to offer an open chat feature if they won't allow open chat?

That's my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

Moira Darksword
Level 95 Death

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
Angelic One on Mar 17, 2014 wrote:
I have the same beef with the updated chat features. I play with my son and I can't even say his name in game even though there is a NPC with the same name, Sir Nigel Higgenbottom. How do you explain to a child that you can't type his name because it is associated a "bad" word? I feels like open chat has become more of a bother than text chat. Too many words are not just questionable, but simply banned. Why does KI even bother to offer an open chat feature if they won't allow open chat?

That's my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

Moira Darksword
Level 95 Death
I agree with this.

While I understand the need for a filter in-game (to avoid profanity and explicit/adult language), censoring names and words used by the game itself (NPCs or spell/item names) is ridiculous. Like I said in my previous post, people who choose to abuse the chat system will always find away to do it. And the filtering will soon become so restrictive that chat will be completely eliminated.

if KI wants to stop people from adding letters to bypass the filter, while still saving the chat system, I propose tougher punishments for true offenders. Reporting someone won't make a difference (immediately, anyway)~ but, if a person who typed a red/banned word (profanity or adult language) was rewarded with a week-long mute or ban straight off the bat, the offender would certainly think twice about doing it again.

/my 2 cents,
-von