Protecting the online society

Darkpact Wrathful - 12 / 9 / 99

With the advent of persistent online worlds, comes a responsibility I think the corporations who are building them, are ignoring. And it's shameful.

With EverQuest has come the evolution of the genra. These online games are no longer just a game. There a way to express yourself. No longer a handful of gamers who know each other after a week of play. No longer just a few people from a small part of the globe. This is now a world within a world open to nearly all of the same abuses as the world it's within.

With this ability for expression comes the beautiful and the dangerous. We have here hundreds of players online on each server, each with the potential to emotionally harm or help others.

What is my primary concern?

These company are making new worlds. It's like building building any physical building. There are people inhabiting these worlds. These people need protection. I see the world but I don't see the protection.

The other day I was on and I had a problem. Not one as serious as what I propose could happen, my body was stuck in a wall and I couldn't recover my stuff. However during the 3+ hours I was waiting for a GM or Guide to come on and respond I had plenty of time to think.

There were 750 people online on my server when I first entered the world. Any one of them could be very badly abusing any other, and yet noone is on to prevent this. This greatly disturbed me.

One night, many levels ago, there was someone verbally abusing someone else, in shout no less. This person continued for over an hour before a GM / Guide responded. During that time they also abused anyone who came to the defense of the person he was abusing.

On other occasions I've heard of someone 'physically' being abusive. Kill stealing, making rude gestures, blocking the other persons path, verbal personal attacks / abuse, which continued for hours unattended.

Summary / Solution / Truth

The truth is, your building a world. Be responsible for your actions. Send in people who can prevent bad things from happening. Assign by shift, that at least one Guide be on all servers at all times, and that they have access to higher powers (GMs or Admins).

I'd happily pay more a month to go towards a guide or GMs paycheck to ensure there was one on my server at all times, and I'm sure others would too. Not only would it help prevent this kind of abuse / harassment, it would also help those with lesser needs enjoy their time more.

I'm surprised it's not a law yet. This amazes me that the industry and government ignore something that is so open to abuse.