Friday, September 25, 2009

Does mute = deaf (or just dumb)?

Question from Destiny Deathgem!

how do some kids get muted, and also can they read what non-muted people are saying, unlike those who are 'originally' muted a.k.a. underage players? also, how many times do kids have to be reported in order for them to get banned? Does it depend on their offense? or the number of times they got reported?

Ahhh, welcome to the dark side of Wizard101 my friends . . . in the dark side, kids say really bad things when their parents aren't looking and . . . who knows, perhaps the parents are setting a bad example and need a good mute themselves from time to time. Regardless, we all have a report button available to us, and we use it.

Behold the mighty power of the report button!


You can select anybody and *click* report! OH NO! IT'S TOO MUCH POWER!

Well, Destiny, I contacted Mr. Lincoln about this (well, the person at Kingsisle who portrays Mr. Lincoln) and got a few good answers for you.

1. Muted players are not deaf.

2. If a person has got to the suspension stage of the game already once, then they should know the gravity of the situation. We aren't talking three strikes, you're out . . . we're talking two strikes, you're out. And yes, the severity of the offense absolutely matters. You wanna know how to move past the two strikes you're out zone into the one strike you're out zone? "sexual harassment, racial slurs, or
exchanging personal info will pretty much move you right past warning to perma-ban."

3. Here's another official quote from Mr. Lincoln, "We receive hundreds of reports a day and each are reviewed (most of us are parents too, with our own children playing in game), in conjunction with other tools used to ensure player safety. Typing around the chat filter may allow an intention to pass in game momentarily, but it's not going to pass with the report reviewer. Those players found violating the Terms of Use will face sanctioning.

False reporting, "he falsely reported me", "she won't leave my house", "they have on ugly clothes", etc. is a large percentage of the reports we review. For obvious reasons, this makes it more challenging to weed out truly egregious behaviors, not to mention an unpleasant gaming experience for the falsely reported. Repeat false reporters can face the same sanctions as the valid reported.

Lastly, the other thing to note, although we have an open chat option and just because you can type something, it doesn't always mean you should. Terms of Use apply to ALL chat options."

There's more information at the bottom of this page as well. Check it out. (scroll down to the bottom)

Hope that answers all your questions. That report button is a scary thing! Use it wisely!

Happy Dueling!

2 comments:

The Ravenhunter said...

Today, someone was able to cuss at me through the filter. AND his mom was encouraging him! I reported him and he shut up for, like, 30 seconds or so until he started again. Someone else was asking where I got my dragon, I told him, he said, "Thank You for your time." and walked off. See, that's the kind of a conversation that I want to have.

P.S. I'm really Gorman RavenHunter.

Anonymous said...

i still dont get it.... what does muted really mean if there not deaf? and how do we, the wizards, know we are muted...